Here's how our spreadsheet uploading works:
Example address spreadsheet
Here's an example spreadsheet that will help you format yours:
You don't need to use a spreadsheet template!
Spreadsheet file types: You can upload any type of spreadsheet (supported filetypes include CSV, ODS, XLS, and XLSX) in any custom format, as long as:
1. Each part of the address data is separated into multiple columns.
2. The first row is a "header" row with titles for each column of data so Pirate Ship knows what it is (like Name, Email, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, State, Zip, Country... but you can use any title names you want).
Creating the spreadsheet: If you're creating the spreadsheet from scratch using software like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers, you can name the columns whatever you'd like, just make sure you have separate columns for each part of the data.
When you first upload a new spreadsheet format into Pirate Ship, you’ll get the opportunity to specify what’s in each column (which is called field mapping).
Exporting the spreadsheet: If you’re exporting the spreadsheet from your e-commerce or order management platform, generally whatever format the export is in by default should work. You shouldn't need to edit it at all, just drag’n’drop it into Pirate Ship.
You can have different sizes and weights for each address
Sending different items: If you won't be sending the same size package to each address in your spreadsheet, you can add columns for:
Length
Width
Height
and Weight (specified in either Pounds or Ounces... you can have one column of each, if you like 👍 )
Enter numerical values: Just enter the numerical values for each of those fields (they can include decimals, like 3.5)
Mapping size & weight of your packages: When you upload the spreadsheet, you can map those size and weight fields to "override" the default size and weight that you enter into Pirate Ship when creating the batch of labels.
How to add insurance to your uploaded orders
While there isn't a way to add shipping insurance to orders in your spreadsheet itself...there is a workaround to speed things up 😉
Use a Saved Package to add insurance: To add insurance to all the orders you upload on a spreadsheet, first create a saved package with insurance added.
You can save a package by selecting the "Save Package" checkbox when creating a label. Here's how that looks:
Select the Saved Package after uploading spreadsheets: Once you create a saved package with the proper amount of insurance added, you can select that package from the "Package Details" drop-down after uploading your address spreadsheet 💪
That looks like this:
Insurance gets applied to spreadsheet orders: Selecting that package will apply the insurance you added to all of your orders!