The implementation of PitneyShip is designed to be quick, low-touch, and scalable, especially for businesses with distributed teams. Here's a step-by-step overview of the typical process:
Needs Assessment & Plan Selection Businesses begin by selecting the appropriate PitneyShip plan—Office, Premium, or Enterprise—based on their size, number of users, and shipping volume.
Account Setup & Onboarding After registration, users receive login credentials and access to the cloud-based dashboard. For Enterprise clients, Pitney Bowes may assign a dedicated onboarding specialist.
DeviceHub Installation (Optional) If using printers or scales, users install DeviceHub, a lightweight application that connects hardware to the PitneyShip platform. This step is optional but enhances automation and label printing.
Carrier Account Integration Users can either use Pitney Bowes’ pre-negotiated discounted rates or link their own USPS, UPS, or FedEx accounts. This step is straightforward and typically takes just a few minutes.
User & Role Configuration Admins can add users, assign roles, and set permissions. This is especially useful for organizations with multiple departments or locations.
Customization & Presets Businesses can configure shipping presets, cost accounts, and default settings to match their workflows. This includes setting up custom fields, return addresses, and label formats.
Training & Support Access Pitney Bowes provides access to tutorials, documentation, and live support. For Enterprise clients, optional training sessions may be included.
Go Live Once setup is complete, users can begin printing labels, scheduling pickups, and tracking shipments immediately.
Implementation Timeframe: For most small to mid-sized businesses, setup can be completed in under a day. Enterprise deployments may take a few days to a week, depending on the complexity of integrations and the number of users
Customisation
PitneyShip offers a high degree of customization, especially in its Pro and Enterprise versions. Here are the key customization capabilities:
Custom Fields: Admins can create and edit custom fields to capture business-specific data such as department codes, project IDs, or internal references.
User Roles & Permissions: Businesses can assign different access levels to users, ensuring that only authorized personnel can perform certain actions like cost allocation or carrier selection.
Cost Account Management: Users can create, edit, import, and export cost accounts to track postage and shipping expenses by department, client, or project.
Shipping Presets: Frequently used shipping configurations (e.g., carrier, service level, packaging type) can be saved as presets to speed up processing and reduce errors.
Carrier Flexibility: Businesses can use Pitney Bowes’ discounted rates or integrate their own negotiated carrier accounts, offering full control over shipping costs and preferences.
API Access (Enterprise Plan): For advanced customization, PitneyShip Enterprise offers API access, allowing integration with ERP systems, e-commerce platforms, and custom workflows.
Label & Document Customization: Users can choose label formats, add logos, and configure return address settings to align with branding and operational needs.
Reporting & Analytics: Custom reports can be generated to analyze shipping trends, costs, and performance metrics, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.
Multi-Location & Multi-User Support: The platform supports unlimited users and locations in the Enterprise plan, with centralized control and visibility.
These features make PitneyShip highly adaptable for industries like retail, legal, healthcare, and logistics, where compliance, cost tracking, and workflow efficiency are critical.
Additional Costs
PitneyShip is designed to be a low-barrier, cloud-based solution, and most users can get started without incurring setup fees. Here's a breakdown of typical cost considerations:
Setup Fees: There are no mandatory setup fees for standard plans (Office and Premium). Enterprise clients may incur setup or onboarding fees depending on the scope of customization and integration required, but these are quoted on a case-by-case basis.
Maintenance Costs: Since PitneyShip is cloud-based, there are no traditional maintenance fees. Updates and feature enhancements are rolled out automatically.
Support Charges: Basic support—including documentation, FAQs, and live chat—is included in all plans. Enterprise clients may receive dedicated account management and premium support, which could be part of a custom pricing package.
Hardware Costs: Optional devices like the PitneyShip Cube or compatible scales and printers may involve additional costs if purchased separately.
Carrier Charges: While PitneyShip offers discounted rates, actual shipping costs depend on package weight, dimensions, and destination. Users can also bring their own carrier accounts.
Training
PitneyShip provides a range of training and support resources to ensure smooth onboarding and ongoing usage:
Self-Service Resources: The PitneyShip Support Center offers extensive documentation, how-to guides, and video tutorials covering setup, printing, cost accounts, reporting, and more.
Live Chat & Phone Support: Available for troubleshooting and real-time assistance, especially during business hours.
Onboarding Assistance: For Enterprise clients, Pitney Bowes may assign onboarding specialists to guide implementation, user setup, and system integration.
