Help
How do I get started?
Install PIDReady from the Shopify App Store and approve access to products and inventory. The first scan starts on its own, and Home shows how many variants are ready and what needs fixing. Click Start fixing and begin with the biggest group of problems.
What are M-PID, NS-PID and S-PID?
Three product identifiers EU customs require on every item in a parcel to an EU shopper from 1 November 2026. M-PID is your own code (the SKU). NS-PID is the manufacturer's or supplier's reference. S-PID is the retail barcode (UPC, EAN, ISBN or GTIN) when one exists; if not, an exception is declared.
I make my own products. What is my manufacturer reference?
You are the manufacturer, so you assign it yourself: customs guidance sets no format for it. Turn on 'I make my own products' in Settings and PIDReady uses your SKU as the manufacturer reference.
My product has no barcode. What do I do?
Tick 'No barcode exists' on the variant. PIDReady then declares the exception (code Y081) in exports and writes NO in the FedEx file, exactly as FedEx asks. You do not need to buy a barcode just for customs.
How do I find the HS code of a product?
The HS code classifies a product for customs, and its first 6 digits are the same in every country. Search by product description in the EU TARIC database, on the European Commission's website, or in the UK Trade Tariff on GOV.UK, or ask your supplier: it is often on their invoices. Similar products usually share a code, so you can set it for many variants at once with Bulk actions.
What counts as the country of origin?
The country where the product was made, or where it last changed substantially. It is not the country you ship from. Type the country's name or its two-letter code (for example Portugal or PT), and PIDReady saves the code Shopify uses.
Where does PIDReady store the manufacturer reference?
In a variant metafield in your own store (custom.ns_pid by default). You can see and edit it in Shopify on every variant, it appears in Shopify's own product export, and it stays with your store even if you uninstall the app.
Does PIDReady send the data to my carrier?
No. Export the CSV in the format your carrier expects and upload it there, or let your shipping platform read the Shopify fields directly.
Which files can I import?
Excel workbooks (.xlsx) and CSV files, from Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets or any other app. Start from PIDReady's template on the Import page: it has a variant_id column that tells PIDReady which variant each row is. In a workbook with several sheets, PIDReady reads the first one with that column. Formulas count as the value they show. An older Excel file (.xls) or a Numbers file has to be saved as .xlsx or CSV first.
My spreadsheet changed my codes (leading zeros, 5.01235E+12). What should I do?
Spreadsheet apps read codes as numbers: they drop leading zeros and round long numbers (5012345678900 becomes 5.01235E+12). The Excel template avoids this, because its code columns are already formatted as text. With a CSV file, PIDReady ignores this in the cells you haven't edited, so you can upload the file as it is; before typing a code that starts with 0 or is long, format its column as text (Excel: Format Cells › Text; Numbers: Data Format › Text; Google Sheets: Format › Number › Plain text) and save the file as CSV UTF-8.
Which products should I exclude?
Gift cards and other products that Shopify marks as not needing shipping are left out automatically. Exclude anything else you never ship to the EU, for example items only sold locally. Excluded variants are left out of the readiness score and the exports; you can include them again at any time.
What does the free plan include?
Scanning your whole catalogue, the report and one-by-one edits, with no limit. Bulk fixes and imports cover 25 variants every 30 days, and carrier exports up to 25 variants per file. The Starter plan raises both to 1,000, and the Pro plan removes the limits and can also fill in new variants from their product automatically. Checking a file before applying it is always free.
The scan could not finish. What should I do?
Click Scan again on Home. If it keeps failing, email support with the code shown on Home and your store's .myshopify.com address.
PIDReady says the manufacturer reference field is not ready. What should I do?
PIDReady stores the manufacturer reference in a variant metafield. If its Settings say one with the same name already exists with another type, rename that one in Shopify (Settings › Custom data › Variants). Then click Repair in PIDReady's Settings.
How do my carrier and shipping apps get these identifiers?
PIDReady saves them in your Shopify store: the SKU, barcode, HS code and country of origin in Shopify's own fields, and the manufacturer reference in the variant metafield custom.ns_pid, which apps that read your products can use. With 'I make my own products' on, your SKU stands in for that reference in PIDReady's files; the bulk action 'Use SKU as manufacturer reference' also saves it in the metafield. If you create shipments from a spreadsheet, download a file from Export: the FedEx file follows FedEx's EU guide and writes NO when there is no barcode; the universal file has every identifier and the Y081 exception.
Where do the suggested HS codes and countries come from?
From your own products. When the other variants of a product agree on a value, it is suggested for the variants that miss it. Otherwise PIDReady looks at your products of the same type from the same vendor (for HS codes, also of the same type from any vendor) and at your products from the same vendor for the country, and suggests a value only when at least 8 in 10 of them use it. Nothing is made up and nothing changes until you click Use or apply it in bulk. Check that it fits the product: the HS code decides the duty.
Can PIDReady delete or break my products?
No. It only changes the customs values you choose (SKU, manufacturer reference, barcode, HS code and country of origin, plus the no-barcode and not-sold-to-the-EU marks), and never deletes products or variants. Every change is saved in History with the value it replaced, and Undo puts the old values back for 30 days. When Shopify refuses a change, PIDReady says so next to the value and in History, instead of reporting success.
Is my data safe?
PIDReady only asks Shopify for access to products and inventory, never customers or orders. Its data is stored in the EU and your store's access token is encrypted. When you uninstall the app, its access ends at once and everything it stored about your store is deleted 48 hours later, when Shopify asks for it. The identifiers you filled in stay in your own store.
Contact support
Email us at support@pidready.com and include your store's .myshopify.com address. Alex, who builds PIDReady, replies personally within one working day.