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Integrations FAQ

Admin Manager

Common questions about connecting Brother POS with WooCommerce and the B2B wholesale system.

WooCommerce Integration​

What does the WooCommerce integration do?

The WooCommerce integration synchronizes your Brother POS product catalog with your WooCommerce online store. It supports:

  • Two-way product sync -- products created or updated in Brother POS appear in WooCommerce, and vice versa.
  • Order sync -- online orders from WooCommerce are pulled into Brother POS for fulfillment.
  • Inventory push -- stock levels from Brother POS are pushed to WooCommerce to prevent overselling.
  • Freebie campaign sync -- freebie promotions created in Brother POS are replicated in WooCommerce.
  • Tiered pricing sync -- quality tier pricing maps to WooCommerce quantity-based pricing.

See WooCommerce Setup for configuration instructions.

How do I connect WooCommerce to Brother POS?
  1. Go to Admin > Settings and click the WooCommerce Integration link.
  2. Enter your WooCommerce store URL (e.g., https://myshop.com).
  3. Enter your WooCommerce REST API Consumer Key and Consumer Secret. Generate these in your WordPress admin under WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > REST API.
  4. Ensure the API key has Read/Write permissions.
  5. Click Save and then Test Connection to verify.

See WooCommerce Setup for a detailed walkthrough.

How often does WooCommerce sync run?

Sync runs automatically on a schedule via background jobs. The frequency depends on the sync type:

  • Product sync -- runs periodically to catch changes on either side.
  • Order sync -- runs frequently to pull in new online orders.
  • Inventory push -- triggers whenever stock changes in Brother POS (sale, return, adjustment).

You can also trigger a manual sync at any time from Admin > Integrations > WooCommerce.

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

Brother POS is the recommended source of truth. Create and manage your products in Brother POS and let them sync outward to WooCommerce. While two-way sync is supported, making changes in both systems simultaneously can lead to conflicts.

Establish a workflow where product data flows Brother POS to WooCommerce for catalog management, and WooCommerce to Brother POS for online orders.

Why are my products not appearing in WooCommerce?

Common causes:

  1. The product is not marked for sync. Check the product's settings in Brother POS to ensure WooCommerce sync is enabled.
  2. The sync has not run yet. Trigger a manual sync from the WooCommerce integration page.
  3. The product failed validation in WooCommerce. Products missing required fields (like a description) may be rejected. Check the sync health monitor for errors.
  4. The product was set to "Draft" in WooCommerce. It synced but is not published. Check the product's status in your WordPress admin.

See Sync Issues for detailed troubleshooting.

Why is my WooCommerce inventory different from Brother POS?

Inventory discrepancies between the two systems can happen when:

  • An online order was placed on WooCommerce but has not been pulled into Brother POS yet.
  • A sale was made in Brother POS but the inventory push to WooCommerce has not run yet.
  • Manual inventory adjustments were made in WooCommerce directly (this is not recommended).

To fix: trigger a manual inventory push from Admin > Integrations > WooCommerce > Inventory Sync. Enable auto-correction in the Health Monitor to prevent future discrepancies.

What is the WooCommerce Health Monitor?

The Health Monitor is a dashboard that tracks the status of your WooCommerce integration. It shows:

  • Last successful sync timestamp
  • Number of products in sync vs. out of sync
  • Error details from recent sync attempts
  • Auto-correction status (automatically fixes inventory and pricing discrepancies)

Check the Health Monitor regularly to catch issues early. See WooCommerce Health Monitor.

Does freebie campaign sync work with WooCommerce?

Yes. When you create a freebie campaign in Brother POS (e.g., "Spend $100, get free rolling papers"), it can be synced to WooCommerce as a coupon or promotional rule. The sync maps Brother POS freebie logic to WooCommerce's native promotional system. See Freebie Sync.

B2B & Wholesale​

What is the B2B wholesale feature?

The B2B wholesale system enables secure communication and ordering between distributors and retailers. It includes:

  • Encrypted messaging between paired businesses
  • Wholesale catalog sharing
  • Purchase order creation and management
  • Invoicing
  • A wholesale portal for customers to browse and order

This feature is optional and controlled by feature flags. See B2B Overview.

How does B2B encryption work?

All B2B communication is end-to-end encrypted. Messages are routed through a secure relay server that cannot read your messages because it never has the decryption keys. Private keys never leave your device. See B2B Overview.

How do I connect with a distributor?
  1. Go to Admin > Integrations > Wholesale.
  2. The distributor generates a 6-character pairing code in their Brother POS system.
  3. The distributor shares this code with you (the retailer).
  4. Enter the distributor's pairing code in your Brother POS under B2B > Distributor Connections > New Connection to establish the connection.
  5. Once paired, you can receive their wholesale catalog and place orders.

The pairing process establishes the encrypted communication channel between both parties. See Pairing.

Is B2B available for all stores?

No. B2B wholesale features are controlled by feature flags and must be enabled for your store. The relevant flags are:

  • Distributor Ordering -- for placing orders from distributors
  • Wholesale Receiving -- for receiving wholesale shipments
  • Wholesale Portal -- for providing a customer-facing wholesale portal
  • Retailer Connections -- for establishing retailer-distributor connections

Contact your admin or Brother POS support to enable these features.

General Integration Questions​

Do integrations work in offline mode?

No. All integrations require an active internet connection because they communicate with external services (WooCommerce, the B2B messaging service, etc.). If the POS is offline, integration-dependent features will not work until the connection is restored.

How do I disconnect an integration?

For WooCommerce, go to Settings > WooCommerce Integration and toggle the Enabled switch to off. For B2B wholesale connections, go to B2B > Distributor Connections (or Retailer Connections) and click Disconnect on the connection. Disconnecting stops all sync operations but does not delete any data from Brother POS. Products, orders, and other data that was previously synced remain in the system.

Will disconnecting an integration delete my data?

No. Disconnecting an integration stops the sync process but all data that was previously imported or synced remains in Brother POS. Products, orders, customers, and other records are preserved. If you reconnect later, the sync will resume and reconcile any changes made during the disconnected period.

How do I know if an integration is having problems?

Signs of integration issues include:

  • Products not appearing or updating in the external platform
  • Online orders not showing up in Brother POS
  • Inventory counts diverging between systems
  • Error messages in the integration dashboard

Check Admin > Integrations for each platform's status. The WooCommerce Health Monitor is especially useful for proactive monitoring. See Sync Issues for troubleshooting.