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Import/Export

Import and export products and orders via CSV, Excel, XML and JSON, with field mapping and scheduling.

Last updated 24 June 2026

The Import / Export plugin moves product and order data between your OrbitCommerce store and external files. You can bring product data in from suppliers and other systems, send your own product or order data out to spreadsheets and feeds, and set either job to run automatically on a schedule. Files are handled in CSV, Excel, XML and JSON formats, with a visual tool for matching the columns in your file to the fields in your store. The plugin is free.

Features

  • Supported file formats: CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML and JSON, for both import and export.
  • Products and orders: import product data from a file; export either product data or order data from your store. Order data is export only and cannot be imported.
  • Multiple sources: pull import files from a public URL, upload a file directly from your computer, or connect to an FTP or SFTP server.
  • Field mapping: match each column in your file to the matching store field using a visual mapper that shows a sample value from your file alongside each column.
  • Match by identifier: choose whether incoming rows are matched to existing products by SKU, Barcode or Handle (Slug).
  • Import behaviour: create new products only, update existing products only, or create and update in one pass.
  • Variants and options: import multi-variant products using option columns (for example Option 1 Name and Option 1 Value), grouped by product handle.
  • Scheduling: run any feed automatically every 30 minutes, hourly, daily, weekly or monthly.
  • Run history: every run records how many rows were created, updated, skipped or errored, with a per-row log so you can see exactly what happened.
  • Dashboard widget: a home-screen widget shows the status of your most recent import/export activity at a glance.

Before you start

A few things to have ready before your first feed:

  • A sample of your file. Open it and check the first row. If the first row contains column names (such as SKU, Price, Quantity), that is a header row, which the plugin expects by default.
  • A unique identifier in your data. To update existing products, each row needs a value the plugin can match on: a SKU, Barcode or Handle. Decide which one your file uses and make sure it is filled in consistently.
  • UTF-8 encoding. CSV and XML files are read as UTF-8 text. Files saved in another encoding (for example a Windows code page) may show corrupted accented characters or currency symbols. If in doubt, re-save the file as CSV UTF-8 from your spreadsheet program.
  • File size. Uploaded files must be 50MB or smaller. For larger data sets, split the file or use a URL or FTP source.
  • Access details for remote sources. If you are pulling from a URL, have the full https:// address. For FTP or SFTP, have the host, port, username, password and the path to the file on the server.

Getting started

  1. Open the OrbitCommerce dashboard and go to Plugins.
  2. Find Import / Export in the plugin store and install it. When prompted, approve the requested permissions; the plugin needs to read and create products, read orders, and read your store settings.
  3. Once installed, open Import / Export from the dashboard menu. The Feeds page lists every import and export you have set up.
  4. Select New feed to open the setup wizard, which walks you through naming the feed, choosing the source, mapping fields, setting a schedule and reviewing before you save.
  5. After saving, run the feed once manually to confirm it behaves as expected, then enable a schedule if you want it to repeat.

Importing

An import reads a file and creates or updates products in your store. To set one up:

  1. On the Feeds page, select New feed.
  2. Basics: give the feed a clear name (for example Supplier Stock Feed), set the type to Import / Sync, and leave the data type as Products. Orders cannot be imported.
  3. Source: choose where the file comes from.
    • From URL — paste the full address of the file, such as a supplier stock feed.
    • Upload File — choose a file from your computer. The format is detected automatically from the file extension.
    • FTP / SFTP — enter the host, port, username, password and the remote file path. Then confirm the File Format (CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON) and tick First row is header if your file starts with a row of column names.
  4. Save the feed. Saving is required before mapping, because the plugin reads a preview of your file to discover its columns.
  5. Mapping: choose the Product Identifier used to match rows to existing products (SKU, Barcode or Handle). Then, in the column mapping table, match each column from your file to the matching store field. The table shows a sample value from your file next to each column to help you choose correctly. Common targets include Product Name, Description, Price, Compare At Price, Cost Price, Stock Quantity, Barcode and Brand.
  6. Import behaviour: decide whether the feed should create and update, create only (ignore products already in your store) or update only (never add new products).
  7. Schedule (optional): set the feed to run automatically, or leave it off to run manually.
  8. Review and save, then select Run to process the file.

After a run finishes, open it from the feed's run history to see totals for created, updated, skipped and errored rows, plus a per-row log showing the outcome of each line and any error message.

Importing product variants

To import a product with several variants (for example different sizes or colours), give every variant row the same Handle and fill in the option columns: Option 1 Name and Option 1 Value, and up to Option 3 if needed. Variant-specific values such as SKU, Price and Stock Quantity belong on each row, while product-level values such as Product Name and Description are shared across the rows that share a handle.

Exporting

An export writes data from your store into a downloadable file. To set one up:

  1. On the Feeds page, select New feed.
  2. Basics: name the feed, set the type to Export, and choose Products or Orders as the data type.
  3. Format and fields: choose the Export Format (CSV, XLSX, JSON or XML), then tick the fields you want in the file.
    • For product exports you can include product details, SEO fields, and per-variant fields such as SKU, Price, Stock Quantity and Barcode.
    • For order exports you can include Order Number, Order Status, Payment Status, Customer Email, Total, Subtotal, Shipping Amount, Discount Amount, Tax Amount, Notes and Order Date.
  4. Schedule (optional): set the export to repeat automatically.
  5. Review and save, then select Run. When the run completes, download the generated file from the run's detail view.

Scheduling

Any feed, import or export, can run on a recurring schedule. In the Schedule step of the wizard, enable the schedule and choose a frequency:

  • Every 30 minutes
  • Every hour
  • Once a day
  • Once a week
  • Once a month

Scheduled feeds run automatically in the background using the connection you set up, so URL and FTP/SFTP sources are well suited to unattended, repeating imports. You can turn a schedule on or off at any time by editing the feed.

Settings

The plugin reads a small set of per-store settings from your OrbitCommerce settings. These apply across your feeds:

  • Default export format — the format pre-selected for new export feeds (defaults to CSV).
  • Batch size — how many records are processed per batch during a run (defaults to 100).
  • Skip duplicates — when enabled, duplicate rows are skipped rather than processed.
  • Notification email — an address that can be used for run notifications.

If settings cannot be read, the plugin falls back to these defaults so feeds continue to run.

Troubleshooting

The column mapping step is empty or says to save first. Field mapping reads a preview of your file, which only happens after the feed is saved. Save the feed, then return to the mapping step. If the file still cannot be previewed, check that the File Format matches the actual file and that the source (URL, upload or FTP path) is correct.

Accented characters or currency symbols look wrong after import. This is almost always a file encoding problem. The plugin reads CSV and XML as UTF-8. Re-save the file as CSV UTF-8 from your spreadsheet program and re-upload it.

A CSV file will not parse, or columns are misaligned. This usually means the delimiter or quoting is malformed, for example unescaped commas or quotation marks inside a value. Open the file in a spreadsheet program, confirm it displays in clean columns, and re-export it as a standard comma-separated CSV. Also confirm the First row is header setting matches your file.

Products are duplicated or not updating. Check the Product Identifier you chose (SKU, Barcode or Handle) and make sure that value is present and consistent on every row. If new products keep appearing when you expected updates, set the import behaviour to Update only; if existing products are not changing, ensure the match value in your file exactly matches the value stored against the product.

My upload was rejected. Uploaded files must be 50MB or smaller and use a supported extension (CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON). For larger data sets, split the file or use a URL or FTP source instead.

Support

For help with this plugin, visit the Orbit Commerce Help Centre, or use the Get support link on the plugin's store page.

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