Throughout This Page
You can jump to the specified sections by clicking on these titles.
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Installation
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Address Manager
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User Setup
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Printer Configuration
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Packing Templates
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Logo Templates
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Email Templates
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Print Templates
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Consumables
Installation
To begin, please navigate to https://orders.despatchcloud.app/. It will direct you to the Orders login page displayed below. Once you arrive at the login page, please locate and click the "Create an Account" button.
After you have arrived on the setup page, please provide the following details to register for an account: your name, company name, phone number, and email address. Once you have entered this information, please click the "Get Started" button to proceed.
If you are a reseller, entering your client's company name in the "Company Name" field is essential. This information is necessary to correctly associate the account with the correct client and ensure accurate billing and invoicing.
After completing the registration process, you will be directed to verify your email address, which is a crucial step to confirm that the email address you provided is accurate and belongs to you.
To complete the email validation process, please log in to the email account you provided during registration and locate the activation email. Within the email, there will be a link to activate your account. Please click on this activation link to complete the verification process. If you cannot locate the activation email in your inbox, please check your spam folder, as it may have been filtered there by mistake.
Once you have clicked the "Activate Account" button, you will be redirected to the installation page. Your Orders account will then be installed and configured, and you will be prompted to set a password for your account. It is important to remember to take note of your password to avoid future issues with account access.
After successfully setting your password, you will be automatically logged in to your account, and the dashboard screen will appear to welcome you. The dashboard screen will display an overview of your account's main features and functionalities, such as order management, shipping, and inventory, as shown below.
Address Manager
Upon logging in, the first task you need to complete is to add a Company Address. Creating a company address is crucial as the system automatically populates this information during order despatching. You must register at least one default company address. However, you can add multiple company addresses and select between them while despatching orders.
It can be done by navigating to the "Settings" menu from the top right corner of the screen and then selecting "Address Manager" under the "Advanced" section. From there, you can add and edit your company's addresses.
To create a new address, please click the "Create Address" tab.
After filling in your address information, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the "Create Address" button to save it.
Once you have saved the address, you will be taken back to the "Addresses" tab. The action buttons located to the right of each entry include "Set as Default Company," "Edit," and "Delete." To create new addresses, click on the button in the top right corner as previously shown.
User Setup
Amending Users
To access the "Users" section, please click on "Settings" from the top-right navigation menu, and once you're there, select the "Users" button.
You will see your user listed in the "Users" section, as shown below. To edit your user information, click on the "Manage" icon to your user's right. It is the blue icon on the left, while the right red button lets you delete the user.
The user management screen will then appear, allowing you to edit your account name, staff level (depending on your user level), and password. Once you have entered the new information, please click the "Save User" button at the bottom of the page to save the changes.
Depending on your browser, you may need to log out and back in for the changes to take effect.
Creating New Users
On the previous page, we discussed how to edit existing user details, and now we will go through the process of creating new users. To create a new user, click on the "Invite User" button on the top right-hand corner of the screen, which will take you to a page where you can configure the new user.
In the "Name" field, enter the account name that will be displayed on the top left corner of your Orders screen. You can choose any name you like.
Enter the email address that will be used to log in to the account in the "Email Address" field.
In the "Level" field, select the access level for the user. There are five different access levels available, each with varying levels of permissions:
- Administrator: Has access to everything.
- Advanced: Has access to everything except the "User Setup" settings.
- Standard: Has access to everything except the "Settings" page.
- Limited: Only has access to the "Send a Parcel" and "All Orders" page.
- Private: Only has access to the "Send a Parcel" page.
After you have filled in the necessary fields, click the "Invite User" button to send the invitation to the new user. You will receive a success message on the top right side of the screen.
The new user will receive an email with instructions on how to set up a password for their account and start using the platform immediately.
Printer Configuration
We recommend going through the configuration, as it is a crucial step to enhance the user experience.
One feature of Orders is the ability to auto-print shipping labels. With this feature, users don't have to manually select a printer and confirm each print job for every label they create. Once a label is ready, it will automatically print, saving users much time, especially when printing multiple labels.
To use this feature, you must install a small print utility on your computer that is connected to your printer. This utility, QZ Tray, can be downloaded for free at https://qz.io/download/. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. After downloading the installer, please install QZ Tray and ensure it is set to start automatically when your computer starts.
We have provided detailed guides for installing and setting up QZ Tray for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
If you already have QZ Tray installed on your computer, you can easily link it to Orders. Go to the "Settings" page, then select "Printer". Ensure "QZ Tray Active" is set to "Yes". If not, change the setting to "Yes" and click the "Save Changes" button. Then, in the "Printer Name" row, a dropdown menu will select your label printer connected to QZ Tray. Once you have chosen the printer, click the "Save Changes" button. When you create a label, it will automatically print without manual confirmation.
