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.

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.

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: