Shopify × QuickBooks Catalog Preflight

1. Capture a read-only snapshot

• Export Shopify products from Products → Export. Shopify describes the export formats and warns that spreadsheet sorting can disassociate variants or image URLs. Keep the source export unchanged; do not re-import an edited export as part of this check.
• In QuickBooks Online, run the Product/Service List report and export it as CSV or Excel. Use only the product/service list for this review.
• Save dated, untouched copies before making connector or catalog changes.

2. Compare identifiers carefully

• Keep SKU columns as text so leading zeroes and other characters are preserved.
• Count blank and repeated SKUs in each system. A duplicate is ambiguous even when product names look similar.
• Compare exact SKUs first. Treat case or whitespace normalization as a comparison aid only; do not silently rewrite source values.
• Review blank-SKU and name-only candidates manually. Matching names do not prove two records are the same sellable item.

3. Separate cases that need a person

• Review variants, bundles, parent/child items, services, and inventory-tracked items separately.
• Confirm how the connector handles item types, inactive items, and duplicate identifiers with the integration owner or bookkeeper.
• Keep tax codes, prices, quantity on hand, and accounting treatment outside an SKU-only comparison. This checklist does not validate them.

4. Approve changes in a controlled way

• Review the proposed mapping with the person responsible for the integration and books.
• Make corrections in a copy or approved test process first, then re-export and compare again.
• Do not bulk-change catalog records or enable a live sync solely because a name or SKU appears to match.

Data boundary

Use product-catalog exports only. Do not include customers, orders, invoices, payments, or other personal or financial records in an SKU comparison utility.

Official export references

• Shopify: Exporting products
• Intuit: Move your lists to QuickBooks Online