Archiving Order History

Last Updated: June 03, 2026

Overview

UltraCart retains one year of order history at no charge. Data beyond that threshold incurs a fee of $7 per month per additional year retained online. If you reduce your retention period, orders older than the new threshold are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

This tutorial walks through the full archive workflow: creating reusable export mappings for XML, CSV, and Google Sheets, then running the export to produce files suitable for offline storage or delivery to a CPA.

Warning: Once order data is deleted by the system, it cannot be recovered. Complete all archive exports before reducing your retention period setting.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm the following:

You can log in to your UltraCart account.
Your user account has the Edit Settings permission (required to create export mappings).
Your user account has the Access Accounts Receivables permission (required to run exports).
You know the date range of the order history you need to archive (for example, a full prior fiscal year).

Why Archive Before Reducing Retention

UltraCart processes deletions on a monthly calendar, meaning the oldest month's data is purged at the beginning of each new month. You will receive an email notification 30 days before any order older than your retention threshold is scheduled for deletion.

Purged Order Email Notification:
If no user has the “Edit Service Plan” permission, all users receive billing-related email notifications, including order purge alerts. If one or more users have this permission, only they receive the order purge notifications.

For CPA and tax purposes, retain archived export files for at least seven years in accordance with standard recordkeeping guidance. Store files in at least two locations (for example, a local drive and cloud storage).

Part 1: Create an Export Mapping

An export mapping defines the file format and the fields included in every export you run. You must create at least one mapping before you can perform an export. Create a separate mapping for each format you intend to use.

Navigation: Home → Configuration → Exporting Orders

Step 1: Open the Export Mappings screen

Log in to your UltraCart account.
Navigate to Home → Configuration → Exporting Orders.
If no mappings exist, the screen displays: No mappings are configured.
Click New to open the Export Order Mapping editor.

Step 2: Name the mapping

Enter a descriptive name in the Name field so you can identify the mapping when running exports later.

Suggested names for a CPA archive scenario:

Annual Archive - XML
Annual Archive - CSV
Annual Archive - Google Sheets

Step 3: Select the export file format

Choose one format per mapping. The table below summarizes the options relevant to archiving.

Format	Best For	Item Detail Included

Format	Best For	Item Detail Included
`XML (validated against DTD)`	Most external systems, accounting software other than Microsoft tools	Yes - full order detail
`XML (validated against W3C Schema)`	Microsoft Access, Microsoft tools	Yes - full order detail
`CSV (.csv)`	Spreadsheet review, import into accounting software	No - summary only
`Microsoft Excel (.xls)`	Spreadsheet review	No - summary only; 20,000 record limit
`Google Sheets (Beta)`	Collaborative review, shared access with CPA	No - summary only

Note: XML is the only format that captures full line-item detail per order. For a complete audit record, create both an XML mapping and a CSV or Google Sheets mapping. Provide the CSV or Google Sheets file to your CPA for review and retain the XML file as the authoritative record.

Step 4 (XML only): Choose DTD or W3C Schema

Use XML (validated against W3C Schema) if your CPA or accountant will open the file in Microsoft Access or another Microsoft tool.
Use XML (validated against DTD) for all other processing tools.

Step 5 (CSV or Excel only): Configure spreadsheet column mapping

When CSV, Excel, or TXT is selected, the Spreadsheet Column Configuration panel appears.

Click Add All Fields to include every available order field, or use the dropdown to select specific fields.
Check Field names in first row so that column headers appear in the exported file. This is required when your CPA needs to import the file into accounting software.
To rename a field for the output file, type the preferred label in the Name (optional) column next to each field.
To remove a field, click the red X next to it, then click Save.

Recommended fields for a CPA archive:

Order ID
Creation Date
Payment Date
Billing Name
Billing Address
Subtotal
Tax
Shipping
Order Total
Payment Method
Placed by User

Step 6 (Google Sheets only): Connect your Google account

Select Google Sheets (Beta) as the export format.
Click Connect to authorize UltraCart to write to your Google Drive.
When running the actual export later, you will be required to provide a Google Spreadsheet Name. That field is mandatory for the export to complete.

Step 7: Configure kit handling (optional)

By default, UltraCart exports kit items as a row with cost and zero weight, and kit components as a row with weight but no cost. If your orders include product kits:

Check Filter Kits to suppress kit rows and spread their cost to the component rows.
Check Filter Kit Components to suppress component rows and roll their weight up to the kit row.

Only one of these options can be active at a time.

Step 8: Set as default (optional)

To make this mapping run automatically from Accounts Receivable or Shipping Department without a prompt, check the corresponding checkbox under Export Setting:

Accounts Receivable
Shipping Department

Step 9: Save the mapping

Click Save and Preview to confirm the mapping is configured correctly. For XML formats, a preview renders in the browser. For CSV, TXT, or Excel formats, a small sample file downloads automatically.

*Repeat Part 1 for each additional format (XML, CSV, Google Sheets) before continuing to Part 2.

Part 2: Perform the Export

Once your mappings are saved, run the actual export from Order Management.

Navigation: Operations → Order Management → Export Orders

Step 1: Open Export Orders

Navigate to Operations → Order Management → Export Orders. If you see the message No export
mappings have been defined, return to Part 1 and create at least one mapping. The message includes a link to the configuration screen.

