DHL Express - Trackstar

Overview

DHL Express invoices come from DHL’s MyBill portal. Each invoice arrives as up to three files: an express CSV, a customs CSV, and an invoice PDF. The CSVs have a two-level structure: I (invoice) rows carry billing account metadata, and S (shipment) rows are the actual shipments. Charges live in numbered extra-charge (XC) slots: XC1–XC9 in express CSVs and XC1–XC11 in customs CSVs. Each non-zero XC charge on an S row becomes one line item in the Trackstar API.

Files you’ll receive

DHL hands out each invoice’s files as a zip. Trackstar unpacks it, so the Files endpoint returns the individual files, never a zip.

File	`file_type`	What it is
Express CSV	`csv`	The shipment-level invoice CSV documented on this page. Served as DHL sends it.
Customs CSV	`csv`	Same structure, with extra-charge slots up to `XC11`, so it is wider than the express CSV. Its `S` rows leave `Billing Account` blank. Served as DHL sends it.
Invoice PDF	`pdf`	The printable invoice. Served as DHL sends it.

File names come from DHL. At least one file per invoice is named after the invoice number alone (for example MUC2684030563.csv); the customs CSV carries an extra suffix on the same name.
Files can arrive days after the invoice date. DHL publishes an invoice a few days after the date it is filed under, so Trackstar re-checks the last 30 days on every sync and downloads any invoice it doesn’t have yet.
Older invoices can appear twice. Invoices first synced before August 2026 may be listed more than once in the Files API. Invoices synced since then are downloaded once. Line items are not duplicated either way.

Shape notes

Line Type markers. The first column is Line Type: I for invoice-level rows, S for shipment rows. Only S rows become line items in the Trackstar API; billing account is carried forward from the preceding I row when an S row leaves Billing Account blank (always the case in customs CSVs).
Columns are read by name, not position. The sample express CSV has 153 columns, in the same order as a real DHL express file, but don’t rely on a fixed width or order. Customs CSVs are wider, and some rows carry more values than the header has columns. Trackstar keeps those extra values in the line item’s raw field under Extra Columns, as a list.
Dates are YYYYMMDD. Invoice and due dates use 8-digit format with no separators, e.g. 20260331 for 31 March 2026. Trackstar dates every line item with Invoice Date; the Shipment Date column is not used.
Charges come from XC slots. Each slot has seven columns (Code, Name, Charge, Tax Code, Tax, Discount, Total), split across two places in the file (see Extra charges below). Any slot with a populated Name and non-zero Charge becomes a Trackstar line item, valued at XC{n} Charge (not XC{n} Total, so tax and discount are not included).
Only XC charges become line items. Weight Charge, Other Charges 1 / 2, and the Discount 1–3 columns stay in raw but are never separate line items. The line items for a shipment therefore don’t add up to its Total amount (excl. VAT).
European number format is tolerated. DHL Express in some regions delivers amounts like 5.476,48 (period as thousands separator, comma as decimal). Trackstar handles both formats automatically.

Sample rows

Curated subset showing the Line Type/XC structure. The downloadable express CSV has all 153 columns.

Line Type,Invoice Number,Invoice Date,Billing Account,Shipment Number,Product Name,Weight (kg),Total amount (excl. VAT),XC1 Name,XC1 Charge,XC2 Name,XC2 Charge
I,MUC2684030563,20260331,196946120,,,,,,,,
S,MUC2684030563,20260331,196946120,8693906809,EXPRESS WORLDWIDE doc,10.1,138.56,Duties & Taxes Advanced,8.95,Address Correction,6.66
S,MUC2684030563,20260331,196946120,3391005566,EXPRESS 12:00 doc,3.7,84.30,Oversize Piece,15.76,Premium 10:30,15.63
S,MUC2684030563,20260331,196946120,4339666456,EXPRESS 9:00 doc,9.7,102.08,Premium 10:30,3.41,Duties & Taxes Advanced,2.32
S,MUC2684030563,20260331,196946120,6935433564,EXPRESS WORLDWIDE nondoc,16.8,133.35,Premium 10:30,16.41,Duties & Taxes Advanced,4.51

Download

Download full sample express CSV (1 I row + 15 S rows, 153 columns)

All sample data is synthetic. Tracking numbers, account numbers, addresses, and reference fields are fabricated and do not correspond to any real shipments or customers.

Fields

Invoice identification

Column	Description	Example
`Line Type`	`I` or `S`; determines how the row is processed	`S`
`Billing Source`	Source system (`BBP` = billing portal)	`BBP`
`Original Invoice Number`	Original if this is a correction
`Invoice Number`	Unique invoice ID	`MUC2684030563`
`Station Code`	DHL billing station	`MUC`
`Invoice Identifier`	Station + invoice + type suffix	`MUC2684030563I`
`Invoice Type`	Invoice kind	`Invoice` / `Credit Note`
`Invoice Date`	YYYYMMDD	`20260331`
`Payment Terms`	Free-text terms	`Net 14 Days`
`Due Date`	Payment due (YYYYMMDD)	`20260414`
`Parent Account`	Billing hierarchy parent
`Billing Account`	Customer account	`196946120`

