Overview
Batch shipping allows you to hold all orders until a specified deadline when they will get transferred to the lab in a single batch. This allows you to offer free shipping as a financial incentive to the customer without taking a hit on the shipping fee for every order. In this article, we'll review how to add batch shipping to your photo jobs.
Enabling Batch Shipping
- Under your Job Settings → Important Events, tick the Batch Shipping box and set a date for the batch to be closed to new orders:
Note: If you do not see this option, you will need to enable Batch Shipping settings on your account. You can do this on the Shipping Settings page (Postage Settings in the UK) under the Settings tab (Quick Link: North American Customers / UK Customers):
We recommend continuing to offer direct shipping as well, as many customers are willing to pay for it. - Under Processing after deadline:
- Select Manual Processing if you would like to review your batch orders before sending them to the lab. To send your orders to the lab, click into your Orders page → Batch Shipping tab → Open → Send batch to lab.
With this processing mode, you will have to personally transfer the batch to the lab from your GotPhoto account on your provided batch shipping deadline. There are a few reasons photographers use this mode:- It allows for the opportunity to revise crops and/or to upload retouched photos prior to being transferred to the lab.
- It allows for the opportunity for you to provide a customized delivery option (e.g. if you want the batch to be sent to the school instead of your studio).
- Lastly, it provides photographers with the flexibility to transfer and submit batches at will depending on volume of orders (i.e. 1 batch a day, 1 batch every 2 days, 2 batches every week, etc)
- Select "Automatic Processing" if you would like your orders to go straight to the lab once the deadline is reached and the batch is closed.
- Select Manual Processing if you would like to review your batch orders before sending them to the lab. To send your orders to the lab, click into your Orders page → Batch Shipping tab → Open → Send batch to lab.
Pro Tip: Free Shipping Coupons
When offering batch shipping, use a coupon! This will advertise the fact that customers won't have to pay for shipping on your QR cards and within your communication profiles, leading to a sense of urgency and a great sales push. Under the coupon settings on the main settings page of your photo job, tick the Offer free shipping to your customers box:
Make sure to match the coupon deadline with your batch shipping deadline.
To learn more about job-specific coupons, click here.
Batch Shipping Address
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:
In the popup window, uncheck the "Use my address" box, fill in the new address information, and then click the blue "Acknowledge & Save" button.
Using Both Batch Shipping and Direct Shipping
In Proofing jobs, you can enable batch shipping and direct shipping simultaneously. 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.
Extended Batch Shipping Options
⚠ Please note: These options are only available for Proofing jobs (and not 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.
- 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 makes it super easy to see who the order needs to be delivered to. - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any fees associated with batch shipping?
Yes.
 | 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?
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.
The Takeaway
Supercharge your order fulfillment strategy with Batch Shipping! We've reviewed the simple steps of enabling batch shipping in your photo jobs, allowing you to consolidate orders for efficient lab processing.