BigCommerce Legacy

How to add a BigCommerce store to ShipStation, what features are available, and other need-to-know details.

BigCommerce’s cloud-based platform enables merchants to grow their mid-market brand businesses. BigCommerce integrates directly with ShipStation to automatically import your orders so you can start shipping quickly. ShipStation will automatically notify your BigCommerce account with each order's shipment details as soon as you create each label.

If you also sell on Amazon and eBay, you may want to learn about the two available methods to use BigCommerce for Amazon and eBay orders.

New BigCommerce Connection

ShipStation has updated its integration to support BigCommerce's most up-to-date features. If you would like to take advantage of new features and functionality that are available for the new BigCommerce Integration, please contact support to have your ShipStation account enabled for migration.

BigCommerce Requirements

Connection Requirements:

  • An active BigCommerce account.

  • Your BigCommerce username and password.

  • The ShipStation app installed in your BigCommerce account (available from the BigCommerce App Marketplace).

Order Import Requirements:

  • Order includes at least one physical product and a Ship To address.

Connect a BigCommerce store to ShipStation

To connect your BigCommerce store to ShipStation:

  1. Log in to your BigCommerce store.

  2. Go to the apps marketplace either by clicking Apps and following the link or go to https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/.

    BigCommerce settings menu open with arrow pointing to Apps option.
  3. Click the Search bar at the top and search ShipStation.

  4. Select the ShipStation app in the search results.

    ShipStation app tile in BigCommerce app store
  5. Click Get this App.

    BigCommerce app store shows ShipStation app with "Get This App" button highlighted
  6. Click Log In when prompted.

    This will take you back to your BigCommerce Dashboard to continue the process.

    BigCommerce app store log in page with "Log in" button highlighted
  7. Click the Install button.

    BigCommerce ShipStation app with Install button highlighted
  8. Agree to the permissions by clicking Confirm.

    Next, you'll be taken to a page where you can either sign up for a free ShipStation trial or log in to your existing ShipStation account.

  9. Log in to your ShipStation account.

    ShipStation log in page open in BigCommerce
  10. Click Connect to complete the connection.

After you've completed the connection steps, the store's Settings page will open. You can adjust your store-specific settings like branding and customer notifications, if you wish. Or click Save to close.

Going forward, you'll be able to access ShipStation either by logging in to ShipStation directly or through your BigCommerce account by clicking ShipStation under My Apps.

Each BigCommerce store can only be connected to a single ShipStation account.

If you need to transfer your BigCommerce store to a different ShipStation account, you should:

  1. In ShipStation, go to Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup and Edit your BigCommerce store.

  2. Deselect the Is Active? checkbox and click Save Changes.

  3. Log out of ShipStation.

  4. In BigCommerce, locate the ShipStation app and uninstall it.

  5. Follow the steps listed above to connect the BigCommerce store to the new ShipStation account.

Available Features for BigCommerce Integration

The ShipStation integration with BigCommerce supports the following standard features:

Additional Features for BigCommerce

ShipStation's integration with BigCommerce allows for the following additional features:

Feature

Description

Supports ShipperHQ

You can use ShipperHQ with BigCommerce. It will not work with multi-recipient orders.

Displays BigCommerce Inventory counts

ShipStation can display BigCommerce inventory stock counts in the Order Details, as long as the BigCommerce store is set as the Inventory Source for your Ship From Location.

External inventory is visible in Order Details but is not tracked in the ShipStation Product Detail section. Learn how to View Total Available Inventory Counts in this article.

Will import orders with multiple Ship To addresses

If a BigCommerce order has more than one Ship To address, ShipStation will create multiple orders based on each Ship To address.

Receives shipment updates for linked Amazon and eBay stores

If you have Amazon and/or eBay connected to both BigCommerce and ShipStation, ShipStation will also update your BigCommerce store whenever a shipment update is sent to the Amazon or eBay store.

Please review the Using BigCommerce with Amazon or eBay article for more details about your available options.

FedEx Hold at Location available during Checkout

With ShipperHQ installed, you can enable FedEx Hold at Location as an option at checkout. ShipStation imports these orders with a Hold at Location designation so they can be appropriately processed.

Support-Enabled Features for BigCommerce

In addition to the features listed above, you can enable the following settings for your BigCommerce store via the ShipStation User Success team.

Feature

Description

Custom Fields

The Payment Method field can be mapped as Custom Field 1, 2, or 3 in ShipStation.

Multiple Ship Addresses

This setting is enabled by default.

If enabled, ShipStation will import BigCommerce orders with multiple Ship To addresses as separate orders based on the Ship To address. If disabled, only a single BigCommerce order will be created that uses the primary Ship To address for the order.

Import 'Manual Verification Required' orders as Awaiting Payment

If enabled, ShipStation will import BigCommerce orders in the Manual Verification Required status into the Awaiting Payment status. If this setting is not enabled, Manual Verification Required orders are imported into the Awaiting Shipment status.

