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Integrations FAQ

Admin Manager

Use this page to find quick answers about connecting Brother POS to your WooCommerce website and to wholesale partners.

Quick fixes​

  • A product isn't showing on my website — Check the product is active and its category has WooCommerce Sync turned on. Then click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now in the plugin on your WordPress site.
  • Website stock doesn't match the store — Make stock changes in Brother POS, not in WooCommerce. Make sure the plugin is up to date. On the older legacy connection, click Push Now under Settings > WooCommerce Integration.
  • Online orders aren't coming in — Open Settings > WooCommerce Monitor to see recent syncs and errors, and the BrotherPOS Diagnostics page in the plugin.
  • Where do I edit products? — In Brother POS. It is the master for products; changes made in WooCommerce can be overwritten or ignored.
  • Turn WooCommerce off for now — Settings > WooCommerce Integration > Edit Settings, untick Enable WooCommerce Integration and click Save Settings. Nothing is deleted.

Tap any question below to see the full answer.

WooCommerce Integration​

What does the WooCommerce integration do?

It connects your Brother POS store to your WooCommerce website:

  • Products: your Brother POS products are published to WooCommerce. You can import existing WooCommerce products once when you first connect; after that, Brother POS is the master for products.
  • Orders: online orders come into Brother POS for fulfillment.
  • Stock: Brother POS stock levels are sent to WooCommerce to help prevent overselling.
  • Freebie offers: Freebie Threshold campaigns show as offer messages on your website.
  • Storefront settings (plugin mode): payment options, tax and shipping set in Brother POS are applied to your website.

See WooCommerce Setup.

How do I connect WooCommerce to Brother POS?

The recommended way is the Brother POS plugin:

  1. Install the Brother POS plugin on your WordPress site.
  2. In Brother POS, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration and copy your Brother POS API Key.
  3. In WordPress, paste it on the plugin's API Setup tab (WooCommerce > Weight Pricing).

See Plugin Sync (Firewall-Proof) for the full steps. Older stores may use the legacy pull method, which uses a WooCommerce Consumer Key and Secret instead; see WooCommerce Setup.

How often does WooCommerce sync run?

It depends on your connection method:

  • Plugin push / pull: orders are sent the moment a customer checks out. When your site gets visits, the plugin pulls changed products at most every 15 minutes and storefront settings at most every 5 minutes.
  • Legacy pull: Brother POS runs a sync cycle on your Polling Interval (default 15 minutes, minimum 5). Each cycle imports new orders and pushes stock.
  • Change detection: after you first run Check for Changes Now, it repeats every hour.

To run things by hand, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration and use Sync Now, Push Now or Check for Changes Now. In plugin mode, use Sync all products from BrotherPOS now in the plugin.

Which system is the "source of truth" for products?

Brother POS. After the initial import, Brother POS stops pulling product changes from WooCommerce. Create and edit products in Brother POS and let them flow out to WooCommerce. With plugin version 1.7.21 or newer, products you deactivate or delete in Brother POS are set to draft in WooCommerce on the next catalog pull.

If your Sync direction is Plugin push / pull, edits made directly in WooCommerce are still sent back and change the Brother POS product, and trashing a linked product in WooCommerce deactivates it in Brother POS. That's another reason to make all product changes in Brother POS. On Legacy pull, those edits are ignored.

Online orders flow from WooCommerce into Brother POS in both modes.

Why are my products not appearing in WooCommerce?

Common causes:

  1. The category has WooCommerce sync turned off. Check the WooCommerce Sync toggle on the Categories page.
  2. The product is inactive. Inactive products aren't sent to WooCommerce. With plugin version 1.7.21 or newer, one already on your website is set to draft.
  3. The sync hasn't run yet. In plugin mode, click Sync all products from BrotherPOS now in the plugin.
  4. The plugin isn't connected. Check the plugin's Diagnostics page for the ingest URL and shared secret. If they aren't set, see Connecting the Plugin.
  5. The product isn't sent to WooCommerce at all. Products marked Don't sync to WooCommerce, combos with choice slots, build-your-own platters and buckets stay off your website.

See Sync Issues for more.

Why is my WooCommerce stock different from Brother POS?

This usually happens when:

  • An in-store sale happened, but the next stock update (plugin pull or legacy push) hasn't run yet.
  • An online order hasn't reached Brother POS yet.
  • Someone edited stock directly in WooCommerce (not recommended).
  • Your Brother POS plugin is older than version 1.7.20. Older versions could send WooCommerce's stock back over your Brother POS stock after a catalog pull, or take an online order off stock twice. Update the plugin.

To fix it on legacy pull, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration and click Push Now on the Inventory Push card. To have changes made directly in WooCommerce reverted automatically, tick Auto-correct Unauthorized Changes in Edit Settings. It is off by default.

What is the WooCommerce Health Monitor?

A page showing the health of your WooCommerce sync. Open it from Settings > WooCommerce Monitor. It shows:

  • An overall status: Healthy, Warning, Error or Disabled
  • Counts of total, successful and failed syncs (all time, last 24 hours, last 7 days)
  • The 10 most recent sync logs, with records processed and failed
  • Your main sync settings

It does not show a per-product sync status. See WooCommerce Health Monitor.

Does freebie campaign sync work with WooCommerce?

Yes, for Freebie Threshold campaigns ("Spend $100, get a free pre-roll") that have WooCommerce sync turned on. Your website then shows shoppers messages about the offer: what they qualify for and how much more they need to spend. See Freebie Sync.

B2B & Wholesale​

What is the B2B wholesale feature?

B2B wholesale lets distributors and retailers connect and order from each other in Brother POS. It includes:

  • Secure, encrypted messaging between connected businesses
  • Wholesale catalog sharing
  • Wholesale ordering
  • Invoicing
  • A wholesale portal where customers can browse and order

It's an optional feature that has to be switched on for your store. See B2B Overview.

How does B2B encryption work?

B2B messages are end-to-end encrypted. They pass through a relay service that can't read them, because it never has the keys to unlock them. See B2B Overview.

How do I connect with a distributor?

There are two ways:

  • Distributor Directory: find the distributor on the Distributor Connections page (Browse directory) and send a connection request.
  • Pairing code: the distributor creates a 6-character pairing code and gives it to you, and you enter it to request the connection.

Once connected, you can see their wholesale catalog and place orders. See Pairing for the full steps.

Is B2B available for all stores?

No. B2B features have to be switched on for your store, and each store is set up as a distributor, a retailer, or both. Contact Brother POS support if you need them. See Pairing for the settings involved.

General Integration Questions​

Do integrations work in offline mode?

No. Integrations need an internet connection to talk to outside services such as WooCommerce or the B2B relay. Anything that depends on them waits until the connection is back.

How do I disconnect an integration?

For WooCommerce, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration > Edit Settings, untick Enable WooCommerce Integration, and click Save Settings. Your settings are kept, so you can switch it back on later.

For a B2B distributor connection, go to Distributor Connections and click Disconnect on the connection.

Will disconnecting an integration delete my data?

No. Turning off the WooCommerce integration stops syncing, but products, orders, customers and other records already in Brother POS stay where they are.

How do I know if an integration is having problems?

Signs of trouble include:

  • Products not appearing or updating on your website
  • Online orders not showing up in Brother POS
  • Stock counts drifting apart between systems

For WooCommerce, check Settings > WooCommerce Monitor and, on your WordPress site, the plugin's BrotherPOS Diagnostics page. See Sync Issues.