Booking & Labels

Once you've selected a rate and confirmed the order, you can book the shipment directly in TimberCloud. Booking reserves the shipment with the carrier, charges your shop for the label, and returns a tracking number and a ready-to-print label. This page covers the booking process, label printing, and shipment management.

Plan note: Rate shopping and booking run through TimberCloud's integrated Carrier Services network. They're included on Build, Production, and Enterprise. On Commerce, add the Carrier & Freight Services add-on ($99/mo) to enable them. The Free plan doesn't include payments or carrier booking. See Subscriptions & Plans.

How booking works

You don't connect your own FedEx, UPS, USPS, or LTL accounts — TimberCloud manages the carrier relationships centrally, so you simply shop live rates, book, and print labels in-app. When you book, TimberCloud:

1. Validates your shop's card on file and reserves the shipping amount (without charging it yet).
2. Books the shipment with the selected carrier.
3. If booking succeeds: charges the reserved amount and records a "shipping" platform charge against your card.
4. If booking fails: automatically cancels the reservation so no money is taken.
5. Generates the label and assigns tracking.

This order of operations means you're never charged for a shipment that didn't actually book.

Booking process

Prerequisites

Before booking, make sure:

1. A shipping rate is selected on the order.
2. The rate is still fresh — rates expire after 24 hours (and go stale if order items, the shipping address, or the due date change). Refresh stale rates before booking. See Rate Shopping.
3. The shipping address is validated.
4. A valid card on file is set up for your shop (this is the card the shipping charge is billed to).
5. Your plan includes Carrier Services (Build+ or the Commerce add-on).

How to book

1. Open the order.
2. Click Book Shipment.
3. Confirm the package details (the auto-calculated packages and any options like liftgate or residential).
4. Confirm the booking.
5. TimberCloud books the shipment and charges your card for the label.
6. The label and tracking number are generated automatically.

What you get back

A successful booking returns three things, saved to the order:

• A tracking number (one per package; multi-package shipments carry package-level tracking).
• A tracking URL you and your customer can follow.
• A label PDF, ready to download or print.

What happens during booking

The booking process completes several steps in order:

If carrier booking fails at step 2, the reservation from step 1 is canceled automatically and the remaining steps don't run.

Booking confirmation

After a successful booking:

• Tracking number(s) are assigned to the order.
• The shipping label is available for download and printing.
• The customer is notified (if shipping notifications are enabled).
• The order status is updated (see Order status updates).
• A receipt for the shipping charge is emailed to your company.

Label printing

After booking

Labels are available immediately:

• Download as PDF — save to your computer.
• Print directly — send to a connected printer.
• Thermal printer — compatible with common label printers (Zebra, DYMO, etc.).

Label formats

Batch label printing

Print labels for multiple orders at once:

1. Go to the Orders list.
2. Select the orders to print.
3. Click Print Labels.
4. The labels download as a single combined PDF.

Shipment management

Viewing shipment details

After booking, view shipment information on the order:

Canceling a shipment

If you need to cancel a booked shipment:

1. Open the order.
2. Click Cancel Shipment.
3. Confirm the cancellation.
4. The shipment is voided with the carrier and the label becomes invalid.

Note: Cancellation and refund policies vary by carrier and by how much time has passed since booking. Some carriers charge for late cancellations.

Multiple shipments

Split shipments

Ship portions of an order separately:

1. Book the first shipment with the selected items.
2. The remaining items stay on the order.
3. Book additional shipments as needed.
4. Each shipment gets its own tracking number.

Multi-package shipments

One shipment with multiple packages:

• All packages ship together under one booking.
• A tracking number is assigned per package, so you get package-level tracking.

Tip: TimberCloud chooses small parcel or LTL freight automatically — it routes to LTL freight when any package is a pallet or the total weight exceeds 150 lbs, otherwise it uses small parcel. See Packaging.

