Workflow Guide

SKU Management & Product Mapping

Learn how to sync SKUs between Etsy and Shopify, set up product mappings, and keep your inventory accurate across both platforms.

Why SKUs Matter

The foundation of accurate order syncing

What is a SKU?

A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier for each product or variant you sell. When an Etsy order comes in, OrderBridge uses SKUs to match the items to the correct Shopify products.

  • With matching SKUs: Orders sync automatically with correct products and inventory updates (fastest, most accurate)
  • Without matching SKUs: OrderBridge falls back to best-match by product title. If no match is found, orders are flagged for manual mapping

Matching Order: OrderBridge first tries exact SKU matching, then falls back to title matching. SKU matching is more reliable, so we recommend setting up SKUs for all your products.

Best Practice: Use the same SKU format across both platforms (e.g., "BLUE-WIDGET-LG" on both Etsy and Shopify).

Three Sync Modes

OrderBridge supports three modes for managing SKUs. Choose the one that matches your workflow:

→

Shopify → Etsy

Push your Shopify SKUs to Etsy listings. Best if Shopify is your primary inventory system.

→

Etsy → Shopify

Push your Etsy SKUs to Shopify products. Best if you started selling on Etsy first.

✏️

Edit Only

Set or change SKUs on Shopify or Etsy independently — no cross-platform sync. Best for building out SKUs from scratch or fixing mistakes on one platform without touching the other.

How to Sync SKUs

Match products between Shopify and Etsy

1

Go to SKU Management

From your OrderBridge dashboard, click "SKU Management" in the sidebar.

2

Choose Your Sync Direction

At the top of the page, select which direction you want to sync SKUs:

→

Shopify → Etsy

Copy SKUs from Shopify products to matching Etsy listings.

→

Etsy → Shopify

Copy SKUs from Etsy listings to matching Shopify products.

✏️

Edit Only

Set or update SKUs on one platform at a time — nothing is pushed to the other side. Perfect for setting up SKUs from scratch or fixing individual items.

3

Load Your Products

Click both buttons to load your product catalogs:

  • Load Shopify Products — Fetches all products from your Shopify store
  • Load Etsy Listings — Fetches all active listings from your Etsy shop

Tip: Wait for both lists to fully load before starting to match products.

4

Match Your Products

For each product pair you want to sync:

  • Select an item on the Shopify side
  • Select its matching item on the Etsy side
  • Click "Add to Queue"

Repeat this for all products you want to match. You'll see your queued pairs building up.

5

Push the SKUs

Once you've queued all your product pairs, scroll to the bottom. You'll see a button showing "Push X to Y" (based on your selected direction).

Click this button to sync all the SKUs at once. OrderBridge will update each product on the destination platform.

Note: SKU changes take effect immediately. Make sure you've matched the correct products before pushing.

Using Edit Only Mode

Set or change SKUs on a single platform without syncing

When to Use Edit Only

Edit Only mode is useful when:

  • You want to set SKUs from scratch on Shopify or Etsy without touching the other platform
  • You need to correct a SKU on one side only (e.g., a typo on Etsy, your Shopify is already correct)
  • You're building out your catalog and want to add SKUs platform by platform
1

Select Edit Only Mode

On the SKU Management page, click the "Edit Only" button in the mode selector at the top (shown in purple). The standard two-column match builder will be replaced by a simpler accordion interface.

2

Choose a Platform

Click either "Edit Shopify SKUs" or "Edit Etsy SKUs" to expand that platform's product list. Only one platform is shown at a time — clicking the other collapses the first.

Tip: If you haven't loaded products yet, click "Load Shopify Products" or "Load Etsy Listings" when the panel opens.

3

Edit SKUs Inline

Find the product or variant you want to update. Click the ✏️ pencil icon next to any SKU to open an inline text field. Type the new SKU, then:

  • Press Enter or click ✓ to add it to the queue
  • Press Escape or click ✗ to cancel

A green "✓ queued" indicator appears on items ready to push. You can queue as many items as you like before pushing.

4

Push Your Changes

When you're ready, scroll down to the Edit Queue card. Select the items you want to update (or use "Select All"), then click "Push SKUs". Changes are applied one by one with a short delay to respect API rate limits.

Safe by design: Edit Only mode only touches the platform you selected. It will never update a SKU on the opposite platform.

Existing product mappings are not affected by SKU changes in Edit Only mode. Mappings are linked by Etsy listing ID, not SKU, so your order sync will continue to work correctly.

Assigning Missing SKUs in Bulk

Automatically assign sequential or custom SKUs to all variants that don't have one

When to Use This

If you've added new products and haven't set SKUs yet, or you're setting up SKUs for the first time, the auto-assign tool saves you from editing each variant one by one. It finds every blank variant, lets you pick which ones to update, and generates the SKUs for you.

Note: This feature is designed for shops that use a consistent SKU naming scheme — sequential numbers, a shared prefix, or a custom template. If your SKUs are fully ad hoc (different format per product), use the inline ✏️ edit instead.

1

Open Edit Only → Edit Shopify SKUs

Select Edit Only mode, then click "Edit Shopify SKUs" and load your products. Once loaded, if any variants have no SKU, an "Assign Missing SKUs (N)" button appears in the search bar row — where N is the number of blank variants.

