Shipping Bill or Freight Bill is the invoice raised by Shiprocket for all the shipped orders from your account. This invoice is raised every 2nd and 4th week of the month. It contains all the details of your shipments such as shipping date, courier partner etc.
Since Shiprocket works with multiple courier companies at a single time, many merchants often feel difficulty in understanding how exactly the Shiprocket Freight Bill is raised. For a better understanding of the same, here is the step by step description of how Shiprocket charges your freight bill.
What information is present on a freight bill?
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- Name of consignee and consignor
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- Date of shipment
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- Origin and destination of the package
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- Description of freight
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- Number of packages
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- Weight and dimensions of the freight
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- Exact rates assessed
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- Total due charges, whichever is more from the dead weight and volumetric weight
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- Route of movement (Air/Surface)
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- Name of carrier
- Remittance address, if any
Volumetric Measurement For Shiprocket Freight Bill
Most of the courier companies charge you for your parcels based on its volumetric weight, or whichever is higher from the dead weight and volumetric weight.
But getting confused between dead weight and volumetric weight of a package is quite easy. Here’s the difference- The volumetric weight is different from dead weight as it also depends on the dimensions of the package. So, if your package has a larger dimension, the volume rises, and so does the Shiprocket Freight Bill.
To calculate the volumetric weight of a package, use the following equation.
Length x width x height (cm) of the packet/ base factor
The base factor is, however, different for different courier partners. For example, for FedEx it is 5000.
Suppose that you’re sending a package that weights 8kg, but the dimensions are 40cm x 30cm x 50cm.
On applying the above formula,
40x30x50/5000 = 12Kg
As per the example, the chargeable weight will be 12kg (volumetric weight), which is higher than the Deadweight (actual weight, i.e. 8 kg in this example).
P.S. In case, you are sending multiple packages, their weights are calculated as one large parcel that is packaged without spacing.
Freight Calculation
As you ship your parcels, you must know how to calculate the freight charges. A general formula for calculating freight charges for air shipments is mentioned below.
Base rate of (0.5 kg x weight in kg x 2 ) + COD charge and COD charge is also max of ( Cod % x order value, flat rate)
However, when it comes to surface shipments there is a minimum weight that gets charged. Depending on it, there are different shipping slabs such as 1 kg, 2 kg slab etc. that can be viewed in detail in Shiprocket’s shipping rate calculator.
What is Base Rate?
Base Rate is the rate on which your courier company will charge you the freight bill. For many courier companies, the base rate is calculated for minimum 500 gms. However, carriers like FedEx charge their base rate for minimum 1 kg.
For Example, if the chargeable weight of your shipment is 1.5 kg and the base rate is Rs. 500, the amount will be 1.5 x 500 = Rs. 750.
Use best packaging practices
Entrepreneurs must know how they charged as they send their packages to the courier company. Even the smallest increase in the weight or dimensions of the shipment can result in courier company charging you an extra amount. Now you wouldn’t want to do that, would you?
Ensure that your packaging material is lightweight yet sturdy, so pack the ordered item neatly in a cardboard box followed by a bubble wrap for that extra layer of protection. Secondly, follow the packaging and freight size guidelines of your vendor (shipping company), strictly. A small deviation in size and you must pay a higher fee for shipping the product. It is therefore important for sellers to form a packaging strategy for their products and follow the best practices for packaging their products.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
A freight bill is an invoice raised by Shiprocket for all the orders you ship from your account. It contains details like shipping date, courier partner, etc.
Volumetric weight is calculated by multiplying the package length times width times height.
You will be charged as per the volumetric or dead weight, whichever is higher.
Shiprocket offers insurance coverage of up to Rs. 5,000 for all shipments. However, in the case of high-value shipments, you can opt to secure your package for up to Rs. 25,00,000.
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