Reports: Automatically Generate the 'Shipping Cost by Carrier' Report

Background

Keep an eye on shipping costs with the 'Shipping Cost by Carrier' report. Automate the report to run on an automated schedule and have the report automatically saved to your computer.

This article will guide you through the steps to automate running the 'Shipping Cost by Carrier' report.

First Things First

In order to complete the steps below, please ensure that you are logged in to ShipWorks as an administrator or as a user with the following rights:

Create, Edit, and Delete Filters
Create, Edit, and Delete Actions

The Process

How Should the Report be Saved?

Prior to following the steps outlined in this article, ensure that the 'Shipping Cost by Carrier' report is configured to automatically save to the location on your computer that you wish without prompting you with the Save As dialog. We have an article to show you how here.

We will cover the steps required to automate the 'Shipping Cost by Carrier' report. Automating the report requires:

Defining which orders to include in the report. This is done with a Filter used to identify orders that have been shipped within a certain time frame. Learn more about Filters and how they work here.
Telling ShipWorks when to run the report and whether or not to Save the file to your computer, to email the report, or both. This is done by creating an Action. Learn more about Actions and how they work here.

Create the Filter: Identify Which Orders to Include in the Report

For this example, we will create a Filter that identifies orders that were shipped within the last seven days from today. However, once you have learned how to create the filter, you can modify the date range(s) to suit your needs.

Click on the Manage tab and then on the Filters button.
Click the New Filter button.
Give the filter a name, select he Folder in which the filter should live, then click the Next button. For this example, we will name the Filter Shipped in Last 7 Days.
Click the Add Condition button. A new line, Order Total > Equals > $0.00 will be added.
Click the blue link Order Total and select For any > Shipment.
Click the second Add Condition button. A new line Provider > Equals > USPS will be displayed.
Click the blue link Provider and select Processed Status.
Click the drop-down menu to change Not Processed to Processed.
Click the second Add Condition button again. A new line Provider > Equals > USPS will be displayed.
Click the blue link Provider and select Processed Date.
Click the green link Equals and select Is within the last. Then, change the number of days to 7 so that the condition now reads Proccessed Date > Is within the last > 7 . Days > From today. Ensure that your conditions match the image below. Then, click the Next button.
Click the Finish button to return to the Filter Manager.

Your filter will be displayed in the Filter Organizer. The number of shipments processed in the last seven days from today will be displayed in blue parenthesis to the right of the filter. Click the Close button to exit the Filter Organizer.

Create the Action: Run the Shipping Cost by Carrier Report Automatically

Now that you have the filter created, you will use the filter to identify the orders to include in the automated ;Shipping Cost by Carrier' report.

Next, we will create the Action that will automatically run the report every Friday at 7:00 PM, after the close of the business day to ensure that shipping is completed for the week. Keep in mind, once you learn how to create the Action, you can modify it to suit your needs.

Click on the Manage tab and then on the Actions button.
Click the New Action button.
Name the Action. For this example we will name the Action Weekly Shipping Cost by Carrier.
Click the When the following occurs: drop-down menu and select A scheduled time.
Click the blue link One Time and select Weekly.
Select Friday as the day of the week to run the report.
Click the Add Task button and select Save a file.
Click the drop-down menu to the right of Save using: Everything in and select the 'Shipped in Last 7 Days' Filter you created in the above steps.
Click the With template: drop-down menu and select the Reports > Financials > Shipping Cost by Carrier report.
Verify that your Action matches the below screenshot. Then, click the OK button to save your Action.