Questions shops actually ask
Carrier and store
Is there really a free plan?
Fifty orders a month, from your own store, for as long as you like. An order counts once however many parcels it goes out in. It is how we would want to try software ourselves, and it is the only honest way to show you a despatch tool: on your own awkward orders, not on a demo.
Does this replace Click and Drop?
No, and it should not. Labels are bought through your own Royal Mail account, so your rates are your rates, and your end of day manifest stays where it is.
Whose Royal Mail account is used?
Yours. You give DispatchThread access to it. The money and the negotiated rates stay with you, and we never see a postage payment.
Will it work with my BigCommerce store?
Any BigCommerce store. It needs an API account with permission to read orders and create shipments, which takes a couple of minutes to make.
What about Shopify, WooCommerce or eBay?
Shopify is next, and it is being built now. It is not ready yet, so today DispatchThread works with BigCommerce only. The join between the software and your shop is already a seam we can build a second one behind, so Shopify is work rather than a rewrite. If you are on Shopify, put your name down when you start and we will tell you as soon as it is ready. WooCommerce and eBay are not being built yet. Tell us on the way in if you are on one of those, because that is how we decide what comes after Shopify.
Do you support other carriers?
Royal Mail only today, including Tracked 24 and 48 and the untracked 24 and 48 services. Another carrier is the same shape of job as another shop platform: a second implementation behind a seam that already exists, not a rewrite. Same answer on timing, and the same request, which is to tell us who you post with so we know what to build first.
It nearly does what I need, but not quite
Then say so. Most shops have one thing they do differently, and a lot of what the software does now started as exactly that conversation. See custom work.
Can I run two shops on one store?
Yes, and it is one of the reasons the software exists. Orders route to the right shop and the right Royal Mail account, and a mixed order can be split across both.
In the shop
What do I need on each packing PC?
A Windows PC, a six by four thermal printer, and a small print agent that runs in the background as a scheduled task. A barcode reader too, if you want the two checking modes.
Does it need to be installed?
The day to day screen runs in a browser, so there is nothing to install for the people using it. Only the print agent is installed, once per bench.
What if the internet drops?
You cannot buy labels without it, the same as Click and Drop. Anything already bought keeps its tracking number and is written back when the connection returns.
Can I print from my phone?
The queue works on a phone for the odd order. It is not designed for running a batch of fifty from the car park.
What happens if a label jams?
Reprint it. You get the same label and the same tracking number back, and Royal Mail is not charged a second time.
How long are labels kept?
Long enough to reprint comfortably after the fact. Fourteen days by default, and it can be set longer.
The other modules
When can I have stock control, delivery dates, returns or order support?
Each one opens when it is ready for a shop that is not ours. They already run our own shops every day; the work left is the setting up, the screens for somebody new, and the paperwork. There are no dates yet, and we would rather say that than invent one. Register your interest and you will hear first.
What will they cost?
Stock control is £69 a month, plus £29 for each till. Delivery dates £59, returns £39, and order support £89 with 300 WhatsApp conversations included, then 25p each. All four with despatch on the Shop plan are £279 a month together. Prices exclude VAT, and nobody is charged for a module they have not asked for. All the prices.
Do I have to take all of them?
No. Each module stands on its own, and despatch works without any of the others. They are better together because they share what they know, but that is a reason to add one, not a condition.
Do they need BigCommerce too?
Yes, for now, for the same reason despatch does: one platform done properly first. Order support also needs a WhatsApp number, which we set up with you.
Data and trust
What happens to my customers' details?
They stay in your own database, on your own instance, and are never shared with another shop. You get a written data processing agreement before you start.
Who can see my orders?
Only the accounts you create. Each person signs in as themselves, and the shop they belong to decides what they see.
What if Royal Mail is up and BigCommerce is down?
The parcel keeps the label and tracking number it has already been given, and only the write back retries. A box that is going out is never un-labelled to tidy up a record.
What if I want to leave?
You take your data and go. Nothing about DispatchThread is required for your orders to keep working, because the labels are on your Royal Mail account and the shipments are in your BigCommerce store.
Fifty orders a month, free
Free for fifty orders a month, with no card and no end date. Run it beside whatever you use now. It starts read only, so nothing is bought at Royal Mail until you turn it on.