Choosing a default courier service
The default courier service will apply to all countries and destinations bar any exceptions you may apply for individual countries.

The default courier service will normally operate for all countries other than those your normally ship too.

EROL automatically has UK Royal Mail Service and Royal Mail Next Day Delivery as its default couriers, however it is easy to add and/or update any new couriers you may wish to utilise. Setting up a new courier, or editing your existing courier's rates etc. is all done on the Courier tab.

Applying specific courier services to specific countries
Once a global default courier has been selected you will probably want to offer a wider range of shipment options for customers in your usual shipment area (such as your country or neighbouring countries).

Individual country couriers can be applied by using the 'Courier Service to individual Countries' table. Select a country from the dropdown menu in the 'Country' column, then select a courier from the list of couriers in the dropdown menu in the 'Courier' column. Finally select the courier's relevant zone for that country (if applicable) from the dropdown menu in the 'Zone' column.

EROL automatically has UK Royal Mail Service and Royal Mail Next Day Delivery as its default couriers, however it is easy to add and/or update any new couriers you may wish to utilise. Setting a new courier up, or editing your existing courier's rates etc. is all done on the Courier tab.

Setting up courier options
EROL's default couriers are UK Royal Mail Service and Royal Mail Next Day Delivery, however it is easy to add and/or update any new couriers you may wish to utilise.

The Courier tab features a tree view representing all of the couriers/shipping methods already created. Each courier/shipping method can be expanded down to their individual delivery zones and then further down to the class for each zone.

To create your own new courier/shipment method,
1. Click on the 'Add New' button below the Courier tree view. This will launch a small window with fields for a courier name, a zone and a class
2. Input a name for the courier/shipment method, the first zone and the first class for that zone.

Note that the class is what the customer sees in the 'Select Shipment Method' dropdown menu in the Order Form.

What is a courier
A courier in EROL can be either a commercial carrier or postage service, or a user-defined shipment method.

You may add your own local courier service if the default commercial couriers are not suitable for your needs.

You may also wish not to use a courier service at all, but rather set up your own shipment methods. This, in the case of EROL, can also be considered to be a 'courier'.

Adding a courier
To create your own new courier/shipment method, click on the 'Add New' button below the Courier tree view. This will launch a small window requiring you to input a name for the courier/shipment method, the first zone and the first class for that zone.

There is no limit to the number of courier/shipment methods you can add.

Setting a custom shipment method
A courier/shipment method can also be applied if you are planning to ship your products using your own centralised method such as:
- Not charging for shipment in your own country
- Charging for shipment by quantity ordered
- Charging for shipment by weight of order
- Charging for shipment by total order value

Simply add a Courier into the tree view and label it accordingly.

What is a zone
A zone refers to a country, continent or area you wish to deliver to.

Most couriers will work with the world broken up into a set number of zones. If you are adding Courier details for a commercial courier you will need to make sure you recreate their zones exactly.

Adding a zone
The first zone you add will be the one that you are required to insert in the popup window that is launched when you first add a courier.

To add additional zones to the same courier, ensure that the first zone is selected in the Courier tree view, then click on the Add New button to add another zone below the previous. Every zone will require you to add at least one class.

What is a class
Each zone can have multiple classes of delivery. These could include First Class, Standard Delivery, 24-hour delivery, Airmail, 3-day Delivery etc.

Although it is up to the vendor to decide which courier and zone applies to a purchaser, it is up to the purchaser to select (from a dropdown menu in the order form) which class they require for delivery.

Adding a class
The first class you add will be the one that you are required to add in the popup window that is launched when you first add a courier.

Click on the Add New button to add another class below the previous.

As soon as a class is added, the options and banding table below become active. These allow you to add and/or edit the settings for that particular class.

Once a class is selected you will need to decide how the shipping costs for that class will be calculated.

This can be calculated by one of the following four methods:
- Calculation by Item Weight
- Calculation by Item Quantity
- Calculation by Total Order Value
- Calculation by a flat rate shipment cost

If you select method 1, 2 or 3 you will be able to apply the relevant rates in the adjacent price-banding table.

If you have selected method 4 - a flat rate shipment cost - the price-banding table will become hidden, as it is not needed for this method.

Setting shipment costs according to the weight of the order
Once a class is selected, select your calculation method to be 'By Item Weight'.

