WooCommerce to Shopify Order Sync Guide

Order synchronization in WooCommerce to Shopify Sync (W2S) lets you copy orders between WooCommerce and Shopify in a controlled and predictable way. This guide explains how order sync works, what order data is transferred, supported sync directions, available filters, limitations, and best practices to ensure accurate results.

W2S is designed to safely create orders without altering existing financial records. To avoid conflicts, duplicate updates, or accounting issues, order sync is intentionally limited in scope and behavior.

How Order Synchronization Works #

Order synchronization in W2S Sync is creation-based. This means the plugin creates new orders on the destination store based on orders created on the source store.

Once order sync is enabled and configured:

W2S listens for new orders based on the selected sync direction and timing
When a new order is detected, the plugin prepares the order data
The order is then created on the destination platform using API-based communication

To keep order history accurate and safe, W2S follows these rules:

Orders are synced only once, at the time of creation
Existing orders are never updated
Payment, fulfillment, and financial data are not overwritten
Sync behavior is safe for live production stores

This approach ensures that historical order records remain intact and prevents accidental changes to completed or paid orders.

Supported Sync Directions #

1. WooCommerce → Shopify

Orders created in WooCommerce can be synced to Shopify. This is commonly used when WooCommerce is the primary checkout platform, and Shopify is used for order visibility, reporting, or fulfillment workflows.

Common use cases

Migrating historical WooCommerce orders to Shopify
Keeping Shopify aware of WooCommerce sales
Using WooCommerce as the main checkout system

How Sync Orders from WooCommerce to Shopify (Step by Step)

This section explains how orders created in WooCommerce are synced to Shopify using WooCommerce to Shopify Sync.

Step 1: Choose the Sync Direction

Go to Woo-Shopify → Config and under Choose Sync direction, select WooCommerce → Shopify. Only orders created in WooCommerce will be considered for syncing.

Step 2: Select Sync Timing

Under Select Timing for Auto Sync, choose when order sync should run:

On Save Sync
Orders are synced when the configuration is saved.
Scheduled Sync
Choose hourly, daily, or weekly to sync orders periodically.
Custom Sync
Set a specific date range to sync orders created during that period. This is useful for historical order migration.

Note: Ensure a cron entry is configured in your WordPress setup before sync.

Step 3: Enable Orders Module and Actions

Under Select Modules to Sync, locate the Orders module and enable it.

Choose one action, such as Create or Delete.

Create – Creates new orders in Shopify when they are created in WooCommerce. Order sync in W2S is creation-only.

Step 4: (PRO Feature) Apply Order Filters

Click Advanced Sync under the Orders module to apply filters. Currently, you can sync orders based on their status.

Enable WooCommerce Status.
Select one or multiple statuses from the dropdown
Click Apply

This controls which orders are transferred and avoids syncing unnecessary or unwanted records.

Fulfillment Service Mapping

When syncing orders from WooCommerce to Shopify, W2S can automatically assign a fulfillment service to each order at the moment of sync. This eliminates the need to manually route orders to a fulfillment provider in Shopify after each sync run.

In the Orders Filters panel, scroll to the Fulfillment Settings section. Select your fulfillment provider from the Fulfillment service dropdown:

Option	What It Does	When to Use It
manual	No automated fulfillment assignment	If you fulfill orders yourself or manage routing separately in Shopify
shopify	Assigns to Shopify Fulfillment Network	If you use Shopify’s own fulfillment network (SFN)
contrado	Routes to Contrado	If you use Contrado for print-on-demand fulfillment
Custom	Enter your own fulfillment service handle	For any third-party logistics provider (3PL) or custom fulfillment service registered in Shopify

If you select Custom, a Custom handle field appears. Enter the handle of your fulfillment service exactly as it is registered in your Shopify account.

Click Save fulfillment settings before closing the panel.

Once saved, W2S automatically sets two Shopify fields on every subsequent order sync:

fulfillment_service – Set on each line item. Tells Shopify which provider handles that product.
requested_fulfillment_service_id – Set on the shipping line. Tells Shopify which fulfillment location or service to route the whole order to.

Important: Fulfillment service mapping applies to all order syncs that run after it is configured. Orders that were synced before this setting was saved are not retroactively updated.This feature is available in W2S Pro only.

Step 5: Save Configuration

After selecting the sync direction, timing, and order options, click Save Configuration. The configuration becomes active immediately.

From this point onward, any new WooCommerce orders that match your configuration will be created in Shopify automatically.

Step 6: Monitor Order Sync Activity

To verify and track order sync results:

Go to the Audit tab
Review logs for successfully created orders, skipped orders,
Or warnings or errors (such as missing customers or products).

The Audit section shows information like entity (order), action (create), message, status, and date.

JSON Audit Log Viewer (Pro)

The Audit tab now includes a Payload column alongside the standard log fields. When debug logging is enabled, a View button appears in the Payload column for each synced order. Clicking it opens a read-only modal titled ‘JSON payload’, showing the complete JSON object W2S sent to Shopify for that order.

The payload includes:

line_items with title, quantity, price, SKU, variant_id, and fulfillment_service per item
financial_status
note (shows ‘Synced from WooCommerce Order #[number]’ by default)
tags (such as woocommerce-sync)
total_price, subtotal_price, and total_tax

A Copy button in the modal header copies the full JSON to your clipboard. This is useful for sharing with a developer, cross-referencing against what Shopify received, or pasting into a JSON viewer for closer inspection.

How to enable the JSON payload view

Go to the Audit tab and check the ‘Enable Debug Logging’ checkbox at the top of the page, then click Save.

Once enabled, W2S captures and stores the full JSON payload for every subsequent order sync. The Payload column will display a View button for each logged record.

Important: Debug logging only captures payloads for syncs that run after it is enabled. Existing log entries will not have payload data. This feature is available in W2S Pro only.

2. Shopify → WooCommerce

Orders created in Shopify can be synced to WooCommerce. This is useful when Shopify is used for checkout, and WooCommerce is used for centralized order management, reporting, or accounting.