Helm › Helm University › Track 4 › Lesson 4.1
Lesson 4.1Marking an order shipped
Four fields, all optional, and one rule that requires exactly one of two of them.
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This lesson prepares you to: Ship an order correctly and understand what the proof requirement is actually for.
The one rule
Marking an order shipped takes four fields and every one of them is optional on its own. But you must supply at least one of these two:
- A tracking number, or
- An explicit drop off confirmation.
Without one of them the request is refused with Add a tracking number or confirm drop-off to mark this shipped.
The carrier name and the tracking link are never required. You can ship with a tracking number and no carrier, and Helm will work out the carrier itself or let the tracking service auto detect it.
Why the proof exists
This is your record that the parcel left your hands. It is the thing that starts the delivery clock, and the delivery clock is what starts your payout. A shipped order with no proof would be a seller marking their own homework on the one event that releases money.
What is not checked
Being straight about the limits. Helm does not validate the format of a tracking number at all. Any text up to 80 characters is accepted. Nothing checks that it is real, that it belongs to the carrier you named, or that it is for this parcel.
A wrong tracking number will not be rejected. It will simply never resolve, and your order will sit shipped until either somebody presses delivered or the fallback releases your money two weeks later. Lesson 4.4 covers both.
Only you can do it
The seller marks an order shipped. Not an admin, not the buyer, nobody else. And it can only be done to an order that is paid, which in practice is the only state an unfulfilled order can be in.
Drop off with no tracking
Confirming drop off without a tracking number is entirely valid and is the right choice for handover in person or a service that issues no number.
Know what you are choosing though. With no tracking number, nothing can ever detect delivery automatically. Your order can only become delivered if a person presses the button, and if nobody does, your payout waits for the fallback.
Nothing tells the buyer you shipped
Worth knowing rather than assuming. Helm sends the buyer no notification when you mark an order shipped. There is a whole notification system and it covers refunds thoroughly, but nothing fires on shipment. If you want the buyer to know it is on its way, tell them.