Sage 100 Shopify integration: How to connect your ERP and ecommerce
As ecommerce sales grow, the gap between your online storefront and back-office systems can become increasingly difficult to manage. Orders placed in Shopify may need to be manually entered into your ERP, inventory quantities may need to be updated across systems, and fulfillment information may have to be transferred back to the storefront. These disconnected processes take time and create opportunities for errors.
A Sage 100 Shopify integration connects your ecommerce storefront with your ERP so critical information can move automatically between systems. Orders, customers, inventory, pricing, shipping, and other data can be synchronized based on your organization’s requirements, reducing manual work and creating a more connected order-to-fulfillment process.
However, Sage 100 does not provide a native direct connection to Shopify. Organizations typically need a third-party connector or integration platform to bridge the two applications. In this guide, we’ll explain how integrating Shopify with Sage 100 works, what information you can connect, the benefits of integration, and what to consider when designing your ecommerce integration.
Key takeaways
- Sage 100 can integrate with Shopify through a third-party connector or integration platform.
- A Sage 100 Shopify integration can automate the exchange of orders, customers, inventory, pricing, fulfillment, tracking, and other information.
- Bidirectional synchronization helps reduce duplicate data entry and keeps ecommerce and ERP information aligned.
- Rand Group's Sage 100 team commonly recommends IN-SYNCH by DSD Business Systems for Shopify and other ecommerce integration requirements.
- Successful integration requires careful planning around data ownership, field mapping, workflow rules, exceptions, and surrounding business applications.
What is Sage 100?
Sage 100 is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution designed primarily for small and mid-sized businesses. It provides financial and operational capabilities for organizations that have outgrown basic accounting software and need greater control over their business processes.
Sage 100 supports functions including:
- General ledger and financial management
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Sales order processing
- Inventory management
- Purchasing
- Manufacturing and distribution
- Reporting and analytics
For businesses selling through Shopify, Sage 100 can serve as the back-office system of record for financial, inventory, and operational information. Sage 100 can also be extended through third-party applications and integrations, allowing organizations to connect the ERP with ecommerce, CRM, warehouse management, payment, tax, and other business systems.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a cloud-based commerce platform that enables businesses to sell products online and through other sales channels. The platform provides tools for managing products, storefronts, customers, orders, promotions, payments, and ecommerce fulfillment.
For businesses using both Shopify and Sage 100, each platform serves a different role. Shopify manages the digital shopping and ecommerce experience, while Sage 100 manages many of the financial and operational processes behind those transactions.
Without integration, employees may have to bridge the gap manually. Connecting the two systems can create a more efficient flow of information from the initial online purchase through accounting, inventory management, fulfillment, and shipment.
Can Sage 100 integrate with Shopify?
Yes, Sage 100 can integrate with Shopify, but the connection generally requires a third-party integration solution rather than a native Sage-to-Shopify connector.
The integration platform acts as the bridge between the two applications, translating and moving information based on predefined rules. Depending on the integration solution and configuration, information can move in both directions.
For example:
Shopify → integration platform → Sage 100
A Shopify order can automatically flow into Sage 100 along with relevant customer, product, payment, tax, and shipping information.
Sage 100 → integration platform → Shopify
Inventory availability, fulfillment status, shipment information, and tracking numbers can flow from Sage 100 back to Shopify.
This creates a connected ecommerce workflow without requiring employees to repeatedly enter or update the same information in multiple applications.
What data can be synchronized between Shopify and Sage 100?
The exact information exchanged through a Shopify and Sage 100 integration depends on the connector, configuration, Sage 100 modules, and the organization’s requirements. Common integration points include the following.
Orders and invoices
Online orders can be transferred from Shopify into Sage 100, reducing the need for employees to manually recreate ecommerce transactions.
Businesses can define rules governing when an order should enter Sage 100 and what type of transaction should be created. This is especially important when determining how shipping charges, discounts, taxes, and other order details should be handled.
Inventory
Inventory synchronization allows product availability maintained in Sage 100 to be reflected in Shopify. This can help prevent customers from placing orders based on outdated inventory quantities and reduce the risk of overselling.
Inventory integration can become more complex when an organization has multiple warehouses, locations, kits, variants, or backorder processes, making it important to define exactly what inventory quantity Shopify should receive.
Customer information
A Sage 100 Shopify connector can transfer customer information such as:
- Customer names
- Contact information
- Billing addresses
- Shipping addresses
- Relevant order details
Businesses should also establish rules for identifying existing customers and creating new customer records to avoid unnecessary duplicates.
Products and pricing
Depending on the integration, product and pricing information can also be synchronized. Before configuring this workflow, determine which application will be the authoritative source for SKUs, descriptions, pricing, and other product information.
