Delivery promises: shipping an order by its Deliver by date

Last reviewed: 2026-10-11

What this is

An order can carry a date it has to arrive by. When it does, the packing station checks every shipping rate against that date and recommends the cheapest one that arrives in time.

Set the date on an order

1. Go to Orders and open the order.
2. Under Shipping speed, choose a date in Deliver by.
3. Click Save.

The panel then reads "deliver by" and the date. Clear removes it.

What the rate screen shows

On the Rate & Ship step the date is shown at the top, and each rate carries a mark:

• In time · guaranteed: the service arrives by the date, and the carrier guarantees its delivery date.
• 6 days late (or however many): the service arrives after the date.
• Speed unknown: the carrier did not say how long it takes, so CanShip cannot tell whether it arrives in time. It is not ruled out. Check the service yourself before you ship it.

Hover over a mark to read more, such as the day the service arrives.

The cheapest service that arrives in time is marked Recommended and is already selected. A line above the list says how many of the quoted services arrive in time, and how much more the cheapest of them costs than the cheapest rate overall.

Shipping a late service

You can still choose a late service. When you click Ship, CanShip asks first. It says how many days late the service is, and names the service that arrives in time and how much more it costs.

• Click the button that starts with Use to select the service that arrives in time. Nothing is bought until you click Ship again.
• Or click Ship late anyway.

When nothing can arrive in time

If the date cannot be met whichever service you pick, a red banner says so. It gives the promised date and the first day the parcel can leave, and tells you to ship the recommended service. Each rate with a known delivery date shows how many days late it would be. You may instead see a line that says nothing on the list arrives by the date. It says the recommended service is the cheapest one that can ship, and how many carriers did not quote a delivery time. If no carrier quoted a delivery time at all, the line says CanShip can't check the promise and to check the service before you ship.

If the order has no phone number

FedEx will not print a label without a delivery phone number. When an order has none:

• The Weight step warns you.
• On Rate & Ship, each FedEx rate is marked Missing phone number and is not recommended.

To fix it without leaving the screen, click Add phone number beside the address, type the number in Phone and click Save and re-price. The rates are priced again.

See also

• The CanShip workflow: pick, pack, and ship an order
• Packing an order: boxes and items that ship in their own box