Square to Shopify Migration

What to Prepare Before Migrating from Square to Shopify

Before moving your Square store to Shopify, prepare your data and target store to avoid unnecessary migration issues.

• Back up your Square data: Save copies of your products, customers, orders, and other records before starting the migration.
• Clean your store data: Review outdated products, duplicate records, and incomplete customer information.
• Check multi-location inventory: Identify inventory quantities and location-specific pricing that may need adjustment in Shopify.
• Review customer marketing consent: Preserve available subscription preferences and avoid importing unsubscribed customers as marketing subscribers.
• Prepare Shopify: Create your Shopify store, configure the basic settings, and pause automated notifications that imported records could trigger.

Method 1: Migrate from Square to Shopify with LitExtension Automated Migration

LitExtension Files Migration lets you transfer Square data to Shopify using exported CSV or Excel files. Instead of manually converting every file to Shopify’s import format, you can upload your Square exports, map the fields, check for errors, and run the migration through LitExtension.

Step 1: Export Your Square Data and Connect Shopify

Start by exporting the products, customers, and orders you want to migrate from your Square Dashboard.

Export Square products:

• Sign in to your Square Dashboard and go to Items & services > Items > Item library.
• Click Actions > Export Library.
• Select all items or the items matching your filters, choose CSV or Excel, and download the file.

Export Square customers:

• Go to Customers > Customer directory > Directory.
• Click Import/Export > Export customers.
• Select all customers or specific groups, then export and download the CSV file.

Export Square orders:

• Open the Orders section in your Square Dashboard.
• Filter the orders by the required date range and status, then use the available export option to download the CSV file.
• Check that the export includes the order details, line items, and customer references needed for migration. If your export contains only transaction summaries, obtain a more detailed order export before proceeding.

Once your files are ready, sign in to the LitExtension app and create a New Migration. Select Files (CSV, Excel, Google Sheets) as the Source Cart Type and upload your Square exports.

LitExtension accepts CSV, TSV, XLSX, and XLSM files, with up to 50 files and a maximum size of 50 MB per file.

Review the uploaded files and confirm that LitExtension has identified the correct Data Type for each file. If the same product or customer appears in multiple files, the record from the file listed first takes priority.

Check whether your exports contain accessible image URLs. Add the optional Old Store URL if relative image paths or supported redirects require the original store address.

Choose Shopify as the Target Cart Type, complete the Shopify connection instructions, and continue to Prepare Data.

Step 2: Map Square Data to Shopify and Check for Errors

Open Field Mapping to match the columns in your Square exports with Shopify’s corresponding fields. LitExtension automatically maps recognized file formats, but you should review the sample records and adjust any incorrect matches.

Select the correct Product Identifier so related product rows, variants, and images are grouped together. Review product names, SKUs, prices, inventory quantities, and variant options.

Shopify supports up to three options and 2,048 variants per product. Check any Square products with complex variations and review location-specific inventory or pricing that may not map directly to Shopify.

For customers, select an available ID, email, or phone column as the Customer Identifier. Deselect fields you do not want to transfer and review additional columns that may require custom field mapping.

Use AI Mapping Suggestions when unfamiliar column names make mapping difficult.

Click Next: Data Check to validate the dataset without transferring any records to Shopify.

Review the validation results:

• Ready: Records eligible for migration, including those with warnings.
• Errors: Issues preventing affected records from being imported.
• Warnings: Issues that need review but do not block migration.
• Skipped / Duplicates: Records excluded because of errors or duplication.

If errors are found, download the Results File, correct the affected rows, replace the uploaded file, and click Check Again. Repeat Data Check whenever you change a file or field mapping.

Once your data is ready, open Configuration. Select the supported data types you want to migrate, enable the relevant additional options, and review Order Status Mapping where available.

Step 3: Run a Demo and Complete Your Square to Shopify Migration

Start Free Demo Migration to transfer a small sample of your Square data to Shopify. Once the demo finishes, open the migrated records in Shopify and compare them with the original exports.

Check the following information:

• Products: Names, SKUs, prices, variants, images, and inventory.
• Customers: Names, email addresses, contact details, and available addresses.
• Orders: Order totals, statuses, line items, and customer associations.

If you find missing or incorrect information, return to the source files or Field Mapping, make the necessary changes, run Check Again, and select Demo Again.

When the demo results are correct, click Next: Confirm Orders, review the price, complete payment, and start Full Migration to transfer all eligible selected records.

