Question
I would like to integrate my ShopKeep point of sale system with my website. Can you help?
Answer
ShopKeep plans on releasing an application programming interface (API) in the near future. Modern Retail has already signed up to be a beta tester when they make their API available. Once ShopKeep makes this API available, we'll be able to get it integrated with Bigcommerce, Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce. Until then, we can get an integration going for you using a simple export from ShopKeep called Export to QuickBooks. Let me explain.
Export to QuickBooks
ShopKeep has an Export to QuickBooks report that can be used as a temporary integration until their API becomes available. This report has the following fields in it:
- Stock Item Record ID
- Description
- Discountable
- UPC Code
- Price
- Cost
- Taxable
- Price Type
- Register Data Status
- Quantity on Hand
- Inventory Method
- Assigned Cost
- Order Trigger
- Recommended Order
- Department
- Category
- Supplier
- Supplier Code
- Unit
- Tax
The important fields in this report include:
- Stock Item Record ID - This is the unique identifier for the product which is generated by ShopKeep and will not be repeated for any item in the catalog and will never change.
- Description - This description will most likely be used as the Product Name on the website.
- Price - This is the current price of the product in ShopKeep.
- Quantity on Hand - QOH is how items are left in inventory for this product.
Other useful fields in this report include:
- UPC Code - If you're selling your products on marketplaces such as Amazon or Google Shopping, then you'll need the UPC Code of your products.
- Department - This field could be used to map your products to the correct department or category in your e-commerce platform.
- Category - Similarly, Category can be used to map your products to the correct department or category in your e-commerce platform.
- Supplier - Supplier could be mapped to the Brand or Designer, which is most helpful for both consumers shopping your website and SEO.
Here's an example of what this report looks like (some fields are hidden):
There are two fields that would be helpful in this file but are not provided:
- Size
- Sale Price
Size
Ideally, there should be a separate column for Size. Having a separate entity for Size would allow us to show the various options for that product on the website, for example: XSmall, Small, Medium, Large and XLarge. Unfortunately, Size is not available in the Export to QuickBooks file, nor is it a data structure that's supported by ShopKeep. However, all is not lost. We can fake ShopKeep, and hence your website, to show products in different sizes by adding a tilda (~) as the delineator between the various sizes.
For example, this black Willow Top comes in 5 different sizes. Using the exact same name "Willow Top, Black" and a tilda (~) between the name and size will produce the desired result.
Modern Retail's Integrator will see this tilda (~) and automatically break the product into the various sizes for the product.
This will have the desired result on the website by showing an option for each size of the Willow Top.
Sale Price
As you'll notice, the Export to QuickBooks file lists only one price, which is the Current Price of the item in ShopKeep. This is problematic among retailers who want to show the Original Price crossed out with the Sale Price of the item underneath it, say in red.
Only having one price also causes problems because it is the current selling price, which means the website doesn't know the original price of the product so it can be crossed out. Luckily, there's a fairly easy solution to this problem. Our ShopKeep integration can populate the price when the product is added to Bigcommerce, Magento, Shopify or WooCommerce but not update it on subsequent updates. This means you will need to manage the price in these platforms after the product has been added. However, it also allows you to mark the item on sale giving you the desired result of showing both prices on the website.
As you can see an integration between ShopKeep and your website is possible today if you can follow the above procedure to manage your prices and sizes.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this ShopKeep integration. Thank you.