# Tax & Shipping Setup **For:** store admins and managers configuring where you sell, what tax you charge, and how you ship **What you'll learn:** how to set up regions, tax rates, stock locations and shipping options, sales channels, and return reasons — all from the Settings area of the admin dashboard. > This is a **how-to guide for the dashboard**, not the API. If you're building an > automated setup instead, see the [Usage Guide](/usage-guide). --- ## Before you start You'll need an admin login for your store **and** access to the **Settings** area. This is **admin-level configuration**, a step above day-to-day order work: the choices here decide what customers see at checkout, what tax they pay, and what shipping they can choose. If you don't see **Settings**, ask your administrator to grant you the right permissions. Everything in this guide lives under **Settings**. Open it from the gear icon (or the **Settings** link) in the admin dashboard, then pick the sub-page named in each section below. Throughout this guide, screenshots use a **demo store** — the names, countries, and amounts shown are fake. All prices are decimals: $9.99 shows as `9.99`, never `999` or cents. --- ## 1. Where settings live All of the setup in this guide is grouped under **Settings**. Open it and you'll find the sub-pages you need in the list: ![The Settings area listing Regions, Tax Regions, Locations & Shipping, Sales Channels, and Return Reasons](images/tax-shipping-setup/settings-overview.png) | Sub-page | What you configure there | |----------|--------------------------| | **Regions** | Groups of countries that share a currency, tax behavior, and payment/fulfillment providers | | **Tax Regions** | The tax rates charged per country (and per state/province where it applies) | | **Locations & Shipping** | Warehouses, shipping profiles, service zones, and the shipping options customers pick | | **Sales Channels** | Which storefront each product is available in | | **Return Reasons** | The predefined reasons operators choose when taking items back | Work through them roughly in this order — regions first (they set currency), then tax, then shipping, then channels, then return reasons. --- ## 2. Regions A **region** is a group of one or more countries you serve under the same rules: a single **currency**, its own **tax behavior**, and its own **payment and fulfillment providers**. For example, a "Europe" region might cover several countries all priced in euros. ### Create a region 1. Go to **Settings > Regions** and click **Create**. 2. Fill in the form: | Field | What it means | |-------|---------------| | **Name** | A label for the region, e.g. "Europe" or "United States" | | **Currency** | The single currency this region is priced in | | **Automatic taxes** | Whether tax is calculated automatically for orders in this region | | **Tax inclusive pricing** | Whether your listed prices already include tax | | **Countries** | The countries this region covers (see below) | | **Payment providers** | The payment methods customers in this region can use | 3. Click **Save**. ![The Create Region form with name, currency, and tax toggles](images/tax-shipping-setup/region-create.png) ### Add countries to a region While creating a region, click **Add countries**, check the countries you want, and **Save**. To change countries later, open the region's details page, click the **three-dots menu** in the **Countries** section, choose **Add countries**, check the ones you need, and click **Add**. > **Tip:** Keep one region per currency. If you sell in dollars and euros, that's two regions — a region can only have one currency. > **Caution:** A region's currency and tax settings feed straight into what customers are charged at checkout. Changing them affects live orders, so review carefully before saving. --- ## 3. Tax Regions A **tax region** is a country (and, where it applies, a state or province) where you charge a specific tax rate. Tax regions are managed separately from the regions above so you can set the exact rate each place requires. ### Set up a tax region and its default rate 1. Go to **Settings > Tax Regions** and click **Create**. 2. Select the **Country**. 3. Optionally set the **default tax rate** by entering a **Name**, a **Tax rate** (a percentage), and a **Tax code**. 4. Click **Save**. The **default tax rate** is the baseline applied to everything sold in that tax region; you can edit it later from the tax region's details page. ![The Create Tax Region form with country and default rate](images/tax-shipping-setup/tax-region-create.png) ### Tax overrides An **override** is an exception to the default rate for specific items — useful when a particular product, product type, or shipping option is taxed differently from everything else. 1. Open the tax region's details page. 2. In the **Overrides** section, click **Create**. 3. Enter an **override name**, the **tax rate**, and a **tax code**. 4. Set the **Targets** — the product, product type, or shipping option the override applies to. 5. Click **Save**. For countries with state- or province-level tax (such as US states or Canadian provinces), you can create **sublevel** tax regions under the country, each with its own default rate and overrides. > **Caution:** Tax rates decide what customers pay at checkout. Editing a rate or adding an override changes live tax on new orders immediately — double-check the percentage before you save. --- ## 4. Locations & Shipping This page holds four related things: **stock locations** (your warehouses), **shipping profiles** (product groupings for fulfillment), **service zones** (geographic areas), and **shipping options** (the priced choices customers see at checkout). ### Stock locations A **stock location** is a place you fulfill orders from. It is tied to sales channels, so orders from those channels ship from this location. 1. Go to **Settings > Locations & Shipping** and click **Create**. 2. Enter a **name** (e.g. "Main Warehouse") and the **address** (at minimum an address line and country). 