Goal: Set up automated order exports that run on a schedule (hourly, daily, etc.) and automatically upload to your FTP server in Matrixify-compatible format, making it easy to integrate with warehouse systems, ERPs, and other business tools.
Video walkthrough: Watch the step-by-step video
Prerequisites:
You have Altera installed on your Shopify store
You have FTP, FTPS, or SFTP server credentials (hostname, username, password)
You have permission to write files to the server
Step 1 - Create an FTP Connection
Before setting up scheduled exports, you need to create a connection to your FTP server.
From the Altera app, click New Export, then:
Scroll down to the Export Location section
Click Create connection to set up a new FTP connection
You can also create a connection by going to the Settings page and clicking Remote Connections.
Step 2 - Configure FTP Server Details
Enter your server information:
Connection Name: (Optional) Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Warehouse FTP Server")
Connection Type: Choose FTP or SFTP
Host: Your FTP server hostname (e.g.,
ftp.example.com)Username: Your FTP username
Password: Your FTP password
Port: (Optional) Custom port if different from default
Directory: (Optional) Specify a directory path where files should be uploaded (e.g.,
/orders)
Click Save. Altera will validate the connection and display an error if there are any connection issues.
Step 3 - Create a New Order Export
Navigate back to the home page and click New Export.
Step 4 - Select Order Data and Fields
Configure which order data to export:
In Data types, select Orders
In Fields, choose the order information you need by clicking on field group buttons:
General - Basic order information
Line items - Product details from the order
Fulfillments - Shipping and tracking information
Customer - Customer contact details
(Optional) Include customer metafields, Include product metafields, or Include variant metafields if you need custom field data
After selecting a field group, you can click on it again to open a modal where you can choose specific individual fields from that group. This gives you precise control over which columns appear in your export.
Step 5 - Set Up Time-Based Filters
To export only new orders since the last run, add a filter based on when orders were placed.
In the Filters section:
Click Add filter
Select Processed at (this is when the order was actually placed, not just created in the database)
Choose in the last X hours and enter the number of hours you want to export orders for.
The preview at the top will show how many orders currently match this filter.
Step 6 - Choose File Format
In the File format section:
For single-sheet order exports: Choose CSV (single file) or Excel (single file)
For multi-sheet exports with related data: Choose Excel (multiple sheets) or CSV (multiple files in ZIP)
(Optional) Customize the Filename using placeholders like
#{{date}},#{{time}}, or#{{timestamp}}to create unique filenames for each export
Step 7 - Select Export Location
Scroll to the Export Location section:
Click the Export Location dropdown
Select the FTP connection you created in Step 2
(Optional) Check Skip upload if export has no results to prevent uploading empty files when no orders match your filters
Step 8 - Configure Export Schedule
In the Scheduling section:
Enable Repeat this export
Choose your schedule frequency, Hourly in this example.
Set the start time for when the first export should run
Step 9 - Configure Data Transformations (Optional)
If you need to customize the output format beyond standard Matrixify format contact us and we can create a custom data transformation for you. Then you can select the transformation in the Data transformations section.
Step 10 - Start the Export
Click Start Export to:
Run the export immediately with current matching orders
Upload the file to your FTP server
Activate the schedule for future automatic exports
Outcome
Your scheduled export is now active. Altera will:
Automatically run the export at your specified intervals
Export only orders matching your time filter (e.g., orders from the last hour)
Upload each export file to your FTP server with a unique filename
Track all job runs in the export history
You can monitor scheduled exports on the Altera home page. Click on any export to view:
Latest status - Whether the last run succeeded
All job runs - Historical list of every time the export ran
File uploaded - Confirmation of FTP upload with the remote file path
To manually run the export again outside the schedule, click Run again on the export details page.
Example Use Cases
Hourly order sync to warehouse: Export new orders every hour so your fulfillment team can process them immediately
Daily order feed for accounting: Export all orders from the previous day at midnight for your accounting system
ERP integration: Export orders every 4 hours in a custom format that matches your ERP's import requirements
Backup system: Create daily order backups uploaded to a remote server for record-keeping
Important Notes
Processed at vs Created at: Always use Processed at for order filters - this represents when the customer placed the order, not when it was written to Shopify's database
Unique filenames: Use filename placeholders like
#{{timestamp}}to ensure each export creates a unique file and doesn't overwrite previous exportsSchedule timing: If an export is still running when the next scheduled run is due, the new run will be skipped to prevent overlapping jobs
Matrixify compatibility: Exports use the standard Matrixify format by default, making them compatible with Matrixify imports on other stores
Metafields: You can include order, customer, product, and variant metafields in the export for complete data transfer
Job history: All scheduled runs are logged with timestamps, file counts, and export status for auditing
Managing Scheduled Exports
To modify or stop a scheduled export:
Click on the export from the home page
To change settings, click Edit and update any configuration
To temporarily stop the schedule without hiding the export click on the 'Scheduling' toggle
You can also archive the job which will stop the repeating schedule and hide the export from your main jobs list.