Introduction
In the main screen of the Pack & Ship website, a carrier number, reservation number, or item barcode can be entered. Once one of these is provided, the system performs initial checks to determine whether the found reservation is ready for processing.
There are several possible messages indicating why a reservation cannot yet be processed. The following sections describe these messages and their meanings.
Not fully picked
If this message appears, the logistical status of the reservation is not yet set to “Picked”. A reservation automatically receives this status once all its products have been collected.
Until that is the case, this message serves as a warning that the order-picking process has not yet been fully completed, and the reservation must wait before it can be processed further.
In exceptional cases where it is known that the reservation is in fact complete, it is possible to manually change the logistical status of the reservation to “Picked”.
Not fully paid
This reservation may qualify for cash on delivery (COD) because it has not been fully paid in advance. However, the transport method assigned to this reservation is missing a setting for a COD-compatible parcel service.
The reservation cannot be processed further until the correct settings are applied to the transport method and a COD parcel service is configured. Also verify that the reservation has a valid transport method assigned.
Reservation has already been sold
This reservation has already been sold, as shown in the example below. The reservation status is “Sold on account”. This means the reservation has already been processed, preventing it from being submitted a second time.
Request for COD parcel
If this message appears after scanning a reservation, it indicates that payment is still outstanding. You can only continue processing this reservation by selecting a COD-compatible parcel service later in the process.
Reservation found
Once a reservation has been found, a detailed screen is displayed showing information about the reservation and its products or carriers. The content of this screen depends largely on whether carriers are being used.
A reservation may have been found either by entering a carrier number or by entering the reservation number directly.
In the screen that appears after the main page, the left-hand side clearly shows customer details, the general and logistical status of the reservation, and the transport method chosen by the customer. The transport method is particularly useful for packing staff when selecting the correct parcel service later on.
On the right-hand side of the screen, the products and carriers associated with the reservation are displayed. As explained earlier, a reservation containing many products may be spread across multiple carriers, either because the products do not fit in one container or because they were collected across different departments or locations.
The Pack & Ship website informs the packing employee which additional carriers may still need to be located. If not all carriers can be found, the reservation cannot proceed further.
Carriers
If carriers are being used, a screen appears showing all carriers belonging to the found reservation. A reservation can consist of several carriers, and it is recommended to scan the barcode of each one.
In the example, only one carrier (number 100) is used. If more carriers are shown but some cannot yet be found, it means that other employees are still in the process of collecting products.
By clicking “products in carrier”, you can view the products expected to be in that carrier, as shown below.
In the item overview, you can see that one table was ordered and one has been collected. The “Next” button is still greyed out because the carrier barcode has not yet been scanned.
Once the barcode of carrier 100 is scanned, all carriers linked to reservation 1927 are recognised, the “Next” button becomes available, and a message confirms that all carriers have been scanned.
No carriers
If no carriers are used (depending on the RetailVista settings), the screen will instead display the products not assigned to a carrier.
It is also possible to use a combination approach — some products may be in carriers, while others are collected without them.
In the example, three chairs were ordered and three have been picked. The “Next” button is still greyed out because the chairs, which were collected without carriers, have not yet been scanned for verification.
To proceed, the operator should take the chairs and scan their barcodes once. This action marks the products as verified, updates the screen with check marks, and enables the “Next” button once all products have been confirmed.
Reservation check
When carriers are used, the products themselves have not yet been scanned at this point, so it is still uncertain whether the correct products are in the delivered carriers.
If item verification has been enabled in the RetailVista settings, this check becomes mandatory. It is displayed on the same screen used to prepare parcels for dispatch.
On the left-hand side, all products belonging to the reservation are shown. If an initial parcel has not already been created automatically (this is configurable), the first step is to add a parcel to the reservation by clicking the “+” button.
A dialogue window will appear allowing you to create a new parcel. The newly created parcel is displayed and automatically selected.
