Account setup

Follow these steps to get a Verified Account and connect it to Deutsche Post, so you can supply the product data your U.S.-bound shipments require.

1. Create an account

Create an account using the Deutsche Post referral link.
- It's important to use the link from your post so that your account is linked to them.
- Do not use this link if you are not shipping with Deutsche Post.
You can sign up using one of these options:
- Google – Sign up with your Google account.
- Microsoft – Use your Microsoft account to get started.
- Manual sign up – Enter your details (name, email, password).
Accept the Terms of Service.
Click Continue.

2. Verify your email and phone number

To keep your account secure, we’ll send a verification code to your email inbox.

Enter the code in the verification field.
Didn’t get it? Click Resend to request another code.

If you entered a phone number, you’ll also be asked to verify it after your email:

Enter the code sent to your phone.
Didn’t get it? Click Resend.

3. Add your business information

Provide the following details:
- Business name – Your company name.
- Website URL – Your store or company website.
- Country – Where your business is based.
Click Continue with Dashboard Lite when finished.

4. Get your products into Zonos

Your Catalog is where the extra U.S. information for each product lives, so you provide it once and it travels with every shipment. There are two ways to build it:

Connect your store with Zonos Sync. Your products and orders sync automatically, keeping your Catalog current as your store changes. Etsy and eBay connections are available first, followed by Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce, and more.
Upload a CSV. This works for any platform, and is the route to take if a connection to your store isn't available yet.

To connect a store, go to Dashboard → Catalog, click Add channel, and select your platform. If your platform isn't listed yet, choose Upload a CSV instead.

Starting with a CSV is not wasted work—products you upload keep their details if you connect a store later.

Either way, Zonos then knows what you sell and can flag the items that need more information before they can be shipped to the U.S.

The product name is the part to get right. Each product name in your Catalog has to match the goods description you send to Deutsche Post with the customs data exactly. That description is the only thing tying shipped goods back to the product you already documented with Zonos. If the two differ—an extra word, a different abbreviation, a trailing space—Zonos cannot make the connection, and the shipment is treated as though the data was never provided.

5. Map your Zonos ID onto your U.S. shipments

One change in your shipping data connects the Catalog you just built to the parcels you send. You provide the ID on the DHL side, not in Zonos.

Find your Zonos ID directly under your store name, in the top-left corner of your Zonos Dashboard.
Provide it in the DHL electronic shipment data, in the customs reference of sender field, prefixed with Z-.
- For example, a Zonos ID of 123456 is entered as Z-123456.

You can submit it on a shipment basis, or store it against your DHL account in the DHL Business Customer Portal (Geschäftskundenportal). Once it is on your DHL business customer account, your Zonos ID is transmitted automatically for every U.S.-bound shipment.

Important: Include the Z- prefix. Your Zonos ID in the customs reference of sender field is what points at your catalog of goods. Without it, DHL has no way to match the shipped goods to your catalog, and your product data will not be applied.

Next steps

Setting up the account and syncing your products is the start of the work, not the end. Zonos checks each product against U.S. entry requirements and flags the ones that need more information—see Add required product data.

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