Connecting an External ERP or Inventory System

What This Integration Does

If you manage your catalog in an external ERP or inventory-management system, a catalog integration keeps your Cartly store in sync automatically — products, stock levels, prices, images, and product options grouped into proper Cartly variants. Orders placed in your store flow the other way, exporting back to your external system.

Connecting Your System

1. Go to Apps, find your catalog integration under Inventory, and click Install
2. Enter the credentials for your external system when prompted
3. Click Test Connection to confirm Cartly can reach your system
4. Open the integration's configuration page to choose what syncs and how

Choosing Which Fields Sync

You control exactly which catalog fields the integration is allowed to update on an already-imported product. Available toggles include:

• Name and Description
• Images
• SKU / Barcode
• Weight
• Custom attributes (mapped to Cartly metafields — see below)

Stock and price are always kept in sync. Fields you leave off are never overwritten by the sync, so you can safely combine data managed in Cartly with data managed in your external system.

Mapping Price Lists

Most ERP and inventory systems support multiple price lists (for example, a retail list and a wholesale list). In your integration's configuration, map the price lists you want to use to Cartly's three price fields:

• Price — the selling price shown to customers
• Compare-at price — the original price, shown struck through when a product is on sale
• Cost — your cost of goods, used for margin reporting (see Tracking Product Cost (COGS))

Mapping Custom Attributes to Metafields

If your external system stores custom product attributes (material, care instructions, certifications, and so on), map each attribute to a Cartly metafield. Enable attribute syncing, then for each attribute choose the target metafield namespace, key, and type. Mapped attributes update automatically on every sync.

Matching Existing Products on First Import

If your Cartly store already has products before you connect the integration, choose how the first import matches them to avoid creating duplicates:

• By SKU — matches products whose SKU is identical in both systems
• By barcode — matches products whose barcode (UPC/EAN/ISBN) is identical in both systems

You can enable one or both matching rules. Products that do not match an existing SKU or barcode are created as new products.

Product Options and Variants

When your external system organizes a product into modifications or SKUs that differ by attribute (color, size, and so on), the integration groups them into a single Cartly product with proper options and variants — the same option/variant model used by the Options Builder.

Order Export

Orders placed and paid in your Cartly store are exported back to your external system automatically, including applicable tax. You can choose whether export happens as soon as an order is placed, or only once it is paid, depending on how your external system handles unpaid orders.

How Updates Arrive: Webhooks Plus a Safety Net

Changes in your external system are pushed to Cartly in real time via webhooks, so your catalog reflects updates within moments. As a safety net, a scheduled background sync also runs periodically and reconciles anything a webhook might have missed — so your catalog and your external system never drift apart for long, even after a temporary outage on either side.

Monitoring the Sync

Each sync run is logged with its result. Open the integration's detail page to see recent sync history, including any items that failed to sync and why, so you can correct the underlying data at the source and re-run the sync.