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Card class: Hero • Category: Shipping & Courier

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At a glance

Days remaining before the Net Dispatch API key the merchant uses to create labels, rate-shop UK carriers, and pull tracking data stops working. Net Dispatch typically issues OAuth credentials with a 365-day TTL by default; the card surfaces the countdown.
What it counts(token_expires_at - now()) / 86400 rounded down to whole days. The card reads the OAuth credential TTL stamped at last successful auth handshake.
Token typeNet Dispatch API uses OAuth 2.0 client-credentials with a 365-day refresh-token TTL by default. Configurable per merchant; some legacy connections use static API keys.
What “expired” actually breaksOnce expired, every Net Dispatch API call returns HTTP 401. Label generation breaks across all underlying UK carriers; rate-shopping breaks; tracking-event polling breaks.
Detection mechanismVortex IQ checks credential metadata at every token-refresh event. The expiry stamp is cached and decremented hourly.
Renewal pathNet Dispatch Dashboard → Account → API Credentials → Regenerate. Paste new credentials into Vortex IQ Settings → Connectors → Net Dispatch. Total downtime: under 5 minutes if proactive.
Notification cadenceCard alerts at <14 days (warn) and <7 days (critical). Vortex IQ also sends in-app banner and email at 14, 7, 3, and 1 day.
Underlying-carrier credentialsNet Dispatch internally manages credentials with Royal Mail, DPD, Evri, etc. Those have their own expiry semantics inside Net Dispatch’s account; if they break, label generation for that specific carrier fails even though the Net Dispatch master key is still valid.
Time windowRT (real-time, refreshed hourly)
Alert trigger<14 days (warn) / <7 days (critical)
Rolesowner, operations

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Calculation

Calculated automatically from your NetDispatch data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.

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Worked example

A UK DTC merchant connected Net Dispatch on 14 Mar 25. Reading taken on 12 Mar 26.
DateDays to expiryCard stateWhat happened
14 Mar 25365greenInitial connection.
14 Sep 25181greenMid-life.
14 Feb 2628greenApproaching warn.
26 Feb 2616greenFirst pre-warn email.
28 Feb 2614amberWarn alert tripped.
07 Mar 267redCritical alert.
12 Mar 262redReading at this example.
The card reads 2 days with red sentiment. Three things to do:
  1. Rotate today. Open Net Dispatch dashboard, regenerate API credentials, paste into Vortex IQ. Under 5 minutes downtime.
  2. Schedule annual rotation reminder. 11 months ahead.
  3. Watch underlying-carrier credentials separately. Net Dispatch’s master key may be fine while one of its internal carrier credentials expires (Royal Mail OBA, DPD Account, etc), causing label-generation failures for that carrier only. Drill into API Error Rate for partial-failure patterns.

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Sibling cards merchants should reference together

CardWhy pair it with Days to Token ExpiryWhat the combination tells you
API Error RatePartial-failure capture.Master-key valid + per-carrier credential broken = error-rate spike on subset.
Label Generation Success RateWorkload that breaks on auth fail.Sudden drop across all carriers = master-key issue; drop on one carrier only = that carrier’s internal credential.
Shipments TotalVolume context.Volume-to-zero with auth failed = expiry was the cause.
Cross-connector: shopify.unfulfilled_ordersDownstream impact.UK Shopify backlog spike on Net Dispatch expiry.

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Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard

Where to look in Net Dispatch’s own dashboard: Net Dispatch Dashboard → Account → API Credentials. Shows credential creation date, TTL, and underlying carrier credential states. Why our number may legitimately differ from Net Dispatch’s portal:
ReasonDirectionWhy
Master-key vs carrier-internal credentialsDifferent scopeCard tracks master OAuth credential; portal also shows per-carrier credential states.
Time zone<1 day offUTC vs UK local time.
Cross-connector reconciliation:
CardExpected relationshipWhat causes legitimate divergence
royal_mail.rm_auth_token_expiry_daysDirect-RM credential.Independent if direct-RM also connected.

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Known limitations / merchant FAQs

My Net Dispatch master credential is fresh but Royal Mail labels are failing. Why? Net Dispatch internally manages a separate Royal Mail OBA (Online Business Account) credential. Royal Mail OBA credentials don’t have a fixed TTL but can be revoked or de-activated by Royal Mail. Check Net Dispatch dashboard → Carriers → Royal Mail → Credentials for the carrier-specific status. Reactivate via Royal Mail OBA portal if revoked. Should I rotate proactively? Yes annually. Even with 365-day TTL, rotating 1 month early creates a clean cycle and reduces surprise expiries during peak periods (don’t let credentials expire in November-December). Net Dispatch keys vs underlying carrier credentials, who manages? Master Net Dispatch OAuth credential: merchant manages via Net Dispatch dashboard. Underlying carrier credentials (Royal Mail OBA, DPD Account, etc): managed inside Net Dispatch by Net Dispatch CSM at onboarding; merchant typically doesn’t touch them. If carrier-side credentials break, contact Net Dispatch support. Card says 14 days but I rotated yesterday. Why? Vortex IQ refreshes hourly. Click “Reconnect” in Vortex IQ Settings to force-refresh. Should reflect new credential within 1-2 hours. What if expiry hits during UK Christmas peak? Avoid this by pre-rotating in October. If credentials expire mid-peak, label generation breaks and Christmas orders queue. UK retail-customer expectations during peak are tight; downtime is more painful than usual. Multiple Net Dispatch accounts? Each connector instance has its own credential and card. Multi-account merchants (e.g. UK Ltd plus separate Ireland subsidiary) need to monitor each independently.

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Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

Days to Token Expiry is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across NetDispatch and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. Start for free or book a demo to see this metric running on your own data.