Small Business Tips
Business owners wear many hats, from managing customers to handling admin tasks. Every minute counts, especially for those working around the clock. Finding efficient, simple solutions is key to staying ahead. The right shipping software transforms how small businesses work. It should be flexible, efficient, and simple. This article explores the top shipping software options available and shows you how they help businesses save time and minimize shipping costs.
For small businesses, every decision impacts your bottom line and how smoothly things run. Shipping is often complex and time-consuming. The right software streamlines it and helps grow your business. These platforms offer a range of benefits that go beyond just printing labels:
Choosing the right shipping software depends on a business’s specific needs, volume, and budget. Here are five leading solutions that cater to small businesses, each offering a unique set of features and benefits.
Stamps.com is a long-standing and trusted name in shipping, particularly for businesses heavily relying on USPS services. It’s designed to simplify the entire mailing and shipping process, making it accessible and efficient for small business owners.
Key Features:
Why it stands out: Stamps.com is ideal for businesses seeking a straightforward, reliable solution with significant cost savings on postage, especially for those with a high volume of USPS shipments. Its focus on simplicity and efficiency makes it a strong choice for busy entrepreneurs.
What customers typically say: Customers frequently praise Stamps.com for its incredible convenience, highlighting how easy it is to print postage and labels from home or the office. Many appreciate the significant savings on postage rates, often mentioning how these discounts directly impact their bottom line. The platform is reliable and easy to use. Customers say these benefits make shipping less of a chore.
ShipStation is a strong, web-based shipping solution. It’s made for ecommerce businesses of all sizes. It integrates with a vast array of selling channels and carriers, making it a powerful tool for managing orders and shipments across multiple platforms.
Key Features:
Why it stands out: ShipStation is great for ecommerce businesses. It works well if you have many sales channels. It also offers advanced automation and multi-carrier options. Its many features help businesses scale their shipping efficiently.
What customers typically say: Users often praise ShipStation’s strong automation. It greatly reduces manual work and saves time. The wide range of integrations with various ecommerce platforms and carriers is also a huge plus, making it a central hub for many online businesses. Customers often highlight how managing all shipping from one platform, coupled with batch label creation, streamlines operations and supports business growth.
Pirate Ship is a niche solution offering discounted USPS and UPS labels to consumers and micro-businesses with little volume who need basic shipping tools. It’s known for its ease of use and ability to provide competitive shipping rates without monthly fees.
Key Features:
Why it stands out: Pirate Ship is a good option for very small businesses and individuals who primarily ship with UPS or USPS and want to save money. Its straightforward approach and discounted rates make it a highly attractive choice for sellers who are just getting started.
What customers typically say: Users consistently rave about Pirate Ship being completely free and the significant savings they get on UPS and USPS rates. Many appreciate the simple, no-frills interface that makes printing labels quick and easy. However, some customers wish for more advanced features or integrations with a wider range of ecommerce platforms, and a few note that its focus on UPS and USPS might be limiting for those who use other carriers frequently.
Shippo is a multi-carrier shipping software. It simplifies order fulfillment. It does this by integrating directly with online stores and marketplaces. It’s known for its ease of use and ability to provide discounted shipping rates.
Key Features:
Why it stands out: Shippo is easy for beginners. It has a clean interface and smooth integrations. This makes it a good option for small ecommerce businesses and individuals. They can automate shipping simply while still getting discounted rates.
What customers typically say: Customers often praise Shippo’s intuitive interface and the ease with which they can integrate it with their existing ecommerce platforms. The ability to compare discounted rates from multiple carriers is a highly valued feature, helping them save money on shipping. On the other hand, some users report occasional issues with label generation or tracking updates not being entirely real-time. A few also wish for more advanced automation rules to handle complex shipping scenarios.
Easyship is a solid shipping platform that specializes in international shipping. It offers many global shipping partners and tools. These help manage cross-border logistics. It simplifies complex international shipping.
Key Features:
Why it stands out: Easyship is particularly strong for businesses with international shipping needs, offering comprehensive tools to manage customs, duties, and a vast network of global carriers. It shows estimated costs upfront. This is a big plus for businesses and their international customers.
What customers typically say: Users love Easyship’s international shipping features. They especially value the automatic tax and duty calculations. This simplifies cross-border shipping. The wide network of global shipping partners and the ability to display real-time rates at checkout are also highly appreciated. However, some customers note that the sheer number of options can sometimes feel overwhelming for new users, and a few experience occasional delays in customer service response times.
