How to Migrate Products, Customers, and POS Data from Square to Shopify
To move from Square to Shopify, export your items and customers from the Square Dashboard, reformat the files to match Shopify’s CSV templates and import them into your new store. For orders, reviews or a faster move, use a migration app or service, then set up payments, shipping, redirects and, if you sell in person, Shopify POS.
There’s no one-click transfer between the two platforms, so the work is mostly exporting, mapping and checking data. A little planning keeps your catalog accurate and protects the traffic your Square site already earns.
Plan Your Square to Shopify Migration
Start by deciding what you’ll move and how. Products, customers and historical orders each have their own route, and not everything transfers directly.
- Back up everything. Export your Square products, customers and orders before you start, so you can roll back if an import goes wrong.
- Choose a method for each data type. Use copy and paste for a few items, CSV imports for products and customers, and an app or Shopify Partner for orders and complex catalogs.
- Clean up first. Remove discontinued items and outdated customer records before exporting.
- Set a cutoff date. Pick a point after which new products or changes are made in Shopify, not Square.
- Assign owners. Make one person responsible for data, setup and testing, even in a small team.
Timelines depend on catalog size and complexity. A store with under 100 products and a ready-made theme might take a few days, while larger catalogs with custom needs can take several weeks.
How to Migrate From Square to Shopify
Most stores move their data in stages, starting with products, then customers, then orders and reviews. Each stage below covers the native CSV method first, followed by migration apps.
Move products with a CSV
Square lets you export your item library as a spreadsheet, which you can convert into a Shopify product CSV. Follow these steps:
- In your Square Dashboard, go to Items & orders > Items, click Actions and choose Export library.
- Export a few products from Shopify, or download Shopify’s sample CSV, to see the exact columns it expects.
- Copy your Square data into the matching Shopify columns and delete any sample rows.
- Create a unique URL handle for each product, using only letters, numbers and hyphens.
- Save the file as UTF-8 CSV.
- Import a test file with 5 to 10 products in Shopify under Products > Import.
- Check the test products, then import the rest.
During import, consider turning off publishing to all sales channels, so products don’t go live before you’ve reviewed them. This table shows common column matches:
| Square export | Shopify product CSV | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Item Name | Title | Also use it to build the URL handle |
| Description | Description | Check formatting after import |
| SKU | SKU | Keep SKUs unique |
| Price | Price | Numbers only, no currency symbol |
| Option names and values | Option1, Option2 and Option3 name and value | Each variant gets its own row with the same handle |
| Vendor | Vendor | Use your store name for your own products |
| Weight in kilograms | Weight value (grams) | Multiply by 1,000 and use whole numbers |
Square’s export headers can vary, so check them against a real export before mapping. Images usually need public image URLs in the CSV or uploading in Shopify afterward.
If you manage product data across Shopify, WooCommerce or Wix, Bulkflow supports bulk import, export and updates to existing product records with field mapping. That can help when you need to map columns from a Square export to your Shopify product fields.
Move customers
Export your customers from Square’s Customer Directory, then reformat the file to match Shopify’s customer CSV template exactly. The customer import doesn’t map columns for you, so headers must match Shopify’s template.
Split full names into first and last names where needed, clean up phone numbers and add a country column with ISO codes, since Square’s export may not include one. Confirm each customer’s email marketing consent before importing, and keep the file under 15 MB.
Customer passwords can’t be migrated. After launch, invite customers to create or reset their Shopify account passwords if you use customer accounts.
Move orders and reviews
Shopify has no native CSV import for orders, so historical orders need an import app such as Matrixify, EZ Importer or a migration service. Imported orders are mainly useful for reference and reporting rather than fulfillment.
Square reviews can’t be imported natively either. Review apps such as Judge.me, Loox or Yotpo can help you rebuild product reviews on Shopify.
