V9 - Shopify overview

For data field definitions, see Cart field descriptions.

SOS allows you to import your sales orders and sales receipts from Shopify directly into SOS Inventory. It also updates Shopify with your available inventory quantities. Complete your item definitions as stated below, ensuring the SKUs or names are defined correctly for ALL items that are to match between SOS Inventory and Shopify.

The cart connection with Shopify should be made only after the item definition process is complete in both applications.

edit_noteNOTE: If changes or additions are made to items in either SOS Inventory or Shopify after the connection has been made, we recommend that you open your Shopify cart connection in the Carts list (Tools & settings > Configuration > Connections > Carts). Re-save the page to remap the items.

edit_noteNOTE: Shopify reference numbers allow you to use a prefix and a suffix in addition to the order number. Please note that the maximum length allowed for the reference number (prefix + order number + suffix) is 21 characters.

Item matching

SOS Inventory takes a very detailed approach to matching items in Shopify to your items in SOS Inventory. The following logic is applied:

SKU to SKU matching. If your products and their variants in Shopify have an SKU and the item in SOS has a matching SKU, the items will be linked by SKU. We recommend assigning an SKU to every item, in Shopify as well as in SOS Inventory.

edit_noteNOTE: Each item in SOS Inventory must be given a unique SKU so that Shopify can map to the correct SOS Inventory item. However, the same SKU can be used for multiple products in Shopify (for example, if you sell products with the same SKU at different prices for different types of customers). The multiple Shopify items with the same SKU will all map to the one item in SOS with the matching SKU.
Title or variant matching. If your products in Shopify do not have an SKU, or if the SKU in Shopify does not match the item’s SKU in SOS Inventory, SOS Inventory will match on item title or variant. Full item names must match in both applications with regard to case (capital or lowercase letters), spacing, and characters.
- Items without variants in Shopify. The item title in Shopify will be used to match the item name in SOS Inventory. If a match is found, those items will be linked by Shopify title to SOS Inventory item name.
- Items with variants in Shopify. A combination of the item title and variant in Shopify will be used to match the item name in SOS Inventory. If a match is found, those items will be linked by Shopify title or variant to SOS Inventory item name.
  
  warningIMPORTANT: If an item variant is in Shopify, the name of the corresponding item in SOS Inventory must follow this pattern for the items in each app to link: Shopify title name, space, dash, space, Shopify variant name. So in Shopify, if the Title is Shirt and the Variant is Small, the corresponding item name in SOS Inventory must be Shirt - Small.
No match. If no matches can be made, per the above logic, a new item will be created in SOS Inventory. The name of the new item will match either the name of the item in Shopify or, if a variant, the name will be the Shopify item name - variant name.

Updating inventory levels in Shopify

SOS Inventory will not send inventory information to Shopify until the item has been matched to a corresponding SOS Inventory item. For SOS Inventory to update inventory quantities in Shopify, you must use SKU/SKU matching—setting the SKU in Shopify to be the same as the SKU in SOS in each item’s definition.

You must also keep Track quantity enabled for each Shopify item. If you need to create many items in Shopify, you can enable the Track quantity setting with a bulk edit using Shopify’s export and import feature (which is similar to the Export Data and Import Data features in SOS Inventory). On the exported spreadsheet, enter Shopify in the items’ Variant inventory tracker column.

edit_noteNOTE: The export/import should be done only after your items in Shopify have been matched to your items in SOS Inventory. If you are unsure, please contact Support.

SOS Inventory will update Shopify with the available quantity from SOS Inventory if the above settings are set in Shopify and the appropriate settings are set in SOS Inventory. In SOS Inventory, Update inventory must be enabled on the Cart connection page and Update inventory in Shopify must be enabled in the item record.

edit_noteNOTE: The default quantities that SOS Inventory sends to Shopify are the available amount across all locations. To view the available quantities, on the Items list: (1) use the Columns feature to display the Available column; and (2) use the Filter feature to set the Location to All. If you have multiple locations in Shopify and you want location-specific quantities in SOS Inventory to push to the corresponding locations in Shopify, make sure the location name in both systems is identical in case, spacing, and characters.

Disabling or deleting a Shopify cart connection

The Enabled setting on a Shopify cart page, as well as the Delete action on the Carts list (Tools & settings > Configuration > Connections > Carts) are related, but differ in function. Those differences are explained below.

Enabled. Once a cart connection has been established between Shopify and SOS Inventory, the Enabled box on the Shopify cart page can be disabled and enabled as needed. If you want to disable the cart connection temporarily, uncheck the Enabled box. You do not need to reconnect SOS with Shopify. Just check the Enabled box when you are ready to use the cart again.
Delete. The Delete action on the Carts list severs the Shopify connection and also removes the cart from the Carts list.