FAQ & troubleshooting
The questions merchants actually ask, answered the way the product actually behaves. If yours isn't here, email support@forto.app — in the beta, the people answering are the people building.
Checkout shows my flat rates, not live carrier rates
Your Shopify plan likely doesn't include CCS (carrier-calculated shipping) — Shopify offers it on Grow (free with annual billing) and includes it on Advanced/Plus. Forto automatically runs Manual Rate Mode in that case: your Shopify zone rates show at checkout, and Forto still routes and labels at fulfillment. To get live rates, enable CCS on your Shopify plan and re-run Setup from Settings.
Why isn't duty being collected at checkout?
Duties at checkout (DDP) comes with Growth and up. Below that, orders ship DAP, where the destination collects from your customer on delivery. If your plan includes it, check Settings → DDP: “Duty & tax at checkout” must be on, and the destination must be one where DDP is supported for the routed carrier.
Who is the importer of record?
On Pro and up, Forto is the seller and taxpayer of record for orders inside your coverage line, in the jurisdictions where it holds the registration. On other plans, and everywhere else, the role stays with you unless a separate written agreement says otherwise — see the Terms.
The border charged a different duty than the quote — who pays?
Whoever caused it. Forto pays when the cause is a customs code Forto chose, its tariff data or its calculation. You pay when it comes from your product information: the price, the country of origin, or a customs code you entered yourself. Where the carrier's bill does not say what customs used, it settles against your wallet and you can ask Forto to review it. Your customer is never charged again, and the correction sits on the order it belongs to. The full rule is in section 6.3 of the Terms.
When am I actually charged?
Subscription: monthly or yearly via Stripe. Everything else flows through the prepaid wallet you approved once — shipping and duties draw down as parcels ship, and the wallet tops up automatically. Every movement is on the statement.
Can I use my own carrier contracts?
Yes, on Growth and up — connect them in Settings → Carriers. They compete in routing with Forto’s pool; when yours wins you pay your negotiated rate; Forto charges $0.07 per label on plans it bills (none on a plan Shopify bills). How many accounts you can connect is on Pricing.
I ship with my own carriers — how do plan limits count my orders?
On Starter, Growth and Pro, Forto ships every order, and each counts as a label, whether it ships on Forto’s carriers or on a carrier contract of your own connected to Forto. Keeping your own carriers for your orders inside the EU is an Enterprise setup. A quoted order counts only on Enterprise contracts that ship cross-border on their own carrier account, when Forto calculated its landed cost at checkout. When the month’s labels in your plan are used, buying labels waits for the next month or a higher plan; checkout, tracking and monitoring keep working. The limits are on Pricing.
What happens past my coverage line?
Nothing is billed and nothing stops. For the rest of the month, orders continue under your own VAT number, or with duties paid at the door where you don’t have one. The line bounds how much tax Forto answers for on your behalf; Enterprise can raise it against wallet reserves. The size of the line on each plan is on Pricing.
How do refunds reach my customer?
Configure the trigger — on carrier scan or on delivery back — and the refund writes to the Shopify order automatically, settling against the original shipment's line.
Can I cancel or switch plans?
Any time between Starter, Growth and Pro. Plan changes apply immediately with Stripe prorating the difference; cancellation keeps your access until the period ends. Starter is free forever. Enterprise is booked through a demo and runs on a term agreed with your account team.
Where does my data live, and can I get a DPA?
EU data residency, GDPR applies, and a DPA is available on request — email support@forto.app. Forto never touches card numbers; payments are tokenized and processed by Stripe.