A UPS account record lets Rhythm use your organization’s UPS shipper account after you approve access with UPS. It saves the UPS account number, the shipper name that appears on shipments, and whether the account runs in test or production mode.
Prerequisites
- Your Rhythm account must be entitled to the UPS integration. If the list says the integration has not been enabled, contact your Customer Success Manager. Enabling UPS can involve an added purchase, so be ready to discuss what you need.
- You need an active UPS shipping account that you can sign in to and approve for Rhythm.
Where to Find It
Go to Integrations › UPS. If your Rhythm account is entitled to UPS, you see the UPS accounts already connected. If it is not entitled, the page shows a message instead of the list, and you cannot view or create UPS accounts until the integration is enabled.
Connecting an Account
- Go to Integrations › UPS and select Connect UPS Account.
- Rhythm sends your browser to UPS. Sign in with your UPS credentials, then approve Rhythm’s access to your account.
- UPS returns you to Rhythm, where the form shows a Name and ID for the connection, plus Shipper Name, UPS Account #, and Mode.
- Rhythm suggests a Shipper Name from your organization’s name and sets Mode to Test/Debug by default. Change either value if needed.
- Enter your UPS account number.
- Save.
Result
The account appears in the UPS list with the connection approved, and Rhythm saves the account number, shipper name, and mode.
You do not enter your UPS password in Rhythm. You sign in on UPS’s site and approve Rhythm there, so Rhythm never sees your UPS credentials. Rhythm receives only the approval that UPS returns.
Warning
If you decline the approval at UPS or leave without approving, Rhythm sends your browser back to UPS to try again instead of showing an error. If you no longer want to connect a UPS account, close the browser tab or navigate away instead of waiting for a different result.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipper Name | Text, up to 35 characters | Your organization’s name, truncated | The name that appears on shipments from this account |
| UPS Account # | Your UPS account number | Empty; required | Identifies the UPS account used for shipments and charges |
| Mode | Test/Debug, Production | Test/Debug | Test/Debug does not create or charge real shipments; Production reflects them on your UPS account |
| Status | Active, Inactive | Active | Shows whether the connection is in use |
Warning
Test/Debug mode does not create an actual, usable shipping label. A shipment created in Test/Debug can return a sample or empty label, sometimes with placeholder text such as "Sample" or without the real recipient name. If you use a test connection to confirm that labels generate, check the real label output yourself after you switch to Production, and regenerate any labels for shipments created while the account was still in Test/Debug.
Warning
UPS is believed to enforce the 35-character limit on Shipper Name, rather than Rhythm making it configurable. A longer organization name is truncated automatically. You can edit this field because a fixed shipper name previously caused label problems for some organizations, so change it if the default value does not work well on your labels.
Dependencies and Precedence
Your Rhythm account can connect more than one UPS account. When you set up shipping zones in Orders and Inventory, each zone controls whether UPS is offered and which connected UPS account it uses. This means different zones can use different UPS accounts, and some zones can skip UPS entirely.
The current UPS integration uses UPS's Small Parcel API, which caps a shipment at 150 pounds. An order heavier than that cannot be fulfilled through the standard UPS flow. Split it into smaller shipments or orders, or handle it outside the integration until a heavier option is available. Rhythm shows an error instead of creating a shipment over that limit.
If you regularly ship items in the 151-500 pound range to a business address in the lower 48 states and want to keep the order on one invoice, UPS Ground with Freight Pricing can reuse your existing UPS account and service. It fulfills the shipment as multiple parcels, as long as your account is enabled for that service. Heavier, palletized freight, shipments that need a bill of lading, orders of 2,000 pounds or more that are handled manually, and destinations outside the contiguous states need a true freight carrier path, such as TForce. That path is separate from this UPS integration. Broader UPS Freight support is not part of the current UPS integration; it is tracked as a separate feature request rather than something you can turn on today.
When UPS is enabled for a product with shipping, you cannot bypass it to manually enter a shipping charge for that order. To add a manual shipping charge instead, turn off the UPS integration for that product's zone.
Changing or Reauthorizing a Connection
Open an existing UPS account from the list to change its shipper name, account number, or mode. Mode changes take effect without another approval at UPS.
If the connection stops working, use Reauthorize on the account’s edit screen to approve access at UPS again without deleting the connection or losing its saved settings. Reauthorizing sends your browser back to UPS, and Rhythm discards anything you typed on the form but had not saved. Reauthorizing is also worth trying if shipping labels come out wrong, not only when the connection stops approving shipments altogether.
Removing an Account
Open the UPS list and use the row’s delete action to remove an account you no longer use. Rhythm asks you to confirm before deleting, and you cannot undo the removal. Deleting the record in Rhythm does not revoke Rhythm’s access at UPS. To fully disconnect, also remove Rhythm’s access from your UPS account settings.
Permissions
You need a signed-in Console session for your Rhythm account to reach and save a UPS account. Rhythm does not document a more specific permission beyond account membership.
Validation and Errors
Some errors that appear in Rhythm come from your account’s configuration or approval status at UPS, rather than from anything inside Rhythm. You may need to verify the issue directly with UPS even when the error appears in Rhythm.
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A message that the UPS integration has not been enabled for your account | Your Rhythm account is not entitled to the UPS integration | Contact your Customer Success Manager to enable it |
| The save fails after you return from UPS | The account number is missing, the shipper name is longer than 35 characters, or the UPS approval could not be exchanged | Shorten the shipper name, confirm the account number, or start the connection again |
| The connection stops approving shipments | The UPS approval may have lapsed | Reauthorize the connection, as described above |
| A UPS shipping option doesn't appear at checkout for an otherwise valid address, such as one in Canada, even though the zone and UPS are both enabled | This has been observed for some destinations even when the zone and carrier are set up correctly | Compare it with an address that works, test in another Rhythm account if you can, and enable a non-carrier method like flat rate to see whether the gap is specific to UPS or to the zone; contact Support with what you find |
| Rate retrieval fails right after you reauthorize, with a message about a missing or invalid ship-from company name | Rate retrieval needs a valid Shipper Name on the account | Confirm Shipper Name is set and valid, then try again |