Use a migration app or service
Migration tools can move products, customers and orders together, which saves time for larger stores. Options mentioned for Square to Shopify include Migrationpro, LitExtension and Cart2Cart, and many offer a demo migration so you can check results first.
Compare which data each tool supports, how it handles variants and images and what it costs for your catalog size. Run a demo or small test, then review the migrated data before running the full move.
Set Up Your Shopify Store
While your data moves, configure the parts of Shopify that Square handled differently. Work through these settings before launch:
- Theme. Choose and customize a theme for your storefront.
- Payments. Set up Shopify Payments or another payment provider, and review checkout settings.
- Shipping. Create shipping zones, rates and package sizes.
- Taxes. Review tax settings for the places you sell.
- Policies and pages. Add refund, privacy and shipping policies, and recreate content pages.
- Discounts. Recreate active promotions, since discounts don’t transfer automatically.
- Staff accounts. Add team members with the permissions they need.
Switch From Square POS to Shopify POS
If you sell in person, install the Point of Sale channel in Shopify. POS Lite is included with Shopify plans, while POS Pro has a monthly fee and adds features such as advanced staff management and detailed reporting.
Square’s card readers only work with Square’s software, so you’ll need Shopify-compatible hardware. Check Shopify’s supported hardware list for items you can reuse, such as some receipt printers, barcode scanners or cash drawers.
Set up staff accounts, payment types and in-store pickup if you offer it. Run a real test transaction before your first day selling with Shopify POS.
Protect Your SEO With Redirects
If your Square site had its own product and page URLs, set up 301 redirects from the old addresses to your new Shopify pages. This keeps search engine rankings and old links working after the move.
Shopify lets you import redirects in bulk with a CSV under Content > Menus > URL redirects. Prioritize your highest-traffic pages, and redirect discontinued products to a relevant collection rather than the homepage.
After connecting your domain, submit your Shopify sitemap in Google Search Console and check for 404 errors. Copy meta titles, descriptions and image alt text across so your pages keep their search information.
Keep Using Square With Shopify
Some businesses keep Square for in-person sales and use Shopify online. There’s no direct Square integration in Shopify, so this setup needs a third-party sync tool.
Inventory sync apps such as SKU IQ, and automation tools such as Zapier or MESA, can connect the two systems for stock, orders or customer data. Test the sync carefully, because two systems updating the same inventory can lead to overselling if updates are delayed.
Post-Migration Checklist
Check everything before you remove the store password and announce the launch. Use this list:
- Products. Compare SKUs, prices, weights, variants and images on a sample of products.
- Inventory. Verify stock counts against Square.
- Customers. Check addresses and marketing preferences.
- Checkout. Place test orders with different payment methods, addresses and products.
- Emails. Confirm order confirmation and shipping emails send correctly.
- Redirects. Test old URLs to make sure they reach the right pages.
- Mobile. Review the storefront and checkout on a phone.
- POS. Confirm hardware pairing, payment types and staff permissions.
Common Square to Shopify Migration Problems
Most migration issues come from data formatting and features that don’t transfer. Watch for these:
- Variants import as separate products. Variant rows didn’t share the same URL handle.
- Weights look wrong. Kilograms weren’t converted to grams for the CSV.
- Customer import fails. Headers don’t match Shopify’s template exactly, or country codes are missing.
- Customers can’t log in. Passwords don’t migrate, so customers need to set new ones.
- Old Square links show 404 errors. Redirects weren’t set up for those URLs.
- Card readers don’t work. Square hardware isn’t compatible with Shopify POS.
- Special characters look garbled. The CSV wasn’t saved in UTF-8.
Conclusion
A Square to Shopify migration comes down to moving your data cleanly and rebuilding the settings Square handled for you. Exporting carefully, mapping fields to Shopify’s templates and testing before launch helps you switch platforms without losing sales or search traffic. We hope this guide helps you move from Square to Shopify with confidence. To import and update product data in bulk, you can explore Bulkflow.
