How do I mark a Shopify order fulfilled with tracking?
Open the order, click Mark as fulfilled, and put the number in the Tracking number field. Shopify may detect the carrier from the format, and you can override it or choose Other and paste a full tracking URL. Confirm, and the order becomes Fulfilled with the number carried into the shipping confirmation email.
The six clicks in the Shopify admin
Go to Orders and open the order.
Find the Unfulfilled or In progress section and click Mark as fulfilled.
If you are shipping only part of the order, enter the item quantities you want to fulfill.
Add the tracking number from your shipping provider in the Tracking number field.
Check the carrier Shopify selected, or choose the right one from the list.
Leave Send a notification to the customer checked, then click Mark as fulfilled.
The notification checkbox is only available when the order has an email address on it.
Getting the carrier right
Shopify recognizes tracking numbers from hundreds of carriers worldwide, and it tries to match the format you paste. The match is a guess, so read it before you confirm. If your carrier is not detected or not in the list, select Other and enter the full tracking URL your carrier provides, otherwise the customer sees a number with nothing behind it.
| Situation | What to choose | Result for the customer |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier detected correctly | Leave the selection | Clickable tracking link |
| Carrier detected wrongly | Pick the carrier from the list | Clickable tracking link |
| Carrier not listed | Other, plus the full tracking URL | Link to the carrier page you supplied |
What changes on the order
The fulfillment status moves to Fulfilled when every item has been fulfilled, and to Partially fulfilled when you fulfilled part of the items. The tracking number is attached to that fulfillment, not to the order, which is why an order shipped in two boxes carries two numbers. Customers follow the delivery from the order status page, the shipping emails and the Shop app.
Which email goes out
Marking the order fulfilled sends the shipping confirmation. Editing or adding tracking information afterwards sends the shipping update instead. If the carrier reports them, Shopify can also send out for delivery and delivered emails, though Shopify notes that tracking event sources, accuracy and timing vary by carrier.
Uncheck the notification box if you are fulfilling a batch you have not handed to the carrier yet.
Doing it without typing the number
The tracking number already exists the moment a label is bought, so retyping it into the admin is a copy step with nothing to check it. Any system that buys the label can create the fulfillment through Shopify's API with the number and carrier attached, which is the same fulfillment record the admin would have written, with the same emails behind it.
Key takeaways
- Tracking is entered on the fulfillment, not on the order as a whole.
- Carrier detection is a guess from the number format and can be overridden.
- The customer notification is a checkbox on the same screen.
- Fulfilling fewer than all items leaves the rest Unfulfilled for a second fulfillment.
Buy the label, the fulfillment is written for you
The Shopify connection is in early access. Orders arrive within minutes through webhooks and a 10 to 15 minute poll, with the shipping address and line items ready to rate against USPS and UPS.
When you buy the label we create the fulfillment against that order's fulfillment order with the tracking number and carrier, and Shopify sends the buyer its own notification. Partial fulfillment is supported, so a two box order gets two fulfillments with their own numbers.
Related questions
Yes. The Tracking number field is optional, and the shipping confirmation email is sent when an order is fulfilled whether or not tracking is attached. The customer then has a fulfillment with nothing to follow. If you add the number later, Shopify sends the shipping update email, so the customer hears from you twice.
Open the order and edit the tracking information on the existing fulfillment rather than creating a new one. Shopify treats that as updating tracking information, which triggers the shipping update notification. Creating a second fulfillment instead splits the order, which is only correct when the items really did ship in two shipments.
No. Shopify matches the format to pick a likely carrier and builds a link from it, but a typed number that belongs to nobody still saves cleanly. The first sign of a wrong number is usually a customer telling you the link shows nothing. Writing the number straight from the label purchase removes that class of mistake.
Yes. The Shopify mobile app follows the same steps, and it can scan a barcode instead of having you type the tracking number. The carrier selection, the quantity fields and the customer notification checkbox all behave the same way as on desktop.