The double-entry problem
A new mug gets a title, a price, a description, and a photo. Someone builds it in Shopify because that is where the website lives. Someone else builds it again in Square because that is what the register sells. The second version is close, not identical. The photo is older. The price is last season’s. The title dropped a word.
On a slow week you fix it by eye. On a promo weekend the wrong price rings up in the store while the website shows the sale price, or the reverse. Staff argue about which screen is “real.” The customer just sees two stores that disagree.
CSV import feels like a fix the first time you push a batch from one side to the other. It is a snapshot. The next edit starts the drift again. Ongoing product sync is the job if both catalogs stay live. A one-time import is the job if you are leaving one system. Those are different projects. If you are keeping Square POS, read Keep Square POS and sell on Shopify.
Fields SquareFloww syncs
These fields sync between Shopify and Square.
| Field | Syncs between Shopify and Square |
|---|---|
| Title | Yes |
| Description | Yes |
| Price | Yes |
| Image | Yes |
Title is what staff and shoppers read. Description is the longer copy on the product. Price is the selling price you want on both the register and the website. Image is the photo attached to the item. Each variant syncs too, including its SKU and price.
You can sync the products you select. You can update ones that are already linked, or create new products on the other side. On the way into Shopify, Square categories can become tags, collections, or both. A product import or export can also copy stock for those items. Stock by location is covered in Sync Square inventory with Shopify.
Linking products
Sync only works on items the app can tell apart. Linking is that step.
Match by SKU
SKU is the better link when both systems already share a code. MUG-BLU-12 on Shopify should be MUG-BLU-12 on Square. Turn on auto-link and products that share a SKU connect on their own. When a name is the clearer match, title matching is ready. You can also create a new product on the other side and link it.
Match by title
Title matching is the fallback when SKUs were never maintained. It works when the name is unique and spelled the same way. “Ceramic Pour-Over, Matte Black” will not link to “Pour over black.” Fix the obvious twins first: size words, color words, and trailing spaces. If two different products share a title, give them SKUs instead of hoping the title match guesses right.
What to clean before the first sync
You do not need a perfect catalog. You need a catalog a person can audit in an hour.
- One SKU per sellable item, filled on both sides where you will match by SKU.
- One clear title where you will match by title.
- A decision about which photo is current, because image sync will follow the source of truth.
- A decision about which price is current, for the same reason.
- Archived or duplicate drafts removed, or at least not left with the same name as the live item.
Do this on a quiet afternoon. A first sync is easier to trust when you can name ten products and predict what they should look like afterward.
The store your team edits
The website lead may update a description in Shopify. The store lead may update a price in Square. Choose one store as home base before you sync, and keep that choice through the promotion.
Automatic product updates copy from that store to the other one. A sync you start yourself can run the other way when you want the second catalog to catch up.
Choose Shopify when the online team owns merchandising: titles, descriptions, photos, and web prices that the floor should follow.
Choose Square when the floor owns the selling price and the item name staff already say out loud. The website then follows the register, which is often less surprising for staff than the other way around.
Prices copy in the direction you choose. From your primary store, automatic updates carry the price to the other store. Spot-check after the first run: open five products in both admins and compare title, price, and image.
The same setting sits alongside location inventory. Read the product overview on Shopify Square integration if you want plans and all three sync types in one place.
Import vs ongoing sync
People say “import” when they mean two things.
A one-time import copies a catalog across and stops. It fits a move off Square Online onto Shopify, after which you might shut the old website down. Shopify’s migrate docs are about that kind of project.
Ongoing sync assumes both catalogs stay open. Automatic updates copy from the store you edit to the other one. You can use the first sync as the bring-up — the moment the thinner catalog catches up — and then leave that copy in place so the next price change on your primary store does not require another spreadsheet.
Manual sync on Starter means you decide when that update runs. Automatic sync on Growth and Pro means you are not the timer.
Directions merchants ask about
Square → Shopify
Use this direction when the register catalog is the one staff trust, and the Shopify store needs to catch up. Link by SKU or title, choose Square as the store you edit, and run sync. Titles, descriptions, prices, and images copy from Square to Shopify. This is how a shop that started on Square POS grows a Shopify storefront without retyping the wall of items.
Shopify → Square
Use this direction when the website catalog is ahead: better photos, cleaner titles, current prices. Choose Shopify as the store you edit so those updates copy to the POS. The floor then sells the same item the website shows.
Both directions live in one app. You choose which store automatic updates copy from, and you can run a sync the other way when you want the second catalog to catch up.
Plans and product caps
| Plan | Price | Product cap | Customer cap | Location pairs | Sync mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19/mo | 1,000 | 500 | 1 | Manual |
| Growth | $39/mo | 2,000 | 2,000 | 3 | Automatic |
| Pro | $79/mo | 10,000 | 10,000 | Unlimited | Automatic |
Count products against the cap before you promise a 3,000-item catalog on Growth. Starter stops at 1,000 products. Pro goes to 10,000. The trial is seven days on each plan, which is enough to link a sample and see whether SKU or title matching fits your catalog.
Related syncs
Product fields are not the stock count and not the customer record.
- Connect Square before the first sync: How to connect Square to Shopify
- On-hand quantities, per store: Sync Square inventory with Shopify
- Buyer profiles: Sync customers between Shopify and Square
- If you are still choosing a tool: Best Shopify Square integration apps