Track the migration in My Migrations. LitExtension runs the transfer on its servers, so you can close your browser while it processes. After completion, review the imported records and verify that your Shopify store contains the expected data.

Reviews, loyalty records, gift cards, POS-specific settings, and other Square data not included in the supported exports may require separate tools or custom handling.

Method 2: Migrate from Square to Shopify with LitExtension Migration Experts

Prefer to leave the technical work to professionals? LitExtension’s All-in-One Migration Service handles your Square to Shopify migration, from planning and data mapping to transfer, validation, and post-migration support.

1. Technical Consultation: Our experts review your Square store, identify migration requirements, and confirm the project scope, timeline, and responsibilities.
2. Pre-Migration Preparation: We prepare your Shopify store, configure migration settings, and map the agreed Square data to Shopify.
3. Demo Migration: We transfer sample records for your review and resolve any mapping or formatting issues before the full migration.
4. Full Migration: Our team transfers the selected data to Shopify while your Square store remains available for sales.
5. Migration Results Testing: We verify products, customers, orders, images, and data relationships, then resolve migration-related discrepancies.
6. Post-Migration Services: Recent Data Migration, Re-migration, and Smart Update help transfer eligible new or updated records, subject to your service terms.
7. Dedicated Customer Support: Our team provides guidance throughout the project and up to 60 days of post-migration technical support.

Method 3: Manually Transfer Square to Shopify Using CSV Files

Manual CSV migration can work for smaller Square stores with straightforward product and customer data. However, you must format the files yourself because Square’s exports do not follow Shopify’s required CSV structure.

Use the Square product and customer exports described in Method 1, Step 1, then follow the steps below to prepare and import them directly into Shopify.

Step 1: Format and Import Square Products into Shopify

Download Shopify’s product CSV template and restructure your Square product export to match the required columns.

Check product titles, descriptions, SKUs, prices, variants, image URLs, and inventory values. Keep your original Square export unchanged so you can refer to it if formatting issues arise.

• In Shopify Admin, go to Products > Import.
• Upload your formatted product CSV and review the preview.
• Disable automatic publishing to sales channels if your new store is not ready to go live.
• Confirm the import and check the resulting product records.

Pay particular attention to product variations, inventory by location, and pricing differences between Square and Shopify.

Step 2: Format and Import Square Customers

Prepare your Square customer export using Shopify’s customer CSV template. Match names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, and supported marketing consent fields.

• Go to Customers > Import in your Shopify Admin.
• Upload the formatted customer CSV file.
• Review the import settings and confirm.
• Check the imported customer records for missing values or duplicates.

Customer passwords cannot be transferred through CSV files. Plan the appropriate account invitation or sign-in process for your existing customers.

Step 3: Transfer Historical Orders and Reviews

Shopify’s native CSV import tools do not support importing historical orders from Square. To preserve order history, use a compatible migration app or a custom API-based solution. Make sure the Square order export includes the required order details and customer references.

After importing orders, verify order statuses, totals, line items, and customer associations in Shopify.

Customer reviews also require separate handling. If your Square store uses a review service that supports exporting review data, you can transfer it through a compatible Shopify review app, such as Judge.me, Loox, or Yotpo, depending on the supported import format.

Manual migration gives you control over the process, but it requires more work to prepare data and resolve errors. For stores with complex products, extensive order history, or custom records, LitExtension Files Migration or an expert-managed service can reduce the amount of manual work.

Post-Migration Checklist for Square to Shopify

After transferring your Square data, complete these checks before launching your new Shopify store:

• Configure payment methods: Set up Shopify Payments or another supported payment provider and test transactions before launch.
• Review taxes: Check Settings > Taxes and duties and confirm the appropriate tax settings for the regions where you sell.
• Set up shipping: Recreate your shipping zones, rates, and fulfillment settings in Shopify.
• Create 301 redirects: Map important Square store URLs to their corresponding Shopify pages to reduce broken links and SEO disruption.
• Connect your domain: Update the required domain settings and confirm that DNS and SSL are working correctly.
• Check POS compatibility: If you sell in person, review the hardware requirements for Shopify POS. Square-specific payment hardware may need to be replaced.
• Test your storefront: Review product pages, collections, images, navigation, customer accounts, and checkout on desktop and mobile.
• Review recent changes: If Square received new orders or customer registrations during the migration, arrange the appropriate follow-up transfer before switching completely to Shopify.