Connecting Canpar

Applies to: All tiers · Last reviewed: 2026-10-14

What this is

How to connect a Canpar account so its rates and labels are available when you ship. You bring your own Canpar account, and CanShip uses its web services credentials.

Before you start

You need, from Canpar:

• the API username and API password for Canpar's web services
• your Canpar account number
• for a production account, a client certificate and its private key, each as a PEM block

Connect Canpar

1. Go to Settings > Carriers.
2. On the Canpar row, click Set Up. The Configure Canpar form opens.
3. Under Connection Settings, enter the API Username, API Password and Account Number.
4. Under Mutual TLS Client Certificate, paste the Client Certificate (PEM) and the Client Private Key (PEM), each as the full block from its BEGIN line to its END line. The form marks both as required for production. To use Canpar's test system, leave both blank.
5. Fill in the Shipper Address block: Shipper Name, Shipper Phone, Address Line 1 and 2, Shipper City, Shipper State/Province, Shipper Postal Code and Shipper Country Code.
6. Under Which clients can ship with this carrier?, choose All clients, None for now, or pick individual clients.
7. Click Save. Save stays grey until every required field is filled, and the form says which one is missing.

Canpar now shows as Configured on the Carriers page, with its account number, origin postal code, assigned clients and client overrides.

Shipping with Canpar

• Canpar's services, such as Canpar Ground, appear with the other carriers' rates when you get rates at the packing station. A rate from a test account carries a Test account tag.
• The label opens in its own window as an image. Use Reprint Label on the packing station or in the shipment's details to bring it up again.
• The weight printed on the label is Canpar's own. For a large, light box it can be more than the weight you entered.
• A label made on Canpar's test system says so on the shipment, and voiding it refunds nothing because nothing was billed.

Assign clients to the carrier

A client cannot ship on a carrier it is not assigned to. If you chose None for now during setup, use Manage under Assigned Clients on the Canpar card. Assigned clients use your company credentials unless they have a client override.

Client overrides

If a client has its own Canpar account and wants to ship on it, use Add Override on the Canpar card to store separate credentials for that client.

What can go wrong

• Save stays grey. A required field is empty. The line beside Save names it, for example "To save, enter API Username."
• A client still cannot ship after you connect Canpar. Confirm the client is assigned to the carrier, not just that the carrier is connected.

See also: Connecting a carrier.