Units, shipping and payment
Shipping price differences
When the freight on a purchase order differs from Shopify's rate, you are told — and Shopify's price is what gets used.
Updated
Buyers often print an expected freight amount on their purchase order. It is frequently out of date, and occasionally optimistic.
What happens
PO Autopilot compares the freight on the document against the rate Shopify returns for the delivery option chosen. If they differ, you get the warning Review shipping cost, naming the difference.
If the purchase order’s freight is in a different currency from Shopify’s rate, you get Review shipping cost for that reason instead.
Shopify’s price is used
This is the part to be clear about: the amount on the purchase order does not override Shopify. The draft order carries the rate Shopify returned for the delivery option you chose.
The comparison exists so you know there is a disagreement before you send the buyer an invoice they were not expecting — not to change what you charge.
It is a warning, not a blocker
A shipping cost mismatch does not stop you calculating or creating the draft. It is information for you to act on commercially, and only you can decide whether this customer’s expectation matters more than the current rate.
What to do about it
- Small differences are usually a stale rate on the buyer’s side. Create the draft and let the invoice carry the current price.
- Large differences are worth a conversation before you invoice.
- Currency differences are worth checking properly — an order priced in one currency with freight in another usually means the buyer’s system is misconfigured, or the order is for a different market than you think.
If you want to charge what the buyer expected, adjust the shipping on the draft order in Shopify after it is created. That is a Shopify edit, not something PO Autopilot does for you.
Why not just use the buyer’s number
Because the buyer’s number is a claim about your prices, not a fact about them. Letting a document set your freight would mean any purchase order could under-quote your shipping simply by saying so.
The same principle runs through the rest of the product: Shopify holds the authoritative values, and the document is evidence about what the buyer wants.