Stopping Shopify Tips and other Non-Shippable Items from Displaying on Customs Forms

For many growing ecommerce stores, completing customs forms can be one of the trickiest parts of international shipping. Each destination has different requirements – and when the data coming from Shopify doesn’t match what’s needed for customs declarations, fulfilment teams are left with extra admin and potential delays.

One ecommerce business recently came to us with a problem that was costing them both time and money. Shopify’s new Tips feature – which lets customers leave a small thank-you at checkout – was working perfectly on the storefront, but behind the scenes those “tips” were being treated as physical items and automatically added to customs forms.

Here’s how we helped this Shopify brand fix the issue – and how you can do the same.

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The Problem: Shopify Tips Displaying as Line Items on Customs Forms  

Since Shopify Tips are recorded as line items within an order, they were automatically included in the data added to customs forms.

The issue? Tips aren’t physical products – they’re not being shipped to the customer, yet they were appearing on customs declarations just like any tangible item. This wasn’t just unnecessary extra data for border control, this was causing another issue.

As well as featuring on the customs forms, tips were being included in the total goods value submitted to customs. As a result, duties and taxes were being calculated on inflated totals – leading to unnecessary costs on every international shipment.

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The Challenge: Increases in Duties Paid due to Non-shippable items displaying on Shopify Customs Forms

The problem extended beyond tips. Shopify also records other non-shippable products – like digital downloads, charitable donations, and gift cards – as line items too.

Because these are treated the same way as shippable goods, they automatically appear on customs forms unless removed manually. For businesses processing hundreds of international orders a week, that’s a lot of unnecessary admin – and a real risk of overpaying duties.

The challenge was clear: How could we ensure non-shippable items still appeared on order invoices and reports, while automatically excluding them from customs paperwork?

The Solution: Using Zenstores to Manage Non-Shippable Items and Customs Forms for International Orders 

To solve this, we refined how Zenstores handles customs automation for Shopify orders.

Working with the customer, we first ensured their tips, donations, and other digital items were correctly set as non-shippable items within Shopify. 

From there, Zenstores automatically identified these products when orders were imported – and excluded them from customs declarations.

That means there’s no need to delete items from orders, make manual edits, or adjust totals before dispatch.

Now, when an international order is processed:

• Non-shippable items (like tips) are still listed on invoices.
• Customs forms only include physical products being shipped.
• Duties and taxes are calculated accurately every time.
• The fulfilment team saves valuable time on every international shipment.

The Results: Collecting Shopify Tips on International Orders with Confidence

Combining this change with our existing suite of Customs-Automation features, this business is now able to ship internationally with the same ease as processing their domestic orders.

Without needing to scrutinise and edit customs forms, they can continue to collect tips at their checkout with confidence and reward their fulfilment team for all the hard work they do.

At Zenstores, we hold ourselves to a high standard when it comes to international shipping. No matter the destination country or carrier used, shipping should be a frictionless and automated experience, so you can focus your time and energy on growing your business.

Ready to streamline your Shopify customs process? See how Zenstores can help you automate customs data, save time, and ship worldwide with ease.