Same store, from Lightspeed to Shopify, free move

We move your Lightspeed store to Shopify for free, usually in about 2 weeks. Your products, customers and past orders come across, your old addresses redirect to the new ones, and if you sell in a shop, we set up Shopify POS with the same catalogue. You pay only your Shopify plan, from $49 a month in Canada, and any paid apps you choose.

What Lightspeed lets you take with you

Lightspeed has more than one product, and each exports differently. Here is what we work from.

Lightspeed eCom (C-Series)

The back office has an export tool under Tools > Exports. It gives us CSV files for:

• Products, with the web address of every product image, so we can pull the photos into Shopify.
• Customers, covering both registered accounts and guest checkouts.
• Orders, with order status, the products bought and the customer details.

Lightspeed Retail (X-Series and R-Series)

Retail POS exports your product list and your customer list to CSV. Two limits trip people up on the X-Series: the customer export stops at 1,000 rows unless you use Lightspeed's workaround, and the sales history export only includes the first 1,000 sales unless you narrow the filters. We export in batches so nothing gets cut off.

What never moves, and what we do instead

• Customer passwords. No platform hands these over. On Shopify, customers sign in with their email and a one-time code, so there's nothing to reset.
• Gift card balances. They don't import from a file on standard Shopify plans. We reissue each open balance as a Shopify gift card and send you the list.
• Product reviews. Whether these move depends on the review app you use today. If it can export, we import into a Shopify review app. If not, we tell you before we start.
• Payment hardware. Your Lightspeed terminals belong to Lightspeed Payments. In Canada, Shopify POS works with Shopify's WisePad 3, POS Terminal and Verifone Victa Mobile readers, or an external terminal from another provider. We check your scanners and printers against Shopify's supported hardware list.

Your addresses and your search rankings

Shopify uses fixed paths: products live under /products/ and categories under /collections/. Your Lightspeed URLs don't follow that pattern, so every old product and category address needs a redirect. We build the redirect list from your export, add it to Shopify before launch, and test a sample of old links on launch day. Visitors and search engines that follow an old link land on the right page instead of a 404.

French content

Lightspeed eCom can run a store in several languages. If yours already has French product names and descriptions, we bring them into Shopify's French version so you don't pay to translate twice. If it doesn't, the French version is still part of the free setup.

In-store selling with Shopify POS

If you run a shop as well as a website, the switch is bigger than an online migration. One catalogue and one stock count serve both, which is the main reason Lightspeed retailers move. We set up the Shopify POS app with your products synced, your store as a location with its stock, and your staff accounts. Casual in-person selling features come with every paid Shopify plan. Shops that need advanced staff permissions or more retail reports may want POS Pro, which Shopify lists at $119 a month per location.

We suggest switching the till on a quiet day, after the website has been live for a few days. That way you change one thing at a time.

How the move goes

1. Days 1 to 2: we take the exports with you and check what's in them.
2. Days 3 to 8: we build the store, import products and customers, and customize the theme.
3. Days 8 to 10: we import past orders, set up taxes, shipping and POS, and build the redirects.
4. Days 10 to 12: you review and place test orders. We transfer the store to you.
5. Launch: we point your domain to Shopify and switch on the redirects. Keep Lightspeed running until the import is verified.

When you shouldn't switch

Lightspeed is a Montréal company too, and a good fit for many businesses. Stay where you are if any of these is true:

• You run a restaurant or bar. Shopify POS is built for retail, not table service.
• You're locked into a hardware lease or contract with months left. Plan the move for when it ends.
• Your business depends on a Lightspeed-only integration, such as a specific supplier catalogue, with no Shopify equivalent.
• Your website sells very little and your in-store setup works well. The disruption may not be worth it.

Not sure? Our comparison of Shopify, Lightspeed, Wix and Squarespace sets out the trade-offs. If you're ready, send the request form with "Lightspeed" as your platform. The full offer is on our free Shopify setup page, and our guide to GST/HST and QST on Shopify covers the tax side.