Training Sessions: Optional virtual training sessions may be available for teams, especially for Enterprise deployments.
Community & Forums: Users can access peer discussions and expert advice through Pitney Bowes’ support community.
Release Notes & Updates: Regular updates are documented with release notes to help users stay informed about new features and improvements.
Security Measures
PitneyShip incorporates several layers of security to protect user data and ensure compliance:
Cloud-Based Infrastructure: Hosted on secure servers with encryption protocols for data transmission and storage.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Available for Enterprise users, allowing secure and centralized access control.
Role-Based Permissions: Admins can assign roles and restrict access to sensitive data and functions.
Secure Carrier Integrations: Connections to USPS, UPS, and FedEx are encrypted and authenticated.
Audit Trails & Reporting: Activity logs and reports help monitor usage and detect anomalies.
Compliance Standards: Pitney Bowes adheres to industry best practices for data protection and may comply with standards like GDPR and SOC 2, depending on deployment.
Updates
PitneyShip releases updates frequently—typically every two to three weeks. For example, in 2025, updates were rolled out on June 26, June 11, May 29, May 15, April 30, April 16, and April 4, indicating a consistent release cycle.
Updates are managed centrally through the PitneyShip Software Update Hub, where users can view release notes detailing new features, bug fixes, and enhancements. These updates are automatically applied to the cloud-based platform, meaning users do not need to manually install anything. For hardware like the PitneyShip Cube, firmware updates can be managed via the mobile app.
Data Ownership and Portability
PitneyShip follows a user-centric data ownership model, meaning that businesses retain ownership of their shipping data, cost accounts, and transaction history. Users can:
Export shipping history and cost account data in CSV format.
Delete or edit cost accounts as needed, provided no transactions are tied to them
Access audit trails and reports, which can be downloaded for internal use or compliance.
While Pitney Bowes does not publicly detail a formal data portability policy, the ability to export key data sets suggests that businesses can transition their shipping records to other platforms if needed. For Enterprise clients, API access further enhances data portability and integration with external systems.
Scaling Up / Down
PitneyShip is designed to be scalable and flexible, with clear pathways for both expansion and downsizing:
Scaling Up: Businesses can upgrade from Office to Premium or Enterprise plans as their needs grow. The Enterprise plan supports unlimited users and locations, API access, and advanced customization. Adding users, locations, or carrier accounts is straightforward and can be done through the admin dashboard.
Scaling Down: If a business needs to reduce its usage, it can downgrade to a lower-tier plan or remove users and locations. Cost accounts and shipping presets can also be adjusted or deleted.
No Long-Term Contracts: Most plans are billed monthly, allowing businesses to adjust their subscription without long-term commitments.
Support for Distributed Teams: PitneyShip’s cloud infrastructure and mobile app make it easy to scale across remote or multi-location teams without additional hardware or IT overhead.
The terms & conditions for contract renewal and cancellation
PitneyShip subscriptions operate on a monthly auto-renewal basis. Once you subscribe, your plan will automatically renew each month at the then-current price, unless you cancel it beforehand.
Cancellation Terms:
Only users with Admin privileges can cancel a subscription.
To cancel, sign in to PitneyShip, click your name in the upper-right corner, select “Cancel Subscription”, choose a reason, and submit the request.
If the cancellation option is unavailable, users are advised to contact Pitney Bowes via live chat.
There are no penalties or cancellation fees for ending a subscription, and you can cancel anytime before the next billing cycle.
Contract Flexibility:
There are no long-term contracts for standard plans (Office and Premium), making it easy to scale up or down.
Enterprise contracts may include custom terms, which are negotiated individually and may involve onboarding or integration fees.
Policy Updates:
Pitney Bowes reserves the right to change terms and pricing, with updates posted on their website. Continued use of the service after changes implies acceptance
Compliance
PitneyShip adheres to several industry-standard security and compliance practices:
Data Protection & Privacy: Pitney Bowes complies with its Privacy Statement, which aligns with global data protection regulations such as GDPR for European users and CCPA for California residents.
Secure Transactions: The platform uses SSL encryption for data transmission and secure carrier integrations.
Role-Based Access Control: Admins can assign permissions to users, ensuring sensitive data is only accessible to authorized personnel.
Audit Trails & Reporting: Activity logs and shipping reports help maintain transparency and support compliance audits.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Available for Enterprise users, enhancing identity management and security.
Terms of Use & Arbitration Clause: Pitney Bowes includes a binding arbitration clause in its terms, which may be relevant for legal compliance and dispute resolution
