Synchronize Items and Inventory

The Items in Business Central are equivalent to the products in Shopify and include physical goods, digital downloads, services, and gift cards that you sell. There are two main reasons to synchronize items:

1. Data management primarily happens in Business Central. You need to export all or some data from there into Shopify and make it visible. You can export the item name, description, image, prices, availability, variants, vendor details, and barcode. Once exported, you can review the items or have them made visible immediately.
2. When an order from Shopify is imported, the information about items is vital to further document processing in Business Central.

The preceding two scenarios are always enabled.

A third scenario is to manage data in Shopify but import those items in bulk to Business Central. This scenario can be useful for data migration events, such as when you want to connect an existing online shop with a new Business Central environment.

Define item synchronizations

1. Choose the search icon and enter Shopify Shop. Open the shop for which you want to configure the item synchronization.

2. From the Sync item field, select the required option.

   The following table outlines the options.

Option	Description
Blank	Products are imported together with the importing of orders. Products are exported to Shopify if a user runs the Add Item action from the Shopify Products page. This option is the default process.
To Shopify	Select this option if, after the initial sync is triggered by the Add Item action, you plan to update products manually using the Sync Product action or using the job queue for recurring updates. Remember to enable the Can Update Shopify Product field. If it's not enabled, it equals the Blank (default process) option. Learn more in the Export items to Shopify section.
From Shopify	Choose this option if you plan to import products from Shopify in bulk, either manually using the Sync Product action or using the job queue for recurring updates. Learn more in the Import items from Shopify section.

Note

Changing Sync Item from From Shopify to To Shopify won't have an effect unless you enable Can Update Shopify Products.

Import items from Shopify

First, import items either in bulk from Shopify or together with orders to add them to the Shopify Product and Shopify Variant tables. Then map imported products and variants to items and variants in Business Central. Manage the process using the following settings:

Field	Description
Auto create unknown items	When Shopify products and variants are imported into Business Central, the Business Central function first tries to find the matching record in the item list. SKU Mapping impacts how the matching is performed and creates a new item and/or item variant. Enable this option if you want to create a new item or when a matching record doesn't exist. The new item is created using imported data and the Item Template Code. If this option isn't enabled, you'll need to create an item manually and use the Map Product action on the Shopify Products page.
Item Template Code	Use this field with the Auto create unknown items toggle. Choose the template you want to use for automatically created items.
SKU Mapping	Choose how you want to use the SKU value imported from Shopify during the item/variant mapping and creation. Learn more in the Effect of Shopify product SKUs and barcodes on mapping and creating items and variants in Business Central section.
SKU Field Separator	Use this field with SKU Mapping set to the Item. No + Variant Code option. Define a separator to be used to split the SKU. So, if in Shopify you create the variant with the SKU '1000/001', you'd type '/' in the SKU Field Separator field to make the item number in Business Central '1000' and the item variant code '001'. Note that if you create the variant with the SKU '1000/001/111' in Shopify, the item number in Business Central will be'1000' and the item variant code '001.' The '111' part is ignored.
Variant Prefix	Use together with SKU Mapping set to either the Variant Code or Item No. + Variant Code option as a fallback function when the SKU coming from Shopify is empty. If you want to create the item variant in Business Central automatically, you'll need to enter a value in Code. By default, the value defined in the SKU field imported from Shopify is used. However, if the SKU is empty, it will generate code starting with the defined variant prefix and "001".
Shopify Can Update Item	Choose this option if you want to update items and/or variants automatically.
UoM as Variant	Choose this option if you want all item units of measure to be exported as separate variants. Add field using personalization. Learn more in the Unit of Measure as Variant section.
Variant Option Name for UoM	Use this field with UoM as Variant to specify under which option add variants that represent units of measure. Default valie is Unit of Measure. Add field using personalization.

Export items to Shopify

There are multiple ways to export items to Shopify:

• Use the Add item to Shopify action directly from the Item card page.
• Use the Add Item action on the Shopify Products page.
• Run item synchronization once or repeatedly with automation.

No matter how you export items, specific item information is transferred to the Shopify products list depending on your choice of settings for item synchronization.

Important

The product will be added only to the Online Store sales channel. You need to publish products to other sales channels, like Shopify POS, from Shopify.

