Shopify: FAQs & best practices

Why can’t I create a connection to Shopify? It does not continue.

It is best to use the public app. It sets all permissions automatically. If you use a custom app, check in Shopify whether the app has all required permissions, see the article Shopify: Setting up the shop. Also check whether you are logged in to Xentral with administrator permissions.

Can I transfer my existing products from Shopify to Xentral?

The integration only transfers products from Xentral to Shopify. You transfer existing products from your shop once via CSV import: Export the products from Shopify as a CSV file and import them under Automation > CSV import, see the article Importing data via CSV import.

Why does Xentral not transfer all products to Shopify?

Often the product structure does not match: In Xentral, a product is a matrix product, while in Shopify the same product number is a variant, or vice versa. Work with the same structure in both systems, see the article Shopify: Synchronizing matrix products and variants.

Why does Xentral create matrix products multiple times without a SKU, or why does the transfer abort with "Option does not exist" or "missing option value"?

The option names (for example Color) or option values (for example green) in Xentral do not exactly match those in Shopify. Check spelling, uppercase and lowercase, and spaces at the beginning or end, and correct the designations. For new matrix products, follow the sequence for the initial transfer.

Why is a product archived in Shopify marked as a draft again?

Xentral is the leading system for products. If a product is inactive in Xentral and still in the product assignment, Xentral sets it to draft in Shopify. Therefore, take the product out of the synchronization: Remove the shop link in the online shop options of the product and filter the product assignment on this link. Alternatively, activate the option Lock active for the product and exclude locked products in the filter via the field Lock active.

How do I take a product out of my Shopify offering?

Removing a product from the product assignment alone is not enough. It remains in Shopify but no longer receives updates. Depending on your goal, you have three options:

We recommend not deleting products but setting them to Product inactive in the online shop options. This way, history and links are preserved.

How do I stop offering a single variant?

For the variant, activate the option Lock active in the product. Leave the assignment to the matrix product unchanged. If you remove it, the product structure changes, and inconsistent data is created.

Why does the transfer of free fields fail with "invalid value", or why does the data not appear in Shopify?

The metafield in Shopify expects a specific type. For example, if Xentral sends text to a number metafield, Shopify rejects the transfer, and it does so for all metafields of this product. Only assign fields of the same type, maintain date values as text in the format YYYY-MM-DD, and transfer metafields for variant products via the matrix product.

My filter with a list of product numbers does not work.

Select the product number as the field and IN as the comparison, and enter the numbers comma-separated.

Why does Xentral deduct reserved stock from all Shopify locations?

Xentral knows reservations and open sales orders only per product, not per warehouse. So that you do not oversell, Xentral deducts the reserved quantity from every assigned Shopify location. If multiple Xentral warehouses are assigned to the same Shopify location, Xentral deducts it there only once.

Why is the stock of my bundles in Shopify incorrect?

For JIT bills of materials, Xentral ignores the warehouse assignment and calculates the stock across all warehouses, see the article Shopify: JIT bills of materials and bundles.

How do I map deviating tax rates for regions within a country, for example Corsica?

The Xentral standard does not directly map regional tax rates within a country. Use the delivery threshold for the main country to apply the correct tax rates. For genuine regional special cases, you adjust the documents manually or have the import extended via customization. Your Solution Consultant advises you on this or connects you with a partner.

What happens to a sales order that contains a product that is not created in Xentral?

Xentral does not import the sales order and displays an error in the journal, for example "No productNumber for product". Create the product in Xentral and trigger the sales order again in the journal. You cannot change orders afterward in Shopify: If you remove a line item there, the error remains. Cancel the order in Shopify and create it again, or record the sales order manually in Xentral. However, Xentral then does not synchronize the order status with Shopify.

How do I import a sales order manually?

Open the journal via Automation > Journal, select the tab Orders, and import the sales order specifically via its order number with Import sales orders. You trigger failed orders again there via the icon for running again in the row or with Re-run filtered. In live operation, Xentral imports orders automatically; you only need the manual import after corrections or for testing.

How do I get notified when the order import fails?

On the page System status, set up a subscription under Manage alarms > Create alarm. You select the integration, the frequency, and whether you are notified about warnings, errors, or both.

How do I automatically change the shipping method depending on the delivery country?

Use shipping rules. A shipping rule filters sales orders, for example by shipping method, project, delivery country, and shop, and automatically changes the shipping method after the import, see the article Shipping rules.

On English documents, for example, the designation of the postage or discount item is missing.

No translation is created for the product. Open the product, switch to Details > Texts and descriptions, and enter the designation in the field Product (EN).

I have activated the features, but no data is exchanged.

Going live takes place in two stages: In addition to the switch Active per feature, the mode Production must also be selected in the general settings and Channel active must be switched on, see the article Shopify: Going live.