2

Select Which Variants to Update

A table shows every variant with a missing SKU, including the product name and variant name. Check the ones you want to assign — or use Select All to grab everything at once. You can deselect any variants you want to leave blank (gift cards, bundles, etc.).

3

Choose a SKU Format

OrderBridge auto-detects your existing SKU pattern and pre-selects the most likely format. You can switch between three modes:

  • Sequential Number — Finds your current highest numeric SKU and continues from there. If your last SKU is 100405, the first new one is 100406. The range is shown live (e.g. "100406 → 100412").
  • Prefix + Number — Enter a prefix (e.g. SKU- or MUG-), a starting number, and optional zero-padding. Generates SKUs like SKU-001, SKU-002. A live preview updates as you type.
  • Custom Template — Type any pattern using {n} as the number placeholder (e.g. Makeup-{n}-Batch → Makeup-1-Batch, Makeup-2-Batch). Set the starting number and preview the first few results instantly.
4

Optionally Sync to Etsy

If any of your selected variants have a product mapping to an Etsy listing, a checkbox appears: "Also update matching Etsy listings". The count tells you how many Etsy listings will be updated (e.g. "8 of 12 selected have a mapping"). Tick it to push the new SKUs to Etsy at the same time as Shopify.

Variants without a mapping are only updated in Shopify. The Etsy checkbox has no effect on them.

5

Preview and Apply

Click "Preview Assignments" to see a table of every variant and the exact SKU it will receive — nothing is written yet. The Etsy column shows which listings will also be updated. When you're satisfied, click "Apply Assignments". OrderBridge writes to Shopify (and Etsy if selected) one at a time, showing progress as it goes. The product list updates in real time as each SKU is saved.

Tip: The panel closes automatically when done and the "Assign Missing SKUs" button disappears once all variants have SKUs assigned.

Product Mappings Page

Alternative way to link products

When to Use Product Mappings

The Product Mappings page (in the sidebar) is another way to link Etsy listings to Shopify products. Use this when:

  • You want to see which products are already mapped
  • You need to fix or update existing mappings
  • Orders are showing as "unmapped" and need manual linking

How It Works

The Product Mappings page shows all your Etsy listings and their current Shopify mappings. You can search for and select Shopify products to link them. When you save a mapping, the Etsy SKU is automatically copied to the linked Shopify product.

When an Order Shows “Needs Mapping”

If an Etsy order arrives and OrderBridge can’t match its items to any Shopify product, the order is paused with a Needs Mapping badge on your dashboard. You have two ways to resolve it:

  • Create a mapping + Retry — Go to the Mappings page, link the Etsy listing to the correct Shopify product, then click Retry on the order. The order will sync normally with full inventory tracking. OrderBridge also automatically retries all paused orders whenever a new mapping is saved.
  • Force to Shopify — Click Force to Shopify next to the Retry button to push the order immediately without creating a mapping. The unmatched item is sent to Shopify as a custom line item (title and price only, no inventory link). Useful for urgent orders where you need them in Shopify right away and can sort out the mapping later.

Tip: For new products, create the mapping first and use Retry — this gives you full inventory tracking. Use Force to Shopify only when you need the order in Shopify urgently and the product doesn’t exist in Shopify yet.

Excluding SKUs from Import

Skip digital products and specific items

Why Exclude SKUs?

Some products shouldn't be imported to Shopify:

  • Digital downloads: No fulfillment needed, no shipping address
  • Etsy-only items: Products you don't sell on Shopify
  • Bundles: Items that are part of other Shopify products
1

Enable Exclude Mode

On the SKU Management page, click the "Exclude Mode" button on the Etsy side. This shows checkboxes next to each listing.

2

Select SKUs to Exclude

Check the boxes next to any Etsy listings you want to exclude from import. These items will be blocked from syncing to Shopify.

3

Save Exclusions

Click "Save Exclusions" to apply your changes.

How it works: Orders containing only excluded SKUs are marked as "Excluded" and skipped entirely. Orders with a mix of excluded and regular SKUs will import the non-excluded items only.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions

Orders Showing as "Unmapped"

This means the Etsy SKU doesn't match any Shopify product.

  • Check for typos or extra spaces in SKUs
  • Verify the Shopify product exists and has a SKU set
  • Use the Product Mappings page to manually link them

SKUs Not Updating on Etsy

If SKU changes aren't saving to Etsy:

  • Verify your Etsy connection is active (Settings page)
  • Check that the listing isn't locked or in a reserved state
  • Try refreshing the page and saving again

Variant Mapping Issues

For products with multiple variants (sizes, colors):

  • Each variant needs its own unique SKU
  • Map each Etsy variant to the corresponding Shopify variant
  • Use a consistent naming pattern (e.g., "SHIRT-RED-M", "SHIRT-RED-L")

    • Pro Tip: Include size/color codes in your SKUs to make matching easier (e.g., "PROD-BLU-SM" for Blue Small).

Need More Help?

If you're still having issues with SKU management:

More OrderBridge Guides

Getting Started Guide → Auto-Restock Etsy Inventory → Delayed Import + Extension → Follow-Up Email Automation → SKU & Product Mapping → Tracking Notification Emails → Etsy Profit Report → Zero-Revenue Import →

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