Fulfillment, shipping, and tracking
Once an order has been fulfilled, shipment status and tracking information can flow back to Shopify. This helps keep ecommerce order information current and provides customers with greater visibility into their purchases without requiring employees to update both applications manually.
Payments and reconciliation
Payment workflows require additional planning. Businesses should determine how Shopify payments, processor fees, refunds, and deposits will ultimately be represented and reconciled within Sage 100.
Not every connector handles these processes in the same way, so payment and reconciliation requirements should be addressed during integration planning rather than after the connection has been configured.
Benefits of integrating Shopify with Sage 100
Connecting Shopify and Sage 100 can improve the entire order-to-fulfillment process by reducing manual work and keeping ecommerce and ERP data aligned. Key benefits include:
- Reduce manual order entry: Automatically transfer Shopify orders into Sage 100 instead of recreating transactions by hand.
- Improve data accuracy: Reduce re-keying errors involving customer information, SKUs, quantities, addresses, and other order details.
- Maintain more accurate inventory availability: Keep online inventory more closely aligned with Sage 100 quantities to reduce the risk of overselling.
- Accelerate fulfillment: Reduce manual handoffs between ecommerce, accounting, inventory, warehouse, and fulfillment teams.
- Improve the customer experience: Provide more reliable product availability, order status, and tracking information.
- Support ecommerce growth: Process higher order volumes without increasing administrative data entry at the same rate.
Sage 100 Shopify integration options
There is no single integration approach that fits every Sage 100 environment. Transaction volume, workflow complexity, existing technology, surrounding applications, and long-term plans should all factor into the decision.
IN-SYNCH by DSD Business Systems
For many Sage 100 ecommerce projects, Rand Group’s Sage 100 team recommends IN-SYNCH by DSD Business Systems. The integration platform provides bidirectional synchronization between Sage 100 and Shopify, Shopify Plus, Shopify POS, and other business applications.
Depending on the configuration, IN-SYNCH can synchronize data such as:
- Orders
- Customers
- Inventory
- Products and pricing
- Shipping and tracking information
IN-SYNCH can also extend beyond ecommerce to connect Sage 100 with CRM applications, databases, marketplaces, 3PL systems, and other business applications, making it useful for organizations with broader integration requirements.
From our Sage 100 team: Rand Group commonly recommends IN-SYNCH for Shopify integrations because of its ability to support a wide range of Sage 100 integration needs. One Rand Group client uses IN-SYNCH to move data between its various companies, eliminating duplicate data entry between environments.
Simplify Shopify and Sage 100 integration
Rand Group can help you connect Shopify and Sage 100 using proven integration technology such as IN-SYNCH, with workflows configured around your orders, inventory, customers, and fulfillment processes.
Other third-party connectors
Several third-party solutions can connect Shopify with Sage 100. Options include:
- CertiPro E-Link: Provides bidirectional integration between Sage 100 and ecommerce platforms such as Shopify.
- GUMU for Sage 100: Connects Sage 100 with ecommerce and other business applications.
- Commercient SYNC: Synchronizes ERP data with ecommerce, CRM, and other applications.
The right connector depends on your Sage 100 environment, data requirements, transaction volume, workflows, and surrounding systems. Evaluate each option based on your specific business requirements rather than features alone.
Custom integration
Some organizations have requirements that aren’t adequately addressed by a prebuilt connector. In these situations, a custom integration may be appropriate.
Custom development can provide greater flexibility around specialized data flows, business rules, or applications, but it also introduces additional development and maintenance considerations. An experienced Sage 100 partner can help determine whether an existing solution or custom approach makes the most sense.
What to consider before integrating Sage 100 and Shopify
The technical connection is only one part of a successful Sage 100 ecommerce integration. The underlying workflows and business rules should be defined before implementation.
Decide which system owns each type of data
Determine the system of record for key information such as:
- Products and SKUs
- Pricing
- Customers
- Inventory
- Orders
- Shipping
- Payments
Clear data ownership helps prevent one system from unexpectedly overwriting information maintained in another.
Map fields and business rules
Shopify and Sage 100 organize data differently. Determine how fields correspond between applications and establish validation rules for transferring information.
Just as importantly, determine what happens when something goes wrong. Integration planning should address missing information, invalid records, duplicates, failed transactions, and other exceptions.
Define inventory requirements
Inventory is often one of the most important and complex parts of an ecommerce integration. Consider:
- Multiple warehouses or locations
- On-hand versus available quantities
- Committed inventory
- Backorders
- Kits and item variants
- Synchronization frequency
The goal isn’t simply to “sync inventory.” It is to ensure Shopify receives the right inventory value for the way your organization fulfills orders.
Plan the complete order workflow
Map what should happen from the moment a customer places an order through final fulfillment and accounting.
