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.
   • 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. 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.

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.

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