Products, prices, stock, orders — what to sync, which system is the "source of truth", and how to avoid errors.
When your online store and your ERP (or accounting software) don’t “talk” to each other, employees move stock, prices and orders by hand. The result: products sold that aren’t actually in the warehouse, prices that don’t match, and mistakes on invoices.
What to sync
- Products — name, code (SKU), description, category;
- Prices and discounts;
- Stock — the most critical: how much is really in the warehouse;
- Orders — from the store to the ERP, with payment status;
- Customers — contact and billing details.
Which system is the “source of truth”?
For each type of data, decide where changes start:
- ERP → store: products, prices, stock;
- Store → ERP: orders, new customers.
If the same data is edited by hand in both systems, sooner or later they’ll contradict each other. One piece of data — one “owner”.
How the systems connect
- API — one system requests data from, or sends data to, the other;
- Webhook — a system notifies the other automatically when something happens (a new order, for example);
- File exchange — the last resort if there’s no API: automatic CSV/Excel import and export.
The integration can be built with n8n, for example.
On a schedule or in real time?
- Real time (webhooks) — for orders and stock, where fast updates matter;
- On a schedule (every 15 minutes or overnight, say) — for product descriptions, prices and reports.
A combination is often best.
💡 Tip: When syncing stock, keep a small buffer — so if a sync is delayed, you’re less likely to sell a product that’s already gone from the warehouse.
Handling errors
- Alerts (email, Telegram) when a sync stops;
- A log — what was synced, when, and with what result;
- Automatic retries — for temporary internet or service outages.
Start small
- Stock from the ERP to the store;
- Orders from the store to the ERP;
- Then prices, products and customers.
Test each step separately — on test products or a small set of products.