---
title: "Inside vs Outside Dhaka Delivery Charge: Automate It in Chat"
description: Set up Inside Dhaka, Outside Dhaka and suburb delivery zones once,
  quote the right charge in every chat, and stop totals being typed wrong by
  hand.
url: https://salemag.net/blog/inside-outside-dhaka-delivery-charge
language: en
published: 2025-06-17
updated: 2025-06-17
author: SaleMag Team
tags:
  - delivery charge
  - inside dhaka
  - outside dhaka
  - cash on delivery
---

# Inside vs Outside Dhaka Delivery Charge: Automate It in Chat

> To automate inside and outside Dhaka delivery charges, define a short list of delivery zones that match your courier's rates, give each a flat fee, and let the customer pick their zone on an order form that adds the fee and shows the total. Nobody types the charge, so the chat total matches the door total.

- Build your zones from your courier's rate card, not from habit; suburbs like Savar or Gazipur are where mistakes happen.
- Name zones the way customers talk: “Inside Dhaka” and “ঢাকার ভিতরে”, not internal codes.
- Let the customer choose the zone and see the new total before ordering; that removes most door-step disputes.
- Typed delivery charges cause wrong totals, and wrong totals cause refusals.
- Weight surcharges and special cases still need a person; keep them out of your standard zones.

Ask three people on a busy page team what the delivery charge to Ashulia is, and you may get three answers. One says ৳60 because "it's Dhaka". One says ৳120. One checks the courier app and says something in between. The customer remembers the lowest number, and the rider arrives with the highest.

Delivery charges look like a small detail. In a [cash-on-delivery](https://salemag.net/glossary/cash-on-delivery) shop they are one of the most common reasons a total at the door does not match the total in chat. This guide shows how to set up delivery zones properly and take the charge out of human hands.

## What do shops usually charge inside and outside Dhaka?

Most Bangladeshi online shops charge a lower flat fee inside Dhaka city and a higher one outside Dhaka, often with a middle fee for nearby suburbs. The exact amounts come from your courier's rate card and change from time to time, so treat any number you see online as an example.

A typical structure, with example fees:

| Zone | Example areas | Example fee |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Dhaka | Dhanmondi, Mirpur, Uttara, Gulshan, Mohammadpur | ৳60 |
| Dhaka suburbs | Savar, Ashulia, Keraniganj, parts of Gazipur and Narayanganj | ৳100 |
| Outside Dhaka | Chattogram, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi and all other districts | ৳120 |

Some couriers also charge extra per kilogram above a base weight, or a cash-handling fee on COD. Ask your courier for their current terms in writing.

## How should you define your delivery zones?

Build zones from your courier's charges, then name them the way customers talk. A zone exists only if it has a different fee.

Four rules keep zones simple:

1. **Match the courier.** If your courier charges Savar the same as outside Dhaka, put Savar in Outside Dhaka. Your zone list should never promise a cheaper fee than you pay.
2. **Keep it short.** Two zones cover most shops. Three is fine. Beyond four, customers start picking the wrong one.
3. **Name zones in plain words.** "Inside Dhaka" and "ঢাকার ভিতরে" are better than "Zone A". Customers decide in a second.
4. **List the edge areas.** Write down which zone Tongi, Savar, Keraniganj, Narayanganj and Purbachal belong to. Put that list in your FAQ and your team's notes.

## Why should the delivery charge never be typed by hand?

Every hand-typed delivery charge is a chance to quote the wrong fee or add it wrong. When the rider asks for ৳1,570 and the customer remembers ৳1,510, many customers refuse the parcel rather than argue.

Typing errors are not the only problem. When a team grows, people quote from memory, and memory is out of date the week your courier changes rates. A fixed list of zones, used by everyone and by any bot, means one change updates every quote. Mismatched totals are a common cause of the returns covered in [how to cut parcel returns](https://salemag.net/blog/reduce-parcel-returns-rto).

## How do you automate delivery charges in chat?

There are four common ways to automate delivery charges, from simple to complete. Each step up removes more manual work:

| Method | How it works | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Saved reply | A pasted message listing your zones and fees | The agent still adds the fee and types the total |
| Keyword auto-reply | "delivery" or "charge" triggers the fee list | Does not know which zone the customer is in |
| FAQ chatbot | Answers "Dhakar baire charge koto?" from your policy | Answers the question, but the total is still typed |
| Order form with zone picker | Customer picks the zone, the system adds the fee and shows the total | Edge cases still need a check |

The order form is the only method where the fee and the total come from the same source with no typing. The customer sees the fee next to each zone and picks theirs.

