Questions about: need a very simple app to generate and print USPS scan sheets

[Sharon15]

Hi all,

I recently turned off the Shopify free Manifest app because it didn't work the way I needed it to.  I couldn't find any other apps that work better, though, they all do way more than I need.  So I'm thinking about hiring a developer to build an app for me.  And have questions:

1.  The order and postage label data isn't locked down like the checkout stuff is, right?  So an app developer can access it to build the app for me?   Or is it locked down and I should forget this right now? 

2.  I know I can hire developers off Upwork and Fiverr and Shopify has it's own site for finding Shopify developers.  Has anybody hired from the Shopify one and had a good experience?  

3.  Maybe I just didn't find an already existing app in the app store... the search isn't great.  Does anybody know of one that works basically just like the free Shopify Manifest app but let's me choose which orders to include in the manifest?  I am using the Shopify shipping integration with carriers and that's working well for me so I don't need a fulfillment app.

[adam_bn]

How would you ideally like it to work?

[Sharon15]

I would want it to allow me to select which orders to include in the manifest.  I'm aware of the USPS rules for SCAN sheets, so I need the app to just trust that I'm doing it right.  I mean, if I include a label that's not allowed by USPS rules, the USPS is going to let me know. 🙂  So let me either enter order numbers or a date range of labels to include in the sheet.

Generally I process orders within 24 hours of them being placed, but on occasion it's a couple days.   For example, order is placed on 10/1, I process it and generate the label on 10/3 (today) and want to include it in the manifest for a 10/4 pickup by the USPS.  So the app can check when the postage label was generated and refuse to include it if it was more than 24 hours ago (but a message explaining that might be nice).

I do have a question about that, though.  Is it a USPS rule that SCAN sheets can only contain labels generated within 24 hours?  If not, it would be nice to not have it check that.  I often process orders on Sundays knowing that the mail doesn't run until Monday.  Or if Monday is a postal holiday then Tuesday's package pickup contains orders from Saturday evening to Monday afternoon.

[Sharon15]

I used to be a developer and have been doing my own liquid coding to tweak my shop.  Is this something that maybe I can do for myself?  I don't know what's involved in building a Shopify app, even a really simple one.

[Sharon15]

Is this something you can do?  I did preliminary research into the Shopify API docs and also found the USPS API docs online.  But it looks like I might need to subscribe as a USPS partner to be able to access their APIs.  Which would be overkill for me developing one single app for myself.  I'm hoping an app developer who already has that subscription can build this.  

[kingstore]

Likely in the category of 'App that does too many things for what I need' category but I'll toss out a possible solution for you which is SKUSavvy. It is a full WMS that will track purchases, inventory, bin locations, batch pick lists, fulfillment, and shipping.

Usually, you can receive the shipping method selected at checkout from a customer, however, you cant receive the label directly from Shopify's API, so you still need to go through a secondary purchase from the carrier to purchase and print the label. 

SKUSavvy works by creating batches of similar orders that can be picked, packed, and shipped together, of course buying and printing a USPS label along the way. 

Fulfillment module to confirm items, get rates, purchase, and print labels