Add Zonos API Support for Canada Post Carrier Accounts so we can resume US labels thru Shipstation

[lunacoffee]

Canada post has a special partnership they launched with Zonos for tariff/duty collection in order to offer a DDP service. We have an account with Zonos through* Canada Post, and the Declaration ID that Zonos returns to canada post is all done in the Snap Ship program with Canada Post. Currently, Shipstation is not using this part of Canada Post's API.

My question, is this: Is it on the road map for Shipstation to support this new API feature with Canada Post for US shipments?

*Please note this is different than us having a full fledged zonos account - this is something that was introduced in response to the de minimis removal in the US on August 29th 2025

We currently are unable to use Shipstation for any shipment to the US with Canada Post, instead having to use Canada Post directly. They do have a functioning API to talk to Zonos and generate the declaration ID. We'd like to be able to complete this process in Shipstation. 

[hfxpins]

i know with canada post snap ship, it doesnt show anything about duties either on the label. it just shows up in your zonos dashboard as created when it gets scanned in by the USA Border. Zonos HS code finder is pretty good to find out what code you need! i just added my HS code to all my orders on the customs declaration 

[hfxpins]

I was also just able to add my full account key!! But i am still too scared to ship and it bounce back saying it's not there. haha. did you ship anything yet

[jond]

Yes, we've processed 10 orders so far.  We initially tested a few and voided the labels.  

[hfxpins]

like they've passed through customs and are showing up as created on your zonos dashboard? 

[jond]

The shipments processed in Shipstation 25-Sept are now displaying in Shipments tab of Zonos.  There is a lengthy delay in invoicing based on US customs, so no invoices or billing displays for 2 weeks or so for our account.  

[hfxpins]

sorry dont mean to be annoying and ask a billion questions. just want to be super sure. So you added your acct key, created a label like normal through shipstation and that tracking is showing up on your zonos dashboard? so we are good to ship through shipstation again aslong as the account key is in there?

[jond]

@hfxpins that's correct.  For our account, there is a 1-2 day delay in shipments displaying in Zonos dashboard.  

[hfxpins]

sorry for the delay!! thank you sm!!! you've been more helpful then shipstation haha. 

[hfxpins]

canada post now on strike btw. lol cant make this up

[asaunders]

What a time to be alive. I can't believe how incredibly difficult it is to navigate this daily onslaught of calamities. Just absolutely unrelenting. 

[asaunders]

So...new question, since Canada Post cannot be trusted for more than a week at a time, how does one ship to the US via DHL/ UPS these days? I JUST wrapped my head around all this Zonos crap like two days ago...

[estry]

With Canada Post on strike ship station doesn't seem to accept my Zonos key anymore, anyone else try setting up on ship station since the strike?

[hfxpins]

canada post is back to rotating strike y'all. would love to have had some official word from shipstation.... lol

[IsUsername]

So now with canadapost returning what is happening with the zonos integration?

There was an extra 2 weeks to get this going because of the strike.

I can see the option to add zonos key with canada post in carrier settings.

Has anyone but jond gotten this to work? Without an official announcement it seems a bit risky to start sending orders hoping it will all work.

[hfxpins]

-

[hfxpins]

zonos has told me it's live as well. 

[hfxpins]

IMPORTANT UPDATE: SHIPSTATION HAS CONFIRMED WITH ME THE FEATURE IS LIVE. ADDED MY CHATS WITH SUPPORT BELOW. I will be testing one package first to be safe. 

[haberdasheress]

INCREDIBLE. Thank you for sharing!

[ericasticks]

its working!

[IsUsername]

How do we actually know if the zonos is working though?

There doesnt seem to be a way to tell, and once the label is printed there is still no indicator. It also takes a few days for zonos shipments to show up in their dashboard.

So how do you guys know if zonos is actually working or not when creating labels in shipstation?

[hfxpins]

aslong as your account key from zonos is connecting to your carrier settings under canada post you should be good.

i shipped 6 packages to make sure and all are in the USA being delivered today. 3 of those shipments are showing up in my zonos dashboard

so i’d suggest just shipping one package to make sure its going through correctly first. But theres no indicator even if you were just using canada post snap ship which was weird lol. Labels didnt change at all haha. 

but it’d deff working you just need to make sure your account key is in there and saves!

[IsUsername]

Do you know what happens if you print a label without the zonos access key in your carrier settings for Canada Post? Will it still even print the label anymore? 

It would be nice if shipstation gave some way of confirming if the connection with your zonos account is even valid. Without any announcement, there is just a field for the access key and no other indicator.

Snap ship at the very least shows your zonos access key information in the last step of every snap ship order, showing that its part of the process.

[hfxpins]

I'm not sure on that! i didn't print any labels thru shipstation to USA when my key wasn't in there. Hopefully shipstation announces something soon because i understand why people dont want to risk it and it's crazy they're not giving warnings or anything and still advertising you can ship internationally with them.

all 6 of my packages have been delivered to my USA customers this weekend and I've been billed by zonos for 3 of them. shipping about 10 more out to make double sure and then will resume my regular operation. will report back on those 10!

[jond]

@IsUsername Shipstation will not process a label without the key.  At least that is what we experienced early on.  

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @lunacoffee!

Thank you for your post! If you’re experiencing this issue, the best next step is to contact our support team at support@shipstation.com. Our development team is actively investigating, and reaching out to support—if you haven’t already—will help ensure your specific case is documented and reviewed as part of that process.

We sincerely apologize for the frustration this has caused and appreciate your patience while we work toward a resolution.

I appreciate your patience! 

-Cara

[zach_c]

I just wanted to leave this here because I spent 1-2 months contacting ShipStation support across 4 different tickets with 4 different support agents and none of them were able to fully understand my issue or give me any real answers. They all just kept trying to get me to setup a Zonos store integration or some kind of DPP automation rules. You don't need to do ANY of that! I even had two different support agents tell me that this was not possible.

If you are attempting to use Canada Post along with ShipStation to send packages from Canada to the US and correctly connect your Zonos account, YOU NEED TO HAVE ShipStation's "Standard" subscription. If you are on the "Starter" plan (like I was), you are unable to "Bring your existing carrier accounts" and you are therefore unable to connect your Zonos account key. This is what every single support agent failed to point out to me and I ultimately had to figure this out myself. Once you have a Standard subscription, you need to sign up for a "Verified" Zonos account and follow the instructions under the "ShipStation" tab here:

https://zonos.com/docs/postal/shipping-via-posts/zonos-and-canada-post/verified-accounts/connect-you...

Make sure you are signed into your business account on the Canada Post website before following the instructions above. Even after that, I had to try those steps 4 different times because it kept giving me an error. I think I ended up disabling ShipStation's default Canada Post carrier option which seemed to get it to work. Eventually it will succeed and you will see your Canada Post account listed. Congratulations you can now print US-bound Canda Post labels and pre-pay duties using Zonos (oh boy!).

SHIP STATION: PLEASE MAKE A SUPPORT ARTICLE ABOUT THIS SO THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME DON'T WASTE 50+ HOURS OF THEIR TIME :)))) ❤️