Shipping looks simple until the first wrong pincode, the first COD refusal or the first weight charge you did not expect. This ecommerce shipping checklist breaks the work into four stages: what to set up before your first order, what to do for every order, what to do after a parcel leaves, and what to check every week and month.
Each item is one line with a short reason. Where a topic needs more depth, we link to a fuller guide. A plain summary list sits at the end so you can print it or pin it near your packing table.
Stage A: before your first order
Do these once, then revisit them when you add products, couriers or sales channels.
Business documents and KYC
- Keep your business documents ready. Couriers and shipping platforms commonly ask for identity, address and business proof plus bank details before you can book or receive COD money. Check the exact list your provider asks for.
- Know whether you have, or need, a GSTIN. Some services ask for one. At the time of writing (October 2026), Amazon Shipping India’s sign-up page says a valid GST registration is required to onboard. Whether your business must register for GST depends on your situation, so confirm with your CA.
- Be aware of e-way bills for high-value consignments. A CBIC explainer on e-way bills says that under Rule 138 of the CGST Rules, a registered person causing movement of goods with a consignment value above ₹50,000 must furnish e-way bill details, and states can notify their own exemptions. Most small parcels are well below this, but bulk or high-value shipments may not be. Confirm how this applies to you with your CA.
Pickup address
- Fix one clear pickup address with a landmark and a reachable phone number. Pickup agents need to find you and call someone who answers.
- Set your pickup hours and a cut-off time for same-day packing. Orders that arrive after the cut-off go out with the next pickup, and your team knows the rule.
- Use the same address as your return address unless you have a reason not to. Returns and RTO parcels come back here, so someone needs to receive and inspect them.
Product master data
- Record the packed weight of every product. Weigh it in its final packaging, not the bare item. Couriers charge on what they measure.
- Record the box size (L × B × H in cm) you use for each product. Volumetric weight is calculated from these dimensions, and a large light box can cost more than a small heavy one. See volumetric weight and shipping charges.
- Put these weights into your store. Many shipping tools read product weights from your store, so a blank or wrong weight leads to wrong rates.
Example: a hypothetical product weighs 0.4 kg packed but ships in a 30 × 20 × 15 cm box. With a divisor of 5000, the volumetric weight is 30 × 20 × 15 ÷ 5000 = 1.8 kg, so you would be charged for 1.8 kg, rounded up to the courier’s slab. A smaller box could cut that.
Packaging stock
- Choose two or three standard box or mailer sizes that fit most of your products. Fewer sizes mean faster packing and fewer volumetric surprises.
- Stock filler, tape, label pouches or printable label sheets, and a scale. Running out on a busy day slows every order.
- Pick packaging that survives handling. Parcels travel through sorting hubs, and damage claims are slow. Fragile items need inner protection, not just a thicker box.
- Check whether any labelling rules apply to your product category. Some packaged goods carry required declarations. Confirm with your adviser if you are unsure.
Store policy pages
- Publish a shipping policy. Say where you ship, how long you take to dispatch, how buyers get tracking, and what happens if a delivery fails.
- Publish a returns, refund and cancellation policy. Say what can be returned, within what period, who pays return shipping, and how refunds are made.
- Show your contact details and grievance contact on the store. Buyers need a way to reach you before they raise a dispute elsewhere.
Clear policies reduce disputes and refused deliveries. Whether your pages meet India’s consumer protection rules for e-commerce is a legal question, so check with your adviser.
Checkout shipping fees
- Decide what buyers pay for shipping. Free, flat, or based on order value or weight. Your choice affects conversion and margin.
- Set it up in your store’s shipping settings. Shopify supports flat rates, free shipping and carrier-calculated rates through shipping profiles and zones. WooCommerce includes Flat Rate, Free Shipping and Local Pickup methods inside shipping zones. Step-by-step: Shopify shipping in India and WooCommerce shipping in India.
- Check your fees against real courier charges. Use the shipping rate calculator for indicative charges across zones before you fix a number.
