Plugin Sync (Firewall-Proof)
Use this page to install and connect the Brother POS plugin on your WordPress site — the recommended, firewall-proof way to keep WooCommerce in sync.
Quick steps
- In Brother POS, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration > Edit Settings and set Sync direction to Plugin push / pull. Click Save Settings.
- On Settings > Online Menu, click Download WordPress Plugin. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, install the ZIP and Activate it.
- Copy the Brother POS API Key from the WooCommerce Integration page. In WordPress, open WooCommerce > Weight Pricing, API Setup tab, paste it into POS API Key and click Save POS API Key.
- If the plugin's connection details are empty, open Connect the WordPress plugin manually in Brother POS and copy the BrotherPOS Ingest URL, Site ID and Shared Secret into BrotherPOS Catalog Sync (Pull). Click Save Catalog Sync Settings.
- Click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now.
- Open WooCommerce > BrotherPOS Diagnostics to confirm it's connected and see when the last product pull ran.
With Plugin push / pull, product edits made in WooCommerce are sent back and change your Brother POS products too.
Common questions
Do products update on their own after the first sync? Yes. When your site gets visits, the plugin checks for changed products at most every 15 minutes.
The big first import stopped partway. Click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now again. Products are matched by SKU, so nothing is duplicated.
Which plugin version should I have? 1.7.21 or newer. The Diagnostics page shows your version.
Do I set tax and shipping in WordPress? No. Set them once in Brother POS; the plugin applies them to your website.
More detail: the two sync modes and why the plugin is more reliable
The recommended way to connect a WooCommerce store to Brother POS is the Brother POS plugin. The plugin does the work from your website's side: it pulls your product catalog and storefront settings from Brother POS, and sends online orders back. Every connection starts from your website, so it gets past Cloudflare, security plugins, and host firewalls that block the older connection.
Two Sync Modes
You choose the mode in Brother POS under Settings > WooCommerce Integration > Edit Settings, in the Sync direction field.
| Mode | How it works | When it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin push / pull (recommended) | Your website's plugin reaches out to Brother POS to pull the catalog and settings, and sends orders in. | The default for new WooCommerce setups. |
| Legacy pull | Brother POS reaches into your website over the WooCommerce REST API. | Stores set up before the plugin existed. Existing setups kept this mode. |
Why Plugin Sync Is More Reliable
In legacy pull mode, Brother POS connects into your website. Security tools are built to stop exactly that kind of connection:
- Cloudflare and other firewalls can rate-limit or block Brother POS.
- Security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri) can reject the requests.
- Some hosts block product updates and deletes entirely, even when your API keys are valid.
With plugin push / pull, every connection starts on your website and goes out to Brother POS, so none of these blocks get in the way.
More detail: what the plugin keeps in sync
What the Plugin Keeps in Sync
1. Catalog Pull (products in)
The plugin pulls your product catalog from Brother POS and saves each product in WooCommerce.
- Automatic and incremental. When your site gets visits, the plugin checks for changed products at most every 15 minutes and only pulls what changed since last time.
- Full sync on demand. Sync all products from BrotherPOS now pulls the whole catalog in batches of 100.
- Matched by SKU. Products are found or created by SKU, so running it again never creates duplicates. If a big import stops partway, just run it again.
- What it carries. Name, price, sale price, description, stock, categories (with category images), weight pricing, quantity pricing, cannabis details (THC/CBD, strain type, dominant terpene), and images.
- What it leaves out. Inactive and deleted products are not listed. Neither are products with Don't sync to WooCommerce ticked, or products whose categories all have WooCommerce Sync turned off on the Categories page. Combos with choice slots, build-your-own platters and buckets are left out too, because someone at the counter has to choose part of what the customer gets. Fixed bundles and regular products sync as normal.
- Taking products off your website (plugin version 1.7.21 or newer). When a product your website already has is deactivated, deleted, or left out for one of the reasons above, the next catalog pull sets it to draft in WooCommerce, so it leaves your storefront. It is never deleted, so past orders still point to it. A product your website never had is skipped. If you make the product active or sellable online again, a later pull publishes it again.
The first catalog pull after you update the plugin also drafts products that were deactivated or left out before the update. Turning off WooCommerce Sync for a whole category doesn't change the products themselves, so their WooCommerce copies are only drafted when you click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now.
See Product Sync for more detail.
2. Config Pull (storefront settings in)
The plugin pulls your storefront settings from Brother POS (at most every 5 minutes, when your site gets visits) and applies them to WooCommerce. You set these once in Brother POS instead of in each website. They include:
- Payment methods: Interac e-Transfer and Pay on Pickup (see Order Sync).
- Tax, built from your Brother POS tax settings (see below).
- Shipping: free over a threshold, a flat delivery fee, and local pickup (see below).
- Checkout add-ons: tip selector and delivery/pickup scheduling.
- Go live: turns off WooCommerce's "Coming soon" mode and turns on order sending.
3. Orders and Changes Out
When a customer checks out, the plugin sends the order to Brother POS right away. See Order Sync.
When Sync direction is set to Plugin push / pull, the plugin also sends changes made in WooCommerce back, and they change the matching Brother POS product:
- Editing a product in WooCommerce updates its name, description, price, stock and whether it is active in Brother POS. Products are matched by SKU, and a product added in WooCommerce is added to Brother POS too.
- Trashing or deleting a product in WooCommerce deactivates it in Brother POS, once the two are linked (for example, after the product has been edited in WooCommerce, or came across in an import or export).
Make your product changes in Brother POS so the two stay consistent.
