Please skip this resource if you do not plan to connect any external integrations to your Finale account.
In order to take advantage of the many integration functions Finale offers, you first need to establish a connection to the platform.
Here is a comprehensive list of all integrations offered by Finale: integrations. Please keep in mind that if something that you use isn’t on this list, Finale does offer the ability to build a custom API connection on our open API.
After connecting your integrations, Finale recommends that you do not turn on any integration task (pull sales, push stock levels, import products) or adjust settings to go live with data until your account is ready to handle the data being imported. This will help you avoid errors and unwanted data populating into your account.
These steps are usually performed towards the end of the onboarding phase. The primary reason in connecting your integrations early in the onboarding process is to confirm that Finale has those integrations available and to potentially import products directly from your marketplace.
This article will define the integration basics and data flow and explain how to connect your integration to your Finale account.
Integrations allow you to make connections between your marketplaces, shopping carts, shipping platforms, and various other platforms with Finale. In a very simplistic overview, Finale is pulling sales from your platforms in order to make stock reservations. Then, Finale can push those stock updates back to all your platforms.
These tasks are defined later in the onboarding process in the following resources: pull sales from the marketplace(s) and push stock levels to marketplace(s).
There are two connection path workflows that the user can explore:
- Direct Connection with Marketplace & Finale
- Connection with Marketplace, Shipping Platform, & Finale (Most Popular Choice)
Integration Map for Direct Connection with Marketplace & Finale
The image above defines the data flow and workflow the user can expect by making a direct connection with the marketplace and Finale. This workflow is mostly used when you have a third party shipping platform that Finale doesn’t integrate with by default. Finale looks to your marketplace for the order and fulfillment status in this workflow.
Another use-case would be a marketplace that holds a specific segment of orders not found in ShipStation (shipping platform), like Amazon FBA or Walmart WFS. You would need to pull sales for these specific sources from the marketplace since the orders do not exist in ShipStation, or your shipping platform, in this example.
Integration Map for Connection with Marketplace, Shipping Platform, & Finale
The other configuration option available to users is through your shipping management software. If your company uses ShipStation, or another platform, to fulfill orders, you can add Finale Inventory to your shipping management and marketplace(s). Finale Inventory will keep track of your available stock without interfering with the shipping processes you already know and love.
This is also useful if you have a marketplace that doesn’t integrate with Finale by default, but it does integrate with ShipStation. Finale can still pull the sales from ShipStation to record the stock reservations.
This is the most-used workflow by Finale users, because it allows users to take advantage of all the Finale features in addition to ShipStation’s features.
Please note that the user making the connection must have the necessary permission level to add the 3rd party application. Most platforms associate this access level with the account holder or respective IT manager.
Most integrations follow a similar authorization path to connect.
First, let’s navigate to the integrations tab of your Finale account. You will be greeted with a series of integration options, similar to what you see below.
After selecting to add the integration, there will be a series of instructions provided to authorize Finale with the platform. In this example, we will use the Shopify integration.
The instructions from the integration page offer a step-by-step tutorial. The first step is to add the URL for your Shopify store. Then, you will need to select authorize to begin the connection.
For other integrations that may have additional steps, Finale provides a checklist for your convenience on the integration page.
After selecting “authorize” in the original example, you will be redirected to the management screen of your 3rd party application. At this point, you will be provided with a summary of the information shared or the option to modify that access level granted. Details regarding the specifics of what data is shared can be found using the links provided on the authorization screen.
Upon approval you will be redirected to Finale to further configure the different tasks that Finale now has the necessary access to execute. More information for these tasks can be found later in the onboarding process.
For questions, feedback, or article ideas, email service@finaleinventory.com.
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.