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Metrics type: Key Metrics • 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.

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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. 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

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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: Cross-connector reconciliation:

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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.