You manage the process of exporting items using these settings:

Field	Description
Sync Item Extended Text	Select this field to sync the extended text of the item. As it will be added to the Description field, it can contain HTML code.
Sync Item Attributes	Select this field to sync the item attributes. Attributes are formatted as a table and included in the Description field in Shopify.
Sync Item Marketing Text	Select this field to sync marketing text for the item. Although marketing text is a kind of description, it's different than item's Description field. The Description field is typically used as a concise display name to quickly identify the product. The marketing text, on the other hand, is more rich and descriptive. Its purpose is to add marketing and promotional content. This text can then be published with the item in Shopify. There are two ways to create the marketing text. Use Copilot, which suggests AI-generated text for you, or start from scratch.
Language Code	Select this field if you want the translated versions used for title, attributes, and extended text.
SKU Mapping	Choose how you want to populate the SKU field in Shopify. Supported options are: - Item No. to use the item no. for both products and variants. - Item No.+ Variant Code to create an SKU by concatenating values of two fields. For items without variants, the item number only is used. - Item Vendor No. to use the item vendor number defined in the Item Card for both products and variants. - Barcode to use the barcode type of Item Reference. This option respects variants. If Can Update Shopify Products is enabled, changes in the SKU Mapping field will be propagated to Shopify after next sync for all products and variants listed in the Shopify Products page for selected shop.
SKU Field Separator	Define a separator for the Item. No + Variant Code option.
Inventory Tracked	Choose how the system should populate the Track Inventory field for products exported to Shopify. You can update availability information from Business Central for products in Shopify whose track inventory is enabled. Learn more in the Inventory section.
Default Inventory Policy	Choose Deny to prevent negative stock on the Shopify side. If Can Update Shopify Products is enabled, changes in the Default Inventory Policy field will be propagated to Shopify after next sync for all products and variants listed in the Shopify Products page for selected shop.
Can Update Shopify Products	Define this field if Business Central can only create items or can update items as well. Select this option if, after the initial sync is triggered by the Add Item action, you plan to update products manually using the Sync Product action or using the job queue for recurring updates. Remember to select To Shopify in the Item Sync field. Can Update Shopify Products doesn't impact synchronization of prices, images or inventory levels, which are configured by independent controls. If Can Update Shopify Products is enabled, the following fields on the Shopify side will be updated on the product and, if needed, the variant level: SKU, Barcode, Weight. The Title, Product Type, Vendor, and Description on the product will be also updated if the exported values aren't empty. For description, this means you need to enable any of the Sync Item Extended Text, Sync Item Marketing Text, and Sync Item Attributes toggles and attributes, extended or marketing text must have values. If the product uses variants, then the variant is added or removed if necessary. If the product on Shopify is configured to use a variant matrix that combines two or more options, the Shopify Connector can't create a variant for that product. In Business Central there's no way to define an option matrix—that's why the connector uses the Variant Code as the only option. However, Shopify expects several options and refuses to create a variant if information about a second and other options is missing.
UoM as Variant	Choose this option if you want some options to be exported as imported as units of measure instead of variants. Add field using personalization.Learn more in the Unit of Measure as Variant section.
Variant Option Name for UoM	Use this field with UoM as Variant to specify which option contains variants that represent units of measure. Default valie is Unit of Measure. Add field using personalization.

Note

When you want to export many items and variants, there might be some that are blocked. You can't include blocked items and variants in price calculations, so they aren't exported. The Connector skips those items and variants, so you don't need to filter them on the Add Item to Shopify request page.

Advanced details

Effect of Shopify product SKUs and barcodes on mapping and creating items and variants in Business Central

When products are imported from Shopify to Shopify Products and Shopify Variants tables, Business Central tries to find existing records.

The following table outlines the differences between options in the SKU Mapping field.

