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Explanation

EasyPost USPS ScanForm Buttons

Overview​

A USPS ScanForm (also called a manifest or USPS Form 5630) is a single barcoded page that lists every package in a pickup. The USPS carrier scans that one barcode instead of scanning each package, and every label on the form shows as accepted at once.

If you buy USPS labels through EasyPost, the Shipping Department shows two ScanForm buttons beneath Print EasyPost Labels and Void EasyPost Labels:

  • Print USPS ScanForm creates a new ScanForm from the labels that are not on one yet.
  • View USPS ScanForm downloads a ScanForm that has already been created.

You will never see both at the same time. Which one appears, if either, depends on where your labels are in the process described below. A missing button is usually expected behavior, not an error.

When each button appears​

UltraCart chooses the button when the Shipping Department page loads, separately for each distribution center. It only looks at USPS labels bought through EasyPost.

What you seeWhat it means
Print USPS ScanFormUSPS labels have been bought since the last ScanForm was created for this distribution center. They are waiting to go on a ScanForm.
View USPS ScanFormNo labels are waiting, and at least one ScanForm has been created that you have not downloaded yet.
Neither buttonNo labels are waiting, and every ScanForm that was created has already been downloaded.

The ScanForm banner at the top of the page​

Whenever one of the buttons is available, the Shipping Department also shows a banner across the top of the page, so the ScanForm is hard to miss:

  • USPS ScanForm ready to print (amber) appears alongside Print USPS ScanForm. It reminds you to print before your USPS pickup and that UltraCart creates the ScanForm automatically at 11:00 PM Eastern if you don't.
  • USPS ScanForm ready to download (blue) appears alongside View USPS ScanForm. It reminds you that the download only works once.

Each banner has its own button that works exactly like the toolbar button, and a How ScanForms work link to this page. The banner and the toolbar button disappear together once you print or download the ScanForm.

Where your labels come from​

Labels count no matter where you print them. Labels printed in UltraShip with your EasyPost account follow the same rules as labels printed with the Print EasyPost Labels button. This means you can print all your labels in UltraShip and then come to the Shipping Department only to get the ScanForm.

Why Print USPS ScanForm is missing when you expect it​

Print USPS ScanForm disappears once a ScanForm has been created, and UltraCart can create one for you without anyone clicking the button. Every night at 11:00 PM Eastern time (America/New_York), UltraCart creates a ScanForm for each distribution center that still has USPS labels waiting. When that happens, the waiting labels go onto the new ScanForm, and the page shows View USPS ScanForm in place of Print USPS ScanForm.

To put the day's labels on a ScanForm yourself, click Print USPS ScanForm before 11:00 PM Eastern. Labels bought after that go on the next night's ScanForm, or on the next one you print.

So if your team prints labels in UltraShip and the next day finds only View USPS ScanForm in the Shipping Department, the ScanForm is already done. Click View USPS ScanForm to download it. You do not need to create another one.

The buttons are only chosen when the page loads. If you buy labels while the Shipping Department is open, reload the page to see the current button.

What Print USPS ScanForm does​

Print USPS ScanForm sends every waiting USPS label for this distribution center to EasyPost, which creates one ScanForm covering all of them. After you confirm the prompt, a Generating USPS Scan Form progress window stays open until EasyPost finishes, and then the PDF downloads automatically.

A few things to know:

  • Each label goes on one ScanForm only. Labels already on an earlier ScanForm are left off.
  • Refunded labels are left off.
  • If EasyPost reports that some shipments were already manifested, UltraCart removes them and creates the ScanForm from the rest. The integration log entry for that run is marked as a warning instead of a success.
  • If there turn out to be no labels to include, no ScanForm is created, and the button goes away on the next page load.

What View USPS ScanForm does​

View USPS ScanForm downloads every ScanForm for this distribution center that has not been downloaded yet, combined into one PDF named scanform.pdf.

warning

The download is one-time. After you download them, those ScanForms leave the list and View USPS ScanForm disappears on the next page load. Save or print the PDF when you download it.

If you need the PDF again, both the ScanForm creation and the download are recorded in your EasyPost integration logs with scanform.pdf attached. The actions are named scanform - USPS and download scanform - USPS. See Integration Logs for how to find them. Integration logs are kept for 90 days.

A ScanForm that is never downloaded stays available through View USPS ScanForm for about 30 days.

Carriers covered​

These buttons cover USPS only. UPS does not support manifesting through EasyPost, so UPS labels never go on a ScanForm.

  • EasyPost: connect your EasyPost account and choose carriers.
  • Shipping Department Tool Bar: the other buttons on this screen and how to show or hide them.
  • UltraShip: the desktop shipping software many merchants use to print EasyPost labels.
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