Checkout Setups
TL;DR
A checkout setup is the bridge between your store's checkout and Shipit. It tells Shipit which store to serve, which checkout platform to connect to, and how shipping options should behave when things go wrong. Most merchants need only one checkout setup. You only need more if you run genuinely separate stores or serve different countries with entirely different shipping options.
What is a checkout setup?
When a customer reaches your checkout and shipping options appear, Shipit is working behind the scenes to calculate those options in real time. A checkout setup is the configuration file that makes this possible — it identifies your store, sets the language for shipping option names, and controls every aspect of how Shipit communicates with your checkout platform.
Think of it as the control panel for a single store's shipping experience.
Basic fields
Name
The name is an internal label used only inside Shipit. Your customers never see it. Use something descriptive that helps you tell your setups apart, such as "Finland Store — Shopify" or "B2B Germany".
Checkout ID
The checkout ID is a unique identifier that links this setup to your store's checkout. When your checkout platform sends a request to Shipit, it includes this ID so Shipit knows which setup to use.
Important rules:
- The checkout ID can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens (for example:
my-store-fiorshopify-b2c). - It is usually generated for you automatically.
- Do not change the checkout ID after your store has gone live. Your checkout platform uses this value to find your setup, and changing it will break the connection between your store and Shipit until you update the ID in both places.
Market country
The market country is the country this checkout setup is configured for. Shipit uses it to determine which carriers are available and what the default tax rates should be. For example, a Finnish store would set this to Finland.
Default locale
The locale controls the language used for shipping option names and descriptions. For example, setting the locale to fi means customers see "Postipaketti" rather than "Parcel". Setting it to en shows English names.
This is the fallback language. If your checkout platform passes a customer's preferred language at the time of the request, the locale resolution strategy (described below) determines whether that language takes priority.
Locale resolution strategy
When Shipit needs to display a shipping option name, it has to decide which language to use. The locale resolution strategy controls this decision. Choose the one that matches how your store and checkout platform are set up.
| Strategy | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
checkout_configuration_first | Always uses this setup's default locale, ignoring any language passed from the checkout platform | The most predictable option. Use this if you want full control. |
request_first | Uses the language passed in from the checkout platform at the time of the request | Best when your checkout platform knows the customer's language and you want the shipping options to match. |
market_first | Uses the language of the market country | Good for stores that serve a single market and want the locale tied to the country. |
Tip: If you are unsure which to choose,
checkout_configuration_firstis the safest option. It behaves consistently and is easy to predict.
Providers
A provider is a checkout platform — the software your customers use to complete their purchase. Shipit supports the following providers: Shopify, Qliro, Walley, and Kustom.
Each checkout setup can connect to one or more providers. There are two layers of control:
Enabled providers
These are the platforms this setup will accept requests from. Only enable platforms you actually use. Enabling a platform you do not use has no effect, but keeping your list accurate makes your setup easier to manage.
Published providers
Being enabled is not the same as being live. A provider must also be published before it starts serving shipping results to real customers. This separation lets you enable a provider and test it internally without accidentally showing it to shoppers.
Tip: Use this when setting up a new checkout platform. Enable and configure it, test thoroughly, and only publish when you are confident everything works.
Platform-specific fields
Some platforms require an additional identifier to link them to your Shipit setup:
- Qliro requires a "Qliro checkout ID" — a value provided by Qliro when you set up your integration.
- Kustom requires a "Kustom checkout ID" — a value provided by Kustom when you set up your integration.
Per-provider settings
Each enabled provider has its own settings that override the global defaults for that platform. This lets you behave differently on Shopify than on Walley, for example.
Fallback policy
When a carrier's API returns an error or is temporarily unavailable, the fallback policy controls what Shipit shows the customer. Choose carefully — showing nothing is safer but may prevent checkout completion, while showing a potentially inaccurate result keeps the checkout flowing.
| Policy | What happens when a carrier fails |
|---|---|
inherit | Uses the global account-level fallback setting |
strict | Shows nothing for that carrier. Safest for payment-critical flows where showing an incorrect price would be harmful. |
degraded_only | Shows a degraded result — for example, the option name and availability without a price |
cached_only | Shows the last known result from Shipit's cache |
degraded_then_cached | Tries a degraded result first; if that also fails, falls back to the cached result |
Warning:
strictmeans customers may see fewer shipping options during a carrier outage. Consider whether your business can tolerate that before choosing it.