COD decision
- Decide whether you accept cash on delivery, and on what terms. COD can lift orders but brings refusals, extra charges and slower cash. Some sellers add a COD fee or cap COD order value. Read COD vs prepaid before you decide.
- Know your COD remittance cycle. COD money reaches you some days after delivery, and that gap affects your working capital.
Courier and platform
- Choose how you will book shipments: a direct courier account or an aggregator. See aggregator vs direct courier account and how to choose a courier aggregator.
- Connect your store so orders flow in without retyping. Manual copying is where wrong phone numbers and pincodes creep in.
- Do one test shipment to a friend or colleague. You will see the label, pickup, tracking and delivery from end to end before a real buyer does.
Stage B: every order
This is your daily routine. Do it in the same order every time.
- Check the address and pincode. Look for missing house numbers, a pincode that does not match the city, and an incomplete phone number. Use the pincode serviceability checker for unfamiliar pincodes. A bad address is a common cause of failed delivery.
- Confirm COD orders before packing. A short call or message to confirm the order and address catches fake or impulse orders before you pay to ship them.
- Pick and pack. Match the item to the order, use the standard box for that product, add filler, and seal it so tampering would show.
- Weigh and measure the packed parcel. Record the final weight and dimensions in your system if they differ from the product defaults. This is the weight you will defend if the courier disagrees.
- Take photo evidence. Photograph the packed parcel on the scale with the reading visible, and the box against a measuring tape. Couriers usually give a short window to contest weight charges, so have photos ready. See courier weight disputes.
- Book the shipment and print the label. Compare serviceable couriers for that pincode, book, and print the label. Stick it flat on the largest face, away from seams.
- Generate the manifest. List all parcels going out in that pickup. Get the pickup agent to acknowledge it so you have a record of handover.
- Hand over at pickup. Count the parcels against the manifest. Anything not picked up needs rebooking or a follow-up the same day.
Stage C: after dispatch
Tracking
- Send the buyer a tracking link as soon as the parcel is booked. Buyers who can see progress are less likely to call, cancel or refuse. Your store can send this automatically if the tracking number is written back to the order. Buyers can also use the tracking page.
NDR actions, daily
- Review failed delivery attempts (NDRs) every working day. Each failed attempt usually gets only limited reattempts before the parcel goes back.
- Contact the buyer, fix the address or phone, and ask for a reattempt. Same-day action gives the parcel the best chance.
- Record the reason for each NDR. Patterns by pincode, courier or COD point to fixes in Stage A or B. More in NDR and RTO in ecommerce.
RTO handling
- Track parcels marked for return to origin until they arrive. You have already paid the forward charge and usually pay for the return too, so you want the goods back.
- Inspect returned parcels on receipt and restock or write off. Note damage or missing items and raise it with the courier promptly.
- Block or flag repeat refusals. If a buyer refuses COD more than once, consider prepaid-only for them.
Returns
- Handle buyer returns as your returns policy says. Book a reverse pickup or ask the buyer to send the item back, then inspect before refunding.
- Keep a log of returns and reasons. Size issues, damage and “not as described” each need a different fix.
Stage D: weekly and monthly
Reconciliation
- COD remittance. Match every delivered COD order to money received in your bank. Chase anything missing past your remittance cycle.
- Courier invoices. Match each invoice line to a shipment you booked, at the rate you expected, with the right zone and charges.
- Weight charges. Compare charged weight with your recorded weight. Raise disputes within the window, with your photos.
- Wallet or account balance. Make sure your prepaid balance covers the next week’s bookings so shipments are not held.
Cost per delivered order
- Work out what each delivered order really costs you. Add forward shipping, COD charges, RTO costs, packaging and weight adjustments, then divide by delivered orders, not booked ones.
Example: in a hypothetical month you pay ₹20,000 in total shipping-related costs and 400 orders are delivered. Your cost per delivered order is ₹50. If RTOs fall, that figure drops even if your rate card stays the same.
