Facebook

Use our integration to create a Facebook Page Shop for your Facebook Business page, and then import orders into ShipStation to create labels for them.

This integration has several unique features and requires a unique setup. Please review this entire article to understand how to connect ShipStation to Facebook and to use the available options effectively.

This integration is in a pilot phase, so details are subject to change and a few limitations exist:

  • Available only to U.S. accounts.

  • The Mark as Shipped action does not currently post back to Facebook.

  • ShipStation does not yet receive the Requested Service selected by your customers during checkout.

Facebook Requirements

Requirements to connect to ShipStation:

  • An active Business Page in Facebook with no shop attached. Setting up the shop is part of the connection process. Any previous shop(s) on the business page MUST be deleted before you can complete the connection process in ShipStation.

  • Facebook admin email address.

  • TaxID number and Business address.

  • Business payment information (how you wish Facebook to transmit your shop revenue to you).

  • You must configure your Facebook shipping options, return policy, and customer service contact(s) during the connection process.

  • You must agree to Facebook's Terms & Conditions during the connection process.

  • Your Facebook product catalog CSV file. Each business page can have one product catalog.

Please note that Facebook must also approve the shop before you can start selling.

To import a Facebook order into ShipStation, the order must...

  • Include a Ship To address.

  • Contain products uploaded to Facebook through ShipStation's Facebook product upload process.

  • Orders can be imported 30 minutes after they have been placed.

Connect a Facebook store to ShipStation

Facebook's connection process has three stages:

  1. Connect the store to ShipStation. This process also creates the shop instance on your Facebook Business page.

  2. Configure your payment information. This is so Facebook can transfer funds to your account after customers make purchases from your shop.

  3. Upload your Product Catalog.

Important

Facebook allows only one shop per business page. If you already have configured a shop on your Facebook Business Page, you must delete it before you can complete the connection process successfully with ShipStation.

Connect the store to ShipStation

  1. Click the link at the bottom of the email you received.

    This will launch the Facebook Connection screen in your ShipStation account. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to do so.

  2. Click Authenticate.

    Store Setup: Facebook Store connection popup. Red box highlights Authenticate button.

    You will be redirected to Facebook where you must give ShipStation permission to access your account. Once done, you'll be redirected back to ShipStation.

  3. Click Next. Then, select your business page from the Choose A Facebook Page drop-down menu.

  4. Enter the requested business information and Tax Registration number. 

    You can change this information later in your Facebook settings.

  5. Click Next, then enter at least one Shipping option. 

    You can change this information later in your Facebook settings.

  6. Click Next, then enter your return policy and support contacts. 

    You can change this information later in your Facebook settings.

  7. Click Next, then enter a name for the page's product catalog.

    Each business page can have one product catalog. If you have multiple business pages and catalogs, be sure to give each catalog a unique name.

  8. Click Next. Then click Submit.

    You'll then be prompted to accept Facebook's Terms & Conditions. Do not back out of this page, or close it without accepting the terms. This will cause the shop to not be completed successfully on the Facebook side.

After you've completed the above steps, your store will be connected to ShipStation and it will be submitted for approval by Facebook. At this point, you'll be taken to the store's Settings page to adjust the store-specific settings like branding, notification preferences, and product handling.

For Facebook, you must also configure your Payment Information and upload your Product Catalog in ShipStation's Store Setup tab. Do these steps right away to shorten the time it takes for Facebook to approve your shop.

Configure Facebook Payment Information

Once you have completed the store connection process, configure your payment information to expedite your store's approval by Facebook.

  1. In ShipStation's Store Settings for your Facebook store, scroll down to the Configure Payments via Facebook section.

    Store Setup: Facebook Store Settings tab. Red box highlights Visit Payment Portal button.
  2. Click Visit payment portal.

  3. Enter your payment information so Facebook can transfer funds into your account after customers make purchases.

Upload Facebook Product Catalog

Facebook requires you to manage your product listings directly through ShipStation.  You'll do this via the Store Settings tab in ShipStation and use a specially formatted CSV.

After you connect your Facebook store, ShipStation will automatically direct you to the Store Settings page for your new Facebook store. We recommend you upload your product listings via CSV file.

  1. Click Download a sample CSV file.

    The sample file will download to your browser's default download location.

    Store Setup: Facebook Store Settings tab. Red box highlights Download a Sample CSV File action.
  2. Open the file in either Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

    The sample file contains sample product data in row 2 and indicates what data is required and optional in row 4.

  3. Delete the sample data and enter your product data into the correct columns.

    Do NOT modify or delete any of the information in row 1.

  4. Save your CSV once complete. (If you used Google Sheets, export it as a CSV file.)

  5. Click Import in the ShipStation Store Settings screen.

  6. Click Select File and open your saved Facebook product CSV.

  7. Click Start Upload.

This process uploads your product listings for Facebook to review before appearing on your Facebook shop. It may take up to an hour for your products to appear (a longer delay may indicate products have been flagged by Facebook for further review).

Making Changes to Listed Products

Anytime you change your products, including stock level updates, you must upload your product catalog via the above CSV process. Each upload will update existing Facebook products, or create new products if they didn't already exist in Facebook. Existing Facebook products that are not included in the CSV file will not be updated.

  • Changes made to products in Facebook (including adding new products) can cause orders which contain those products not to import into ShipStation. All product updates to your Facebook product catalog must be done using the CSV product import process described above.

  • You cannot manage Facebook products in the ShipStation Products tab. You must use the upload option in the Store Settings.

  • If a product is no longer available, set a stock level of 0 via CSV import to remove it from the Facebook marketplace. Alternatively, you can remove it from listing by 'Deactivating Delivery' within Facebook.

