How Storefront sync works
A Storefront store runs its own shop and checkout; SKU.io runs stock, fulfillment, purchasing and accounting behind it. The store doesn't send SKU.io notifications, so SKU.io checks it on a schedule and pushes changes back out.
What moves each way
| Direction | What moves | How often |
|---|---|---|
| In from the store | Orders, which become SKU.io sales orders | Every 5 minutes |
| In from the store | The store's catalog, matched to your SKU.io products by SKU | Every hour, and right after you connect |
| In from the store | Payments the store takes later, for orders paid by invoice | Every 5 minutes, with the order check |
| Out to the store | Shipments and tracking; the store emails the buyer | As soon as a fulfillment records tracking |
| Out to the store | Available stock, for the SKUs that changed | Every 15 minutes |
| Out to the store | Products, categories and prices, when product push is on | Every hour |
| Out to the store | Payments you record in SKU.io for an unpaid store order | Every 5 minutes, with the order check |
| Both ways | Cancellations | Every 5 minutes, with the order check |
The five-minute order check also writes the SKU.io sales order number back to the store, as the order's reference.
The switches that control it
Every import and push has a switch on the Sync tab of the store's settings, and Sync Schedule can pause them all at once. Auto Sync Enabled on the General tab is the same as the schedule switch. See Choose what syncs with Storefront.
| You turn off | Scheduled work stops | Work you start by hand |
|---|---|---|
| Sync Schedule (set to Paused) | All of it | Still runs |
| An Import from Storefront switch | That import | Refresh from Storefront still imports |
| A Send to Storefront switch | That push | Refused too: Push changes, product pushes, or Push to store on a shipment |
Because cancellations, payments and the order-number write-back ride on the order check, turning off Import orders from Storefront stops them as well.
The hourly product push needs a second switch: Push products to the store on a schedule on the Products settings tab. See Push products to Storefront.
Where to watch it
The store's Dashboard shows each sync's last run, schedule and time to the next run under Sync Status, and an Overall Health summary. A sync that hasn't run for a day, or a store SKU.io can't reach, turns it amber or red. Catalogue & push status counts the store's products: mapped, unmapped, pushed, waiting, failed, and SKUs the store doesn't know.
Refresh from Storefront on the dashboard pulls orders and the catalog now. Refresh from Database only reloads the dashboard.
Related
- How Storefront orders import: what an imported order becomes.
- Keep Storefront stock in sync: which products get stock, and how much.
- Check a connection's sync health.