How to Export WooCommerce Orders? (No Plugin Required)

In this article, we will discuss how to export orders from WooCommerce with just the WooCommerce plugin installed on your WordPress website.

Running an online store means dealing with a lot of data, from customer details to order information. And let’s be honest, sometimes you just need to get that order data out of WooCommerce and into a spreadsheet. Whether you’re preparing for tax season, sharing sales reports with your team, or just trying to analyze your store’s performance, exporting orders can save you hours of manual work.

The best part? You don’t even need a third-party plugin to get started. WooCommerce includes a built-in export feature that lets you download your order data directly from your WordPress dashboard. It’s quick, convenient, and perfect for store owners who want a no-fuss way to manage their orders.

Although it’s a quick and handy solution, it does have a few limitations. We’ll explore those in detail later. But first, let’s jump right into how you can do this quickly and easily.

Exporting orders from your WooCommerce store isn’t just about moving data from point A to B; it’s about making that data work for you. Whether you’re running a small shop or managing a large catalog of orders, here are some real-world reasons why exporting orders can be a big help:

1. Accounting and Tax Reporting

Let’s face it! When tax season rolls around, having your order data neatly exported can save you a ton of headaches. Accountants love spreadsheets, and so do tax authorities.

Exporting your WooCommerce orders provides you with all the necessary details, such as totals, taxes, and payment methods, so you can keep your finances in check and ensure accurate reports.

2. Data Backup and Migration

Want to switch hosting providers, move to another platform, or just keep a safety copy of your sales data? Exporting your orders creates a quick backup that you can store securely or import into another system later. It’s a smart move for peace of mind and data continuity.

3. Sharing with Stakeholders or Teams

Sometimes, your marketing team needs insights. Other times, your investors or business partners want a snapshot of how things are going. Instead of giving everyone WordPress access, you can simply export the orders and share the file. It’s clean, efficient, and keeps control in your hands.

4. Analyzing Sales or Customer Behavior

Want to know who your top customers are? Which products are selling best? Or maybe spot trends in seasonal demand? Exported order data opens up endless opportunities for analysis. Load it into Excel, Google Sheets, or even data tools like Power BI and unlock insights that can shape your next big strategy.

You might be surprised to know that WooCommerce comes with a built-in tool to export data; no need to hunt for a plugin or write any code. It’s already part of your WordPress dashboard, and using it is as easy as a few clicks.

Here’s how you can easily export WooCommerce orders using the built-in export tools in WordPress and WooCommerce:

Step 1: Log in to the WordPress Dashboard

• Open your WordPress dashboard and navigate to – Tools > Export.

This is the global export option available in the WordPress Tools menu. You can export all data with a single click by selecting the ‘All content’ option.

Step 2: Export Orders

Select Orders from the list and click ‘Download Export File’.

There you go. Your WooCommerce orders will be exported into an XML file and ready for use.

Now, let’s examine why this method might not be the best choice for exporting your order data.

Limitations of Using WooCommerce Built-in Tool to Export Orders in WordPress

Although WooCommerce is a robust eCommerce plugin for WordPress, it has certain limitations when it comes to order exports. These restrictions can impact how efficiently businesses manage their data and limit flexibility.

• Export to XML only: The default tool allows you to export orders to XML only.
• No automatic export: You can’t schedule exports with the default tool.
• No option to export within a date range: The default tool exports all the orders in your store. You can’t export orders on a specific date range.
• No options for specific order export: You can’t export orders based on customer email or product.
• No option to choose specific order data: You can’t choose the order fields to be exported.
• No option to skip the orders: The default tool does not allow you to skip any orders.

When You Might Need a Plugin Instead

While the built-in WooCommerce export feature is great for basic needs, there are times when you’ll hit its limits. If your store operations are a bit more complex or you’re looking for more control and flexibility, a dedicated export plugin can be a game-changer. Here’s when it might be worth considering:

Support for Multiple File Formats

When it comes to exporting WooCommerce orders, the built-in tool only gives you an XML file. While that’s great for spreadsheets, it may not suit every need. Many export plugins allow you to choose from a variety of file formats like Excel (XLS/XLSX), PDF, XML, or even JSON.

Whether you’re generating reports for your accountant, sharing summaries with your team, or integrating with other systems, having multiple export formats makes the process much smoother and more versatile.

Advanced Filtering and Formatting

Want to export only completed orders from last month, include only certain product categories, or apply custom column arrangements? The native exporter doesn’t give you much flexibility here.

Plugins like WebToffee’s Order Export plugin or others allow you to fine-tune exactly what data goes into your export, and how it’s structured.