Freight (LTL) shipments

For LTL freight shipments, a few extra details apply:

Freight rates and labels are part of the same Carrier Services network — you don't need a separate freight account.

Payment processing

Shipping is billed to your shop, not to the customer who placed the order. (Your customer pays for their order separately; the cost of the label you buy is a shop expense.)

How shipping is charged

At booking, TimberCloud charges your shop's card on file with a single Stripe charge for the shipment. That charge covers the carrier rate plus TimberCloud's platform markup, and it's recorded as a "shipping" platform charge on your account.

• Charged at booking — for both parcel and LTL freight, the shipment is charged when you book, not at pickup or delivery.
• No charge on failure — if the carrier booking fails, the reservation is canceled automatically and no money is taken.
• Receipt — a receipt is emailed to your company's email address.

For the full picture of what your shop owes TimberCloud (shipping charges, freight, AI document processing, and other platform charges) and how to view them, see Platform Charges.

Note: A shipping platform charge is different from the platform fee on customer payments. The platform charge is the cost of a label you booked, billed to your shop's card. The platform fee (Commerce 1% / Build 0.5% / Production 0% / Enterprise 0%) is deducted from card payments your customers make through checkout. See Order Payments.

Rate adjustments

Carriers may adjust the rate after delivery if the actual shipment differs from what was booked — for example:

• Incorrect dimensions or weight
• Address corrections
• Residential delivery surcharges
• Accessorial services used

Keeping package dimensions and weights accurate at booking helps avoid these adjustments.

Accessing past labels

Retrieve labels for previously booked shipments:

1. Open the order.
2. Go to the Documents / shipment section.
3. Open the Shipping Label.
4. Download or print it.

Tip: Carrier labels can expire if you don't ship promptly (typically 14–30 days for parcel; LTL BOLs follow carrier policy). If a label expires before you ship, re-book the shipment.

Integration with your workflow

Order status updates

Booking advances the order so your team and your customer can see it's on its way. Once all of an order's tracking numbers report delivered, TimberCloud automatically moves the order to Delivered — see Package Tracking.

Customer notifications

When booking completes (and shipping notifications are enabled):

• The customer receives a shipping confirmation.
• The tracking number is included.
• A link to the tracking page is provided.

Inventory updates

For inventory-tracked items, booking can adjust stock levels and record shipped quantities. See Inventory.

Best practices

1. Verify the address before booking.
2. Confirm the packages — review the auto-calculated packages and options.
3. Check rate freshness — refresh any rate older than 24 hours.
4. Print labels promptly to avoid expiration.
5. Keep a valid card on file so the shipping charge clears.
6. Schedule pickups for LTL freight.

Troubleshooting

Booking fails

• Confirm a valid card on file is set up for your shop.
• Confirm your plan includes Carrier Services (Build+ or the Commerce Carrier & Freight add-on).
• Refresh the rate if it's older than 24 hours, then try again.
• Verify the shipping address passed validation.
• Review the package dimensions and weight.

Remember: if booking fails, you are not charged — the reservation is canceled automatically.

Labels won't print

• Check the printer connection.
• Make sure the label format matches your printer (e.g. 4×6 for thermal).
• Download the PDF and print it manually as a fallback.

Tracking not showing yet

• Allow a little time for the carrier to scan the package; tracking syncs automatically about every 15 minutes once it's active.
• Confirm the tracking number on the order is correct.
• See Package Tracking for how updates flow.

Payment booked but charge issue

In rare cases a shipment books but the charge can't complete (for example, a card requires extra authentication). The order will flag this for review. Make sure the card on file is valid and current, then contact support if a shipment shows a booking/charge mismatch.

Related pages

• Package Tracking — track shipments and delivery
• Rate Shopping — compare live carrier rates
• Packaging — how packages and pallets are calculated
• Shipping Configuration — markup, locations, and defaults
• Platform Charges — what your shop owes TimberCloud
• Order Payments — customer payments and platform fees
• Subscriptions & Plans — Carrier Services availability by plan