How to skip Shopify lines that need no shipping

Before you start

• A Shopify orders CSV that covers the batch
• A spreadsheet app that can filter and sort
• A list of the products in your catalogue that never ship

Steps

1. Find the flag Shopify writes per line

   In the CSV header row, find Lineitem requires shipping.

   You should see one column of TRUE and FALSE values, one value per line item row.

2. Filter the sheet to the false rows

   In your spreadsheet app, filter Lineitem requires shipping to FALSE so you can read what Shopify considers unshippable.

   You should see digital downloads, gift cards and services, and nothing you would put in a box.

3. Delete the false rows

   With the filter still applied, delete those rows from your working copy.

   You should see every remaining row carrying TRUE in that column.

4. Look for orders that lost every row

   Sort the remaining sheet by Name and compare the distinct order references with the original export.

   You should see a short list of orders that were entirely digital and need no label at all.

5. Check the addresses that survived

   In the remaining rows, confirm Shipping Name and Shipping Address1 are filled on the first row of each order.

   You should see one complete address per order reference.

6. Save the shippable copy

   In your spreadsheet app, save the filtered sheet as its own CSV, named for the batch and the date.

   You should see a file whose order count equals the number of parcels you will pack.

If it goes wrong

A digital order has no address to ship to

An order made entirely of downloads can arrive with the shipping block empty, because Shopify never asked for one. Those rows fail an address check rather than producing a wrong parcel, which is the better failure, but they still stall a batch. Remove them before the batch opens.

A mixed cart still needs exactly one parcel

An order with a shirt and a download is one box. After the filter, that order keeps one row and loses the other, which is the result you want. Do not treat the missing row as a second shipment.

The flag is per line, the label is per order

Lineitem requires shipping describes a line item, while Fulfillment Status describes progress on the order. A batch needs both: one to decide what goes in the box, one to keep already fulfilled orders out of it.

What happens next

The count that matters is distinct order references after the filter, not rows. A 50 row export with 12 digital lines is 38 shippable rows and can still be fewer than 38 parcels once multi line orders collapse. Recount before rating, because a batch prices per parcel.