Getting started

Connecting your supplier catalogue

Where supplier credentials go, what a sync writes, the nightly refresh, and why CSV import is the path today.

5 min read ·

Full guide: https://docs.printersfriend.com/integrations/suppliers

Supplier catalogue sync is coming. This article describes how it works once it is switched on; nothing on this page is available in your workspace until then.

Every supplier's range comes into your workspace through the CSV catalogue import today. One API adapter exists, for AS Colour, and it is planned rather than shipped: it has not been verified against a real trade account, so treat the card as the place your token will go once it is.

Connecting

Open Integrations and fill in the AS Colour card with your trade account API token, then press Test connection. Sync now on the same card queues a catalogue sync; without a token or on a plan without live supplier sync it is refused with the reason.

Secrets are stored per shop and masked once saved, so a teammate opening the page later sees that the connection exists without being able to read the key back out.

What a sync writes

The sync pulls the supplier's catalogue and creates or updates your own Brand, Style, Colourway, Size and SKU records. It is an upsert: running it again refreshes what changed and does not duplicate what already matched. Products appear under Inventory.

It runs in the background as a queued job with a 10 minute ceiling, so a large catalogue keeps importing while you carry on working. The wizard and the Integrations page both tell you the sync has started rather than blocking on it.

The nightly refresh

Connected suppliers re-sync automatically at 04:30 Australia/Sydney time. Overlapping runs are prevented, so a long sync will not collide with the next night's.

Plan gate

Live catalogue sync requires a paid plan. On trial the sync is refused rather than half-run, and the message tells you so instead of leaving you watching an import that never arrives. You can still build inventory by hand, or by CSV import, on any plan.

Every supplier, by CSV

Every supplier comes in by CSV, and so does AS Colour until the adapter is verified. That import is the same shape as an adapter writes, so a spreadsheet-sourced catalogue behaves identically once loaded: quotes, stock movements and purchase orders do not care where a SKU came from.

If products have not appeared a few minutes after a sync, check the credentials first. A wrong token is reported as "not connected" rather than failing loudly, because the common case is a shop that has not finished signing up with the supplier yet.

Still stuck?

Email hello@printersfriend.com and quote the name of this page. Support is on every plan, with a reply within 1 business day.

Read next

Importing your customer list → Inviting your team → From first quote to first order → All help topics →