Synchronize customers and companies
When you import an order from Shopify, getting the information about the customer is essential for further processing the document in Business Central. There are two main options for doing so, and several combinations:
- Use a special customer for all orders.
- Import the customer information from Shopify. This option is also available when you export customers to Shopify from Business Central.
Shopify allows you to run your business to business (B2B) and direct to customer (DTC) business from one place with the power and ease of Shopify's all-in-one platform. Shopify Connector also works with different flavors of e-commerce.
While Shopify has two entities—customer and company—Business Central has only the customer entity, which affects how synchronization works.
When you run DTC, the buyer is created in Shopify as a customer. The customer is then imported to Business Central as a Shopify customer, and linked or converted to a customer.
If you run B2B, the buyer is created in Shopify as a customer linked to a company. The customer is imported to Business Central as a Shopify customer, and the company is imported to Business Central as a Shopify company and linked or converted to a customer.
To export a customer from Business Central to Shopify, the steps are different depending on what you want to do:
- Export a customer as a Shopify customer for DTC.
- Export a customer as a company and customer pair for the B2B flow.
Important settings when importing DTC customers from Shopify
Whether you import customers from Shopify in bulk or when you import orders, use the following settings to manage the process:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Customer Import from Shopify | Select All Customers if you plan to import customers from Shopify in bulk; either manually using the Sync Customers action or via the job queue for recurring updates. Regardless of the selection, the customer information will always be imported together with the order. However, the use of this information depends on the Shopify Customer Templates and settings in the Customer Mapping Type field. |
| Customer Mapping Type | Define how you want the connector to perform the mapping. - By Email/Phone if you want the connector to use email account and telephone information to map the imported Shopify customer to a customer in Business Central. - By Bill-to Info if you want the connector to use the address of the invoice recipient to map the imported Shopify customer to an existing customer in Business Central. - Always Take the Default Customer if you want the system to use a customer from the Default Customer No. field. |
| Shopify Can Update Customers | Select this field if you want the connector to update the customers it finds when either of the By Email/Phone or By Bill-to Info options are selected in the Customer Mapping Type field. |
| Auto Create Unknown Customers | Select this field if you want the connector to create missing customers when the By Email/Phone or By Bill-to Info options are selected in the Customer Mapping Type field. A new customer is created using imported data and the Customer Template Code defined on the Shopify Shop Card or Shopify Customer Template pages. Notice that the Shopify customer must have at least one address. Orders created via Shopify POS sales channel are often missing address details. If this option isn't enabled, you must create a customer manually and link it to the Shopify customer. |
| Customer.Company Template Code | Use this field together with Auto Create Unknown Customers. Choose the default template to use for automatically created customers. Make sure the selected template contains the mandatory fields such as Gen. Business Posting Group, Customer Posting Group, and value-added tax (VAT) or tax-related fields. You can define templates per country/region on the Shopify Customer Templates page, which helps calculate taxes correctly. Learn more at Set Up Taxes. |
Customer template per country/region
Some settings can be defined at the country/regional level or a state/province level. The settings can be configured in Shipping and Delivery in Shopify.
You can do the following for each customer using the Shopify Customer Template:
- Specify the Default Customer No., which takes priority over the selection in the Customer Import from Shopify and Customer Mapping Type fields. It's used in the imported sales order.
- Define the Customer Template Code, which is used to create missing customers if Auto Create Unknown Customers is enabled. If the Customer Template Code is empty, then the function uses the Customer Template Code defined on the Shopify Shop Card. The system first tries to find a template for the Country/Region Code for the default address. If it doesn't find a template, it uses the first address.
- In some cases, the Customer Template Code defined for a country/region isn't enough to ensure correct tax calculations (for example, for countries/regions with sales tax). In this case, including Tax Area could be a useful addition.
- The Tax Area field also contains a Country Code and County Name pair. This pair is useful when the connector needs to convert a code to a name, or vice versa.
Note
The country codes are ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes. Learn more at Country Code.
