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Zen Cart

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ShipStation Content Team

Updated

Zen Cart is a free, self-hosted, shopping cart platform, fully customizable and ideal for both new businesses or large corporations. ShipStation supports gift messages, notes from buyers, and internal notes. We also pull in product details like weight, images, and options from orders, as well as post carrier info, tracking number, and shipment status back to Zen Cart.

Zen Cart Requirements

Connection Requirements:

  • An active Zen Cart store running version 1.3 or greater.

  • The ShipStation plug-in file uploaded to your Zen Cart root folder.

  • Your Zen Cart admin username and password.

  • The URL to the ShipStation PHP file.

Scope of Support

Installing the plug-in file to your Zen Cart root folder is beyond the scope of ShipStation support. We recommend you contact your store developer or Zen Cart Support if you need assistance with the plug-in installation process, as the process can differ based on the unique Apache server configuration.

Order Import Requirements:

  • Include a Ship To address.

Connect a Zen Cart Store to ShipStation

To connect your Zen Cart store to ShipStation:

  1. Download this file and upload the shipstation_zc.php file to your Zen Cart's root folder.

  2. Log in to your Zen Cart admin site.

  3. Recommended. Go to Tools or Admin Access Management (depending on Zen Cart version) and create a new admin user specifically for the ShipStation integration.

  4. Open a new tab or browser window and log in to your ShipStation account.

  5. Go to Account Settings.

    sssettings.png

  6. Select Selling Channels from the sidebar, then choose Store Setup.

    Settings page selections, with outline marking the Selling Channels Store Setup option.

  7. Click Connect a Store or Marketplace.

    Store Setup Settings, box highlights Connect a Store or Marketplace button.

  8. Select Zen Cart.

    Zen cart logo. Button that reads, Connect

  9. Enter your Zen Cart Admin Username, Admin Password, and URL to ShipStation PHP File in the corresponding fields, and map any custom statuses if needed.

    Note

    The Shipped Status used must match the status used for shipped orders on Zen Cart.

  10. Click Test Connection, then Connect if the test is successful.

After you've completed the connection steps, the store's Settings page will open. You can adjust your store-specific settings like branding and customer notifications, if you wish. Or click Save to close.

Available Features for Zen Cart

The ShipStation integration with Zen Cart supports the following standard features:

Key: Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes. = Supported; Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No. = Not Supported; Grey dash icon. Not applicable. = Does Not Apply

Feature

Supported?

Custom Statuses

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Customer Emails

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Customer Phone Numbers

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Requested Service*

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Payment Method

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Discounts

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Identifies Gift Orders

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Internal Notes

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Notes from Buyer

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Order Weight

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Item Weight

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Item Images

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Item Options

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Item Warehouse Location

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Order Status Mapping

ShipStation Status

Zen Cart Status

Awaiting Payment

Pending

Awaiting Shipment

Processing

Shipped

Shipped

Cancelled

Not Mapped

On Hold

Not Mapped

Data Sent with Shipment Notification

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

Field

Sent to Marketplace?

Status Update

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Tracking Number

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Carrier

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Service

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Carrier Fee

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Note to Buyer

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Item Information

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.
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 Zen Cart Features

The ShipStation integration to Zen Cart allows for the following additional features:

Feature

Description

Configurable Time Zone

By default, ShipStation assumes that the Zen Cart store's server uses UTC as the timezone. If your Zen Cart account uses a different server timezone, you can define it in the store's settings.

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

Zen Cart Integration Notes

  • ShipStation will use the Model field for product SKU on Zen Cart orders.

Zen Cart Troubleshooting Tips

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

Issue

How to troubleshoot or resolve

Order Import Failure: Store refreshes, no orders import, and no error messages appear.

What it means: If you've updated to Zen Cart version 1.5.7 and encounter order import failures without any apparent error, this could be due to Zen Cart not defining the Date-Time format properly.

If you see DATE_TIME_FORMAT in the Zen Cart Order Date field, this is likely the issue.

What to do: Download Latest (Version 1.8), or see this Zen Cart forum page for instructions on a manual fix.

Error : No order status in database

When sending shipment updates to Zen Cart

What it means: This error will occur if the Shipped Status mapped in ShipStation does not match the status that Zen Cart uses for shipped orders.

What to do: Reconfigure your store's connection to ShipStation, and set the Shipped Status to match the status used for shipped orders in Zen Cart.

The Order Date in ShipStation is different than the Order Date in Zen Cart

What it means: This usually occurs because the Zen Cart server is using a different timezone than the timezone set in the store's settings in ShipStation, which causes the Order Date to be thrown off when converting the timestamp based on time zone.

What to do: Update the store's settings so the store is using the same timezone as the server your Zen Cart store is hosted on.

Certain orders placed late in the day do not import into ShipStation

What it means: Similar to the issue above, this typically occurs because the Zen Cart server is using a different timezone than the timezone set in the store's settings in ShipStation, which causes our import process to inadvertently skip ahead.

What to do: Update the store's settings so the store is using the same timezone as the server your Zen Cart store is hosted on.

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

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