The world of eCommerce is constantly changing, so beginning your journey in it is a thrill. It can often be confusing, though. Even pros in the business owner branch can tell you that.
Getting WooCommerce for your WordPress site is a big step but, it can become overwhelming. One of the obstacles that even the most seasoned owners have trouble with is exporting orders. Where do you even begin? Let us help you out.
WooCommerce Order Export
So, your journey as a business owner has brought you to the discovery of the WooCommerce Order Export plugin. You are about to value it as if it were a pot of gold, trust us.
What is it? We will clue you in.
We present a plugin filled to the brim with an array of features and functionality. What does it do? Well, this plugin offers numerous ways in which you can export data from WooCommerce.
Your first encounter with it may be overwhelming, but that is why we are here.
We will begin with the main export screen. That is where you run an export. You certainly will not lack options when it comes to filters and ways to export your data! Time to see what they offer.
Date ranges
The date ranges come in two formats: custom and predefined. The custom format explains itself: choose the starting export date and the ending one. Uncomplicated is the winning term here.
The predefined ranges have a little more flavor in their rows. The choices you get are to export today’s orders alone, orders from this week, the ones from last week, the previous month, or last year – all up to your taste.
The next thing in the export is choosing how the data is formatted. What do you get to pick? The date format, the name, time format, the sorting of it, and how the fields get broken up. Nonwestern characters are something you can include as well.
An additional thing that you get to pick is how a line item appears. If you are unsure about this, it is perfectly okay to choose the default settings.
Export new orders only
One could say that this is one of the top features available. The plugin remembers which orders you have already exported, so you get the option to only export new ones. Would you like that?
Simply check the box in the export new orders only section. After that, this plugin will memorize which orders you have exported the last time and only offer you new ones. Mighty useful if you run ad-hoc reports several times per day, week, or month.
Filters
Let’s get to the filters! Like the previously mentioned option, this is a newly built set of functionality. What is its deal? Well, it lets you specify how you would like to filter your orders.
Filter by currency, payment gateway, discount, and so on. You do not have to restrain yourself – there is no limit on how many filters one can choose.
Another thing is mention-worthy. After you pick one of the filters available, it automatically finds all the values that are in the database and presents them as options.
Fields to export
We have arrived at the core. Well, the plugin’s core. A difficult question awaits – which fields do you want to bring out? It is nothing we cannot conquer together. For starters, your eye might catch several fields within this section.
Drag and drop them around as you wish. Next, there are seven field group categories at your disposal: Basic, shipping details, billing details, checkout info, line items, product info, and user info.
Click one, choose the field you want to have on your export, and get it to the drag-to-reorder section. And that, our friend, is how you compile a custom report without worry. Not too bad, right?
Time for meta! Do not worry. We are not handing you off to Zuckerberg. We will just be taking a look at the metadata section. It refers to the behind-the-scenes data. Extra data shows up if you have other WooCommerce plugins. If the said data gets stored in the same format, it will be available for you in this section.
The preview button
It may not be Christmas yet, but our plugin keeps giving. This time, you get the preview button. This handy addition saves you the trouble of running a full test export. Instead, press it to confirm you are getting what you have expected. If you like what you see in the preview, run the actual export. It is such a clever time-saver.
The settings page
That marks the end of our walkthrough of the main page. It was not as bad as it first seemed, right? Our journey now leads us to the settings page. And practicality might be its middle name. Here you can find a log of scheduled exports. That means that you can see what the input parameters were. Also, how many records it executed.
If you cannot get your exports working, this page is where you get to see what is going on. An additional enthralling and practical feature of it is its import and export settings. It is self-explanatory – export and import settings between your pages as you want. It makes troubleshooting so much easier.
Scheduled exports
We have gotten to the red rose in our white rose-filled bouquet of plugin options – scheduled exports.
It earned its title as a user favorite because you can set up as many of them as you want. To see what you currently have going on, check the summary table. You have several categories at your disposal.
Pick the title, delivery methods, delivery details, frequency, last run, and the next run. And if you want to edit, delete, or clone your scheduled exports, head over to the actions section.
Okay, let us say you wanted to create a new scheduled export. First, pick a name. It is purely up to you. Next, decide on when you want to run it. You might choose to do it on specific days at a time. Or pick one of the predefined schedules available. We do not judge.
Now, where do you want it to go? This plugin can deliver it in a couple of different ways: via FTP, email, or stored on a directory on your WordPress site. The last option grants you the choice of picking up the scheduled export whenever you want.
Conclusion
That ends our journey of discovery. We will dare to say – some practice and, this plugin will become one of your favorites. WooCommerce understands the difficulties of running an online business. That is why this plugin exists – to simplify your life.
The preview button and the scheduled exports option truly understood that assignment. No time to test your exports by running them fully? Preview them!
Are you in need of daily or weekly exports? Schedule them! This plugin will assure that you are never in a pinch when it comes to time.