Delivery costs will then be calculated on the total order weight of your customers purchases (independent of the total number of items purchased).

Most commercial couriers calculate shipment costs this way.

Once you have selected to charge shipping by item weight, you will need to set up a price-banding table tabulating the prices applicable to increasing weights. Setting up the price banding table is done on the adjacent price-banding table.

Under the 'Weight' column insert your weight bands, then apply the relevant price for that band in the 'Cost' column.

You can also specify additional unit costs per weight to apply to the total shipping charge if the total weight of the items ordered exceeds your highest price band.
E.g. Your maximum price band is $25 for up to 50kg. Orders totalling over 50kg might be charged at an additional $3 per kg. To set this, insert '1' into the additional weight field and '3' into the additional cost field.

Setting shipment costs according to the quantity ordered
Once a class is selected, select your calculation method to be 'By Quantity Ordered'.

If your products are all of equal weight you can charge according to the number of items purchased.

EROL ignores any weight value specified in the Item Pricing tab and calculates delivery based on the total number of items in the customer's basket.

Once you have selected to charge by quantity ordered, you will need to set up a price-banding table tabulating the prices applicable to increasing quantities. Setting up the price-banding table is done on the adjacent price-banding table.

Under the 'Qty' column insert your quantity bands, and then apply the relevant price for that band in the 'Cost' column.

You can also specify additional unit costs per item to apply to the total shipping charge if the total quantity of items ordered exceeds your highest price band.
E.g. Your maximum price band is $15 for up to 10 items. Orders totalling over 10 items might be charged at an additional 75 cents per item. To set this, insert '1' into the additional 'Qty' field and '0.75' into the additional 'Cost' field.

Setting shipment costs according to total order value
Once a class is selected, select your calculation method to be 'By Total Order Value'.

If a customer orders a lot of products or spends a lot at your store you may wish to reward the customer by not charging for orders over a certain amount.

EROL ignores any weight value specified in the Item Pricing tab and calculates delivery based on the value of the items in the customer's basket.

Once you have selected to charge by the total value of the order, you will need to set up a price-banding table tabulating the shipping prices applicable to increasing order values. Setting up the price-banding table is done in the adjacent price-banding table.

Under the 'Value' column insert your value bands, and then apply the relevant shipping price for that band in the 'Cost' column.

You can also specify additional unit costs per value unit to apply to the total shipping charge if the total value of items ordered exceeds your highest price band.

E.g. Your maximum price band is $10 shipment cost for up to $50 spent. Orders totalling over $50 might not be charged for shipping at all. To set this, insert '0.01' into the additional 'Value' field (i.e. Every penny over $50 will cause shipping to be free) and '0' into the additional 'Cost' field.

Setting shipment costs at a flat rate
Once a class is selected, select your calculation method to be a flat rate by checking the 'Apply a Flat Rate' check box and inserting a flat rate for shipment.

In this case EROL ignores all weight, quantity and cost settings of your customer's basket and applies the flat rate charge for the class selected.

Each of your delivery classes can have a separate flat rate charge.

How users select their choice of shipment
Once a customer reaches the order form and is ready to pay for the goods they have bought, the first thing they will be required to do is select the country they are in.

Shipment is then calculated in EROL based upon this choice. Once EROL recognises the country the purchaser is in, the correct shipping methods you have applied for that country will become present in the shipment method dropdown menu adjacent to the Total of the customer's order.

The customer will then select their class option for delivery (if applicable) and EROL will recalculate the order accordingly.

Ensuring customers are where they say they are
To avoid customers being able to select a bogus country from the country dropdown menu in order to attain different shipping costs, EROL ensures that the product cannot be shipped to any country other than the one originally selected, by automatically inserting the selected country into the customer's delivery address.

Applying a shipment cost for an individual item only
Some stores may sell certain products that will require a flat shipping rate applying solely to that item. For example a gift store may sell cards and flowers, but they may also sell a range of bicycles.

EROL allows you to apply a separate flat shipping rate on a product-by-product basis.

In the Item Pricing tab for any product requiring a flat rate shipment charge, select the Shipment sub-tab and apply the flat rate charge for that item.

You have the option of including that flat rate in addition to any standard shipping, or if the flat rate should apply for every additional one of those products added (i.e. If the customer purchases two of the products then the flat rate applies twice.)