How to Set Up and Use Third Party Billing

When to Use Third Party Billing

Third Party Billing lets you charge shipping costs to a different carrier account instead of your own. This is commonly used when:

• A customer or partner is responsible for their own shipping costs
• The receiving party wants to pay for shipping
• You ship on behalf of another company that has their own carrier account

The quickest way to use third party billing is to enter the details directly on the Ship page. You don't need to save the account in Settings first.

Enter Shipment Details

On the Ship page, fill in your From and To addresses and Package Details as usual.

Enable Third Party Billing

Toggle the Billing Party switch to enable third party billing.

Select the Billing Type

Select the billing type: Third Party or Receiver.

Fill In Billing Details

Fill in the billing details:

• Account Number — The carrier account number provided by the third party.
• Carrier — Must match the carrier you're shipping with.
• Country — The country where the billing account is registered.
• Postal Code — The postal code on file with the carrier (see the Postal Codes section below).

Add Optional Verification Fields

Optionally fill in Name, Address, City, and Phone if the carrier requires them for verification.

Complete the Shipment

Continue with rate selection and label creation as normal.

Postal Code Requirements

Postal codes are technically optional when entering third party billing details in ShipBoss. However, most carriers require the postal code to validate the billing account, and the shipment may be rejected by the carrier if it's missing or incorrect.

Navigate to Third Party Billing Settings

If you frequently ship with the same third party accounts, you can save them in your settings for quick reuse.

1. Click Settings in the top navigation bar.
2. Select the Third Party Billing tab.
3. Click Create New Billing Account.

Third Party Billing settings tab showing saved billing accounts for UPS, FedEx, and DHL

Fill In the Billing Account Details

Fill in the billing account details as shown below:

Create Billing Account form showing all available fields

Save the Account

Click Save.

Saved accounts appear in the Billing Account dropdown when creating shipments. Accounts you enter directly on the Ship page are also saved here automatically.

Configure Default Third Party Billing

If you use the same third party billing account on most shipments, set it as your default:

1. Go to Settings > Defaults tab.
2. Scroll down to the General Settings section.
3. Find the Default Third Party Billing row.
4. Select your preferred billing account from the dropdown.

Default Third Party Billing setting in the Defaults tab showing the Select Billing Account dropdown

Understanding Billing Types

ShipBoss supports two billing types:

Edit and Delete Billing Accounts

Go to Settings > Third Party Billing to manage your accounts:

• Edit — Update any account's details. If the account was used on past shipments, ShipBoss creates a new record to preserve your shipment history.
• Delete — Remove an account from the list. Past shipments that used this account retain the original billing details.

Accounts created directly on the Ship page also appear here and can be edited or deleted the same way.

Import Third Party Billing via CSV or Excel

When importing shipments via CSV or Excel in Bulk Shipments, include these columns for third party billing:

The billing account dropdown is empty

• Make sure you have at least one saved billing account — either from Settings > Third Party Billing or from a previous shipment.
• The dropdown only shows accounts matching the carrier on your shipment. A FedEx account won't appear when shipping via UPS.

The Billing Party toggle is not visible

• Not all carrier services support third party billing. If the toggle doesn't appear, the selected service may not offer this option.

The carrier rejected the third party account

• Verify the account number and postal code match exactly what the carrier has on file. This is the most common cause of rejection.
• Confirm the account is active and authorized for third party billing by contacting the account holder.
• Some carriers also require the address to match their records.

Changes to an account aren't showing on old shipments

• This is by design. Editing a billing account creates an updated record for future shipments while preserving the original details on past shipments.

I entered billing details on the Ship page but don't see them in Settings

• Accounts are saved after the shipment is successfully created. Complete the shipment, then check Settings > Third Party Billing.