Creating and Managing a Shopify Store

Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that allows businesses of all sizes to create and manage online stores, point-of-sale systems, and multi-channel sales. Learn how to connect your Shopify store to Goflow and handle all its synchronization workflows.

Connecting a Shopify Store to Goflow

Connect your Shopify store to Goflow in just a few steps:

1. Follow the general steps for adding a store.
2. From the list of available stores, select Shopify.
3. Enter your store credentials.

Entering Shopify App Keys

To connect your Shopify store to Goflow, create a custom app in Shopify. Click the Where do I get these? link for detailed step-by-step instructions.

Make sure that the app is granted all required permissions.

Managing Shopify Locations

Shopify supports maintaining multiple locations to help sellers manage inventory and order fulfillment across warehouses, POS retail stores, and 3PL fulfillment services such as Amazon BWP. Goflow syncs your Shopify locations and displays them as Store Warehouse Codes.

Map each Shopify location to its corresponding warehouse in Goflow. This ensures that fulfilled orders are assigned to the correct warehouse in Goflow and that shipment notifications inform Shopify of the location used. Follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Stores, and open the Shopify store.
2. On the Shipment Warehouses card, click Add Shipment Warehouse.
3. From the Fulfillment Warehouse dropdown, select the Goflow warehouse.
4. From the Store Warehouse Code dropdown, select the corresponding Shopify location.
5. To associate multiple Goflow warehouses with a single Shopify location, click the plus icon next to Fulfillment Warehouse.
6. Click Save to complete the mappings.

When you add new locations in Shopify, return to Store Warehouse Codes on the Shopify store in Goflow, and click Refresh Store Warehouse Codes to sync the new locations with Goflow.

The Goflow app on Shopify must have read permissions for Locations.

Mapping Shopify Shipping Methods

Shipping policies determine the shipping method that Goflow assigns to your orders upon import. Because Shopify shipping options are customizable, each option you configure in Shopify under Settings › Shipping and Delivery must be mapped to a valid shipping method in Goflow.

Map Shopify shipping options to one of the following:

• Shipping Method - A specific carrier and shipping method.
• Service Level - A general shipping speed. Goflow applies your shipping policies or rate shopping rules to determine the best carrier and method.

Example Shipping Method Mapping

Shopify Option	Carrier	Method
Free Shipping	USPS	Ground Advantage
Standard	UPS	Ground
Express	FedEx	FedEx 2Day

Example Service Level Mapping

Shopify Option	Service Level
Free Shipping	Economy
Standard	5-7 Days
Express	2 Days

The Goflow app on Shopify must have read permissions for Shipping.

Contact Goflow Support to set up Shopify shipping method mapping.

Managing Store Settings

After connecting the store, configure store settings to enable full synchronization with Shopify and unlock key Goflow features.

Managing Shopify Merchant Orders

When enabling merchant order imports, you can specify which orders Goflow should import. This ensures that only orders ready to be processed are imported to Goflow.

Restricting by Fulfillment Status

Specify which fulfillment statuses Goflow should import:

• Unfulfilled - Orders that were not yet fulfilled. Unfulfilled orders are assigned to the best fulfillment warehouse.
• Fulfilled - Orders already fulfilled outside of Goflow, such as those processed by another system or orders containing digital items that do not require shipping. Fulfilled orders are considered store-fulfilled orders and assigned to the mapped Shopify location warehouse.
• Partially Fulfilled - Orders where some items have already been fulfilled. Upon import, the order is split in two. The fulfilled items are marked as store-fulfilled orders, while the remaining items are imported as open merchant orders.

Restricting by Order Tags

You can install in Shopify custom apps or plugins that automatically apply tags to orders based on your workflows or business rules. Goflow allows you to use these tags to control which orders are imported:

• No Restriction - Import all orders without filtering by Shopify tag.
• Include - Import only orders that contain any of the selected tags.
• Exclude - Import all orders except those that contain any of the selected tags.

Some scenarios where filtering by order tag is useful include:

• Upsell - Import only orders with a tag indicating the shopper has already been offered an upsell. This helps ensure only finalized orders are imported.
• Channel - Exclude orders with a tag such as TikTok, since those are already imported through the direct Goflow TikTok integration

Restricting by Financial Status

Specify which financial statuses qualify for import.

The financial status of Shopify orders is determined by your payment workflow, which you manage in Shopify under Settings › Payments. You can choose to capture funds immediately at checkout or only after the order is fulfilled. In Goflow, select which statuses to import:

• Paid - Orders that were paid at checkout.
• Authorized - Orders where payment has been authorized but not yet captured.

If you select to import Authorized orders, be sure to also enable capturing funds in Goflow so payment is collected once the order is shipped. You may select to import both statuses, paid and authorized.

You may also choose to import orders with these statuses:

• Pending - Orders without payment. Import pending orders if you run a wholesale site and you'll collect payment directly from the customers.
• Partially Refunded - Orders where a partial refund was issued.
• Partially Paid - Orders where only part of the total payment has been collected.

Capturing Funds

Goflow can automatically instruct Shopify to capture payment for Authorized orders when you process the shipment. To enable capturing funds follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Stores and open your Shopify store.
2. On the Settings card, click the pencil icon to edit.
3. Check Capture Funds and click Save.

In Shopify, your payment settings must be configured to capture payments automatically when the order is fulfilled.

If the authorization has expired or Shopify cannot charge the customer’s card, Goflow will block the order from being shipped. This ensures that goods are never released without successfully securing payment.

For split orders, Goflow captures payment only for the items included in the shipment. The remaining balance stays authorized until the rest of the order is shipped.