Populate customer information in Business Central
A customer in Shopify has a first name, family name, email, and/or phone number. A customer might also have multiple addresses that might contain a company and address in addition to their first name, family name, and/or phone number. The following table describes how data from the customer and address is imported into Business Central. Note that while the customer might have multiple addresses, only one is marked as default and is used to populate fields in Business Central.
| Business Central | Field when imported from Shopify |
|---|---|
| Name | Based on the selection in the Name Source field, this field can contain first and last name, or company from the default address. |
| Name 2 | Based on the selection in the Name 2 Source field, this field can contain first and last name, or company from the default address. Field is populated only if Name already has a value. Otherwise, the extracted value is assigned to the Name field. |
| Contact | Based on the selection in the Contact Source field, this field can contain first and last name, or company from the default address. Field is populated only if Name already has value. Otherwise, the extracted value is assigned to the Name field. |
| Country / Region Code | Country from the default address. Mapping is done by ISO code. |
| County | State/Province from the default address. Based on selection in the State Source field, it can be a code or description. |
| Post Code | Zip code from the default address. |
| City | City from the default address. |
| Phone | Phone number from the default address. If a phone number isn't defined for the default address, then it's the phone number from the customer. |
| Email address from the customer. |
The Tax Area Code, Tax Liable, VAT Bus. Posting Group are from the customer template.
Important settings when exporting DTC customers to Shopify
You can export existing customers to Shopify in bulk. In each case, a customer and one default address are created. You can manage the process using the following settings:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Can update Shopify Customers | Enable this option if you want to generate updates later from Business Central for customers that already exist in Shopify. |
The following are requirements for exporting a customer:
The customer must have a valid email address.
When exporting customers with addresses that include provinces/states, make sure that ISO Code is filled in for countries/regions.|
When a country/region is selected on the customer card, make sure that ISO Code is specified. For local customers with a blank country/region, Shopify Connector uses the country/region specified on the Company Information page.
If the customer has a phone number, the number must be unique because Shopify won't accept a second customer with the same phone number.
If the customer has a phone number, it must be in the E.164 format. Different formats are supported if they represent a number that can be dialed from anywhere in the world. The following formats are valid:
- xxxxxxxxxx
- +xxxxxxxxxxx
- (xxx)xxx-xxxx
- +x xxx-xxx-xxxx
After you create the customers in Shopify, you can send them direct invitations to encourage them to activate their accounts.
Populate customer information in Shopify
A customer in Shopify has a first name, family name, email, and/or phone number. You can enter first and family names from the customer card in Business Central.
| Priority | Field in the customer card | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contact Name | Highest priority, if the Contact Name field is filled and the Contact Source field in the Shopify Shop Card contains either the First Name and Last Name or Last Name and First Name option to define how to split the values. |
| 2 | Name 2 | If the Name 2 field is filled in and the Name 2 Source field in the Shopify Shop Card contains either the First Name and Last Name or Last Name and First Name option to define how to split the values. |
| 3 | Name | Lowest priority, if the Name field is filled and the Name Source field in the Shopify Shop Card contains either the First Name and Last Name or Last Name and First Name options to define how to split the values. |
A customer in Shopify also has a default address. The address might contain a company and address in addition to their first name, family name, and/or phone number. You can populate the Company field based on data from the customer card in Business Central.
| Priority | Field in the customer card | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | Highest priority, if the Name Source field in the Shopify Shop Card contains Company Name. |
| 2 | Name 2 | Lowest priority, if the Name 2 Source field in the Shopify Shop Card contains Company Name. |
For addresses where the county/province is used, select Code or Name in the County Source field on the Shopify Shop Card page. The code or name specifies the type of data stored in Business Central in the County field. Remember to initialize customer templates per country/region so that the county code/name mapping is ready.
Export DTC customers to Shopify
Initial sync of customers from Business Central to Shopify
- Go to the search
icon, enter Shopify Customers, and choose the related link. - Choose the Add Customer action.