When scanning an item barcode (for example, 8713219241745), the system verifies whether the scanned barcode belongs to the reservation and simultaneously assigns that item to parcel number 1.
For reservations with multiple products and boxes, it is important to select the appropriate parcel before scanning, ensuring both verification and accurate item-to-parcel allocation.
All products correct
Each correctly scanned item is validated against the reservation. The verified quantity for each item is shown, and once it matches the expected quantity, that item row turns green.
When multiple parcels and products exist, clicking on a parcel number shows which products are contained in that parcel.
Once all products have been scanned and verified, the reservation is complete, and the “Announce parcels” button becomes available.
Preparing parcels
In the parcel preparation screen, one parcel is created by default. The parcel service assigned to the reservation’s transport method (as set in the sales order) is used automatically.
At the top of the screen, a parcel icon with a “1” is displayed. Additional parcels can be created using the “+” button — useful if all products do not fit into one box.
The text “19 / Own transport delivery” in the example refers to parcel number 19 created in RetailVista and the name of the parcel service.
After creating an additional parcel, a dialogue window appears asking which parcel service should handle the shipment. The default suggestion is the parcel service defined in the transport method.
RetailVista’s internal parcel service does not use carriers, unlike integrations such as SendCloud, where a carrier (e.g. PostNL) and parcel type (0–20 kg, 20–40 kg, etc.) must be selected.
The weight field is mandatory for parcel services but not functionally relevant; RetailVista automatically fills this field with a default weight of 1000 grams.
After closing this window, parcel “2” appears and is automatically selected (highlighted in blue). In the example, this parcel receives number 21.
If too many parcels have been created, you can delete one using the “Remove” button, leaving only the desired number of parcels.
Finally, click “Announce parcels” to register all created parcels as a single shipment with the selected parcel service.
If multiple parcels were created and the selected service supports multi-parcel (multi-collo) shipments, they will be registered as one combined shipment. The main advantage of this is that most carriers charge only a single shipping fee regardless of the number of boxes.
Refer to your parcel service contract for specific terms.
Announcing parcels
The final step in the Pack & Ship process is announcing the parcels to a parcel service.
The carrier responds by returning parcel labels, which can be printed and attached to the boxes. At the same time, the system generates the sales revenue by creating an on-account delivery.
In the example overview, three parcels have been announced, and their corresponding track & trace barcodes are displayed. The progress indicators show that all communication was successful.
After the reservation has been processed, the logistical status changes to “Ready for delivery”. The shipment has been prepared for handover to the customer but has not yet been delivered.
The general status of the reservation, however, is “Sold on account”. This is because the sale has been registered and stock levels have been permanently reduced.
Sales in RetailVista can only occur via a cash register or on account — there are no other accounting variations. Since the Pack & Ship website does not involve a cash register, all sales are automatically booked on account.
In accounting terms, the distinction between these two sales channels corresponds to the “cash book” and the “sales ledger”.
In the “Delivery” tab of the reservation, you can see that it has been converted into an on-account delivery transaction (number 519 in the example) and that a COD amount of €297 has been recorded, which has not yet been paid to the courier.
Adding extra parcels
From the reservation search screen, it is possible to add an additional parcel to an already processed reservation. This option is only available for reservations that have been completed and have a status of “Sold”.
After entering a reservation number and confirming that it has been sold, a screen appears showing the existing parcels for that reservation — for example, three parcels.
By clicking the “+” button or the “Add new parcel” link, one or more additional parcels can be added.
A dialogue window appears allowing you to select the parcel service and, if applicable, the carrier.
Once confirmed, an extra (in this example, fourth) parcel appears in the list for that reservation.
Just as with normal processing, newly added parcels can also be deleted if necessary.
Parcels created during the original processing (such as parcels 1, 2, and 3 in this example) cannot be removed.
When “Announce parcels” is selected, the newly added parcels are registered with the selected parcel service, and one or more labels are printed.