A store on Legacy pull ignores these product and stock changes, even if the plugin is installed (unless the store is part of a Multi-Brand Network). Online orders still come in whichever mode you use.
Older versions of the plugin also sent back the products it had just pulled, the updates Brother POS itself made in WooCommerce, and the stock WooCommerce took off for an online order. That could overwrite your Brother POS prices and stock with WooCommerce's copy, or take an online sale off your stock twice. From version 1.7.20, only real changes made in WooCommerce are sent back. The Diagnostics page shows which version you have.
More detail: installing and connecting the plugin
Connecting the Plugin
- In Brother POS, open Settings > WooCommerce Integration. Your Brother POS API Key is shown with a copy button (while the integration is enabled).
- In WordPress, open WooCommerce > Weight Pricing and go to the API Setup tab.
- Paste the key into POS API Key and click Save POS API Key.
- The plugin also needs its connection details: BrotherPOS Ingest URL, Site ID and Shared Secret. Brother POS can send these to the plugin automatically when it has your Store URL, Consumer Key and Consumer Secret. If it can't (for example, you never entered API keys), or the Diagnostics page shows the ingest URL as "(not set)", an admin can copy them in by hand:
- In Brother POS, on Settings > WooCommerce Integration, open Connect the WordPress plugin manually.
- Use the copy button next to BrotherPOS Ingest URL, Site ID and Shared Secret.
- In WordPress, on the plugin's API Setup tab, paste each one into the matching box under BrotherPOS Catalog Sync (Pull), then click Save Catalog Sync Settings.
The Connect the WordPress plugin manually section is shown to admins only. Keep the Shared Secret private.
Every message between the plugin and Brother POS is signed with your store's private secret, so only your store's plugin can send or pull your data.
More detail: automatic tax and shipping setup
Automatic Tax Setup
The plugin builds your WooCommerce tax rates from the tax settings in Brother POS, so you don't need a separate tax plugin.
- Prices stay entered before tax, like in the POS. Tax is added at checkout.
- Split tax (for example GST + PST) gets one rate line for each tax.
- An additional tax (such as the SK Vapour Products Tax) is added as its own line.
- Every customer is charged your store's rate, based on your shop's location.
When you change your tax settings in Brother POS, the next pull replaces the old rates, so duplicates don't build up. If no tax rate is set in Brother POS, WooCommerce tax is turned off.
Automatic Shipping Setup
The plugin sets up WooCommerce shipping from your Brother POS delivery settings:
| Method | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Free shipping | Added when Offer free shipping is ticked. Free over your free-delivery threshold, or always free if no threshold is set. |
| Flat-rate delivery | Your delivery fee. Labeled "Delivery" if your store does local delivery, otherwise "Shipping". |
| Local pickup | Free, when pickup is enabled for your store. |
- Every shipping zone is set up, not just one, so a leftover zone (such as "United States") can't override your rates. Old free-shipping, flat-rate and pickup methods are removed first, so nothing is left over.
- The paid delivery option is hidden when free shipping applies, so customers don't see a delivery charge next to a free option.
- Cached shipping rates are cleared after each update, so shoppers see the new rates right away.
More detail: installing the plugin, step by step
Installing the Plugin
- Download the plugin. Click Download WordPress Plugin on the Online Menu Embed page in Brother POS, or ask support for the latest version.
- Upload it to WordPress. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, and click Install Now.
- Activate the plugin.
- Connect it as described in Connecting the Plugin.
- Sync. On the API Setup tab, click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now for the first full import. After that, products and settings refresh on their own.
After activating, open WooCommerce > BrotherPOS Diagnostics. It shows whether the ingest URL and shared secret are set, and when the last product pull ran. See Diagnostics.
More detail: troubleshooting and good habits
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Products not appearing online | Check Diagnostics for the ingest URL and shared secret. Click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now, then check Last product pull. Make sure the product is active and its category has WooCommerce Sync on. |
| Storefront still shows "Coming soon" | Tick Take store live (disable "coming soon") in the WooCommerce settings. The plugin applies it on its next settings pull. |
| Orders not reaching Brother POS | Make sure Take store live is ticked, and check the ingest URL and shared secret on Diagnostics. |
| Tax not calculating online | Make sure your tax rates are set in Brother POS. The plugin only turns on WooCommerce tax when a rate is set. |
| Brother POS prices or stock change after a catalog pull, or an online order takes stock off twice | Update the plugin to version 1.7.20 or newer. |
| A product you deactivated or deleted in Brother POS is still for sale online | Update the plugin to version 1.7.21 or newer, then click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now. The product is set to draft in WooCommerce. |
| Big catalog import stops partway | Click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now again. It matches by SKU and skips images that are already there. |
| Old store still using the REST API | Switch Sync direction to Plugin push / pull in the WooCommerce settings, then install and connect the plugin. |
Best Practices
- Use plugin push / pull for new stores. It avoids firewall problems entirely.
- Set payment, tax, and shipping once in Brother POS. The plugin applies the same settings to your website.
- Keep the plugin up to date so new sync features work. Use version 1.7.20 or newer so catalog pulls and online orders don't change your Brother POS prices and stock, and 1.7.21 or newer so deactivated products come off your website.
- Check Diagnostics after installing to confirm the connection before you go live.
What's Next?
- Product Sync — What the catalog pull sends and how products are matched.
- Order Sync — How online orders and payment options flow back to Brother POS.
- Diagnostics — The troubleshooting page on your WordPress site.
- Health Monitor — Sync activity from the Brother POS side.