- In the Shop Code field, enter the code. If you open the Shopify Customers window from the Shop Card page, the shop code is populated automatically.
- Define filters on customers as required. For example, you can filter by Country/Region code.
- Choose OK.
The resulting customers are automatically created in Shopify with addresses.
Note
The initial sync of customers from Business Central to Shopify doesn't consider the Can Update Shopify Customers settings.
Sync customers
- Choose the icon, enter Shopify shop, and then choose the related link.
- Select the specific shop for which you want to synchronize customers.
- Choose the Sync Customers action.
Alternatively, use the Start Customer Sync action on the Shopify Customers window or search for the Sync Customers batch job.
You can schedule the task to be performed in an automated manner. Learn more at Schedule recurring tasks.
B2B Companies
If you use B2B in Shopify, you can create companies in addition to customers. You can link one or more individual customers to a company. You can also define payment terms, locations, and catalogs.
Important settings when importing B2B companies from Shopify
Whether you import companies from Shopify in bulk or when you import orders, use the settings in the following table to manage the process.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Company Import from Shopify | Select All Companies if you plan to import customers from Shopify in bulk, either manually using the Sync Companies action or via the job queue for recurring updates. Regardless of the selection, the customer information is always imported together with the order. However, the use of this information depends on the Shopify Company Templates and settings in the Company Mapping Type field. |
| Company Mapping Type | Define how you want the connector to do the mapping. - By Email/Phone if you want the connector to map the imported Shopify companies to an existing customer in Business Central using email and phone from the main contact. - Select Always Take the Default Company if you want the system to use the company in the Default Company No. field. |
| Shopify Can Update Company | Select this field if you want the connector to update the customers it finds when the By Email/Phone option is selected in the Company Mapping Type field. |
| Auto Create Unknown Companies | Select this field if you want the connector to create new customers when the By Email/Phone option is selected in the Company Mapping Type field. A new customer is created using the imported data and the Customer/Company Template Code defined on the Shopify Shop Card or Shopify Customer Template pages. |
| Customer/Company Template Code | Use this field together with Auto Create Unknown Company. - Choose the default template to use for automatically created customers. Make sure the mandatory fields are filled in on the template, such as the Gen. Business Posting Group, Customer Posting Group, Value-added tax (VAT) or other tax-related fields. - You can define templates per country/region on the Shopify Customer Templates page, which is useful for proper tax calculation. Learn more at Set up Taxes. |
Note
The company must have a main contact. Otherwise, the connector skips to company. Only one oldest location is imported. Only the main contact is imported.
Important settings when exporting B2B companies to Shopify
You can export existing customers to Shopify in bulk as a company. In each case, a company and one default location are created and one main contact. It's also possible to create a catalog.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Can update Shopify Companies | Enable this option if you want to generate updates later from Business Central for companies that already exist in Shopify. |
| Default Contact Permissions | Specify which permissions must be assigned to the main contact; you can choose between None, Ordering only, and Location admin. |
| Auto Create Catalog | Enable this option if you want to create a catalog that includes all products. A catalog is created for each exported company. |
Export a B2B company to Shopify
Initial sync of B2B companies from Business Central to Shopify
- Go to the search icon, enter Shopify Company, and choose the related link.
- Choose the Add Company action.
- In the Shop Code field, enter the code. If you open the Shopify Company window from the Shop Card page, the shop code is populated automatically.
- Define filters on the customer as required. For example, you can filter by Country/Region code.
- Choose OK.
The resulting company and customers are automatically created in Shopify.
Note
The initial sync of companies from Business Central to Shopify doesn't consider Can Update Shopify Company settings.
Sync B2B company
- Choose the icon, enter Shopify shop, and then choose the related link.
- Select the specific shop for which you want to synchronize customers.
- Choose the Sync Company action.
Alternatively, use the Start Company Sync action on the Shopify Company page or search for the Sync Company batch job.
You can schedule the task to run in an automated way. Learn more at Schedule recurring tasks.