Import Unpaid Orders

If enabled, ShipStation will import BigCommerce orders in the Awaiting Payment status as Awaiting Payment. If this setting is not enabled, Awaiting Payment orders will not import into ShipStation until they enter a supported status.

Exclude eBay orders from import

If enabled, ShipStation will ignore BigCommerce orders that originated on eBay.

If a store allows custom statuses, this means you define that statuses your orders use in your selling channel. In most cases, if you have custom statuses you'll need to define which ShipStation statuses each custom order status corresponds to.

ShipStation will import the customer's email address with the order data and can send shipment confirmation and delivery emails to that email address (configured in your Store settings).

ShipStation will import the customer phone number with the order data.

ShipStation will import the shipping method chosen by the customer during their store checkout.

ShipStation will import the payment method used to pay for the order.

ShipStation will import discount and coupon information for the order.

ShipStation can determine if an order is a gift from the order data sent by the store.

ShipStation will import internal notes or order activity from the store into the ShipStation Internal Notes field.

ShipStation will import notes provided by the customer when they made their purchase.

ShipStation will import the total order weight from the store.

ShipStation will import the weight for each line item in the order.

ShipStation will import an image URL for each line item in the order. These images will appear as thumbnails in your Order Details and can be included in email notifications and packing slips.

ShipStation will import item options (such as color or size) for each line item in the order. This data will appear in your Order Details and can be included in customer emails and packing slips.

ShipStation will import a product stock location for each line item in the order.

Status UpdateTracking NumberCarrierServiceCarrier Fee

The shipment update ShipStation sends to the selling channel will include any Notes to Buyer set on the order in ShipStation.

Item Information

Additional Details about the BigCommerce Integration

  • If you use ShipStation Legacy and split a BigCommerce order in ShipStation:

    Remove the Order Number suffix during the split process. This ensures the Order Number for the split orders matches the Order Number in BigCommerce. If the suffix is not removed, ShipStation will not be able to communicate properly with BigCommerce when the order is shipped.

    If using ShipStation's new layout, there is no need to amend the split order number.

  • A BigCommerce store can only be connected directly to a single ShipStation account. If the BigCommerce store is added to another ShipStation account, the authentication credentials will be invalidated for the previous connection.

  • If you are on the BigCommerce Enterprise Plan, you can use the Multi-Storefront Feature if you upgrade to the new BigCommerce integration that supports this feature. Please contact support to have your account enabled and once confirmed please follow the Migration Guide to ensure a successful migration with no disruptions in your workflow.

BigCommerce Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues experienced by users, potential causes, and available troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to troubleshoot or resolve

Connection error when trying to import BigCommerce orders into ShipStation.

This may mean that the authentication credentials ShipStation is using to communicate with BigCommerce are no longer valid and need to be updated.

To do this, you'll need to uninstall the ShipStation App from BigCommerce, then reinstall it. Follow the connection steps again to re-authorize your BigCommerce store.

Error: The quantity specified is greater than the quantity of the product that is available to ship.

This means BigCommerce's servers have denied our shipment notification because that shipment exceeds the available inventory. This happens most often when re-shipping a BigCommerce order (because BigCommerce has already set aside inventory in relation to that order).

To clear this error message, log in to your BigCommerce store and increase the inventory quantity for the product(s) you are trying to ship. Then, go back to ShipStation and click Retry Failed Steps in the marketplace notification pop-up screen.

If a store allows custom statuses, this means you define that statuses your orders use in your selling channel. In most cases, if you have custom statuses you'll need to define which ShipStation statuses each custom order status corresponds to.

ShipStation will import the customer's email address with the order data and can send shipment confirmation and delivery emails to that email address (configured in your Store settings).

ShipStation will import the customer phone number with the order data.

ShipStation will import the shipping method chosen by the customer during their store checkout.

ShipStation will import the payment method used to pay for the order.

ShipStation will import discount and coupon information for the order.

ShipStation can determine if an order is a gift from the order data sent by the store.

ShipStation will import internal notes or order activity from the store into the ShipStation Internal Notes field.

ShipStation will import notes provided by the customer when they made their purchase.

ShipStation will import the total order weight from the store.

ShipStation will import the weight for each line item in the order.

ShipStation will import an image URL for each line item in the order. These images will appear as thumbnails in your Order Details and can be included in email notifications and packing slips.

ShipStation will import item options (such as color or size) for each line item in the order. This data will appear in your Order Details and can be included in customer emails and packing slips.

ShipStation will import a product stock location for each line item in the order.

Status UpdateTracking NumberCarrierServiceCarrier Fee

The shipment update ShipStation sends to the selling channel will include any Notes to Buyer set on the order in ShipStation.

Item Information