When choosing shipping software, consider these factors:
By carefully reviewing these factors, you can choose the best shipping software to address your unique business needs while delivering a great customer experience.
Hundreds of thousands of small businesses have already discovered the benefits of using Stamps.com to simplify their mailing and shipping needs.
We offer new customers free supplies including free NetStamps and a 5 lb scale so they can get started with the basics required to get the most out of Stamps.com
Yes. Stamps.com allows you to print up to 10,000 labels in one click.
We offer new customers a 30-day risk free trial to see if Stamps.com is right for them. Cancelling any time within the 30-day time frame will result in no charges; however, if you continue past your 30‑day trial, you will be charged a monthly subscription including your first month's fee. Your service will continue uninterrupted unless you cancel.
Log in and navigate to your subscription page to cancel from within the app, or simply call our toll-free number 855-608-2677, M–F 8AM to 8PM CT and our customer support team will be happy to assist you. You can cancel any time.
Our rate advisor feature helps you calculate exact postage or shipping rate for anything you send. All you need is your item's weight and dimensions -- we do all the math for you and recommend cheapest, fastest, and best rates across all carriers.
Yes. Mac users can use our web app on any browser, or they can download our desktop app for Mac for free. Visit stamps.com/download to access all of our apps including our free mobile app.
Yes. Stamps.com can pull order or customer information from virtually any database, from Excel to SQL. Stamps.com also creates an export file that includes mail class, mail date, shipping cost, and tracking number.
No. All you need is a printer and your computer or phone. You can print shipping labels on plain paper or adhesive labels, postage on our NetStamps® labels or direclty onto any kind of envelope, and on Certified Mail® forms.
Yes. Our reports show you you activity and total spend by carrier, mail class, shipping service -- so you always know how much you send. You can customize your reports by date and, if you are on our multi-location plan, you can also view activity and spend per location and user.
Yes. You can add users to the same Stamps.com account - user limits vary by plan. If your organization has multiple locations, you can switch to our multi-location plan. Visit stamps.com/multilocation to learn more
Yes. You can connect your shopping carts and marketplaces including Shopify, eBay, Amazon, and Etsy with Stamps.com in under 5 minutes. You can also import your orders from a CSV file, Microsoft Excel, XML, or your own ODBC.
Our multi-location plan, designed for companies with 2+ office locations, gives each location the ability to print postage and labels as needed, while capturing information about how much is sent and spent in a single dashboard to give the business the ability to budget. No leases, no contracts, and best-in-class support available when your users need it. Visit stamps.com/multi-location to learn more
Nonmachinable envelopes might be non-rectangular, rigid, unevenly thick, or have non-paper closures, meaning they cannot be processed efficiently by USPS's automated sorting equipment, and require special handling, resulting in a surcharge in addition to the standard postage.
The Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice (SCAN) form ensures that your packages are scanned by the USPS when they are dropped off or picked up by a mail carrier, so your customer can feel confident that their package is on its way.
Using Stamps.com, you’ll be able to create a SCAN form with a few clicks. Then, hand the form to the clerk or mail carrier, and they will scan the barcode on the form. This scan records an Acceptance event for all the packages associated with the form without having to scan each package individually.
Stamps.com gives you access to all mailing and shipping services from USPS, UPS, DHL, and other top carriers. Visit stamps.com/carriers for a full list.
We support all printers from laser and inkjet to high speed thermal printers.
With USPS, Stamps.com customers have access to Commercial Base, Commercial Plus, Cubic Pricing, and Negotiated Service Agreements. Savings include:
With UPS, Stamps.com customers get up to 73% off UPS 2nd Day Air® and up to 77% off UPS® Ground Daily Rates.* Plus, many common surcharges are waived, including the residential surcharge for UPS Ground shipments.
*UPS rates are limited to shipping from the continental U.S. only. These rates and discounts exclude shipment origins from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. These rates and any applicable discounts are subject to change at any time without notice.
Stamps.com makes international shipping easy by offering international services from USPS, UPS, and other carriers including GlobalPost. We make customs forms hassle free, so you can complete them online with ou guidance, and simply print to include with your international shipment.
After a label is printed, Stamps.com automatically uploads the USPS tracking numbers, order info, and mail class back to the order source, including eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and your shopping cart.
