Preserve Order & Product IDs

Why Preserve Order & Product IDs needs Custom Migration

ERP, accounting, 3PL, and support tools often key off increment IDs, SKUs, or external references. Changing those during migration breaks integrations. Custom Migration to preserve order & product IDs enforces ID preservation or controlled remapping within platform limits.

Who this customization is for

• Merchants whose ERP/accounting requires stable order numbers
• Teams with marketplace or EDI feeds keyed to product IDs/SKUs
• Support orgs whose macros cite historical order IDs
• Stores that must store source IDs in metafields when native IDs cannot be forced

Common use cases

• Keeping Magento increment IDs or order numbers usable after moving platforms
• Preserving product entity IDs or external SKUs required by marketplace feeds
• Writing source IDs into metafields or reference fields when native IDs cannot be forced
• Accounting exports that must match historical order numbers
• Helpdesk tickets that cite old order IDs

What Cart2Cart customizes

We evaluate what the target cart allows, then implement the safest approach: native ID preservation where possible, or reliable reference fields plus process guidance for your integrations.

Platform considerations

Many SaaS carts assign their own internal IDs. Custom Migration clarifies what can be forced versus what should be stored as an external reference your systems can query.

Note: The Target platform may require installing additional apps, plugins, or add-ons when a capability is not available by default. Custom Migration can map and import the data, but those Target-side apps/plugins often need to be installed and configured so the feature works in admin and on the storefront.

The best way to make sure everything is mapped correctly is to run a Demo Migration with your real Source platform data, then carefully check how entities look on the Target store before Full Migration.

Checklist for evaluating this customized migration

• List which IDs must stay stable (order numbers, product IDs, external refs).
• Name downstream systems that depend on those IDs (ERP, accounting, helpdesk).
• Confirm what the target cart allows natively vs reference/metafield storage.
• Document required prefixes, gaps, or formatting rules.
• Validate ID strategy on Demo samples with integration owners.

How to apply for this customization

1. Schedule a Call and say which IDs must stay stable.
2. Name source/target carts and downstream systems.
3. Provide sample ID formats and whether gaps or prefixes are required.
4. We confirm platform constraints, Demo-test ID strategy, then lock it for Full Migration.

Self-service Additional Options vs Custom Migration

Preserving IDs is primarily a set of self-service Additional Options. Use Custom Migration when the Target cannot accept native IDs and you need reference fields, prefixes, or integration-safe strategies.

• Preserve order IDs on Target Store — Self-service: Keep order IDs/numbers in the Wizard when supported; usually requires Clear Target data first. Choose Custom Migration when: Custom Migration when order name/reference/metafield storage is required instead of native IDs.
• Preserve product IDs on Target Store — Self-service: Keep product IDs for many (not all) pairs in the Wizard; Clear Target typically required. Choose Custom Migration when: Custom Migration for SKU/external-ID strategies when product entity IDs cannot be forced.
• Preserve customer IDs on Target Store — Self-service: Keep customer IDs in the Wizard when supported; Clear Target typically required. Choose Custom Migration when: Custom Migration for CRM keys stored outside native ID fields.
• Preserve category IDs on Target Store — Self-service: Keep category IDs when supported; Clear Target typically required. Choose Custom Migration when: Custom Migration when category IA changes and ID preservation alone does not meet integration needs.
• Clear current data on Target Store before Migration — Self-service: Required companion option for most Preserve ID flows to avoid conflicts. Choose Custom Migration when: Not a customization—still plan with Custom Migration if Clear Target is not acceptable for your launch.

Availability depends on your Source → Target pair—confirm checkboxes in the Migration Wizard Entities / Additional Options step. See the Additional Options guide and Additional Options FAQ for pair-specific details. If Wizard options are not enough, schedule a Custom Migration call.

Already ran a self-service migration?

Yes—you can still apply this Custom Migration after a Wizard (self-service) run. Cart2Cart can restart migration with the customized rules; the Target store typically needs Clear current data on Target Store before Migration (or an equivalent cleanup of the entities from the previous self-service migration) so customized results are not mixed with the old import. Share your Source/Target carts and what already moved—Migration Experts will confirm the safest clear-and-rerun plan before Full Migration. Schedule a call if you already completed a Demo or Full Wizard migration and need customization next.

Case studies from real Custom Migrations

Cart2Cart Migration Experts have delivered custom work related to Preserve Order & Product IDs across 38 recorded customization projects spanning 22 Source→Target platform pairs. Below are pairs we see most often, the entities typically involved, and sample data volumes when available.

Platform pairs already in focus

• PrestaShop → Shopify — 5 customization projects
• Magento → Shopify — 4 customization projects
• WooCommerce → Shopify — 3 customization projects
• Magento → Magento — 3 customization projects
• BigCommerce → Shopify — 2 customization projects
• Neto → Shopify — 2 customization projects

Entities commonly customized

• Orders — seen in 19 related projects
• Customers — seen in 16 related projects
• Products — seen in 15 related projects
• Categories — seen in 7 related projects
• Coupons — seen in 1 related projects

How much data was migrated

Among projects with recorded store size, median migration volume is about 14.7K records, with larger builds reaching roughly 145.9K at the 90th percentile and peaks near 912.2K. Exact counts depend on products, customers, orders, and related entities in scope.

Sample projects

• BigCommerce → WooCommerce — entities: Orders 524K, Customers 381.1K, Reviews 7.1K, Coupons 6.4K — total volume ~912.2K
• Magento → Shopify — entities: Orders 320.5K, Customers 8.2K — total volume ~328.8K
• BigCommerce → Shopify — entities: Orders 161K, Customers 79.2K — total volume ~240.2K
• WooCommerce → Shopify — entities: Orders 110.8K, Products 18.2K, Customers 14.6K, Categories 147 — total volume ~144.4K

Every store is different—share your Source/Target carts and entity scope on a Migration Expert call and we will estimate a similar Custom Migration path.

What we need to scope ID preservation

Whether native IDs can be kept, remapped to metafields, or only referenced externally depends on Target constraints and how your ERP/3PL already stores identifiers. That decision is store-specific and must be validated against your Source ID patterns.

Temporary staging or production access (plus a short list of critical ID consumers) is the fastest way to confirm feasibility. Alternatively, a DB dump lets us audit ID columns and collisions offline; dump analysis typically needs a deposit before we commit to a preserve-vs-reference strategy.

Tip: Initial data-structure analysis is much more efficient when you prepare exact examples of the important attributes and fields on the Source, plus how each should be mapped on the Target store (sample products/customers/orders with field names, values, and desired Target destinations). Clear examples reduce discovery time and help Migration Experts quote and implement the customization accurately.

FAQs

Can Shopify use our Magento increment IDs as native IDs?

Native IDs are usually platform-assigned. We often preserve source numbers in order name/reference fields or metafields.

Are SKUs the same as product IDs?

No. SKUs are merchant identifiers; entity IDs are platform keys. Tell us which your integrations use.

What if two systems disagree on the source of truth?

We document a single canonical ID strategy before Full Migration.

Protect the IDs your business runs on—talk to Cart2Cart.