Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify and Connecting to Xero

If you’re moving from WooCommerce to Shopify, you can continue posting your orders to Xero automatically using Hyve – Post to Xero.

This guide explains how to transition smoothly and ensure your Xero integration stays accurate and automated.

1. Before You Begin

If you previously used a WooCommerce–Xero plugin, many of the same principles apply — but Shopify handles data slightly differently.

Before you migrate, we recommend completing these steps:

Export from WooCommerce

Customers
Products (with SKUs and tax settings)
Order history (for your records)
Tax rate configuration
Payment gateways (PayPal, Stripe, etc.)

Review your Xero setup

Make sure all Xero products have Item Codes — Hyve matches orders using Shopify SKUs. (optional if using COGS)
Confirm your Sales, Shipping, and Discount accounts in Xero are correct.
Check your tax rates (e.g. 10% GST, 20% VAT) are active and ready to map.
Review your tracking categories (optional) for brands, channels, or locations.

💡 Tip: Consistent SKUs between Shopify and Xero will save you hours of troubleshooting later.

2. Setting Up Shopify

Import Products

Bring your product catalogue from WooCommerce into Shopify.

Keep the SKUs consistent so Hyve can automatically link them to your Xero items.

Add Payment Methods

Set up your preferred gateways: - Shopify Payments (recommended)

PayPal
Afterpay, Reverb, or other third-party gateways

Install Hyve – Post to Xero

Go to the Shopify App Store
Click Add app and install
Follow the setup wizard to connect your Xero account

3. Connecting Shopify to Xero

Once installed, Hyve will guide you through the connection process.

Step 1. Connect to Xero

Open the Hyve app → Setup → Xero Connection
Log in and authorise your Xero organisation

Step 2. Map Accounts

Go to Setup → Accounts and assign your Xero accounts for: - Sales Revenue

Shipping Income
Discounts
Gift Cards (if used)
Rounding Differences (optional)

⚠️ Note: If your Xero items already have sales accounts defined, Hyve can automatically use those.

Step 3. Map Tax Rates

Go to Setup → Tax Mapping and link each Shopify tax rate to the correct Xero tax type.

This ensures accurate VAT/GST/Sales Tax reporting for stores that sell to multiple tax regions.

⚙️ Optional:

If your store only sells within a single tax jurisdiction, you don’t need to configure this step.

Your default tax rate is already set on the Defaults page in the app.

Step 4. Configure Payouts

Go to Setup → Payouts and link your payment gateways to Xero accounts:

Shopify Payments → map to your clearing account
PayPal → map directly to your PayPal bank account
Other gateways → map to their respective clearing or bank accounts

Hyve will post payments and transfers automatically, keeping your Xero reconciliation clean and accurate.

⚙️ Optional:

This step is only required if you want payments to appear on your invoices in Xero.

If you prefer to create or reconcile payments manually in Xero, you can skip payout setup.

4. Key Benefits During Migration

Feature	Benefit
Automatic Invoice Posting	Shopify orders post to Xero automatically — no manual export needed.
Customer Matching	Matches existing Xero contacts to avoid duplicates.
Accurate Tax Mapping	Maintains correct VAT/GST setup between Shopify and Xero.
Automatic Payment Posting	Includes Shopify Payments, PayPal, and third-party providers.
Automatic Fee Posting	Posts payment gateway fees (Shopify Payments, PayPal, etc.) directly to your Xero expense or fee account for easy reconciliation.
Easy Reconciliation	Each payment posted includes a unique reference that matches the transaction from your bank feed, allowing Xero to auto-match payments for faster reconciliation. For Shopify Payments, the app provides an export of bank statement transactions you can import into your clearing account in Xero, so payouts and fees reconcile cleanly.
Multi-Currency Ready	Supports stores selling in multiple currencies with accurate FX rates.

5. Testing and Go-Live

Disable Auto Sync temporarily during testing.
Manually post a few sample Shopify orders from the Hyve Orders Dashboard.
Check:
- Invoice format
- Tax and account mapping
- Payment and clearing entries
Once you’re happy, enable Auto Sync to start posting automatically.
Reconcile your first Shopify Payout in Xero — it should match perfectly.

💡 Tip: Keep Auto Sync off during your first test week to validate everything before going live.

💡 Tip: In Setup → General Settings → Order Display Format, select Order Name to make it easier to tell imported test orders apart from new Shopify orders.

6. Optional Features

Tracking by Location or Tag

Post invoices to Xero tracking categories based on Shopify locations, tags, or product vendors.
Bundles / Multipacks

Map bundle SKUs to component SKUs for accurate inventory tracking in Xero.
Historical Order Import

Need to backfill older Shopify orders into Xero? We can bulk post historical data upon request.
Multi-Store Setup

Manage multiple Shopify stores (AU, UK, US) with separate Xero connections — all under one Hyve account.

7. Best Practice Tips

Keep SKUs consistent between Shopify and Xero.
Only post orders from your Shopify go-live date onward to avoid duplication with WooCommerce data.
Review your first week of orders synced logs under Orders Dashboard
Reconcile payouts regularly in Xero to ensure clearing accounts balance to zero.
If an invoice fails to post, hover over the error in the dashboard to see the reason (e.g. missing tax mapping or archived contact).

8. Summary

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify doesn’t have to interrupt your accounting workflow.

With Hyve – Post to Xero, you’ll have:

Seamless invoice automation
Accurate tax and account mapping
Effortless bank reconciliation
Multi-currency and multi-location support

Once connected, your Shopify orders will flow into Xero automatically — keeping your books accurate and up to date from day one.