Understanding Customer IDs in Kintsugi and BigCommerce
Learn how customer IDs map between Kintsugi and BigCommerce. IDs sync one-to-one, while manual CSV uploads need a valid ID and stay only within Kintsugi.Updated 26 days ago
Kintsugi keeps a customer record for every customer that syncs in from your BigCommerce store. This article explains what links the two records, how to find the same customer in either system, and what to watch for if you also upload transactions outside BigCommerce.
At a Glance
What you want to know | Short answer |
|---|---|
Which system owns customer data | BigCommerce. Kintsugi reads from it. |
Which direction customers sync | One way, from BigCommerce into Kintsugi |
What links the two records | The customer ID assigned by BigCommerce |
Is the ID the same number in both systems | Yes. It is not renamed or renumbered. |
How soon a new customer appears in Kintsugi | About every 15 minutes |
Do edits made in Kintsugi reach BigCommerce | No |
Can I upload a transaction without a customer ID | No. The row will not pass validation. |
How the Link Works
Every customer that BigCommerce sends to Kintsugi arrives carrying the ID that BigCommerce assigned, and Kintsugi keeps that exact value. A customer who is ID 13 in your store is ID 13 in Kintsugi. Nothing is renamed or renumbered along the way.
Kintsugi uses that ID to attach everything belonging to that customer: their transactions, their address, and their exemption details. Because the ID travels with the record, you can trace one customer end to end. You can go from the order in your store, to the transaction in Kintsugi, to the jurisdiction totals that feed your filings, without ever guessing whether two similar names are the same person.
The sync runs in one direction. BigCommerce is the source of record for customer data, and Kintsugi reads from it. That holds true whether you are on the read-only integration or the tax engine integration. The tax engine returns a calculated tax amount to your checkout; it does not write customer data back into your store.
Find the Same Customer in Both Systems
In Kintsugi
Log in to Kintsugi and go to Customers.
Paste the customer ID into the search bar in the upper right, or search by name.
Click the customer's row to open Customer Details. The ID sits in the first column of the summary card, alongside the name, status, email, and address.
The Source filter on the Customers page is useful when you have more than one sales channel connected, since it shows which system each record came from. For more on searching and filtering, see Viewing and Managing Customers in Kintsugi.
In BigCommerce
Log in to your BigCommerce control panel.
Go to Customers, then All customers.
Open the customer's record. The ID appears in the page URL, in the segment after
/customers/.
In the example above, the URL ends in /customers/13/edit, which is the same ID shown on the Kintsugi record.
Tip: when you are reconciling, search by ID rather than by name. Names and email addresses can change, and two customers can share one. The ID stays put.
Why the ID Is Worth Knowing
Reconciliation. Match a Kintsugi transaction to the exact order in your store, with no ambiguity between similar customer names.
Exemptions. Exemption status for BigCommerce customers is driven from your store. Enter Exempt in the Tax Exempt Code field on the customer's BigCommerce profile so it lands on the right customer record in Kintsugi. See BigCommerce Sync: What You Need to Know.
Clean totals. One customer with one ID means one set of transactions, which keeps your nexus tracking and your filings accurate.
Faster support. If you ever need a hand with a specific record, the customer ID is the quickest way to point us straight at it.
If You Also Upload Transactions by CSV
Some sellers bring extra sales data into Kintsugi by file upload, for example historical transactions from a platform they used before BigCommerce. If that is you, the customer ID is the one field to get right.
Rules to follow
Every row needs a
customer_id. Kintsugi does not generate one for you, and a row without one will not pass validation.Use permitted characters only. Letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens, up to 100 characters.
Reuse the ID the customer already has. If you invent a new ID for someone who already exists in Kintsugi, you will end up with two customer records for the same person and their totals will be split across both.
Uploaded transactions stay in Kintsugi. They are not written back to your BigCommerce store, and they will not appear there.
A quick habit that saves a cleanup pass
Before you upload, open the Customers tab and check the IDs Kintsugi already holds for the customers in your file. Map your file against that list, then upload. A few minutes of matching up front is much faster than untangling duplicate records afterward.
For the full column reference and formatting rules, see Uploading Sales Transactions via CSV in Kintsugi.
FAQs
Q: I just created a customer in BigCommerce and I do not see them in Kintsugi yet.
A: New customer records land in Kintsugi about every 15 minutes, so a short delay is normal. You do not need to wait for the sync before making a sale. Tax is calculated at checkout in real time either way. See BigCommerce Sync: What You Need to Know.
Q: I corrected a customer's address in Kintsugi, but BigCommerce still shows the old one.
A: Edits you make in Kintsugi stay in Kintsugi. Update the record in BigCommerce, since that is the source of record, and the correction will flow forward on the next sync. See Troubleshooting Tax Calculation Issues in BigCommerce.
Q: The same customer appears twice in Kintsugi.
A: Duplicates usually trace back to a file upload that used a different customer ID than the one already on file. Open the Customers tab and use the Source filter to see which record came from BigCommerce and which came from an upload. Once you know which is which, send us both IDs through the chat bubble and we will help you get the records lined up.
Q: My customer is marked exempt in BigCommerce, but tax is still calculating.
A: Check that Exempt is entered in the Tax Exempt Code field on that customer's BigCommerce profile, and that the order is tied to that customer account rather than placed without one. If tax is still appearing after that, see Troubleshooting Tax Calculation Issues in BigCommerce.
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Need help?
Most customer ID questions are answered by the steps above, and working through them yourself is usually the fastest route. If something still is not lining up, reach out using the chat bubble in the bottom right corner and include the customer ID. We are happy to take a look with you.