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Version: v1

PayPal Shipment Tracking

When you record a fulfillment with a tracking number for an order paid through PayPal, Order Management System automatically submits the shipment details to PayPal. You do not need to copy the tracking number into PayPal separately.

Requirements​

Tracking is submitted only when all of the following are true:

  • The order was paid through PayPal. Tracking for orders paid through other processors is not submitted.
  • The fulfillment includes a tracking number when it is first recorded. Adding a tracking number to an existing fulfillment later does not queue it for PayPal submission.
  • The PayPal payment has been captured.
note

If you record the fulfillment before the payment is captured, Order Management System holds the tracking details until capture is confirmed. You do not need to record the fulfillment again. See Captures for more about captured and uncaptured payments.

Timing and reliability​

Tracking submissions are processed in the background on a recurring schedule, so new tracking details may not appear in PayPal immediately.

Temporary submission failures are retried automatically with increasing delays. If PayPal reports that the same tracking details already exist, Order Management System treats them as successfully submitted instead of creating a duplicate.

Checking the outcome​

On the order page in the dashboard, each fulfillment's tracking link carries a small icon showing whether the tracking has been synced to the payment processor, is queued for the next attempt, is still held (for example, awaiting capture), or whether the sync failed. Hover over the icon to see when the details were submitted or why the sync failed. Fulfillments that were never queued — orders paid through other processors, or fulfillments recorded without a tracking number — show a faint info icon reading No sync required. Fulfillments recorded before tracking submission was introduced have no icon.

Troubleshooting​

If tracking does not appear in PayPal:

  1. If the fulfillment's tracking link on the order page has an icon next to it, hover over it. A held or failed sync explains itself there.
  2. Confirm that the order was paid through PayPal.
  3. Confirm that the tracking number was included when the fulfillment was first recorded, rather than added later.
  4. Confirm that the payment has been captured.
  5. Allow time for background processing and automatic retries.

If the requirements are met and the tracking details still do not appear, contact ODUS support with the order and payment IDs.