Fulfil orders in bulk in Shopify
When the morning brings a stack of packed parcels, fulfil them together instead of opening each order. This tutorial marks 14 orders as fulfilled in one bulk action: 11 go through, 2 are on hold and 1 is already fulfilled, so the progress panel reports 3 skipped.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Orders selected | 14 |
| Marked fulfilled | 11 |
| Skipped, on hold | 2 |
| Skipped, already fulfilled | 1 |
| Bulk action limit | 250 orders |
| Headroom in this action | 236 orders |
| Tracking | Add afterwards, one order at a time |
Download the log: bulk-fulfilment-log.csv (227 bytes).
A bulk fulfilment log for the 14 orders: 11 marked fulfilled, 2 on hold, 1 already fulfilled. The rows add to the 14 selected. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open Orders and filter to Unfulfilled
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders. Click the Unfulfilled tab to filter the list to the orders that still need action. The 14 orders in this tutorial are the ones packed this morning.
2Select the orders
Select the checkboxes next to the 14 orders you want to mark as fulfilled. The bulk action works on the orders you select, so check the count before you click anything else.
3Click Mark as, then Fulfilled
Click Mark as, and then click Fulfilled. Shopify starts the bulk action and shows a progress panel while it works through the selection.
4Choose whether to notify customers
Select the Send a notification to the customer checkbox if you want each customer to get a shipping confirmation. If pickup orders are in the selection, they are marked as picked up instead, and no ready-for-pickup notification is sent.
5Click Mark as fulfilled
Click Mark as fulfilled. The panel shows how the action went: 11 orders marked fulfilled, and 3 that could not be processed.
6Review the 3 skipped orders
The panel reports how many orders failed. Open the 3 skipped orders: 2 are on hold and 1 is already fulfilled. Orders on hold cannot change status with a bulk action, and an order that is already fulfilled cannot be marked fulfilled again.
7Add tracking numbers afterwards
The bulk action has no tracking field. Add tracking numbers to each fulfilled order afterwards, one at a time, using the Add tracking step on the order page.
The arithmetic
The bulk action reports counts, not money. The counts in this tutorial add up as follows:
| Bulk action result | Count |
|---|---|
| Orders selected | 14 |
| Marked fulfilled | 11 |
| Skipped, on hold | 2 |
| Skipped, already fulfilled | 1 |
| Total accounted for | 14 |
| Headroom under the 250 limit | 236 |
11 + 2 + 1 = 14, so every selected order is accounted for. The 250-order limit is Shopify's: above 250, some bulk features may not be available.
Held at the counter
Bulk actions skip orders on hold. Orders or fulfilments on hold cannot change status with a bulk action. Release the holds first, then run the bulk action again for those orders.
There is no tracking field in the bulk action. Bulk fulfilment marks orders as fulfilled and nothing else. If every order needs its tracking number, budget the time to add them afterwards, order by order.
Over 250 orders, some features may not be available. Shopify warns that selecting more than 250 orders can disable some bulk features. Split a very large morning into two runs of 250 or fewer.
Sources
- Fulfilling your own orders in bulk — Shopify's help pages: the bulk Mark as fulfilled steps, the Unfulfilled tab filter, the 250-order limit, the hold and already-fulfilled rules, and the no-tracking note.
- Fulfilling your own orders individually — Shopify's help pages: that each fulfilment is fulfilled separately and that tracking can be added after fulfilment.