Option	Effect on mapping	Effect on creation
Blank	The SKU field isn't used in the item-mapping routine.	No effect on the creation of the item. This option prevents the creation of variants. When in sales order, only the main item is used. A variant can still be mapped manually on the Shopify Product page.
Item No.	Choose if the SKU field contains the item number	No effect on the creation of an item without variants. For an item with variants, each variant is created as a separate item. If Shopify has a product with two variants and their SKUs are '1000' and '2000', Business Central will create two items numbered '1000' and '2000'.
Variant Code	The SKU field isn't used in the item-mapping routine.	No effect on creation of the item. When an item variant is created, the value of the SKU field is used as a code. If the SKU is empty, a code is generated using the Variant Prefix field.
Item No. + Variant Code	Select this option if the SKU field contains an item number and the item variant code is separated by the value defined in the SKU Field Separator field.	When an item is created, the first part of the value of the SKU field is designated No.. If the SKU field is empty, an item number is generated using the number series defined in the Item Template Code or Item Nos. field of the Inventory Setup page. When an item is created, the variant function uses the second part of the value of the SKU field as Code. If the SKU field is empty, a code is generated using the Variant Prefix field.
Vendor Item No.	Choose if the SKU field contains the vendor item number. In this case, the Item Vendor No. isn't used on the Item Card page; rather the Vendor Item No. from the Item Vendor Catalog is used. If the found Item Vendor Catalog record contains a variant code, that code is used to map the Shopify variant.	If a corresponding vendor exists in Business Central, the SKU value will be used as the Vendor Item No. on the Item Card page and as the Item Reference of the vendor type. Prevents the creation of variants. It's useful when you want to use only the main item in the sales order. You're still able to map a variant manually from the Shopify Product page.
Barcode	Choose if the SKU field contains a barcode. A search is performed among Item References of the barcode type. If the found item reference record contains a variant code, that variant code is used to map the Shopify variant.	No effect on the creation of the item. Prevents the creation of variants. It's useful when you want to use only the main item in the sales order. You're still able to map a variant manually from the Shopify Product page.

The following table outlines the effects of the Barcode field.

Effect on mapping	Effect on creation
A search is performed on the Item References containing a barcode type as the value in the Barcode field in Shopify. If the found item reference record contains a variant code, that variant code is used to map the Shopify variant.	The barcode is saved as Item Reference for the item and item variant.

Note

You can trigger mapping of the selected products/variants by choosing Try Find Product Mapping or of all the imported unmapped products by choosing Try Find Mappings.

Fields-mapping overview

Shopify	Source when exported from Business Central	Target when imported to Business Central
Status	According to the Status for Created Products field in the Shopify Shop Card. Learn more in the Ad hoc updates of Shopify products section.	Not used.
Title	Description. If the language code is defined and a corresponding item translation exists, the item translation will be used instead of the description.	Description
Variant title	Variant Code.	Description of variant
Description	Combines extended texts, marketing text, and attributes if you enable the corresponding toggles on the Shopify shop card. Respects the language code.	Not used.
SEO page title	Fixed value: empty. Learn more in the Ad hoc updates of Shopify products section.	Not used.
SEO meta description	Fixed value: empty. Learn more in the Ad hoc updates of Shopify products section.	Not used.
Media	Image. Learn more in the Sync item images section	Image
Price	The calculation of the end-customer price includes the item unit price, customer price group, customer discount group, and currency code. Learn more in the Sync prices section	Unit Price. The price is only imported to newly created items, but it won't be updated in later synchronizations.
Compare at price	The calculation of the price without a discount. If the value is less than or equal to Price, the connector sends 0 (null) instead of the actual value.	Not used.
Cost per item	Unit Cost	Unit Cost. The unit cost is only imported to newly created items, and it won't be updated in later synchronizations.
SKU	Learn about SKUs under SKU Mapping in the Export items to Shopify section.	Learn about SKUs in the Effect of Shopify product SKUs and barcodes on mapping and creating items and variants in Business Central section.
Barcode	Item References of the barcode type.	Item References of the barcode type.
Inventory will be stocked at	Depends on Shopify Shop Locations. If Business Central Fulfilment Services has Default Product Location field enabled, inventory is stocked and shipped from Business Central Fulfilment Services. Otherwise, the Shopify primary location or multiple locations are used. Learn more in the Two approached to manage fulfillments	Not used.
Track quantity	According to the Inventory Tracked field on the Shopify Shop Card page. Learn more in the Inventory section. Only used when you export a product for the first time.	Not used.
Continue selling when out of stock	According to the Default Inventory Policy in the Shopify Shop Card.	Not used.
Type	Description of Item Category Code. If the type isn't specified in Shopify, it's added as a custom type.	Item Category Code. Mapping by description.
Vendor	Name of vendor from Vendor No.	Vendor No. Mapping by name.
Weight	Gross Weight.	Not used.
Taxable	Fixed value: enabled.	Not used.
Tax codes	Tax Group Code. Only relevant for sales taxes. Learn more at Set up Taxes.	Not used.