### What the customer sees

On a well-built order form, each zone shows its fee and the new total, so there is nothing left to calculate:

```
Delivery area
( ) Inside Dhaka        Delivery ৳60  · Total ৳1,510
( ) Dhaka suburbs       Delivery ৳100 · Total ৳1,550
( ) Outside Dhaka       Delivery ৳120 · Total ৳1,570
```

On WhatsApp this form can open inside the chat, built with WhatsApp Flows. Read the [WhatsApp Flows order form guide](https://salemag.net/blog/whatsapp-flows-order-form-guide) for how those forms work.

## How do you handle tricky addresses?

Handle tricky addresses with a rule and a check, not a guess. Customers often write "Dhaka" for the whole division, or name a well-known place that sits on a zone border.

A typical chat:

> **Customer:** Dhakar baire jabe? Ami Tongi te thaki
> **Shop:** Ji jabe. Tongi amader "Dhaka suburbs" zone e, delivery ৳100. Order korte chaile form ta fill up korun.

Three habits help:

- **Ask when the address is unclear.** "Dhaka" alone is not an address. Ask for the area and thana.
- **Compare zone and address at confirmation.** If a customer picked Inside Dhaka but wrote Dhamrai, fix it before dispatch and tell them the new total.
- **Keep heavy items separate.** If a 10 kg rice cooker costs more to ship, say so on the product and handle the surcharge in chat. Do not create zones for weight, or customers will pick the cheap one.

## What about free delivery offers?

A free delivery offer is easiest as a temporary zone fee of ৳0. Change the fee for the sale period, announce the end date, and set it back when the sale ends.

Conditional offers, such as "free delivery above ৳2,000", need care. Many chat tools charge one flat fee per zone and cannot apply a condition by themselves. In that case, either make the offer unconditional for the sale or have your team adjust the qualifying orders when they confirm them. Tell customers which one you do.

## How does SaleMag handle delivery charges?

SaleMag keeps delivery fees in the chatbot's order settings and lets the server, not the AI, add them to the order:

- You add up to 20 delivery areas, each with a flat fee and an optional Bangla label such as ঢাকার ভিতরে.
- The AI may tell customers the fees from that list, but it never states a fee you have not listed.
- On the [WhatsApp order form](https://salemag.net/features/whatsapp-order-form), each area shows "Delivery ৳X · Total ৳Y", and the customer picks one before tapping *Place order*. Messenger and Instagram customers get the same form as a secure link.
- In in-chat checkout, the AI asks for the zone if the address does not make it clear, then sends an exact summary with subtotal, delivery and total.
- If you change a fee after the form was sent, SaleMag rejects the old form and sends a fresh one, so nobody orders at an out-of-date total.

What SaleMag does not do: it does not read your courier's rates, calculate weight surcharges or apply minimum-order free delivery. Those stay with your team.

## Next steps

Get your courier's latest rate card today and write down your two to four zones with their edge areas. Then put them in one place that everyone, including your chatbot, uses. To let customers pick their own zone on an order form, [start free with SaleMag](https://salemag.net/register) or [see pricing](https://salemag.net/pricing).

## Steps

1. **Get your courier's rate card**: List the areas your courier charges differently and the current fee for a standard parcel in each.
2. **Define two to four zones**: Group areas into zones such as Inside Dhaka, Dhaka suburbs and Outside Dhaka, each with one flat fee.
3. **Write customer-friendly labels**: Give each zone a plain English name and a Bangla label, and list edge areas in your FAQ.
4. **Let the order form add the fee**: Have the customer pick the zone on the order form so the fee and total are calculated, not typed.
5. **Check edge cases at confirmation**: Compare the address with the chosen zone before dispatch and fix the charge if needed.

## FAQ

### What is the usual delivery charge inside and outside Dhaka?

There is no single rate. Each courier sets its own charges by area and weight, and they change. Many shops use a lower charge inside Dhaka, a middle one for nearby suburbs and a higher one outside Dhaka, so check your courier's current rate card.

### Is Savar or Gazipur inside Dhaka for delivery?

It depends on your courier. Some treat parts of Savar, Gazipur, Keraniganj and Narayanganj as a separate sub-Dhaka zone with its own charge. Follow your courier's zone list and name the zone clearly for customers.

### Can a chatbot calculate the delivery charge automatically?

Yes. A chatbot can look up the delivery fee from a fixed list of zones and add it to the total. In SaleMag, the server adds the fee for the zone the customer chose, and the AI never states a fee you have not listed.

### How many delivery zones should a shop have?

Most shops need two to four zones. More zones mean more confusion for customers; add one only when your courier really charges differently for that area.

### Can I offer free delivery for an Eid sale?

Yes. In SaleMag you can set a zone's fee to 0 for the sale and change it back afterwards. SaleMag zone fees are flat, so conditions like free delivery above a certain order value are not calculated automatically.

### What if the customer chooses the wrong zone?

Check the address against the zone when you confirm the order. If the address is outside the zone the customer picked, message them with the correct charge before you ship.