Once your Retail POS and Shopify accounts are connected, Retail POS is the system of record for both platforms. Editing product information in both Shopify and Retail POS can cause syncing issues, confusion, and loss of data. Understanding what product information syncs will help you to avoid errors when managing your catalog.

Managing products synced to Shopify

Only manage your product data in Retail POS. Retail POS pushes all product information to Shopify whenever an update/change is made, overwriting any product information in Shopify. This happens when:

• A product is saved on the Edit product page.
• A product CSV is imported.
• A product is sold.
• A refund or exchange is done on Retail POS.
• An inventory count, stock order, stock transfer, or stock adjustment is completed.

Product data syncing

Specific variant publishing is not supported at this time.

The following information syncs from Retail POS > Shopify:

• Name > Title
• Description > Description
• Supplier or Brand > Vendor
• Handle > Handle (end of URL)
• SKU > SKU
• Product category > Product type
• Tags > Tags
• Variant Name/Value > Option value
• Variant Attribute > Option name
• Retail price > Price
• Active/Inactive > Product availability
• Inventory > Quantity
• Stock Tracking
  • Off - N/A
  • On - On, product only sold when inventory > 0

Only manage products in Retail POS. Though it's possible for merchants who integrated with Shopify after 20 November 2024 to sync from Shopify to Retail POS, this can lead to data loss, syncing issues, and possible confusion. Editing the Name, Price, Variant information, Description, Handle, SKU, or Inventory in Shopify can cause the sync to break.

The following information syncs from Shopify > Retail POS:

• Title > Name
• Handle > Handle (end of URL)
• Product type > Product category
• Product status > Determines if a product is available
• Description > Description
• Tags > Tags
• Vendor > can be configured to sync to either Brand or Supplier
• SKU > SKU
• Price > Retail price
• Position > Determines the display order of variants
• Tax settings > Determines if a product is taxable
• Inventory quantity > Inventory
• Cost per item > Supply price

Some product information doesn’t sync between Shopify and Retail POS. This info can be edited in Shopify without causing any issues:

• Images: Retail POS will sync images to Shopify when the product is initially published, but never after. For products that are linked, manage images on Shopify.
• UPC/barcode
• Collections
• Shipping weight
• Compare at price

Syncing products in Retail POS (X-Series) and Shopify

Do not sync products that exist in both Shopify and Retail POS. If the same product exists in both Shopify and Retail POS, all fields must match exactly or attempting to sync will create duplicate products or cause issues with your product data. Always back up your product data from both Retail POS and Shopify before connecting the integration.

If you have products in both systems to connect, manually link your existing products to complete product set up.

1. Back up your products on Shopify and Retail POS. Backups let you revert back to your original product catalog if you make a mistake or run into an issue.
   1. Export and save your product list. This export includes your current inventory levels in Retail POS.
   2. Export and save your Shopify products. This is in case you need to restore your catalog on Shopify.

2. Confirm that the Product Vendor in Shopify setting in Retail POS correctly matches either the Brand or Supplier field to the Vendor field in Shopify.

   This setting tells Retail POS how to handle the Vendor field in Shopify. For example, if you’re keeping supplier information in Shopify’s Vendor field, but this setting is set to sync Brand from Retail POS, then your brand info will overwrite the supplier info when it syncs to Shopify.

   To confirm the setting is correct:

   1. Navigate to Settings > Apps > edit icon next to Shopify.
   2. Make sure you’ve chosen the right setting for your Shopify setup.
   3. Click Save.
3. Ensure that your SKUs and handles match across both platforms. The Retail POS product handle will show up on the Shopify product URL.
   • If you’re using barcodes in Shopify, move these to the Variant SKU field in Shopify.

   • SKUs can be edited in Shopify, or in Retail POS by editing the product or with a spreadsheet import. Handles for variant products can only be changed directly in Retail POS and not via CSV. If you change SKUs in Retail POS, you’ll need to print barcode labels for the new SKUs.

     Editing Shopify handles changes the product URL, which can break tracking and digital marketing links. Contact Shopify Support for full details on changing SKUs and handles for your products in Shopify.

4. Navigate to Setup > Apps and click the pencil icon next to Shopify.

   

5. From the Shopify settings page, click Get Shopify products. Then, select Get all Shopify products from the dropdown menu.

   Pulling products from Shopify overwrites all products in Retail POS. Back up your product catalog before importing. Ensure that product information is correct in Shopify before initiating the sync to Retail POS.
   Only use the Get all Shopify products function when you first link Shopify with Retail POS. While the Get new Shopify products function is available in Retail POS, any sync from Shopify can unintentionally overwrite product information.

   

   Any products with matching SKU and handle combinations will be synced. Variant and composite products are displayed as a single product in Shopify, matched to the product in Retail POS rather than its component items. The outlet linked to your Shopify store determines the inventory of composite products. Shopify can only have 100 variant combinations per product.

6. Optionally, add product images in Shopify. The first time you publish a product to Shopify, Lightspeed will only publish the primary image in Retail POS for that product. Additional images must be added to Shopify manually.

Understanding the Get All and Get New Shopify Products feature

The Get All Shopify Products import checks existing products in Retail POS and finds matching Shopify products, then imports them into Retail POS. This overwrites the product information that you currently have in Retail POS.