Tags

Review the imported tags in the Tags FactBox on the Shopify Product page. On the same page, to edit tags, choose the Tags action. If the To Shopify option is selected in the Sync Item field, assigned tags are exported to Shopify at the next synchronization.

Unit of Measure as variant

Shopify doesn't support multiple units of measure. If you want to sell same product as for example piece and set and use different prices or discounts, you need to create unit of measure as product variants. Shopify connector can be configured to export units of measure as variants or import variants as unit of measure.

To enable this capability use the UoM as Variant and Variant Option Name fields in the Shopify Shop Card. Fields are hidden by default, use personalization to add them to the page.

Unit of Measure as variant remarks

• When product imported into Business Central, connector will create units of measure. You will need to update Qty. per Unit of Measure.
• When dealing with matrix of variants, for example Color and UoM and you want to import products, you should set Item No. + Variant Code in the SKU Mapping field and make sure that SKU field in Shopify has same value for all units of measure and include both item no. and variant code.
• In Business Central availability is calculated per item/item variant and not by unit of measure. It means same availability will be assigned to each variant representing unit of measure (with respect to Qty. per Unit of Measure), that can lead to cases when avaialble quantity in Shopify is not accurate. Example: Item that is sold in PCS and Box of 6. The inventory in Business Central is 6 PCS. Item exported to Shopify as PRoduct with two variants. Once inventory sync executed the inventory level in Shopify will be 6 for varaint PCS and 1 for variant BOX. Buyer can explore only store and see that product is available in both options and place order for 1 BOX. The next buyer will see that BOX is not avaialble, but there are still 6 PCS. This will be fixed after with next inventory sync.

URL and Preview URL

An item added to Shopify or imported from Shopify might have the URL or Preview URL populated. The URL field will be empty if the product isn't published to the online store—for example, because its status is draft. The URL will be empty if the store is password protected—for example, because this is a development store. In most cases you can use the Preview URL to check how the product will look once published.

Run item synchronization

Full or partial item synchronization can be performed in many different ways.

Initial sync of items from Business Central to Shopify

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Products, and choose the related link.
2. Choose the Add Items action.
3. In the Shop Code field, enter the code. If you open the Shopify Product window from the Shop Card page, the shop code will be populated automatically.
4. If you configured image and inventory synch, you can include them into the same process. Including them in the same process is convenient for demo scenarios or when dealing with smaller amount of data.
5. Define filters on items as required. For example, you can filter by the item no. or item category code.
6. Choose OK.

The resulting items are automatically created in Shopify with prices. Depending on choices you made, images and inventory levels might be included. The operation might take some time if a large number of items are added.

Alternatively, you can sync one item by choosing the Add to Shopify action in the Item Card page.

Note

Initial sync of items from Business Central to Shopify doesn't consider Sync Item and Can Update Shopify Products settings.

Sync products from Shopify to Business Central

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Shop, and choose the related link.
2. Select the shop for which you want to synchronize items to open the Shopify Shop Card page.
3. Choose the Sync Products action.

Alternatively, use the Sync Products action on the Shopify Products page or search for the Sync Products batch job.

You can schedule the task to be performed in an automated manner. Learn more at Schedule recurring tasks.

Ad-hoc updates of Shopify products

When the records are updated in the Shopify Product table, the following changes are synchronized with Shopify.

Update:

• Status - You can choose between active, archived, or draft.
• SEO Title
• SEO Description

Deletion:

Based on the value in Action for Removed Products on the Shopify Shop Card page, the product gets updated in Shopify when the record is deleted from the Shopify Products page.

• Blank - Nothing will happen. If necessary, you'll need to perform the required action from the Shopify admin.
• Status to Draft - The status of the product in Shopify is set to Draft.
• Status to Archived - The product is archived in Shopify.