Scheduled Exports and Automation

Tired of manually exporting data every week or month? Plugins can automate the entire process for you. You can set up recurring exports (e.g., every Monday at 9 AM) and even have them emailed directly to your accountant or uploaded to cloud storage.

It’s a big time-saver and helps ensure consistency.

Exporting Custom Fields, Line Items, or Subscriptions

If you use other WooCommerce extensions or custom code that adds extra fields to your order data, like custom checkout fields, tracking numbers, or subscription details, you’ll notice that the built-in exporter doesn’t include them. Many plugins can detect and export this additional data, so nothing important gets left behind.

In short, using plugins for order exports can significantly enhance efficiency, flexibility, and data security. Now, let’s look into how we can export orders with one such plugin.

The following steps will guide you through exporting WooCommerce orders easily using the Order Import and Order Export plugin by WebToffee.

Note that the plugin lets you export orders to a CSV file.

Step 1: Install WebToffee Order Import Export Plugin

• From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
• Search for ‘Order Import and Order Export for WooCommerce’ plugin by WebToffee.
• Install and activate the plugin.

Step 2: Choose Order as Post Type to Export

• Navigate to WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Export.
• Select Order as the post type to export.
• Proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Select Advanced Export Method for Exporting Orders

You can select either Quick Export or go for Advanced Export.

Quick export provides a basic export of all essential fields, while advanced export offers detailed filtering, column selection, and additional options.

• Let’s select Advanced Export and proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Filter Order Data for Export

The below options will help you filter the order data for export. If you don’t need any filtering options, you can skip this option.

Step 5: Reorder Export Columns

You can rename and reorder the columns in the export file and choose the order fields you want to export from here.

For example, select the Customer email column here if you want to export customer email with the order data.

Step 6: Export Selected Orders to CSV

• Enable the Exclude already exported checkbox to exclude previously exported orders.
• You can choose how the order items appear on the exporting CSV. They can be in single columns, separate columns, or separate rows.
• When you manage bulk orders, you can choose to export in batches using the Export in batches of option. Set the export batch count according to your requirements.

• Select how you want to differentiate the columns by choosing the Delimiter.
• Click on Export to complete the setup.

• Once the export is complete, a pop-up titled Export file processing completed will appear, with a download button.
• Click on the Download file button to download the exported WooCommerce Order file.

If you choose Quick Export in Step 3, you can skip steps 4, 5, and 6. However, this export method does not allow you to make selective exports.

Now that you’re familiar with exporting store orders, let’s explore some top plugins that can make the process easier and more reliable.

Let’s now look at some of the best WooCommerce import and export plugins that can help you manage your store’s data more efficiently.

1. Order, Coupon, Subscription Export Import for WooCommerce

The name of this plugin explains what it does. This premium plugin lets you import and export WooCommerce orders, coupons, and subscriptions. It supports both XML and CSV files. You can schedule the import-export actions using multiple FTP/URL.

It allows you to export WooCommerce orders based on product, status, email, date, and more. This plugin also allows you to edit or update existing orders in bulk.

2. Import Export Suite for WooCommerce

If you need an all-in-one suite for WooCommerce import-export, this is the right plugin for you. The plugin helps with any import or export functionality for your WooCommerce store.

It helps import or export:

• Products of all product types
• WordPress users and WooCommerce customers
• Order, coupon, and subscriptions
• Product ratings and reviews

The plugin supports various product types and file formats, including CSV and XML. It facilitates an effortless migration of your WooCommerce store data. This is a premium plugin and requires an annual subscription plan.

3. Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce

Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce is a free plugin that allows you to export WooCommerce orders easily. It supports multiple file formats, such as CSV, XLS, XML, and JSON. The plugin lets you export order data, customer details (shipping and billing), product attributes, and coupon details.

4. WooCommerce – Store Exporter

WooCommerce—Store Exporter is a free plugin that allows you to import and export WooCommerce store data easily. It allows you to export WooCommerce products, orders, categories, tags, users, and other store details into Excel spreadsheets.

You can use various export filters to specifically export orders by product, product category, order status, customer, etc.

5. Order Export for WooCommerce

The Order Export for WooCommerce plugin helps you export WooCommerce orders into Excel (XLS, XLSX) or CSV formats. It is available for free in the WordPress plugin library.

It offers a simple export tool to export WooCommerce data easily. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to use for beginners.

This article aims to inform you that WordPress has a default option for exporting WooCommerce store orders, and you can also use the same tool to import orders. However, you’ll need a dedicated plugin to export WooCommerce orders to get the most out of order exporting.

We hope you will find the right plugin for your needs from the list provided in this article.

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