Step 2: Select the export mapping

In the Export Mapping dropdown, select the mapping you created in Part 1. The Export Details panel
below the dropdown confirms the format, kit settings, and column count for the selected mapping.

To review or edit your mappings, click the Edit list link next to the dropdown.

Step 3 (Google Sheets only): Enter the spreadsheet name

If you selected a Google Sheets mapping, a required New Google Spreadsheet Name field appears.
Enter the name you want the spreadsheet to have in your Google Drive. This field is mandatory.

Step 4: Select order location

Under Order Location, check one or more locations to include in the export.

Location	Description

Location	Description
Pre-ordered	Orders placed but not yet processed
Accounts Receivable	Orders awaiting payment processing
Shipping Department	Orders awaiting fulfillment
Completed Orders	Fully processed and fulfilled orders
Rejected Orders	Orders that did not complete successfully

For a full-year archive, select Completed Orders at a minimum. Add Rejected Orders if your CPA
needs a complete picture of all transaction attempts.

Note: Rejected orders have a fixed retention period of one year regardless of your general retention settings. Archive these separately and promptly.

Step 5: Set filters (optional)

Use the Filters section to narrow or expand the set of orders included.

Filter	Effect

Filter	Effect
Exclude Recurring Auto Orders (Original Order Included)	Omits recurring charge records; retains the original signup order
Include Only Auto Orders (Original Order and Regular Orders Excluded)	Exports only recurring charge records
Include Only BEOE Orders	Limits export to back-end order entry orders
Exclude Test Orders	Removes test transactions from the archive
Include Only Refunded Orders	Useful for producing a standalone refunds report for your CPA

For a standard annual CPA archive, leave all filters unchecked to capture the complete order history for the period.

Step 6: Select channel partners (if applicable)

The Channel Partners section appears only if channel partners are configured in your account. Select specific partners to limit the export to their orders, or leave all options unselected to include every channel.

Step 7: Set the date and time range

This step defines which orders fall within the archive period.

In the Date dropdown, select the date type:
- Creation Date - the date the order was placed (recommended for annual archives)
- Payment Date - the date payment was captured
- Shipping Date - the date the order shipped
- Refund Date - the date a refund was issued
Set From to the first day of the archive period (for example, 01/01/2024 00:00:00).
Set To to the last day of the archive period (for example, 12/31/2024 23:59:59).

Both From and To are required fields.

Example: Archiving the full 2024 fiscal year for a CPA

Field	Value

Field	Value
Date Type	`Creation Date`
From	`01/01/2024 00:00:00`
To	`12/31/2024 23:59:59`

Step 8: Run the export

Click Export. UltraCart generates the file based on your criteria.

XML and CSV formats download directly to your browser.
Google Sheets format writes the data to a new spreadsheet in the connected Google Drive account.

Store the downloaded files in a secure location. For CPA delivery, XML files serve as the authoritative record and CSV or Google Sheets files serve as the human-readable summary.

Export Format Reference

Format	Full Line-Item Detail	Record Limit	Delivery Method	Recommended Use

Format	Full Line-Item Detail	Record Limit	Delivery Method	Recommended Use
XML (DTD)	Yes	None	Browser download	Authoritative archive, non-Microsoft tools
XML (W3C Schema)	Yes	None	Browser download	Authoritative archive, Microsoft tools
CSV	No (summary only)	None	Browser download	CPA review, import into accounting software
Microsoft Excel (.xls)	No (summary only)	20,000 records	Browser download	Spreadsheet review; use batched date ranges for large volumes
Google Sheets (Beta)	No (summary only)	None documented	Google Drive	Shared CPA access, collaborative review

Recommended Archiving Schedule

Frequency	Action

Frequency	Action
Monthly	Export the prior month's completed orders in XML and CSV formats. Store in dated folders.
Annually	Export the full prior year before January 31. Deliver CSV or Google Sheets to your CPA.
Before reducing retention	Export all years that fall outside the new retention threshold before saving the change in Order Retention settings.

For Excel exports, if the date range contains more than 20,000 orders, break the range into quarterly or monthly batches and export each batch separately.

Troubleshooting

The Export Orders screen shows "No export mappings have been defined."

No mappings have been saved yet. Navigate to Home → Configuration → Exporting Orders and create at least one mapping. A direct link appears inside the warning message on the Export Orders screen.

The Export button produces no file.

Verify that at least one Order Location checkbox is selected and that both the From and To date fields are populated. All three are required for the export to run.

The Google Sheets export fails or the spreadsheet does not appear.

Confirm that your Google account is connected by returning to Configuration → Exporting Orders, editing the Google Sheets mapping, and clicking Connect again. Also verify that the New

Google Spreadsheet
Name field was filled in before clicking Export.

The Excel file is missing orders.

Excel exports are limited to 20,000 records per file. Reduce the date range to a smaller interval (monthly or quarterly) and run multiple exports to cover the full period.

A user cannot run the export.

The user requires two permissions: Edit Settings (to manage export mappings) and Access Accounts Receivables (to run the export from Order Management). A system administrator must grant these under user login permissions.

F.A.Q.

Question: How do I export my order history from previous years? Follow the tutorial, making sure to set the creation date begin and creation date end to the specific period you wish to export.

Archiving Order History: Export Mapping and Retention Guidelines