You set label printing up in Baselinker once, and from then on a parcel is dispatched with one click - along with a tracking number that finds its own way back to the store and the customer. Three things are needed: a connected courier account (your own contract or a broker such as Apaczka or Furgonetka, the Polish shipping brokers), a small program installed on the computer linking the dashboard to the printer, and a shipment template where you set weight, dimensions, insurance and cash-on-delivery in advance. The rest is automatic.
Below is the whole configuration in the order I set it up for clients. Tab names differ between dashboard versions, so I describe what to look for, not just where to click.
How parcel dispatch works in Baselinker
Dispatching parcels in Baselinker means creating a shipment with a carrier from your order list, printing the label and sending the tracking number back to wherever the order came from. The dashboard is only an intermediary here - it does not carry parcels and has no shipping price list of its own. You are billed by the carrier or the broker you hold an account with.
The whole chain looks like this:
- An order arrives in Baselinker from the store or a marketplace
- You select orders and choose a shipment template (a dispatch profile)
- The dashboard sends the data to the carrier and receives a waybill number and a label file back
- The label goes to the printer - manually or automatically
- The tracking number returns to the store, the order changes status, the customer gets an email
What you need before you start
| Element | What for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A courier or broker account | without it there is nothing to print | your own contract with DPD, InPost, DHL, or a broker: Apaczka, Furgonetka, Sendit |
| Integration credentials | login, API key, customer number | from your carrier account manager or the broker’s dashboard |
| A printer | printing the label | a thermal printer on a 100 x 150 mm roll is the handiest; an ordinary laser works too |
| A connector program | Baselinker runs in a browser and cannot see the printer by itself | an app installed on the computer, the connector or print manager |
| Correct data in orders | a missing postcode or phone number means a dispatch error | this is where store integrations most often break |
Step 1 - connect a carrier or broker
Courier integrations sit in the dashboard settings, in the section listing carriers. You pick yours, paste in the credentials and save. Good practice is to give each integration a readable name straight away - if you have two accounts with one courier (say, separate ones for domestic and international parcels), in a month you will not tell them apart by logo alone.
Broker or a direct contract? Briefly:
| Option | When it makes sense | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Broker (Apaczka, Furgonetka, Sendit) | starting out, a few dozen parcels a month, comparing several couriers’ prices in one place | claims go through an intermediary, so they can be slower |
| Direct contract | steady, predictable volume and negotiated rates | you negotiate and connect each courier separately |
Price lists and discount thresholds change often, so treat this as direction, not a rate table.
Step 2 - add a label printer
Baselinker runs in a browser, and a browser has no direct access to a printer - so adding the printer in your operating system is not enough. You have to install a small intermediary app (the connector) that logs into your account and forwards print jobs to the chosen device.
The order is:
- Install the printer in your system and print a test page - if it does not work here, it will not work in the dashboard either
- Download and install the connector app from the Baselinker dashboard, and log into your account inside it
- In the print settings in the dashboard, pick the printer from the list and assign it a document type (label, waybill, invoice, delivery note)
- Set the format: for thermal printers usually 100 x 150 mm, for laser A4
- Do a test print on one order before you send a hundred
Two things I run into most often during setup: the connector app has to be running at the moment of printing (best added to the computer’s startup), and a label printed on a thermal printer should go out at original scale. A “fit to page” print shrinks the barcode by a few percent and the courier’s scanner can fail to read it - the parcel comes back or ends up in claims.
Step 3 - build a shipment template
A shipment template is a saved set of default parcel parameters, so you do not type the same thing on every order. You set it once per carrier and shipping type.
What is worth saving in it:
- Weight and dimensions - your most common parcel size, adjusted only for unusual orders
- Cash on delivery - the amount taken automatically from the order value rather than typed in
- Insurance - the threshold above which it should switch on
- Parcel contents - for example the first product name or the order number, useful in claims
- Reference - the order number visible on the waybill, priceless when hunting for a parcel
If you sell products of very different sizes, make several templates: “small parcel”, “standard box”, “oversize”. Picking a template from a list takes a second; correcting the weight in the dispatch window takes a dozen or more.