Importing Fraud Analysis

Shopify analyzes each order to assess whether the order appears legitimate or fraudulent. Goflow syncs with Shopify to import their risk assessment and recommendation.

While Shopify is still evaluating the order, Goflow stages newly imported orders under the Pending Fraud Review status. If Shopify issues a positive decision, the order is released into the general flow. If Shopify issues a negative decision, the order is flagged as Need to Review. Orders in Review can be manually canceled or approved at your discretion.

To enable syncing with Shopify fraud analysis, follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Stores and open the Shopify store.
2. On the side card, locate the Shopify Fraud Review Import setting and set it to Enabled.
3. Select the Risk Assessment levels that should place orders in Review.
4. Select the Recommendations that should place orders in Review.
5. Click Save to apply your preferences.

You can set Review rules based on risk assessment, recommendation, or both. However, you cannot send orders to Review when the risk is low or the recommendation is to accept.

Importing Order Tags

You can install in Shopify custom apps or plugins that automatically apply tags to orders based on your workflows or business rules. Goflow can import these same tags so they appear on your orders within Goflow. Follow these steps:

1. Create order tags in Goflow that match your tags in Shopify.
2. From the sidebar menu, go to Directory › Stores, and open your Shopify store.
3. In the Settings card, click the pencil icon to edit.
4. Check Import Order Tags.
5. Click Save to apply the changes.

This feature is separate from restricting order imports by tag

Importing Order Notes and Comments

Goflow automatically imports order notes and any comments added to the Additional Details section of an order in Shopify. Both appear in the Notes section of the Goflow order. The distinction lies in how they are displayed and whether they appear on the packing slip:

• Customer Notes - Messages left by customers during checkout. These are imported into Goflow as public notes and are printed on the packing slip. Customer notes often include delivery instructions or special requests.
• System Comments - Additional details added by the Shopify admin or via custom plugins. These are imported into Goflow as private notes, visible only internally and not printed on the packing slip. Comments are displayed as key-value pairs and limited to 1,000 characters.

Importing Shopify Customers

By default, Shopify orders include only a shipping address. They're not linked to a customer record, since payments are handled directly by Shopify. If you operate a Shopify wholesale site, you can have Goflow create customer records for Shopify orders and automatically link repeat orders to the same customer.

The Shopify customers feature requires an active accounting integration with Goflow.

To enable Shopify customers, follow these steps:

1. From the left sidebar, go to Directory › Stores, and open your Shopify store.
2. On the Accounting card, click Add Accounting Settings, and select Manual or Automatic.
3. Under Accounting Customer, choose one of the following:
   • Customer on Orders - Create customers for Shopify orders.
   • Shopify - Don't create customers for Shopify orders. When invoices are sent to accounting, all orders are grouped under a single Shopify customer.
   • Mixed - Create customers only for some Shopify orders. Use Shopify tags to identify wholesale orders. When invoices are sent to accounting, retail orders are grouped under the single Shopify customer, while wholesale orders are associated with individual customers.

Handling Shopify Order Errors

Shopify orders with missing or incomplete data import in Error status. Some common issues include:

• Missing SKU - Each order item in Goflow must include a store SKU. Shopify allows products to be listed without a SKU, which prevents the listing from being mapped to a product in Goflow. To resolve, add the missing SKU on the order in Shopify, then reimport the order.
• Missing Address - A fulfillable merchant order in Goflow must include a shipping address. Shopify may not provide customer details through the API for plans Basic or lower. To resolve, upgrade your Shopify plan to a tier that includes full customer details, then reimport the order.

Managing Buy with Prime Orders

Buy-with-Prime (BWP) is a Shopify feature that allows shoppers to use their Amazon Prime membership at checkout. These orders are fulfilled by Amazon FBA and must not be fulfilled again in Goflow.

To enable importing BWP orders, follow these steps:

1. Enable merchant order imports.
2. Check Import Buy with Prime Orders.
3. Select the FBA warehouse where BWP orders should be assigned.
4. Click Save to apply the settings.

While Amazon is still fulfilling the order, Goflow imports BWP orders under the Awaiting Confirmation status. Goflow continuously syncs fulfillment status from Shopify. Once Amazon fulfills the order, Goflow applies the shipment details and marks the order as Shipped.

If Amazon declines to fulfill the order, Goflow imports it as a regular merchant order and assigns it to the best fulfillment warehouse. Even if the order already exists in Goflow under an FBA warehouse, it will automatically convert to a regular order.

When an order contains both Amazon items and merchant-fulfilled items, Goflow splits it on import. The Amazon items create a BWP order, while the merchant items create a regular Shopify order.

Managing Point of Sale Orders

A point-of-sale (POS) refers to a physical retail location, such as a brick-and-mortar store or a temporary pop-up shop. POS orders that have already been fulfilled in-store must not be fulfilled again in Goflow.

To enable importing POS orders, follow these steps:

1. From the sidebar menu, go to Directory › Stores, and open your Shopify store.
2. On the side card, locate the POS Orders Import setting and set it to Enabled.
3. Choose the Fulfillment Statuses you want to import.
4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Restricting POS Import by Fulfillment Status

Specify which fulfillment statuses Goflow should import:

• Fulfilled - Orders already completed at the point-of-sale. Fulfilled orders are considered store-fulfilled orders and are assigned to the mapped Shopify location warehouse.
• Unfulfilled - POS orders entered in Shopify but pending shipment. Unfulfilled orders are considered merchant-fulfilled orders and are assigned to the best fulfillment warehouse.
• Partially Fulfilled - Orders where some items were fulfilled in-store. Upon import, the order is split in two. The fulfilled items are marked as store-fulfilled orders, while the remaining items are imported as open merchant orders.