3. Click **Save**. Edit the name or address later from the location's three-dots menu. ### Shipping profiles A **shipping profile** groups products that need the same fulfillment handling — for example, fragile items shipped differently from ordinary ones. Shipping options are attached to a profile, so a profile is how you route particular products to particular options. ### Service zones A **service zone** is a geographic area where you offer a set of shipping options — for instance, a "United States" zone. 1. On the location's details page, click the **three-dots menu** in the **Shipping** (or **Pickup**) section header. 2. Choose **Create service zone** and enter a **name**. 3. Click **Manage areas** to select the countries the zone covers, then **Save**. ### Shipping options and their prices A **shipping option** is a delivery choice the customer picks at checkout — with its price. 1. Find the service zone on the location's details page and click **Create option**. 2. Fill in the fields: | Field | What it means | |-------|---------------| | **Name** | The label the customer sees at checkout, e.g. "Standard Shipping" | | **Price type** | **Fixed** (a set amount) or **Calculated** (worked out dynamically) | | **Shipping profile** | Restricts the option to products in that profile | | **Fulfillment provider** | Who handles the delivery | | **Enable in store** | Whether customers can see and choose this option | 3. For a **Fixed** price, set the amount per currency/region using the bulk price editor. 4. Click **Save**. ![The Create Shipping Option form with price type and price fields](images/tax-shipping-setup/shipping-option-create.png) Enter shipping prices **in decimals**: type `9.99` for $9.99, or `15` for $15.00. Never enter cents — `999` would mean a $999 shipping charge, not $9.99. > **Tip:** Give shipping options clear, plain names ("Standard Shipping", "Express Shipping"). Customers read these at checkout, so the wording matters. > **Caution:** Shipping prices and the **Enable in store** toggle change your live checkout right away. Raising a price, lowering it, or turning an option on or off changes what every shopper is charged and offered — verify the amount and the toggle before saving. For a store-wide free-shipping threshold instead, see Free Shipping (coming soon). --- ## 5. Sales Channels A **sales channel** is a path you sell through — typically a storefront, but it could be a mobile app or another surface. You control which products appear in each channel, so different channels can carry different catalogs. ### The important gotcha **A product only appears in a storefront if it is in that storefront's sales channel.** Availability is explicit, not automatic: if a product isn't assigned to the channel, it will **not** show up there — even if the product is published and in stock. This is the single most common reason a product is "missing" from a storefront in OmniCart. ### Create a sales channel 1. Go to **Settings > Sales Channels** and click **Create**. 2. Enter a **Name** (e.g. "Web Storefront") and an optional **Description**. 3. Click **Save**. ### Add products to a sales channel 1. Open the sales channel's details page. 2. In the **Products** section, click **Add**. 3. Check the products you want available in this channel, then click **Save**. To remove a product, select it and use the **Remove** button, then confirm. ![The sales channel details page with the Products section](images/tax-shipping-setup/sales-channel-products.png) > **Caution:** Adding or removing a product from a sales channel changes what shoppers can see and buy on that storefront immediately. Removing a live product hides it from customers at once. > **Tip:** If a product is live but not showing on the storefront, check its sales-channel assignment first — that's usually the cause. See [Products & Inventory](/guides/products-inventory) for where to set a product's channels. --- ## 6. Return Reasons A **return reason** is a predefined category explaining why an item is coming back — for example "damaged", "wrong size", or "changed mind". Operators pick one of these from a list when processing a return, so setting good reasons up front keeps your returns data consistent. ### Create a return reason 1. Go to **Settings > Return Reasons** and click **Create**. 2. Fill in the three fields: | Field | What it means | |-------|---------------| | **Value** | A short internal identifier in lowercase with underscores, e.g. `wrong_size` | | **Label** | The readable text shown when choosing the reason, e.g. "Wrong size" | | **Description** | Optional extra context about when to use this reason | 3. Click **Save**. ![The Create Return Reason form with value, label, and description](images/tax-shipping-setup/return-reason-create.png) To change a reason later, open **Settings > Return Reasons**, use the **ellipsis menu**, choose **Edit**, adjust the fields, and save. Deleting a reason from the same menu is irreversible. These reasons appear as choices when operators create a return, exchange, or claim — see [Returns, Exchanges & Claims](/guides/returns-exchanges-claims) for how they're used in practice. > **Tip:** Keep the list short and clear. A handful of well-named reasons is easier for operators to choose from — and far easier to report on — than a long, overlapping list. --- ## Quick reference - **Everything lives under Settings** — Regions, Tax Regions, Locations & Shipping, Sales Channels, Return Reasons. - **Region** = countries sharing one **currency** + tax behavior + payment/fulfillment providers. One currency per region. - **Tax region** = a country (or state/province) with a **default rate**; use **overrides** for products/shipping taxed differently. - **Locations & Shipping** = warehouses (**stock locations**), product groupings (**shipping profiles**), geographic **service zones**, and the **shipping options** customers pick. - **Shipping prices are decimals** — enter `9.99` for $9.99, never `999` or cents. - **Sales channel gotcha** — a product must be in a storefront's sales channel to appear there; assignment is explicit, not automatic. See [Products & Inventory](/guides/products-inventory). - **Return reasons** = predefined pick-list operators use when taking items back. See [Returns, Exchanges & Claims](/guides/returns-exchanges-claims). - **Anything touching tax rates, shipping prices, or sales-channel assignment changes live checkout immediately** — verify before you save.