Exporting order records before changing a dropshipping tool

Export the records needed to finish every open order before disconnecting a dropshipping tool. A Shopify order CSV is a useful starting point, but supplier references, app status history, messages and parcel details may need separate records. Keep the old connection available until staff can trace and resolve affected orders.

Identify the orders affected

Set a cut-off date. List paid orders that are unsubmitted, awaiting supplier payment, submitted, accepted, partly dispatched, in transit or under investigation. Include recently completed orders with an unresolved refund, credit or tracking question. Keep a separate list of products and variants whose supplier mapping will change.

For each affected line, identify where the last reliable event is recorded. The store may show a broad fulfilment status while the outgoing app holds the supplier order number or parcel contents.

Export the store records

In Shopify, staff can export orders from the Orders page as a CSV, using the available order selection or date range. Shopify also offers a transaction-history export. Its order CSV puts additional line items on separate rows and leaves some order-level cells blank on those rows.

Shopify says the exported transaction history includes captured-payment data but excludes authorisation data. Check the column definitions and the resulting files before treating either export as a complete order or financial history.

Record the export date, order selection and person who made it. Check that the first and last intended orders, a multi-item order and needed fields are present. Preserve the original file and work from a copy. These exports can contain names, addresses and contact details, so limit access and retain them under the store’s applicable rules.

Shopify Export Types: Order CSV vs Transaction History

Collect app-held records

Ask the outgoing tool which records it can export for the same orders and period. Look for:

These are fields to request, not a claim that a particular app exports them. Where a necessary field is available only on screen, make a controlled record for the affected open orders. Avoid copying unrelated customer details.

Reconcile before the cut-over

Match storefront and supplier records by stable order references, not customer name alone. Compare affected order and line counts. Investigate unmatched, duplicate and partly fulfilled lines. Assign an owner and next action to each exception.

An order already sent to a supplier must not be placed again merely because it appears in the replacement tool.

Check a small set that represents the orders you have: an ordinary order, a multi-line or split-parcel order, and an open exception where available. Staff should be able to identify what the buyer purchased, what the supplier accepted, what shipped and what remains open. Confirm separately what the replacement tool can import; the existence of a Shopify CSV does not establish that another app can ingest it.

Disconnect after the handoff works

Shopify advises exporting important app data before uninstalling because some records may be unrecoverable afterwards. App-dependent features and automations stop after removal, and inventory held at an app location may require additional handling. Check the outgoing tool’s own export and termination terms.

Keep the export files, field definitions, counts, unresolved orders, owner assignments and date when new orders began using the replacement route. The move is ready when no open customer order depends on an inaccessible status or an unowned supplier action.

Key Data Points to Preserve During Tool Transition