Capability mode
The capability mode tells Shipit what to do after it has quoted shipping prices to your checkout.
| Mode | What Shipit does |
|---|---|
quote_only | Shipit returns prices only. Your checkout platform handles booking the shipment separately. |
quote_and_booking | Shipit quotes and then automatically books the shipment at the moment of checkout. |
quote_and_sync | Shipit quotes and also syncs order data back to the carrier for tracking and fulfilment. |
Credential mode
The credential mode determines who manages the carrier accounts that Shipit connects to.
| Mode | What it means |
|---|---|
partner_managed | You manage your own carrier accounts and credentials. |
shipit_managed | Shipit manages the carrier credentials on your behalf. |
Fallback toggles
These two toggles apply globally across all providers in this setup. They give you a quick way to turn fallback behaviour on or off without changing individual provider settings.
- Allow degraded fallback — When turned on, if a carrier fails, Shipit will show a degraded result (such as the option name without a live price) rather than hiding the option entirely. Default: on.
- Allow cached quote fallback — When turned on, if a carrier fails, Shipit will show the last successfully cached quote for that carrier. Default: on.
Tip: Leaving both toggles on gives customers the best chance of seeing shipping options even during temporary carrier outages. Turn them off only if your business requires that all prices shown are guaranteed to be live and accurate.
Experiments (A/B testing)
Experiments let you split your checkout traffic into two groups and show each group a different set of shipping options. This is useful for testing whether one pricing approach converts better than another.
How experiments work
Each experiment divides your customers into two buckets — Bucket A and Bucket B. You control what percentage of customers fall into each bucket. Rules (the conditions that control which shipping options appear) can then check which bucket a customer is in and show them the appropriate options.
Experiment fields
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | Internal label for this experiment. Not shown to customers. |
| Description | Notes to remind you what you are testing. |
| Bucket A percentage | The percentage of customers (0–100) who will see Variant A. The remainder see Variant B. For example, 50 gives an even split. |
| Is active | Toggle to turn the experiment on or off. |
| Bucket A label | A friendly name for Variant A, used in Shipit's reporting (for example, "Free shipping"). |
| Bucket B label | A friendly name for Variant B, used in Shipit's reporting (for example, "Flat rate €4.99"). |
Connecting experiments to rules
Rules (covered in the Rules documentation) can include conditions that check experiment_name and experiment_bucket. This is how you actually show different options to each group — you create two versions of a rule and restrict each one to a specific experiment bucket.
Example use case: You want to find out whether offering free shipping above €80 or a flat rate of €4.99 leads to more completed purchases. Create an experiment, split traffic 50/50, then set up one rule for the free-shipping group and another for the flat-rate group. After a week, compare conversion rates in your reporting.
Linked shipping options and parcels
When you open a checkout setup, a Relations tab shows all the shipping options and parcels that belong to it. Both lists are searchable — the shipping options search matches against name, service code, carrier name, and carrier code. The parcel search matches against name, type, and dimensions.
This tab is useful for a quick overview of what is configured under a setup without navigating to the full shipping options or parcels lists.
Managing your checkout setups list
Searching and filtering
The Checkout Setups list supports a search bar and a Market country filter. The search matches against setup names. The market country filter narrows the list to setups configured for a specific country. Both filters work together — clear them using the Reset filters button to see all setups again.
Duplicating a setup
Each setup in the list has a Duplicate option. This creates a copy with all the same providers, experiments, and locale settings. Use it as a starting point when adding a setup for a new market that is similar to an existing one.
Deleting a setup
Each setup also has a Delete option. Deleting a setup is permanent — you will be asked to confirm before Shipit removes it. Deleting a setup does not automatically remove the shipping options or parcels linked to it; those will need to be cleaned up separately.
Warning: Only delete a setup after you have confirmed it is no longer in use. If a live store's checkout platform is still pointing to this setup's Checkout ID, requests will fail after deletion.
When you need more than one checkout setup
A single checkout setup is enough for most merchants. Consider creating additional setups only if:
- You run multiple stores on different checkout platforms (for example, one Shopify store and one Qliro store)
- You have stores in different countries that require entirely different carriers, pricing, and language settings
- You want completely separate configurations for B2C (consumer) and B2B (business) customers
Tip: Most merchants start with one checkout setup. Add more only when you genuinely have separate stores or markets. Having fewer setups means less to maintain and fewer places where settings can get out of sync.