> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nowshipping.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Now Shipping API Glossary: Terms and Concepts Defined

> Definitions for key terms used throughout the Now Shipping API: businessAccountCode, AWB, zone catalog, company account, and more.

The following terms appear throughout the Now Shipping API documentation, request bodies, and response payloads. Use this page as a quick reference while you build your integration.

## Account and identity terms

| Term                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Business account**     | A Now Shipping merchant account with the role `Business`. Every entity that ships through Now Shipping has one.                                                                                                                       |
| **Company account**      | A business account flagged as `isCompanyAccount = true`. Represents a multi-tenant integrator platform — for example, an e-commerce SaaS or fulfilment aggregator.                                                                    |
| **Merchant sub-account** | A business account linked to a company via `parentCompany`. Each shop on your platform maps to one merchant sub-account.                                                                                                              |
| **API key**              | Secret token in the format `nsk_live_...` that authenticates your integration. One key can serve all merchants under a company account. Only a SHA-256 hash is stored; the raw key is shown once at creation and cannot be recovered. |

## Identifier terms

| Term                    | Description                                                                                                                                                                            |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **businessAccountCode** | 8-digit numeric code auto-assigned to every business account (e.g. `48291736`). The primary identifier accepted by `X-Merchant-Id`.                                                    |
| **externalMerchantId**  | Your platform's own shop ID (e.g. `shop_123`), supplied when you onboard a merchant and stored for cross-referencing. Also accepted as `X-Merchant-Id`.                                |
| **X-Merchant-Id**       | Per-request HTTP header that identifies which merchant an order or pickup belongs to. Required on order and pickup routes when using a company API key.                                |
| **orderNumber**         | 6-digit display number assigned to every order by Now Shipping (e.g. `482917`). Use this to retrieve order details, download the AWB, or cancel the order.                             |
| **pickupNumber**        | 6-digit number assigned to every pickup by Now Shipping. Use this to retrieve, update, cancel, or delete a pickup.                                                                     |
| **referralNumber**      | Your platform's own order or reference ID, passed at order creation and stored by Now Shipping for cross-referencing. Use it to map Now Shipping orders back to your internal records. |

## Request and response terms

| Term             | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Scope**        | Permission attached to an API key that controls which endpoint groups it can call. Available scopes: `orders`, `pickups`, `merchants`.                                                                                                |
| **AWB**          | Air Waybill — the printable shipping label PDF for an order. Download it via `GET /orders/{orderNumber}/awb`.                                                                                                                         |
| **Zone catalog** | The authoritative list of governorate and zone values returned by `GET /delivery-zones`. Zone strings in order requests must be exact values from this catalog — free text is rejected.                                               |
| **ETag**         | HTTP response header returned by `GET /delivery-zones`. Send it as `If-None-Match` on subsequent requests; the API returns `304 Not Modified` when the catalog hasn't changed, saving bandwidth and counting against your rate limit. |

## Order and shipping terms

| Term                 | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Express shipping** | A faster delivery option available for `Deliver` order types in supported zones. Toggle with the `isExpressShipping` flag at order creation. Cannot be changed more than 6 hours after the order is placed. |
| **COD**              | Cash on delivery — the customer pays the courier at the point of delivery. Enabled with `"COD": true` and an `amountCOD` value on the order.                                                                |
| **CD**               | Cash difference — the amount collected or refunded when an `Exchange` order involves a price difference between the outgoing and incoming item.                                                             |

<Note>
  Fees are always computed server-side. Never include `orderFees`, `pickupFees`, `shippingFee`, or similar fields in create or update request bodies — the API ignores or rejects them.
</Note>