If you've previously used Get All Shopify Products, then use Get New Shopify Products, Retail POS will treat all your products as new products and import all products from Shopify. 

Only use the Get all Shopify products function when you first link Shopify with Retail POS. While the Get new Shopify products function is available in Retail POS, any sync from Shopify can unintentionally overwrite product information.

Importing products that only exist in Shopify

If you have different products in your Shopify store that aren't in Retail POS, you can import them.

1. Navigate to Setup > Apps.

2. Click the pencil icon next to Shopify.

   

3. Click Get Shopify products. Select Get all Shopify products from the dropdown menu.

   Pulling products from Shopify overwrites whatever products are currently in Retail POS. Ensure that product information is correct in Shopify before initiating the sync to Retail POS.

   

All online and in-store products should be available in your Retail POS catalog to ensure the integration functions correctly. If a new order is placed on Shopify with a product not in your Retail POS catalog, the product will be created automatically.

Publishing products from Retail POS to Shopify

To publish the Retail POS products to Shopify, navigate to the Shopify settings page in Retail POS and click Publish products to Shopify.

Once you publish products to Shopify, all active products in Retail POS will be published to your Shopify store.

Bulk publishing or unpublishing products to Shopify

1. Navigate to Catalog > Products.
2. Locate the product.
3. Select the Product checkbox at the top of the product listing to select all products, or select the checkbox for the products you want to publish or unpublish.
4. Click Choose an action (X selected).

5. Click Publish to Shopify or Unpublish from Shopify.

   

Deleting a product linked to Shopify

Deleting a product in Retail POS that is published to Shopify will delete the product on Shopify, too.

Troubleshooting the Shopify product sync

Most product sync issues are caused when edits are made in both Shopify and Retail POS, when they should only be made in Retail POS. Other product issues can be due to product information, or timeout issues caused by system limitations.

• Syncs can sometimes be delayed due to the limit on the number of requests Shopify allows.

  Shopify limits requests to their servers to keep them from becoming overloaded. Requests include things like logging in, asking a question on your computer, using an app, clicking a button, or saving a change.

  Once Shopify's limit is reached, requests are queued. This means they won't update to Shopify until earlier requests have been processed, possibly causing the sync to delay.

  This rate limit is not caused by Retail POS, rather at the Shopify account-wide level and can includes requests from any other apps/plugins installed to Shopify.

• If product information isn’t syncing between Shopify and Retail POS, the products might not be configured correctly. Confirm that:
  • The product is published to Shopify.
  • Inventory tracking is enabled for the product.
  • SKU and Shopify handles aren’t mismatched. If they are, follow the troubleshooting steps for desyncs caused by editing products in Shopify.
  • Syncs aren’t being impacted by Shopify’s rate limit. Sync time is affected by the volume of changes. It may take up to two hours to complete. Full inventory counts, large stock orders, or bulk edits may impact sync time.

• Never edit a product's URL in Shopify. If you make updates to the URL, Retail POS will override the changes and the sync may fail. If you need to edit the URL for SEO reasons, update the handle in Retail POS.

  Some product syncing issues can be caused by system limitations between Retail POS and Shopify:

  • Product syncing can break if you use Shopify to edit a product’s name, price, variant information, description, handle, SKU, or inventory.

  Product syncs may fail if:

  • Updates are made to the URL in Shopify: Retail POS will override changes made in Shopify and the sync may fail. If you need to edit the URL for SEO reasons, update the handle in Retail POS.
  • Products are edited in Shopify: Product syncing can break if you edit a product’s name, price, variant information, description, handle, SKU, or inventory Shopify. Always edit products in Retail POS.
  • Inventory movements: Compare Retail POS' inventory movements view with Shopify's inventory history to verify all movements of a particular product. For example, you may have returned an order on Shopify, but didn't replicate that movement in Retail POS. Check each movement one at a time for any discrepancies.

  Individual variant publishing is not supported at this time. If a product is made available to sell online, all variants will be available for purchase as well.

  These product details do not sync between Shopify and Retail POS, so they can be safely edited in Shopify:

  • Images: Retail POS will sync images to Shopify when the product is published, but not after. This means bulk un-publishing and re-publishing in Retail POS can delete Shopify-only images. For products that are linked, manage images on Shopify.
  • UPC/barcode
  • Collections
  • Shipping weight
  • Compare at price
• Sometimes pricing updates might time out before they reach Shopify. This can be resolved by pushing small updates to the product:
  1. Navigate to Catalog > Products. 
  2. Navigate to the product in Retail POS.
  3. Click the pencil icon next to the product or click to expand the row and click Edit.
  4. Make a minor change to the description, such as adding a space to the end.
  5. Click Save.

• Following the steps below will delete variant images and may impact SEO.

  1. If you find changes, navigate to Catalog > Products and locate the product.
  2. Open Shopify and locate the product.
  3. Compare the product details between Retail POS and Shopify.
  4. If you find discrepancies, in Retail POS, create a backup of your product. You can find a single product to export by filtering the product's name under Search for products.
  5. Check the boxes next to the products you want to unpublish.
  6. Click Choose an action > Unpublish from Shopify.
  7. In Shopify, delete the product.

  8. In Retail POS, navigate to Catalog > Products. Check the box next to the product to select it.

     

  9. Click Choose an action > Publish to Shopify to restore the connection.

     

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