An online store connects to inventory through a supported exchange of data between the website and your business software. This can use an existing connector, an API integration or an agreed file import and export process. Before choosing a solution, decide where accurate stock levels, prices and orders are maintained, when they are updated and what happens if a transfer fails. The ability to connect systems does not resolve these business rules on its own.
Where should you start if you already use inventory software?
Prepare the software name and version, its support team's contact details and a sample product record. Check whether the supplier supports the data exchange you need and under what conditions. Having an API, a way for programs to communicate with one another, does not mean that every function is available without an additional licence or development work.
It helps to check three separate tasks from the outset: reading the available quantity, recording a new order and returning its processing status. If the software only supports exporting a price list, that is not the same as connecting the entire sales process.
Which system determines the price and available quantity?
Each piece of information needs an agreed place where it is edited. Otherwise, an employee might change a price in the store, only for the next transfer from the business software to restore the old value. The following table is an example of how responsibilities can be divided, not a rule for every business:
| Data | Where it is edited | What to clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Product code and variant | Business software | How the same variant is identified in the store |
| Available quantity | Inventory records | Which warehouse, reservations and sales channels are included in the calculation |
| Price | Agreed price list | How promotions and different customer groups are handled |
| Description and photographs | Store administration | Who checks the content and what an import is allowed to change |
| Order | Created in the store | When the business software has accepted the order and who continues processing it |
If business customers have negotiated price lists and their own ordering accounts, also consider a B2B wholesale portal.
A product name is not reliable enough for matching records. Two sizes of the same T-shirt may share a name but have different stock levels. Products and their variants need to be matched clearly using stable codes or identifiers.
Should the store display everything physically held in the warehouse?
Physical stock and available stock are not always the same number. Some items may be reserved, damaged or allocated to another sales channel. Before transferring quantities, define what a customer can actually order.
A hypothetical example: there are five units in the warehouse, and two are already reserved for existing customers. If the remaining stock is also available for online sales, the initial available quantity for that channel could be three. When a new order arrives, it must be clear who creates the reservation and when, how it is confirmed and when it is released after a cancellation.
If customers using different channels try to buy the last unit at the same time, periodic stock updates alone do not guarantee that overselling will be prevented. The reservation method, the final availability check and the procedure when stock is unavailable must be part of the agreement.
How does data move from one system to another?
Data exchange can run at scheduled intervals or be triggered by a change, such as a new order. The choice depends on the capabilities of both systems and how much delay your business can accept.
WooCommerce, for example, supports webhook notifications about changes to orders and products. A notification tells the other system that something has happened; receiving it does not yet mean that the other software has successfully completed processing. The final outcome also needs to be tracked.
For a simpler catalogue, a periodic file transfer may be sufficient if the delay suits the sales process. Frequent changes and multiple points of sale require a more detailed agreement about updates and reservations. Our API integrations page explains how these connections are planned.
What happens if an order is transferred twice or the connection fails?
A repeated request to create the same order must not create a second record. A later update or cancellation of that order must still be processed. This is not merely a theoretical case: Shopify's documentation specifically describes verifying the sender and detecting duplicate webhook deliveries.
Failed transfers need a way to inspect the error, controlled retries and a responsible person who receives an alert. Periodically comparing records can reveal differences that went unnoticed during individual exchanges. The maintenance agreement should also cover changes that the business software supplier introduces later.
What should you check before putting the integration into use?
- A standard product and every typical variant are transferred under the correct code.
- A new order is created once, with the correct items and quantities.
- Cancellations and partial returns follow the agreed rules for stock changes.
- Simultaneous attempts to buy the last unit have a defined outcome and a procedure for employees to follow.
- A connection failure and a repeated transfer do not leave unnoticed differences between records.
- The team knows where to find a problem, who resolves it and how to continue working while the connection recovers.
For an initial discussion with DesignJust4You, prepare the name of your business software, a sample catalogue and a description of how you currently process a single order. This lets us consider the integration as part of online store development, separate the first phase from later additions and clarify dependencies on other suppliers.