Integrating with ShipStation

Integrating with ShipStation

ShipStation is a shipping and order management platform that imports orders from Shopify for label creation, batch processing, and fulfilment. Order Editing keeps ShipStation in sync with post-purchase changes by holding orders out of ShipStation until the editing window closes.

Overview

ShipStation connects to your Shopify store and imports orders for shipping. Without Order Editing configured, ShipStation may import an order before the customer has finished editing it, meaning your warehouse ships the wrong version.

Order Editing solves this with delayed payment capture. Payment is held during the editing window, so ShipStation does not import the order until the window closes and the order is finalized with all customer edits included.

How Order Editing works with ShipStation

ShipStation polls Shopify and imports orders once payment has been captured. Order Editing uses delayed payment capture to hold orders during the editing window. Once the window closes, payment captures automatically and ShipStation imports the finalized order with all customer edits included.

Here's what happens step by step:

1. Customer places an order. Payment is authorized but not captured. ShipStation doesn't see the order yet.
2. The editing window opens. The customer can change items, quantities, their shipping address, and more.
3. The editing window closes. Payment captures automatically. The finalized order is now visible to ShipStation.
4. ShipStation imports the order. Your team processes the final version with all changes included.

Prerequisites

• An active Order Editing subscription
• ShipStation connected to your Shopify store
• Shopify payment capture set to manual (see What is delayed payment capture?)

Setup steps

1. Enable delayed payment capture. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments > Payment capture and select Manually.
2. Install the Order Editing Shopify Flow. Order Editing provides a pre-built Flow that manages the editing window and triggers payment capture when it expires. See Shopify Flow and Order Editing for setup instructions.
3. Map order statuses in ShipStation. In ShipStation, go to Settings > Stores > [your Shopify store] > Edit > Order Statuses, and map Shopify's authorized and partially_paid order statuses to ShipStation's Awaiting Payment status. This keeps orders out of your active queue during the editing window so they aren't imported and processed before the customer has finished editing.
4. Verify the connection. Place a test order and confirm that ShipStation only imports it after the editing window closes and payment captures.

⚠️ Warning: Don't go live until you've verified the integration with a test order. If ShipStation imports orders before the editing window closes, customers may edit an order that's already being processed.

Troubleshooting

ShipStation is importing orders before the editing window closes

This usually means payment capture is set to automatic. Check your Shopify payment settings and confirm capture is set to Manually. Also verify that the Order Editing Shopify Flow is active and running correctly, and that Shopify's authorized and partially_paid statuses are mapped to Awaiting Payment in ShipStation.

Customer edits aren't showing in ShipStation

Check the order timeline in Shopify to confirm when payment was captured relative to when the edit was made. If the order was imported before the edit, the original version will be in ShipStation. Ensure your Shopify Flow is configured correctly and that your order status mapping is in place.

ShipStation isn't importing orders at all

Confirm that ShipStation is configured to import orders based on payment status. If ShipStation uses a different trigger (such as fulfilment status or tags), contact Order Editing support so we can recommend the right setup for your configuration.

FAQ

Do I need to change anything in ShipStation?

In most cases, you only need to map Shopify's authorized and partially_paid statuses to ShipStation's Awaiting Payment status. With that in place, ShipStation waits until payment is captured before importing the order, and the delayed capture approach works automatically.

What happens if a customer doesn't edit their order?

The editing window still runs its full duration. Once it expires, payment captures automatically and the order flows to ShipStation as normal. The only difference is a short delay between checkout and when ShipStation sees the order.

Will this slow down my shipping?

The delay is equal to your editing deadline, typically 15 to 60 minutes. Most merchants find this trade-off worthwhile because it eliminates the cost of processing order changes, reprinting labels, or dealing with incorrect shipments after fulfilment has started.