Set Up Batch Shipping

You can do this on the Shipping Settings page (Postage Settings in the UK) under the Settings tab.

To enable batch shipping for your Photo Job, tick the Batch Shipping box on your Photo Job Main Settings page, and then select the deadline for the batch to close.

You can set an additional deadline for a new batch once your first batch is closed.

You can then select whether you would like to use Manual Processing (i.e., you will be deciding exactly when to send the batch to the lab) or Automatic Processing (i.e., the batch will immediately be sent to the lab once closed, requiring no action from you).

When set to Manual Processing, all orders will be sent to the Batch Shipping tab on your Orders page. To release a batch to the lab, click the Open button next to the batch, and then select Send batch to lab. 

⚠ Please note: When you select Batch Shipping, all future Photo Jobs of the same type will have these settings applied (e.g., if you set a Sports job to have batch shipping, your next Sports job will automatically have batch shipping applied. You can of course change the settings in your job at any time.

By default, your batch shipment will be delivered to the address you have set on your Invoice Settings page. If you would like the shipment to be delivered to a different address, click Change to the left of the address listed (don't see this option? Save the job settings first, it will then appear):

In the popup window, uncheck the Use my address box, fill in the new address information, and then click the blue Acknowledge & Save button.

In non-Prepay jobs, you can enable batch shipping and direct shipping simultaneously. We recommend doing this since most jobs will have some customers who would rather pay extra for faster service. You can do this by checking the Also allow Direct shipping box:

⚠ Please note: In Prepay jobs, you must select either direct shipping or batch shipping.

⚠ Please note: These options are only available for non-Prepay jobs.

Clicking on Extended Batch Shipping Options will open some handy settings that can help you manage customer expectations and delivery options. 

Customer Information

• After the deadline, photos will be available in (days)...
  We add on this number of days to the batch shipping deadline in order to show your customers an expected delivery date in your online shop (e.g., if the batch deadline is March 10, and you put the number "7" in this text box, the expected delivery date shown to your customers will be March 17th).
  Choosing 10-14 days is usually a safe estimate to ensure your orders have enough time to process and ship. You don't want to share information on the delivery time. Just leave the"0" in the field, and no delivery time will be displayed to customers in the cart.
  
• Photos are always sent to "Establishment". This cannot be changed. 

Delivery Information

• Pass names from names list…
  Student data entered in the Photo Job Settings are automatically transferred to the order. This facilitates the order management.
• Show available folders…
  Customers can select who to hand the products to from a dropdown menu. Unchecked offers a free text field. Customers can enter the wrong information sometimes, so a dropdown menu is almost always preferred.
• Ask for address information in checkout…
  Customers will be asked to input their delivery address. This is unnecessary for batch shipping, so leave it unchecked except for special circumstances.

Are there any fees associated with batch shipping? 

North American Customers:  Yes. You will be charged the shipping fee directly by the lab. You will not be invoiced for this by GotPhoto.

UK Customers:  Yes. Your shipping fees will be charged via GotPhoto and appear on your invoice.

How does the batch shipping deadline work?
Automatic Processing: Batch shipping deadlines allow you to set a clean cutoff date to ensure uniformity in timely transfers to labs. If you set a date for this deadline, this allows your clients to order the entire day of the deadline, up until midnight (12:00 AM) the next day, after which point the batch collector closes, and you can begin preparing the batch for production. For example: Setting a batch deadline of 1/1 means that your clients have until midnight, crossing over into 1/2 to place their order for inclusion in the batch.

Manual Processing:  As long as you have not manually transferred orders to the lab, new customer orders will still be added to the order collection, even, if the batch deadline has expired. This can help to reduce additional support efforts after the deadline if some parents missed the deadline.