Step 4 - bulk dispatch and booking a courier
With a larger order count you do not dispatch parcels one at a time. You filter the list by status (for example “packed”), select all, pick a template and run bulk shipment creation. The dashboard returns a list of created numbers and - importantly - a list of errors.
You book the courier pickup separately, after the shipments are created: in the tab listing dispatched parcels you choose a pickup for a given day and time window. Some carriers have a fixed pickup under their contract, in which case this step disappears. The collection protocol (the list of parcels to sign) prints from the same place.
A good habit: dispatch parcels in one batch, at a fixed time, before the pickup cut-off. Scattered dispatches through the day are the shortest route to a parcel left in the warehouse because it was created after the courier drove away.
Step 5 - the tracking number back to the store
This is the part that takes the most work off your hands, and the part most often left unfinished. Once a shipment is created, the waybill number should automatically reach the order in the store and the customer - with no copying it by hand into an email.
You set this with automatic actions: the condition “shipment created” triggers a change of order status to “shipped”, and the status change sends the tracking number to the store or the marketplace. In WooCommerce the number lands in a shipment field or an order note, depending on how the integration is wired. If your orders do not come back the other way at all, or the dashboard goes quiet, start by checking the store connection itself - I covered that in the piece on what to do when Baselinker is not downloading orders.
It is also worth tidying up what the customer sees before buying: the delivery methods in the store should match the carriers you actually use in the dashboard. Without that, mapping delivery methods to shipment templates will always be a workaround.
The most common label printing problems
| Symptom | Usual cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The label does not print and the dashboard reports nothing | the connector app is not running | start it and add it to startup |
| Barcode unreadable to the scanner | rescaled print, poor ribbon quality or a dirty printhead | print at 100% scale, clean the head, check print density |
| An error creating shipments for some orders | missing phone, postcode or a bad address format | fix the data in the order and force a re-dispatch |
| A parcel dispatched twice | clicking again after a bulk error | before retrying, check the order’s shipment list and cancel the duplicate with the carrier |
| The customer does not get a tracking number | no automatic action, or no field mapping in the store | add the automation and check where the number lands in the store |
When to bring in a developer
A standard label and dispatch configuration is a few hours of work and you will comfortably do it yourself with this guide. A developer only becomes useful when the process goes beyond what the dashboard handles out of the box: custom carrier selection rules, parcels split across several waybills, data from an external warehouse, a wholesaler integration, custom automation over the API, or a connection to a warehouse system on the store side.
With me the start is always the same: a free diagnosis where I look at your store and the real order flow, and say plainly what can be sorted out with settings and what needs code. For bigger work - optimization or finishing off integrations - you get scope and a quote in writing before the start, with no blind billing. Projects in this area usually fit the 5,000-10,000 PLN net range, and day-to-day care runs under ongoing support (Basic from 1,000, Pro from 2,000, Premium from 3,500 PLN net per month).
Frequently asked questions
Does Baselinker print labels without installing a program on the computer? You can download a label as a PDF and print it manually from the browser - for a few parcels a day that is enough. Automatic printing, where the label comes out of the printer by itself after dispatch, requires the connector app installed on the computer next to the printer.
Which label printer works best? A thermal printer on a 100 x 150 mm roll, the waybill standard in Poland. It needs no toner or ink, prints one label in seconds and requires no paper cutting. An ordinary laser printer works too, you just waste paper and time sticking labels onto parcels.
How do I book a courier in Baselinker? First you create shipments for the orders, and only then, in the tab listing dispatched parcels, you book a pickup for a chosen day and time window. If your contract includes a fixed pickup, you skip this step entirely - the courier arrives on their own and you only print the collection protocol.
Will the tracking number come back to the store and the customer by itself? Yes, provided you set up an automatic action: shipment creation changes the order status, and the status change passes the number to the store and triggers the notification. Without it the number stays in the dashboard and you paste it by hand into every email.
Running a store where something does not work the way it should? I build and rebuild WooCommerce stores - from a single fix to reworking the whole sales flow. Tell me what you are dealing with and I will send back a scope and a price.