Activity Feed Page
On the Activity Feed page, Close Day events can be viewed, and Close Day paperwork can be reprinted. To display the Activity Feed page, click FEED in the main menu (at left). (You may need to click Back to see the main menu.) Each line item in the Activity Feed includes the copy, view, and reprint options.
Printer Settings for Close Day Paperwork
To adjust the printer settings for Close Day paperwork, click SETTINGS, select the Carrier, and then click Printer: International. See Printer: International for details.
Although you may not be shipping internationally, Printer: International is used for Close Day paperwork because Printer: International settings are typically set for paper, and Close Day prints to paper. See also Generic End of Day Report.
Closing a Shipping Day for Postage Printing (aka SCAN Form)
When printing postage, a SCAN form can be printed for all shipments that have been printed so far today. Do the following:
On the Accounts dropdown (top of screen), click the Close shipping day button (sunrise icon) for the Carrier. If you do not see the Accounts button, you may need to click Back or select a menu option under SHIPMENTS in the left menu.
Click OK. This message should be displayed: Shipping day for all accounts is closed. Also, the SCAN form is printed.
If the SCAN form fails to print (for example, because the printer was offline), click FEED in the left main menu, and then click reprint in the Activity Feed list to print the SCAN form.
Tip: You can also close the shipping day for all accounts. Click the sunrise icon on the right of + Add Carrier Account.
SCAN Form Example
Warning: Refund requests/voids should be processed before printing the SCAN form. The refund request/void cannot be voided once it is included on the SCAN form.
Note: Shipments processed after the SCAN form is printed are not included in that batch and will not be included on a SCAN form for the following day. If shipments are processed after printing the SCAN form, printing the SCAN form a second time is necessary during the same day. (Creating the SCAN form for yesterday is not possible.)
Cut-Off Times for SCAN Form
The default (Pitney Bowes) cut-off time for items to be placed on a SCAN form is 8:00 PM local time (except for EasyPost shippers). You should process all shipments and SCAN forms prior to the cut-off time. At the cut-off time, all items that are not associated with a SCAN form are submitted automatically to USPS and cannot be placed on a SCAN form. Also, any items printed after the cut-off time should be dated for the following day and will be included on the SCAN form for the following day.
The SCAN form cut-off time for EasyPost shippers is 9:30 PM Pacific time.
International Shipments and SCAN Form
The SCAN form includes both domestic and international shipments (formerly, only domestic shipments were included). The following international mail classes may be included on the form: Express, Priority, and First Class International.
Advancing the Ship Date and SCAN Form
If both the labels and SCAN form are printed on the same day, there are no possible issues.
When the ship date is advanced (e.g., to tomorrow), then the SCAN form can only be created on the ship date (e.g., tomorrow, not today).
SCAN Form for Sunday-Monday Shipping
On a Sunday, all labels show Monday's date. The Monday SCAN form can only be printed on Monday.
On Monday, printing can be done in the AM. Another SCAN form can be done later on Monday to capture labels done on Monday.
Generating a SCAN Form for Shipments Created Late in Evening
To generate a SCAN form for shipments created late in the evening, you must print multiple SCAN forms. For example:
Tuesday:
1-4 PM: Process shipments
4:30: Print SCAN form #1
5:00: Take packages to post office with SCAN form #1
6-8:45 PM: Process more shipments
8:45 PM: Process SCAN form #2
Take a break until 9:15 PM (the 8:50 time may not be exact from day to day)
9:15-10:15 PM: Process more shipments
10:15 PM: Print SCAN form #3 for the late shipments
Wednesday:
1-4 PM: Process shipments
4:30: Print SCAN form #4
5:00: Take packages to post office with SCAN forms #2, #3, and #4
Note: Depending on your time zone, it may be necessary to print multiple SCAN forms on Tuesday night. One practice is to generate a SCAN form every 50 shipments, so no more than 50 shipments may fail to get onto a SCAN form.
Close Day for FedEx Shipping
Technically, a manifest is a list of shipments given to the driver when handing over packages. When shipping via FedEx and UPS, a manifest is almost never needed.
Closing the day is optional for FedEx Ground shipping. FedEx closes the day automatically, if you do not close it.
Note: Closing the day does not apply to FedEx Express shipping.
In most cases, nothing is printed when closing the day for FedEx shipping. However, paperwork is printed for certain COD or high-value shipments. FedEx does not need nor want paperwork for batches of Ground or SmartPost shipments.
Shipment reports can be run.
Close Day for UPS Shipping
UPS scans packages at pickup or when packages first arrive at your local UPS facility. No manifest exists when shipping UPS. The pickup summary bar code is not used when shipping with Descartes ShipRush Web, UPS.com, and other systems.
Tip: 'End of day' is also known as Manifest. Technically, a manifest is a list of shipments given to the driver when handing over packages. When shipping with the U.S. Postal Service, a SCAN form is used. When shipping FedEx and UPS, a manifest is almost never needed. A UPS 'End of Day Barcode' does exist but is a different document printed by Legacy UPS shipping systems. This document is not used or needed when using online systems, such as Descartes ShipRush Web. If a UPS driver asks for an End of Day Barcode, inform the driver that a ups.com type system was used and the bar code is not needed.
If the shipment has a Declared Value greater than a certain amount, Descartes ShipRush Web prints a label and the High Value Report form. This form must be signed by the UPS driver and retained by the shipper. In the event of a claim, UPS requires the driver-signed form.
Printing or Exporting Shipment Lists
To print or export a list of shipments, use the Reports feature in Settings.