Billing address

Column	Description
`Billing Account Name` / `Billing Account Name (Additional)`	Billed entity names
`Billing Address 1` / `2` / `3`	Street lines
`Billing Postcode`	Postal code
`Billing City`	City
`Billing State/Province`	State / province
`Billing Country Code`	ISO country
`Billing Contact`	Contact name
`VAT Number`	VAT registration (for EU accounts)

Shipment

Column	Description	Example
`Shipment Number`	DHL tracking number	`8693906809`
`Shipment Date`	YYYYMMDD. Not used by Trackstar; line items are dated by `Invoice Date`	`20260314`
`Country Specific Label` / `Country Specific Value`	Country-specific reference
`Shipment Reference 1` / `2` / `3`	Customer-supplied refs
`Product`	Product code	`P`
`Product Name`	Human-readable service	`EXPRESS WORLDWIDE doc`
`Pieces`	Piece count	`1`

Origin and destination

Column	Description
`Origin` / `Orig Name` / `Orig Country Code` / `Orig Country Name`	Origin station
`Senders Name` / `Senders Address 1`–`3` / `Senders Postcode` / `Senders City` / `Senders State/Province` / `Senders Country` / `Senders Contact`	Shipper address
`Destination` / `Dest Name` / `Dest Country Code` / `Dest Country Name`	Destination station
`Receivers Name` / `Receivers Address 1`–`3` / `Receivers Postcode` / `Receivers City` / `Receivers State/Province` / `Receivers Country` / `Receivers Contact`	Recipient address
`Proof of Delivery/Name`	POD signer

Contents and dimensions

Column	Description
`Description of Contents`	Shipment description
`Event Description`	Status / event
`Dimensions`	`LxWxH` string
`Cust Scale Weight (A)`	Customer-reported scale weight
`DHL Scale Weight (B)`	DHL-measured scale weight
`Cust Vol Weight (V)` / `DHL Vol Weight (W)`	Volumetric weights
`Weight Flag`	Which weight was used for billing
`Weight (kg)`	Final billed weight

Invoice totals

Column	Description	Example
`Currency`	ISO 4217	`EUR`
`Total amount (excl. VAT)`	Pre-tax total	`138.56`
`Total amount (incl. VAT)`	Tax-inclusive total	`164.89`
`Tax Code`	Tax code	`N`
`Total Tax`	Total VAT amount	`26.33`
`Tax Adjustment`	Post-calc adjustment
`Invoice Fee`	Flat invoice fee

Core charges

Column	Description
`Weight Charge`	Charge based on weight
`Weight Tax (VAT)`	VAT on weight charge
`Other Charges 1` / `Other Charges 1 Amount`	Named other charge #1
`Other Charges 2` / `Other Charges 2 Amount`	Named other charge #2
`Discount 1`–`3` / `Discount 1`–`3 Amount`	Up to three named discounts
`Total Extra Charges (XC)`	Sum of all XC charges on this row
`Total Extra Charges Tax`	VAT on extra charges

Extra charges (XC slots)

Each XC slot has seven columns: Code, Name, Charge, Tax Code, Tax, Discount, Total. In the express CSV they sit in two blocks: the Code, Name, Charge and Total columns for XC1–XC9 come together after Total amount (incl. VAT), and the Tax Code, Tax and Discount columns for XC1–XC9 come at the end of the row. Customs CSVs add XC10 and XC11. Any slot with a populated Name and non-zero Charge becomes a Trackstar line item. XC slots are dense, not sparse: if only 2 charges apply, they occupy XC1 and XC2, leaving XC3–XC9 empty.

Slot	Columns
`XC1`–`XC9`	`XC{n} Code`, `XC{n} Name`, `XC{n} Charge`, `XC{n} Tax Code`, `XC{n} Tax`, `XC{n} Discount`, `XC{n} Total`
`XC10`, `XC11`	Same columns, customs CSVs only

Common XC charge names include:

Fuel Surcharge
Oversize Piece
Remote Area Delivery
Address Correction
Duties & Taxes Advanced
Premium 10:30 / Premium 9:00
Saturday Delivery

Mapping to invoice line items

Each non-zero XC charge on an S row becomes one line item.

Trackstar field	Source	Notes
`tracking_number`	`Shipment Number`
`invoice_id`	`Invoice Number`
`account_id`	`Billing Account`	Taken from the preceding `I` row when the `S` row leaves it blank
`charge_description`	`XC{n} Name`
`gross_cost`	`XC{n} Charge`	Same value as `net_cost`; tax and discount are not included
`net_cost`	`XC{n} Charge`
`transaction_date`	`Invoice Date`	Also used for `created_date` and `updated_date`
`id`	`Invoice Number`, `Shipment Number`, `XC{n} Name`	Joined with `_` and base64-encoded. A repeat within one file gets `_1`, `_2`, and so on before encoding
`raw`	The whole CSV row	Plus `_charge_label` and `_charge_amount` for this charge, and `Extra Columns` when the row has more values than the header

​Overview

​Files you’ll receive

​Shape notes

​Sample rows

​Download

​Fields

​Invoice identification

​Billing address

​Shipment

​Origin and destination

​Contents and dimensions

​Invoice totals

​Core charges

​Extra charges (XC slots)

​Mapping to invoice line items

Overview

Files you’ll receive

Shape notes

Sample rows

Download

Fields

Invoice identification

Billing address

Shipment

Origin and destination

Contents and dimensions

Invoice totals

Core charges

Extra charges (XC slots)

Mapping to invoice line items