This guide shows how to set up flat rate shipping in Shipi. A Flat Rate account shows fixed shipping prices you choose at checkout, based on the customer’s country, the order weight and, if you want, the postal code. It doesn’t need a carrier account; you create the labels for these orders with any of your carrier accounts.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| What you need | Nothing from a carrier; just your price list |
| Rates are matched on | Country, total order weight (up to Max Weight) and optional postal codes |
| Rates shown at checkout | One: the best-matching rate |
| Currency | Your choice; converted to the store’s currency at checkout |
| Bulk editing | Export and import rates as CSV |
| Labels | Created from Shipments with any of your carrier accounts |
Import CSV replaces all your rates. The imported file becomes your whole rate table and is saved straight away. Click Export As CSV first to keep a backup.
In this guide: What is flat rate shipping? · Add a Flat Rate account · Account settings · Create your rates · How Shipi picks the rate · CSV import and export · After you save · FAQ
What is flat rate shipping?
Flat rate shipping means a fixed price for a delivery, for example 5 € for any order up to 2 kg to France, instead of the live price from a carrier. Use it when you want predictable shipping prices, when your carrier has no live rates in Shipi (such as DPD, SMSA Express, DHL Global Mail or DB Schenker Norway), or to add a free or cheap option next to live carrier rates.
Step 1: Add a Flat Rate account
- Click Carriers in the left menu, then Add Shipping Account.
- Search for Flat Rate and click it. The Flat Rate Configuration page opens (marked Fixed Price).
Step 2: Account settings
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Shipping Account Name * | Any name, for example Standard Shipping |
| Currency * | The currency of the prices in your rate table. If your store uses another currency, Shipi converts the price at checkout. |
| Carrier for Automatic Label Creation | The carrier account you plan to ship Flat Rate orders with, for example your DHL Express account. Choosing it fills each rate’s Service list with that carrier’s services, so you can note which service each rate is for. When you create the label, choose the carrier account and service on the label screen. |
Step 3: Create your rates
Under Create Your Rates, click + Add Rate for each row. To delete rows, tick them and click – Remove Rate.
| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Name * | What the customer sees at checkout, for example Standard (3–5 days) |
| Service | The service of your chosen carrier that this rate is meant for (optional) |
| Max Weight * | The heaviest order this rate covers, in the same unit as your product weights |
| Price * | The price in the account’s currency. 0 offers free shipping. |
| Country * | The destination country |
| Postal Codes | Leave empty for the whole country, or list postal codes separated by commas, without spaces. Use x for any character: 75xxx matches every code starting with 75. |
Use the search box (name, country, postal code, weight or price) and the All Countries filter to find rows in a long table. Click Save Settings when you’re done.
How Shipi picks the rate
- Shipi adds up the weight of the products in the cart. A product without a weight counts as 1.
- It keeps the rows for the customer’s country whose Max Weight is at least that weight.
- It keeps rows whose Postal Codes match the customer’s postal code, and rows with no postal codes. A code without
xmust match exactly; a code withxmatches as a pattern from the start. - From those, the most specific postal code match wins (the one with the fewest wildcards); rows without postal codes come last.
- If several rows are still equal, the one with the lowest Max Weight wins.
- The customer sees that one rate, converted to the store’s currency.
Example: rows for France with no postal code (up to 2 kg, 6 €), 75xxx (up to 2 kg, 4 €) and 75001 (up to 2 kg, 3 €). A 1 kg order to 75001 gets 3 €, to 75012 gets 4 €, and to Lyon (69001) gets 6 €. A 3 kg order to France gets no Flat Rate option.
Tip: add rows with higher Max Weights (for example 2, 5, 10 and 30 kg) so heavier orders still get a price.
CSV import and export
- Export As CSV downloads the table with the columns
Service Name, Max Weight, Price, Country, Postal Codes. - Import CSV reads a file with the same columns in that order and a header row. Country must be a 2-letter code (for example
FR); Postal Codes must be empty or comma-separated letters and numbers with no spaces. - Shipi checks every row and lists any errors by row number before importing. The import replaces the whole table and saves it.
Service Name,Max Weight,Price,Country,Postal Codes
Standard,2,6,FR,
Paris,2,4,FR,"75xxx"
Standard,5,9,FR,After you save
Click Save Settings. The account appears on the Shipping Accounts page with its name, shipper, address and the Flat Rate logo.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Status switch | On: the account is used for live rates. Off: Shipi leaves it out of rates. |
| Edit | Opens the setup form to change any setting |
| Delete (bin icon) | Removes the account |
| Custom Shipping Rule | Set a free-shipping threshold, choose one default domestic and one default international carrier account (with a service), and send chosen countries to a specific account |
Frequently asked questions
It is a Shipi account that shows fixed shipping prices you set, by country, order weight and optional postal code, instead of live carrier prices.
One. Shipi shows the best-matching rate: the most specific postal code match first, then the lowest Max Weight that still covers the order.
Use x for any character. 75xxx matches every postal code that starts with 75. A code without x must match exactly. Leave Postal Codes empty to cover the whole country.
Yes. Set the Price to 0 for the rows that should be free.
No. Import CSV replaces the whole rate table with the file and saves it. Export your rates first if you want a backup.
Open the order from Shipments, click Create Label and choose any of your carrier accounts and a service. The Flat Rate price is what the customer paid; the label is billed by the carrier you choose.
Related guides
- How to configure shipping accounts in Shipi
- How to configure DHL Express in Shipi
- How to configure FedEx in Shipi
- How to configure UPS in Shipi
Last updated: September 24, 2026