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Shopify Setup Q&A

The Xpos–Shopify link sends your products from Xpos to Shopify, keeps stock and prices in sync, and brings Shopify orders back into Xpos. This guide explains what is sent, what stays in sync, which settings you can choose, and how to control which products appear in Shopify.

In this article

How the link works

Xpos is the master system: product data, stock and price flow out to Shopify, and Shopify orders flow back into Xpos.

Data Direction When
Product data (name, attributes, images, descriptions) Xpos → Shopify When a product is first linked
Stock levels and sales price Xpos → Shopify Always
Later content changes (images, name, attributes, descriptions) Xpos → Shopify Only if the shop chooses Yes at setup
Orders Shopify → Xpos Always, for linked products

Products are chosen for Shopify in Xpos, never the other way round.

When a product is first linked, Xpos creates it in Shopify as a draft, so nothing goes live until you review and publish it.

Data What is sent Notes
Core product data SKU, product ID, barcode, name, attributes, sales price Always sent
Images All product images stored in Xpos Uploaded to Shopify
Descriptions Product description from Xpos Synced to Shopify
RRP Manufacturer's recommended retail price Optional – included only if required
Listing status Draft Review, then publish in Shopify

Key points

  • Good data in Xpos means less work in Shopify: check names, attributes, images and descriptions before linking, using Xcodes data will make this much easier to manage!
  • Linking does not publish. Go into Shopify and publish the drafts.
  • Whether RRP is sent is a choice made at setup.

What stays in sync

After linking, stock and price keep flowing from Xpos to Shopify automatically – Xpos is the master for both.

Data Behaviour after linking Tip
Stock levels Kept in sync between Xpos and Shopify at all times Recommended always on; avoids overselling online
Sales price Price changes in Xpos update Shopify Change prices in Xpos, not Shopify
Web price (optional) A separate web price in Xpos is used for Shopify instead of the till price Use when online and in-store prices differ

Key points

  • Price edits made directly in Shopify will be replaced when the product is next updated in Xpos. Make all price changes in Xpos.
  • A web price lets you run online-only pricing without touching the in-store price. It is set up on request.
  • Stock is the one thing we always recommend keeping in sync.

Optional sync settings: overwrite or not

Four content settings decide whether later changes in Xpos overwrite what is in Shopify. The rule of thumb: if you will edit it in Shopify to make it more suitable for online sales, set it to No.

Setting Yes means No means Choose No when…
Images Image updates in Xpos replace Shopify images Shopify images are left alone after first link You use better lifestyle/web photos in Shopify
Product name Name changes in Xpos update Shopify Shopify name is kept You write SEO-friendly web titles in Shopify
Attributes & labels Size, colour and other attribute changes push to Shopify Shopify attributes are kept You manage variant labels in Shopify
Descriptions Xpos descriptions overwrite Shopify descriptions Shopify descriptions are kept You write rich web copy in Shopify

What is never optional: The sales price will always keep syncing from Xpos. The settings above only cover content.

Key points

  • These settings only matter after first link – first link always sends images, name, attributes and description.
  • "Yes" keeps Xpos as the single source of truth and suits shops that do all product admin at the till.
  • "No" suits shops with a web person who curates the Shopify store.
  • A mixed choice is okay, for example names and attributes Yes, images and descriptions No.

Managing products in Xpos for Shopify

Which products appear in Shopify is controlled in Xpos, in three ways: per product, for a whole range, or by Subgroup default.

Link selected products or the whole range

  1. Open the Products tab and tick the checkbox next to the product to add.
  2. Click Edit, then open the Web tab.
  3. Choose whether to upload the selected products or the entire range, then click Save.
  4. The products upload to Shopify automatically, as drafts.

Once uploaded, an eye icon appears beside the product in the list. Click it to open that product in Shopify. Show in Shopify on the right-hand side opens the full range in Shopify.

Link a whole Subgroup

  1. Go to Settings > Products > Groups.
  2. Select the Shop Department, then the Product Group, then the Subgroup (e.g. Golf Shop > Clothing > Outerwear Men).
  3. Click Edit, tick Shopify, then click Save.
  4. Answer the prompt to update existing products:
    • Yes – all existing products in the Subgroup are added to Shopify.
    • No – existing products stay off Shopify, but new products created in the Subgroup are linked from now on.

Ticking Shopify on a Subgroup makes it the default for that Subgroup: every new product created in the group links to Shopify automatically.

Find products linked to Shopify

  1. Go to the Products page.
  2. Click Open Filters.
  3. In the Shopify dropdown, select Linked to Shopify.

Choosing a method

Situation Best method
A handful of hand-picked lines Link selected products
Everything the shop sells should go online Link the Subgroup, answer Yes
Only new season stock in a department goes online Link the Subgroup, answer No
Checking what is already online Linked to Shopify filter

Shopify orders coming into Xpos

Shopify orders download into Xpos automatically, but only lines for products linked to Xpos come across.

Order contains What Xpos imports
Only linked products The full order
A mix of linked and unlinked products Linked lines only, plus an internal note: "This Shopify Order contained unrecognised Products"
No linked products Nothing – the order is not imported

How orders are recorded

Setting Default Can change to
Terminal name Shopify Shop's preferred name
Staff ID Shopify Shop's preferred name
Payment type BACS A custom third-party payment type

Key points

  • Products created directly in Shopify are not linked to Xpos, so their orders (or order lines) will not import.
  • Look out for the "unrecognised Products" note and deal with the missing lines manually.
  • A dedicated terminal and staff ID make Shopify sales easy to report on separately from in-store sales.

Step-by-step walkthroughs

 

Walkthrough 1 – Link a single product range

  1. Open the Products tab and tick a product.

  2. Click Edit > Web to view the Shopify options.

  3. Click the eye icon beside one of the products then save.

    Tip: You can select the top tick box to select all products, or only select individual products.

     

  4. In Shopify, check the product's status is Draft.

Walkthrough 2 – Publish

  1. In Shopify, open the draft from Walkthrough 1.
  2. Check the name, images, description and price.
  3. Publish the product and save.

Walkthrough 3 – Link a Subgroup

  1. Go to Settings > Products > Groups and select a Subgroup.

  2. Click Edit, tick Shopify, click Save.

  3. Answer No to only add new products to Shopify, answer Yes to to update all existing products to show in Shopify.

Walkthrough 4 – Filters

  1. On the Products page, click Open Filters in the top right hand corner.

     

  2. In the Shopify dropdown, select Linked to Shopify.

  3. Returns all products currently linked to Shopify

Walkthrough 5 – Price change

  1. Change the sales price of a linked product in Xpos and save.

     

  2. Click the eye icon next to the product to open it in Shopify, check the sales price has updated.

Knowledge check

  1. When a product is first linked, what status does it have in Shopify?
  2. Name four items of core product data sent on first link.
  3. Which two things would generally keep syncing from Xpos after linking?
  4. A shop wants lower prices online than in store. How is this setup?
  5. The shop's web assistant writes descriptions in Shopify. How should the Update Descriptions setting be set?
  6. Where do you enable Shopify for a whole Subgroup?
  7. You enable Shopify on a Subgroup and answer No. What happens?
  8. How do you filter in Xpos to only display products linked to Shopify?
  9. An order has two linked products and one unlinked. What does Xpos import?
  10. What are the default terminal name, staff ID and payment type for Shopify orders?

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