Consider how the integration should handle taxes, promotions, discounts, shipping charges, cancellations, partial shipments, returns, and refunds.
Account for surrounding systems
Shopify and Sage 100 may only be two components of a larger technology environment. Your integration strategy should account for applications such as:
- Warehouse management systems
- 3PL providers
- CRM platforms
- Sales tax software
- Shipping applications
- Payment processors
- Marketplaces
- Additional ecommerce storefronts
Understanding the complete environment can prevent organizations from solving one integration problem while creating another.
Test before going live
Integration testing should cover standard transactions as well as exceptions. Test scenarios may include new and existing customers, out-of-stock products, discounts, taxes, partial shipments, cancellations, returns, and refunds.
Testing these workflows before production helps uncover mapping and process issues before they affect customers or financial records.
Put your Sage 100 integration in experienced hands
Connect Shopify and Sage 100 with guidance from a team that understands both the technology and the workflows behind it. Rand Group’s software engineers combine integration experience with deep Sage 100 expertise to help you build a reliable connection tailored to your business.
Why partner with Rand Group for Sage 100 Shopify integration?
A successful Shopify integration requires more than connecting two applications. Ecommerce orders ultimately affect accounting, inventory, customers, fulfillment, payments, and potentially several other systems.
Rand Group’s Sage 100 consultants bring deep product, integration, and business process expertise to these projects. In addition to Shopify, our team has experience with Sage 100 integration projects involving BigCommerce, HubSpot, Salesforce, and other business applications, giving us insight into how ERP data needs to move across ecommerce, CRM, and other connected systems.
Our team can help organizations:
- Assess Sage 100 and ecommerce workflows and integration requirements
- Evaluate third-party connectors and integration options
- Configure data mapping, business rules, and automated workflows
- Implement and test integrations, including exception scenarios
- Develop and optimize custom integrations when needed
Rand Group has more than 35 years of experience providing Sage 100 development services, including third-party integrations, custom applications, reporting, analytics, and workflow enhancements. Rather than looking at Shopify as an isolated application, our team considers how ecommerce fits into your broader financial and operational environment.
Sage 100 Shopify integration FAQs
Does Sage 100 integrate with Shopify?
Yes. Sage 100 can integrate with Shopify using a third-party connector or integration platform. Depending on the solution and configuration, the integration can automate the exchange of orders, inventory, customers, pricing, fulfillment, tracking, and other information between Shopify and Sage 100.
Does Sage 100 have a native Shopify integration?
No. Sage 100 does not provide a native direct Shopify connector. Organizations generally use a third-party integration solution, such as IN-SYNCH, or another integration approach to connect Shopify with Sage 100.
What data can Shopify and Sage 100 share?
Shopify and Sage 100 can exchange data such as orders, customers, products, inventory quantities, pricing, shipping information, and tracking details. Payment-related information may also be incorporated into the workflow. Exactly what is synchronized depends on the connector and configuration.
Can Shopify orders automatically import into Sage 100?
Yes. A properly configured Sage 100 Shopify integration can automatically transfer online orders into Sage 100. Organizations can define how Shopify transactions should be created and processed within Sage 100 based on their order management requirements.
Can Sage 100 inventory sync with Shopify?
Yes. Integration solutions can synchronize Sage 100 inventory information with Shopify so ecommerce availability reflects more current ERP inventory data. Businesses should define which inventory quantities, warehouses, and availability rules should be used before configuring the integration.
Can Sage 100 integrate with Shopify POS?
Yes. Some Sage 100 integration solutions support Shopify POS in addition to Shopify ecommerce. IN-SYNCH, for example, supports integration with Shopify, Shopify Plus, and Shopify POS.
What is the best way to integrate Shopify with Sage 100?
The best integration approach depends on your transaction volume, inventory complexity, required data flows, business rules, and surrounding applications. Rand Group commonly recommends IN-SYNCH for Sage 100 Shopify integrations, but the appropriate solution should be selected after evaluating your specific requirements.
How long does a Sage 100 Shopify integration take?
The timeline varies based on the integration solution, number of workflows, field mapping, custom requirements, surrounding applications, and testing needs. A requirements assessment should be completed before establishing an implementation timeline.
Connect Sage 100 and Shopify with the right integration strategy
Integrating Sage 100 and Shopify can eliminate repetitive data entry, improve data accuracy, keep inventory and fulfillment information aligned, and create a more scalable ecommerce operation. However, getting the most from the integration requires more than installing a connector. Organizations need to carefully consider how orders, customers, inventory, products, pricing, payments, fulfillment, and exceptions should move through their systems.
Our Sage 100 experts can help you evaluate your Shopify integration requirements, select and configure the right integration approach, and optimize the workflows connecting ecommerce with your ERP. Contact our team to discuss your Sage 100 Shopify integration project.
