How Inventory Sync Works Between Sumtracker and Shopify

Inventory sync is the core feature that keeps your Sumtracker and Shopify quantities aligned. This article explains how sync works, what gets synced, the two master modes, timing expectations, and key behaviors to be aware of when managing inventory across both platforms.

What Inventory Sync Does

When inventory sync is enabled, Sumtracker and Shopify communicate automatically to keep your inventory quantities consistent. The direction of that communication depends on which system you designate as the inventory master.

Sumtracker syncs the Available quantity to Shopify. This is calculated as:

Available = In Stock - Booked

• In Stock is the number of units physically at your location.
• Booked is the number of units reserved for open or unfulfilled orders.
• Available is the number of units available to sell, and this is the value that appears on your Shopify listing.

Inventory Master Modes

Sumtracker offers two master modes that determine the direction of inventory updates. You can configure this per sales channel.

Sumtracker as Master

When Sumtracker is the inventory master:

1. All inventory adjustments must be made in Sumtracker (stocktakes, stock adjustments, purchase order receipts, etc.).
2. Sumtracker pushes updated quantities to Shopify automatically.
3. If another app (such as Stocky) updates inventory directly on Shopify, Sumtracker will override those changes on the next sync cycle.

Important: When Sumtracker is master, do not make inventory edits directly in Shopify. Those changes will be overwritten.

Shopify as Master

When Shopify is the inventory master:

1. Sumtracker only copies inventory changes made on Shopify into Sumtracker.
2. Any changes made within Sumtracker (such as receiving a purchase order) do not get pushed to Shopify.
3. Sumtracker acts as a read-only system, giving you visibility into inventory without affecting your Shopify quantities.

This mode is useful during trial or testing periods when you want to explore Sumtracker without impacting your live store.

Navigation: Go to Sales Channels > [Your Shopify Channel] > Warehouse connections to configure the inventory master setting.

Sync Timing

Understanding sync timing helps set expectations for when changes will appear across systems.

These times apply under normal operating conditions. Larger catalogs or high volumes of simultaneous changes may experience slightly longer sync windows.

Enabling and Disabling Inventory Sync

How to Turn on Inventory Sync

1. Go to Sales Channels.
2. Find your Shopify channel.
3. Click Turn on Sync.
4. Follow the steps in the setup workflow.

During setup, you will choose how opening inventory is handled:

• Copy initial inventory from Shopify: Sumtracker pulls your current Shopify inventory as the starting point. Use this if your Shopify inventory is accurate.
• Do NOT copy initial inventory from Shopify: Sumtracker pushes whatever inventory it currently has to Shopify. Use this only if your inventory is already correct in Sumtracker.

When Inventory Sync is Off

When inventory sync is turned off for a channel:

• Sumtracker continues syncing products from that channel as read only
• Orders do not sync from channel to Sumtracker
• Sumtracker does not push inventory to channel

Pausing sync

When sync is paused, all data sync between Sumtracker and channel is paused (products, orders and inventory). When its enabled back, Sumtracker automatically syncs all orders that came in during the paused period.

What Happens when Free Trial expires

When your free trial expires, inventory sync is only paused in Sumtracker – it is not deleted or reset. When you subscribe and re-enable sync:

• Sumtracker automatically syncs in all orders created during the paused period.
• Inventory is adjusted for those orders automatically.
• No manual update is needed.

Navigation: Go to Sales Channels > Enable Sync to check your sync status.

SKU Auto-Linking

Sumtracker links with your Shopify listings through SKUs. Sumtracker creates a single product against a unique SKU assigned to the listings on your online channel. If two listings share the same SKU, a single product is created on Sumtracker for those listings.

If you create a product in Sumtracker with a specific SKU, and later a Shopify product is created with that exact same SKU, Sumtracker links the two automatically. It does not create a duplicate product record.

This means you can set up products in Sumtracker ahead of time and they will connect to Shopify listings as soon as those listings appear with matching SKUs.

Duplicate SKU Behavior

All listings with the same SKU are treated as the same product in Sumtracker and share the same inventory. When sync is enabled, inventory from one listing is applied to all other listings that share that SKU.

Important: If two listings should have separate inventory, each one needs a unique SKU in Shopify. Review your SKUs before enabling sync to avoid unintended inventory sharing.

For multi-store setups (for example, separate Shopify stores for Australia and New Zealand), products with the same SKU across different stores share the same Sumtracker product record but can maintain separate inventory in different warehouses. Inventory stays separate per warehouse as long as each store is linked to its own warehouse.

Warehouse Connections and Sync

Inventory sync requires that warehouses are connected to sales channels. If no warehouse is connected to a channel:

• Orders from that channel are synced into Sumtracker but are not allocated to any warehouse.
• Inventory is not pushed back to the channel.

Navigation: Go to Sales Channels > [Channel Details] to verify and configure warehouse connections.

Quick Reference