Sync item images

Synchronization of images can be configured for synchronized items. Choose from the following options:

• Disabled - Image synchronization is deactivated.
• To Shopify - Pictures of items are exported to Shopify.
• From Shopify - Images from Shopify are imported to Business Central.

Image synchronization can be initialized in the two ways described below.

Sync product images from the Shopify shop page

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Shops, and choose the related link.
2. Select the shop for which you want to synchronize images to open the Shopify Shop Card page.
3. Choose the Sync Product Images action.

Sync product images from the Shopify products page

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Products, and choose the related link.
2. Choose the Sync Product Images action.

Image synchronization remarks

• When you export images from Business Central to Shopify, the images replace those you exported previously. The earlier images are no longer available.
• If you delete an image in Business Central, the image in Shopify isn't also deleted. You'll need to manually delete the old images in the Shopify Admin.
• Images you export to Shopify must comply with Shopify's requirements. Otherwise, you can't import them. To learn more about media requirements, go to product media types on help.shopify.com.

Sync prices with Shopify

You manage the process of exporting prices using these settings:

Field	Description
Customer Price Group	Determine the price for an item in Shopify. The sales price of this customer price group is taken. If no group is specified, the price on the item card is used.
Customer Discount Group	Determine the discount to use when calculating the price of an item in Shopify. Discounted prices are stored in the Price field and the full price is stored in the Compare at Price field.
Allow Line Disc.	Specifies whether you allow a line discount when calculating prices for Shopify. This setting applies only for prices on the item. Prices for the customer price group have their own toggle on lines.
Prices including VAT	Specifies whether price calculations for Shopify include VAT. Learn more at Set up Taxes.
VAT Business Posting Group	Specifies which VAT business posting group is used to calculate prices in Shopify. This should be the group you use for domestic customers. Learn more at Set up Taxes.
Currency Code	Enter a currency code only if your online shop uses a different currency than the local currency (LCY). The specified currency must have exchange rates configured. If your online shop uses the same currency as Business Central, leave the field empty.

You can export prices for synchronized items in the two ways described below.

Sync prices from the Shopify products page

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Products, and choose the related link.
2. Choose the Sync Prices to Shopify action.

Price calculation remarks

• When determining a price, Business Central uses the "lowest price" logic. However, the lowest price logic ignores the unit price defined on the item card if a price is defined in the price group. This is true even if the unit price from the item card price is lower.
• To calculate prices, the connector creates a temporary sales quote for the item with a quantity of 1, and uses standard price calculation logic. Only prices and discounts that are applicable for quantity 1 are used. You can't export different prices or discounts based on quantity.
• The connector sends request to update prices in Shopify if price in Business Central has changed. For example, if you synchronized products and prices and then changed price in Shopify, choosing the Sync Prices to Shopify action won't have any impact on price in the Shopify as new price calculated by connector is the same as price stored in the Shopify Variant from previous synch. The Compare at Price updated only if main price has changed.

Sync inventory to Shopify

Inventory synchronization can be configured for already synchronized items. There are two conditions that must be met:

1. Inventory tracking must be enabled for a product in Shopify. If items are exported to Shopify, consider enabling the Inventory Tracked toggle on the Shopify Shop page. Learn more in the Export items to Shopify section.
2. Inventory sync must be enabled for Shopify Locations.

To enable inventory sync

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Shop, and choose the related link.
2. Select the shop for which you want to synchronize inventory to open the Shopify Shop Card page.
3. Choose the Locations action to open Shopify Shop Locations.
4. Choose the Get Shopify Locations action to import all the locations defined in Shopify. You can find them in the Locations settings in your Shopify Admin.
5. In the Location Filter field, add locations if you want to include inventory from specific locations only. So, you could enter EAST|WEST to make the inventory from only these two locations available for sales via the online shop.
6. Select the stock calculation method to use for the selected Shopify locations.
7. Enable Default Product Location if you want location to be used for creation of Inventory records and participate in the inventory synchronization.

You can initialize inventory synchronization in the two ways described below.

Sync inventory from the Shopify shop page

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Shops, and choose the related link.
2. Select the shop for which you want to synchronize inventory to open the Shopify Shop Card page.
3. Choose the Sync inventory action.