Once the above steps are done and Facebook has approved your shop, you can start importing orders to ShipStation.

Important

Once ShipStation has acknowledged and imported the Facebook orders, Facebook will change the status of the orders on Facebook from Pending Acknowledgment to Waiting to be Shipped.

Available Features for Facebook

ShipStation's integration with Facebook supports the following standard features:

Order Status Mapping

Status

Facebook Status

Awaiting Payment

n/a

Awaiting Shipment

Waiting to be shipped

Shipped

Shipped

Cancelled

n/a

On Hold

n/a

Data Sent with Shipment Notification

This table indicates which data ShipStation sends to Facebook with the marketplace shipment notification:

Field

Supported?

Status Update

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Tracking Number

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Carrier

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Service

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Carrier Fee

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Note to Buyer

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Item Information

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Status UpdateTracking NumberCarrierServiceCarrier Fee

The shipment update ShipStation sends to the selling channel will include any Notes to Buyer set on the order in ShipStation.

Item Information

Additional Facebook Features

ShipStation's integration with Facebook allows for the following additional features:

  • ShipStation automatically submits the uploaded product catalog for Facebook Marketplace's listing approval. This is separate from your products appearing in your shop. Whether or not your products are approved for the marketplace is at the discretion of Facebook.

If a store allows custom statuses, this means you define that statuses your orders use in your selling channel. In most cases, if you have custom statuses you'll need to define which ShipStation statuses each custom order status corresponds to.

ShipStation will import the customer's email address with the order data and can send shipment confirmation and delivery emails to that email address (configured in your Store settings).

ShipStation will import the customer phone number with the order data.

ShipStation will import the shipping method chosen by the customer during their store checkout.

ShipStation will import the payment method used to pay for the order.

ShipStation will import discount and coupon information for the order.

ShipStation can determine if an order is a gift from the order data sent by the store.

ShipStation will import internal notes or order activity from the store into the ShipStation Internal Notes field.

ShipStation will import notes provided by the customer when they made their purchase.

ShipStation will import the total order weight from the store.

ShipStation will import the weight for each line item in the order.

ShipStation will import an image URL for each line item in the order. These images will appear as thumbnails in your Order Details and can be included in email notifications and packing slips.

ShipStation will import item options (such as color or size) for each line item in the order. This data will appear in your Order Details and can be included in customer emails and packing slips.

ShipStation will import a product stock location for each line item in the order.

Status UpdateTracking NumberCarrierServiceCarrier Fee

The shipment update ShipStation sends to the selling channel will include any Notes to Buyer set on the order in ShipStation.

Item Information

Facebook Integration Notes

Keep this in mind about ShipStation's integration with Facebook:

  • Orders will not be eligible to import into ShipStation until 30 minutes after they are placed. Facebook places these orders in a Pending Acknowledgment status.

  • Your Facebook shop options, including your product catalog, are subject to Facebook's policies, terms, and conditions.

  • ShipStation does not store the options set during the store connection process, nor does it store any of your payment information. ShipStation only sends that information directly to Facebook during the connection and product upload process.

  • The Mark as Shipped option does not currently send a notification to Facebook. If you use this option, you must manually mark these orders as Shipped in Facebook, as well.

  • ShipStation creates product records in its Products tab based on the items included in orders when they import from Facebook. These product records can be used to help in automating your shipping process. The product records in ShipStation are not currently linked to Facebook and cannot be used to manage your products on Facebook.

Facebook Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues experienced by users, potential causes, and available troubleshooting tips.

Issue

Troubleshooting Steps or Resolution

Error: Merchant Settings already exist...

This means your Facebook Business page already has a shop associated with it. You must first delete the shop on the business page so ShipStation can make a new one.

Error: Cannot access Facebook Marketplace.

This means ShipStation does not see your Business page. Make sure it is published on Facebook before proceeding.

Product CSV import issues.

The Product CSV must be formatted in a very specific way. If the CSV and the data it contains are not formatted correctly, your Product CSV import will likely fail.

Refer to the table below for details on each field contained in the CSV.

Do Not Modify the CSV Header Fields!

The header columns in the CSV must remain as they appear in the template. Deleting, moving, or changing header columns or their text will cause the import to fail.

Product Import Fields Explained

* indicates required fields. If a field is not required that you do not wish to fill in, you can simply leave it blank.

± indicates a field that only accepts specific options to be entered. Check Supported Input for these specific options. (They are also case-sensitive.)

If a store allows custom statuses, this means you define that statuses your orders use in your selling channel. In most cases, if you have custom statuses you'll need to define which ShipStation statuses each custom order status corresponds to.

ShipStation will import the customer's email address with the order data and can send shipment confirmation and delivery emails to that email address (configured in your Store settings).

ShipStation will import the customer phone number with the order data.

ShipStation will import the shipping method chosen by the customer during their store checkout.

ShipStation will import the payment method used to pay for the order.

ShipStation will import discount and coupon information for the order.

ShipStation can determine if an order is a gift from the order data sent by the store.

ShipStation will import internal notes or order activity from the store into the ShipStation Internal Notes field.

ShipStation will import notes provided by the customer when they made their purchase.

ShipStation will import the total order weight from the store.

ShipStation will import the weight for each line item in the order.

ShipStation will import an image URL for each line item in the order. These images will appear as thumbnails in your Order Details and can be included in email notifications and packing slips.

ShipStation will import item options (such as color or size) for each line item in the order. This data will appear in your Order Details and can be included in customer emails and packing slips.

ShipStation will import a product stock location for each line item in the order.

Status UpdateTracking NumberCarrierServiceCarrier Fee

The shipment update ShipStation sends to the selling channel will include any Notes to Buyer set on the order in ShipStation.

Item Information