Packing Templates
In the Orders system, you can customize packing templates to speed up shipping. Creating and using packing templates is essential because it saves you from having to enter package information for each order. For example, if you have a product that you frequently ship, you can create a packing template with its dimensions and weight and then select it for each order that requires it.
You can use the red trash bin icon on the most right side to delete the unwanted templates.
The screenshot shows the "Boxes" section from the "Send a Parcel" page. The lower the numerical value entered into the "Sort Order" field in the "Packing Templates" page, the higher the corresponding entry will be listed in the drop-down list on this page.
The other fields are used to enter the dimensions and weight of the package. On the right side, you can see options. Turning on the "Total Order Weight" option for an entry will override the weight of the order to the value added on the template. For example, if you select the template with the "Total Order Weight" option at the packing terminal, it will change the weight of the whole order to the weight set on the template.
Click "Create Template" in the top right corner to create a new packing template. Fill in the required fields according to your package specifications, and then click "Create Packaging" to save the template.
Logo Templates
Uploading a logo is a simple step that can add a professional touch to your emails and printed documents. Once you have uploaded the logo, you can easily insert it into your email templates or packing slips using the appropriate placeholders.
To upload your company's logo in Orders, navigate to "Settings > Templates > Logo Templates". This page allows you to upload and manage your company's logo for use in email and printing templates.
To upload a logo, click the "Upload Logo Image" button and select the image file from your computer. Please note that the supported file formats are JPG and PNG.
After selecting the image file, the logo will be uploaded to your Orders account and be visible on the "Logo Templates" page. You can click on the file to preview the contents of the image or use the red trash can icon to remove it if necessary.
Email Templates
Orders allow sending an email confirmation of order despatch for every order processed. This email includes information such as the courier, tracking number, and a direct link to track the shipment, as long as the courier allows it. If not, a direct URL to the courier's shipment tracking page will be supplied instead.
*If the courier allows direct URLs to shipment tracking pages, this will be used (e.g., /track?code=ABC123). If the courier doesn’t allow that, a direct URL to the courier's shipment tracking page will be supplied (e.g., /track).
Using email templates, you can customise the look and feel of the email template and even specify a different email template for each sales channel. In addition, this benefits customers who operate multiple websites but trade as other names, brands, or companies.
You can customise the email template used to send this confirmation by using email templates. Within the "Templates" section of the Orders settings, you can see a list of all templates, including the default one. You can choose to "Edit", "Clone", or "Delete" the default template, and you can create additional templates using the "Create Template" tab.
If you are not confident in your HTML and CSS abilities, it is recommended that you duplicate the default template and edit it using the "Editor". Within the editor, you will see various tags, such as {NAME} and {COMPANY_NAME}, which are variables populated with the appropriate values in the email. For example, {COMPANY_NAME} will show as "Bob's Company" if that is your company's name.
The {TRACKING_CONTENT} tag will be populated with the content you specify in the "Tracking Content:" section at the bottom of the email template editor. This section contains information specific to the shipment, such as the tracking URL and tracking code.
One of the benefits of using email templates is that you can specify a different template for each sales channel, which is helpful if you operate multiple websites under other names, brands, or companies. Additionally, you can customise the look and feel of the email template to match your brand's aesthetic. If you prefer not to work with HTML and CSS directly, you can use the template builder with a graphical interface to create templates.
The template builder can only be utilized for creating new templates and cannot edit existing ones.
Print Templates
The "Print Templates" feature in Orders allow you to upload custom invoice layouts that can be used while printing receipts and shipping labels. To upload new templates, navigate to "Settings > Templates > Print Templates." Here, you will see any templates currently stored on your Orders account.
If you are familiar with the smarty template engine, you can use the code editor to create more complex templates. Smarty is a template engine used to generate dynamic content, allowing you to create complex logic and apply formatting to your templates. Please refer to the Smarty documentation page to learn more about Smarty's syntax and functions. After creating your custom template, you can use it while printing receipts and shipping labels.
You can edit .tpl files just like .html files using any HTML editor, such as Notepad++, TextWrangler, or Dreamweaver.
To maintain file integrity, only the "default" portion of the file name should be changed. For example, the default invoice file is named a4.default.invoice.tpl. When renaming, you can only change "default," resulting in a name like a4.TestRename.invoice.tpl. Renaming it to something like a4.default.custominvoice.tpl will not work.
Consumables
Despatch Cloud provides 6x4 labels for its customers at a great price point due to the collective buying power of the company. Additionally, these labels are delivered for free within the UK.
To simplify the process of entering addresses, Despatch Cloud has a postcode lookup feature that allows you to find an address quickly by entering the postcode. Each month, customers are provided with 20 free postcode search credits. If you require more credits, additional credits can be purchased on demand.
To access the consumables page where you can order 6x4 labels and purchase additional postcode search credits, click on the basket icon at your screen's top right corner.
