Streamline Your Church’s Shipping Process with OnlineGiving.org and Shippo Integration

Shipping may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to church management, but if your organization is shipping out products—whether it's books, apparel, or event materials—you need a smooth system. That's where Online Giving's integration with Shippo comes in. In this article, we take a close look at how Online Giving's shipping features can help streamline this process for you.

Getting Started with Online Giving and Shippo

If you're using Online Giving for managing products and shipping, there's an initial setup you'll need to go through. Reach out to their support team, so they can connect your Online Giving account with a free Shippo account. This integration is the backbone of the shipping process.

Once you're set up, the checkout process is seamless. For instance, if someone places an order—maybe for a church-branded T-shirt or a book—the system automatically marks the order status as "Pending." For digital products, like e-books or donations without physical items, the status moves directly to "Complete." This automated distinction removes administrative burden by making it clear which orders require shipping.

Automating Shipping with Shippo

Here's where Shippo really shines: as soon as a shippable item is ordered, details like the shipping method and fees are automatically sent to Shippo. You won't need to manually transfer information, saving you valuable time. This direct integration ensures that shipping for your customers is fast and efficient.

Keeping Customers Informed

Shippo not only handles logistics but also ensures that your customers are kept informed throughout the process. Updates such as shipping label creation or tracking numbers are automatically reflected on the order details page within Online Giving. Your customers can easily track their orders from your platform, and Shippo sends out email notifications with tracking updates, keeping everyone in the loop.

Real-Time Shipping Quotes

One of the most valuable features is the ability to provide real-time shipping quotes during checkout. Users can see exact shipping costs before finalizing their purchase, avoiding surprises and reducing the chances of abandoned carts due to unexpected fees. For admins, the process is completely automated—everything from item weight to shipping rates is sent directly to Shippo once the order is placed.

Customizing Shipping Options

With the Online Giving and Shippo integration, you also have the flexibility to customize shipping providers and service levels shown during checkout. Whether you prioritize lower costs, faster delivery, or specific carriers, you have full control over the shipping options available to your customers.

Managing Shipments with Ease

Once an order is placed, Shippo simplifies the entire shipping process for your admin team. From entering package details to purchasing shipping labels, the process is streamlined. Any time there's an update—whether it's a new tracking number or a change in shipment status—the information is reflected within Online Giving, ensuring everyone is always in the loop.

In this article, we'll overview the OnlineGiving.org Shipping features.

Shipping Overview

• Please note before getting started with OnlineGiving.org checkouts and shipping, please first reach out to support@onlinegiving.org as we'll first need to get your account set up with shipping, including configuring your OnlineGiving.org account with your Shippo account API. You can visit getshippo.com to create your free Shippo account today.

OnlineGiving.org's checkout is a powerful tool that offers comprehensive support to users during the purchasing process. The checkout process is designed to provide a seamless experience for users, regardless of the type of product being purchased. To ensure that users receive their orders quickly and efficiently, OnlineGiving.org has integrated with Shippo, a leading shipping solutions provider.

When a checkout is completed, the fulfillment status is updated automatically based on the type of product purchased. If the order contains a shippable item, the status is set to "Pending." But if the order consists only of digital products or does not require shipping, the status is set to "Complete" directly. This feature simplifies the fulfillment process for church administrators, who can easily manage completed checkouts using the Checkouts feature on OnlineGiving.org.

With Shippo's seamless integration, completed checkouts with shippable products are sent to Shippo automatically, including the user's chosen shipping method and the collected shipment fees. This integration ensures that the shipping process is fast and efficient, enabling users to receive their orders quickly.

Moreover, the advanced integration between OnlineGiving.org and Shippo ensures that any updates made on the Shippo platform, such as the creation of shipping labels and tracking information, are automatically added to the OnlineGiving.org checkout order. This information is made available to the user on the order detail page, allowing them to track their order in real time. Shippo also sends real-time tracking email notifications to customers to keep them informed about their order status.

In addition, the advanced shipping calculation feature integrates directly with Shippo to provide real-time shipping quotes to users during checkout. This feature ensures that users know exactly how much they will be charged for shipping before they complete their purchase.

The specific carrier providers, including the desired carrier service levels, are configurable. Our support staff and Shippo's support staff can assist you in configuring your preferred shipping carriers and service levels to ensure that only the desired shipping provider and specific service levels are displayed to the user at the time of checkout. 

After a checkout is completed with payment, the checkout order details, including the line items, are automatically sent to Shippo and created in the Shippo control panel as an order. Our integration also provides Shippo with the product items' weight and the specific shipping rate the user selected at the time of checkout.

When managing a shipment in Shippo, church administrators may easily enter the actual shipment package information, obtain internal shipping quotes, and purchase labels. 

OnlineGiving.org Shippo integration detects anytime an order is updated, such as a label purchased or tracking information is updated in Shippo, ensuring the checkout order in OnlineGiving.org has the latest shipment status and tracking information.