Sync inventory from the Shopify products page

1. Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Products, and choose the related link.
2. Choose the Sync inventory action.

Inventory remarks

• There are two standard stock calculation methods: Projected Available Balance at date and Free Inventory (Not reserved). With extensibility, you can add more options. To learn more about extensibility, go to examples.
• You can inspect the stock information received from Shopify on the Shopify Inventory FactBox page. In this FactBox, you get an overview of the Shopify stock and the last calculated inventory in Business Central. There's one record per location.
• If the stock information in Shopify is different than the Projected Available Balance in Business Central, then the stock will be updated in Shopify.
• When you add a new location in Shopify, you also need to add inventory records for it. Shopify doesn't do that automatically for existing products and variants and the connector won't synchronize inventory levels for such items in new location. To learn more, go to Assigning inventory to locations.
• Both Business Central Fulfillment Services and normal locations are supported and can be used for shipping and inventory.

Example of calculation of projected available balance

There are 10 pieces of item A available on hand and two outstanding sales orders. One for Monday with quantity One and one for Thursday with quantity Two. Depending on when you sync inventory, the system will update stock level in Shopify with different quantities:

When sync inventory is run	Value used to update stock level	Comment
Tuesday	9	Inventory 10 minus sales order set to ship on Monday
Friday	7	Inventory 10 minus both sales orders

Two approaches to manage fulfillments

There are two ways to deal with fulfillment in Shopify:

• Shopify "build-in" fulfillment and inventory tracking
• 3rd party fulfillment and inventory tracking

Inventory for each product in Shopify can be either stocked by Shopify or by 3PL.

If you use Shopify fulfillment then you can also define multiple locations in Shopify. Once order is created, Shopify selects location based on availability and priority. You can also specify on which location(s) you plan to track specific product, for example never sell from location ShowRoom.

If you use 3PL physical handling is taken care of by 3PL provider, so locations are not needed. For 3PL the SKU field becoming mandatory.

When you decide on which location to track item, Shopify creates records in the Inventory Levels table, which can be updated manually with inventory availability.

Connector support both modes. It can send inventory to multiple Shopify locations or work as fulfillment service.

From Business Central perspective when you create item and want to send it to Shopify you also want to:

• use Default Product Location toggle to specify if this item will be fulfilled by Shopify fulfillment or by 3PL. There is always Business Central Fulfillment Service, but there can be more fulfillments services if more apps are installed. You can enable Default Product Location only in one record if you want to use fulfillment service.
• use Default Product Location toggle to specify which locations you want to use to track inventory. You can turn on Default Product Location for multiple locations where Is Fulfillment Service is disabled. Notice that inventory will be always tracked for primary location.

What is the difference?

Shopify fulfilment is useful when using Shopify POS and there are multiple physical stores. You want employee in physical store to know their current inventory. In this case you create multiple locations in Shopify, multiple locations in Business Central, activate Default Product Location for all these locations.

If logistic is handled in Business Central where can have as many locations as needed representing distribution centers, you don't create locations in Shopify, Shopify connector creates Business Central Fulfillment Services automatically and you can link inventory via Location Filters from several locations to one fulfilment services record. As result in Shopify there is no information about where goods are sent from, it only has information about tracking. While in Business Central you can select based on availability and proximity to destination.

Example of using Default Product Location toggle

After you choose the Get Shopify Locations action in the Shopify Locations page you see following locations:

Name	Is Fulfillment Service	Is Primary
Main		Yes
Second
Business Central Fulfillment Service	Yes

Let's review impact of enabling Default Product Location toggle:

Name of locations where Default Product Location toggle is turned on	Impact on how product is created in Shopify
Main	Inventory will be stocked at: Multiple locations; Selected locations: Main (primary)
Main and Second	Inventory will be stocked at: Multiple locations; Selected locations: Main and Second
Business Central Fulfillment Service	Inventory will be stocked at: Business Central Fulfillment Service; Selected locations: (App) Business Central Fulfillment Service
Business Central Fulfillment Service and Main	Error: You can not use standard Shopify Locations with FulFillment Service Locations

See also

Get Started with the Connector for Shopify