Shopify to ShipStation sync issues: what to check first.
When a paid Shopify order is missing in ShipStation, or ShipStation says shipped but Shopify still looks unfulfilled, the fix starts with a disciplined check. This is the checklist StuckOrders uses before turning the issue into an owned exception.
Confirm the order state in Shopify
Is the order paid, unfulfilled, not cancelled, and not archived? A sync problem starts only after Shopify has an order that should be actionable.
Search ShipStation by multiple identifiers
Search by Shopify order number, customer name, email, SKU, and date. Sometimes the order imported with a different display id or under a different store connection.
Check store connection and channel mapping
Look for disconnected stores, expired credentials, changed store ids, or orders routed through a Shopify channel that ShipStation is not importing.
Review automation rules, tags, and filters
Tags, product types, fraud holds, preorder rules, or custom filters can exclude an order from the ShipStation workflow even though it is paid in Shopify.
Check fulfillment writeback
For the reverse problem, confirm that ShipStation posted tracking and Shopify accepted the fulfillment update. If not, the customer may never get tracking even though the label exists.
Create an owner and next action
The operational failure is not just the sync gap. It is the missing owner. Decide who retries the import, who contacts support, and who confirms the order is no longer past cutoff.
Why reports alone miss the worst case
ShipStation reports cannot show a paid Shopify order that never reached ShipStation. The order is absent from the reporting database. That is why StuckOrders compares Shopify and ShipStation together instead of relying on one side's report surface.
For the deeper explanation, read what ShipStation reports miss and the fix-it guide for Shopify orders not syncing to ShipStation.
How StuckOrders uses this checklist
StuckOrders runs these checks continuously. A paid Shopify order with no matching ShipStation order becomes a queue item. A shipped ShipStation order that still looks unfulfilled in Shopify becomes a different queue item. Every exception keeps the source record, owner, age, and next action so the fix does not depend on a person remembering the checklist every morning.
Find the sync gaps from the last 30 days
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