Setting a Collection Date

What It Does

When Helm creates a shipping label, it also tells the courier when the parcel will be ready to collect. Without a collection date, the courier uses its own default collection time. Setting one lets you choose a later day and time instead, for example when orders are packed today but your courier only collects on certain days.

You can set a collection date in three ways:

• On one order, from the order's Shipping Options.

• On many orders at once, from the Orders list.

• Automatically, with an order rule that works the date out for you.

Example: your courier collects on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You create an order rule with the Set Collection Date action, choose Next day of week, select Tuesday and Thursday and set the time to 15:00. An order picked on Wednesday morning gets a collection date of Thursday at 15:00, and that date goes to the courier with the label.

Before You Start

• Labels go through Voila. The collection date is sent with label requests made through Helm's Voila shipping connection.

• Set it before the label is created. The date travels to the courier at the moment the label is created, so set it while the order is still waiting to be despatched.

• Use a date in the future. If the date has passed by the time the label is created, Helm leaves it out and the courier's default collection time is used.

• Check your permissions. Setting a collection date on several orders needs permission to update orders. Without it, Collection Date is greyed out in the Set menu.

• Times follow your company timezone, as set in your company settings.

Setting a Collection Date on One Order

1. Go to Orders and open the order.

2. In Shipping Options, click the Collection Date field.

3. Choose the day in the calendar. Days that have already passed are greyed out.

4. Set the time on the right of the calendar, then click Apply.

Setting a Collection Date on Many Orders

1. Go to Orders and tick the orders you want to update.

2. In the bar at the bottom of the screen, click Set, then Collection Date.

3. The Set Collection Date window shows how many orders you have selected. Click the Collection Date field, choose a day and time, and click Apply.

4. Click Set Collection Date.

To remove a collection date from the selected orders instead, turn on Clear collection date and click Set Collection Date. Those orders then go back to the courier's default collection time.

Setting Collection Dates Automatically With an Order Rule

An order rule can work out the collection date for every order that matches it, so nobody has to set dates by hand.

1. Go to Settings > Despatch Settings > Order Rules and click Create Rule, then Create Manual.

2. Give the rule a Rule Name.

3. Under Triggers, set Trigger to Status and Event to Updated. This runs the rule once the order is picked or ready to despatch, which is the trigger we recommend.

4. Add Filters if the rule should only apply to some orders, for example one courier or one sales channel.

5. Under Actions, choose Set Collection Date as the Action.

6. Choose a Day type (see the table below), then fill in the field that appears:

   1. Days ahead for Calendar days, Business days and Business days excl. holidays. This can be from 0 to 365; 0 means the day the order was created.

   2. Day of week for Next day of week. You can select more than one day.

7. Set the Time of day the courier should collect.

8. To check the result before saving, type an order number into Test Rule. Helm shows the order's current collection date and the one the rule would set.

9. Click Save Changes.

Best Practices & Notes

Match Your Courier's Collection Days

If your courier collects on fixed days, Next day of week is usually the simplest choice: select those days and set the time of the collection. Orders always land on the next collection after they are ready.

Test Before You Save

Run Test Rule against a real order before saving a new rule. It shows exactly which date the rule would set, so you can check weekends and bank holidays are handled the way you expect.

Warehouses Outside England & Wales

Business days excl. holidays uses the England and Wales bank holiday calendar. If your warehouse follows Scottish or Northern Irish bank holidays, use Business days and set dates by hand around your local holidays.

FAQ

If a courier collects on a different day from the one you set, check the order's Collection Date and the request in Courier Logs, then contact the Helm support team with the order number.