Ideas to bring it down: how to reduce shipping costs.
Courier review
- Review each courier’s performance by region monthly. Look at delivery success, NDR rate, RTO rate, pickup reliability and weight disputes, using your own records.
- Adjust your courier choice or priority where results differ. One courier may suit metros and another may suit your rural pincodes.
- Revisit Stage A. New products need weights and box sizes. Policy pages and checkout fees may need updates as costs change.
Printable summary
Before your first order
- Business and KYC documents ready; GSTIN position confirmed with your CA
- E-way bill awareness for high-value consignments
- Pickup address, contact, hours and daily cut-off fixed
- Packed weight and box size recorded for every product, and entered in your store
- Two or three standard box sizes, filler, tape, labels and a scale in stock
- Shipping policy, returns policy and contact details published
- Checkout shipping fees set and checked against real charges
- COD decision made and remittance cycle understood
- Courier account or aggregator chosen, store connected, test shipment done
Every order
- Address, phone and pincode checked
- COD order confirmed with the buyer
- Packed in the standard box
- Packed parcel weighed and measured
- Photos taken of parcel on scale and against tape
- Shipment booked and label printed
- Manifest generated
- Parcels counted at pickup
After dispatch
- Tracking link sent to buyer
- NDRs actioned every working day, reasons recorded
- RTO parcels tracked, received and inspected
- Returns handled per policy and logged
Weekly and monthly
- COD remittance matched to delivered orders
- Courier invoices matched to bookings
- Weight charges checked and disputed with evidence
- Wallet balance topped up
- Cost per delivered order calculated
- Courier performance reviewed by region
How Courier Tales fits this checklist
Courier Tales is a shipping platform for Indian online sellers that ships within India. It covers several items above in one place:
- Orders: import from Shopify, WooCommerce or a CSV/Excel upload. On Shopify, the AWB and tracking link are written back as a fulfilment. On WooCommerce, the AWB, courier and tracking details are written back to the order.
- Booking: compare serviceable couriers (Delhivery, Xpressbees, Ekart, Shadowfax and Amazon Shipping surface, depending on pincodes and account settings) with estimated charges per order, and book single or bulk shipments.
- Labels and manifests: A4 or Letter labels, one or four per page, with your logo, plus pickup manifests.
- After dispatch: a tracking timeline and shareable tracking link per shipment, a list of NDRs for action, RTO visibility until parcels reach your pickup address, and reverse pickups with Delhivery in eligible pincodes.
- Weight disputes: discrepancies appear in the dashboard, with 48 hours to respond with evidence, one dispute per AWB.
- COD: you choose your COD remittance plan; the default is D+7 (seven days after delivery).
You can try the free shipping rate calculator and pincode checker first, or create an account to start shipping.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need before I ship my first online order in India?
At minimum: a pickup address, business and KYC documents for your courier or shipping platform, the weight and box size of each product, packaging stock, clear shipping and returns pages, and a decision on whether you will accept cash on delivery.
Do I need a GST number to ship orders?
It depends on your business and the service you use. Some courier services ask for one; for example, Amazon Shipping India's sign-up page says a valid GST registration is required. Whether you must register for GST is a tax question, so confirm it with your CA.
How often should I check NDRs?
Every working day. A failed delivery attempt usually gets only a limited number of reattempts, so acting the same day gives the parcel the best chance of being delivered instead of returned.
What should I reconcile every month?
COD remittances against delivered COD orders, courier invoices against booked shipments, and any extra weight charges against your recorded weights. Then work out your cost per delivered order.
Sources
- Small and medium delivery, Amazon Shipping India (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Electronic Way Bill in GST (explainer prepared by NACIN for CBIC), GST Council (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Shipping rates, Shopify Help Center (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Setting up shipping zones, WooCommerce (accessed 19 October 2026)
Courier, marketplace and tax rules change. Check the current terms with your courier, marketplace or adviser before relying on them.