Your product costs can flow in one of two directions. By default, Fabrikatör reads the cost per item from Shopify and uses it as the buying price. If you manage costs in Fabrikatör instead, you can turn that off, or let Fabrikatör write its costs into Shopify so Shopify's reports match yours.
Note: Costs only flow one way at a time. Pushing costs to Shopify switches off syncing costs from Shopify, so the two never overwrite each other in a loop.
Before you start
You need access to Settings in Fabrikatör.
Decide which system owns your costs: Shopify (keep the default) or Fabrikatör (turn sync off, and optionally turn push on).
If you plan to push costs, check your buying prices on Configure → Products. The cost Fabrikatör sends comes from them.
That's how it will look:
Your three options
Setting | Where the buying price comes from | What happens in Shopify |
Sync costs from Shopify on (default) | Cost per item in Shopify. The Buying price column on Configure → Products is read-only. | Nothing; Fabrikatör only reads. |
Both off | You edit it in Fabrikatör on Configure → Products. | Nothing; Shopify keeps its own cost per item. |
Push costs to Shopify on | You edit it in Fabrikatör on Configure → Products. | Fabrikatör writes cost per item for you. |
1. Manage buying prices in Fabrikatör
Go to Settings → Cost settings.
Turn off Sync costs from Shopify.
Click Save changes.
Go to Configure → Products and edit the Buying price of any variant.
From now on, changing cost per item in Shopify no longer changes your buying prices in Fabrikatör.
Tip: Saving a new purchase order sets the product's buying price to the unit price on that order. Editing an existing purchase order does not change the buying price.
2. Push costs to Shopify
Go to Settings → Cost settings.
Turn on Push costs to Shopify.
Under What to push, choose the cost Fabrikatör should send.
Under First write, choose what happens right now.
Click Turn on push. The setting is saved straight away.
Option | What it means | Best for |
Weighted average cost | The blended cost of the stock you hold. | Keeping Shopify's profit reports in line with Fabrikatör. |
Latest buying price | The buying price set on each product in Fabrikatör. | Stores whose other apps read this field as what you pay your supplier. |
Overwrite all of them now | Every product with a cost is written into Shopify now, replacing what is there. | A clean start where Shopify should match Fabrikatör today. |
Apply to future changes only | Nothing changes in Shopify until a product's cost moves. | Keeping today’s Shopify values until a product’s cost next changes. |
After this, Fabrikatör updates cost per item in Shopify on its own whenever the cost it sends changes: the weighted average cost after you receive a purchase order, or the buying price when it changes. The update usually reaches Shopify within a couple of minutes.
3. Change which cost is pushed
Go to Settings → Cost settings (push must be on).
Under What to push, click the other option.
In the Switch to … window, choose Overwrite all of them now or Apply to future changes only.
Click Apply. Click Cancel to keep the current option.
4. Stop pushing or go back to syncing
Go to Settings → Cost settings.
Turn off Push costs to Shopify and click Save changes. The costs already in Shopify stay as they are.
To let Shopify set your buying prices again, turn on Sync costs from Shopify and click Turn on sync.
Note: Turning sync back on makes cost per item in Shopify the source again and overwrites the buying prices you entered in Fabrikatör. Where cost per item is empty in Shopify, the buying price in Fabrikatör is cleared too. Existing purchase orders are not changed.
Good to know
Once a day: turning push on, and changing which cost it sends, can each be done once a day. Turning push off is always possible.
Sync is locked while push is on: turn off Push costs to Shopify and save first, then you can turn sync back on.
Products with no cost: products whose weighted average cost is 0 (for example because of negative stock) are not pushed. Shopify keeps their current cost per item.
Existing purchase orders: editing a buying price on Configure → Products doesn't change purchase orders you have already created. It works the other way too: editing the unit price on an existing purchase order doesn't change the buying price.
New purchase orders: the unit price is filled in from the buying price in Fabrikatör.
Frequently asked questions
I changed the cost in Shopify, but Fabrikatör still shows the old buying price. Sync costs from Shopify is probably off, or push is on. Check Settings → Cost settings.
I can't edit the Buying price column on Configure → Products. It is read-only while Sync costs from Shopify is on, because Shopify sets it. Turn sync off and save to edit it.
I can't turn Sync costs from Shopify back on. It is locked while push is on. Turn off Push costs to Shopify, click Save changes, then turn sync on.
I tried to turn on push and nothing happened. Turning push on and changing which cost it sends are each limited to once a day. Try again tomorrow.
I edited a buying price, but Shopify didn't change. With Weighted average cost, the pushed cost only moves when the stock you hold changes, so editing the buying price alone doesn’t change it. With Latest buying price, your edit is sent to Shopify within a couple of minutes.
I turned off push. Will my Shopify costs go back to what they were? No. Values already written stay in Shopify. Fabrikatör just stops updating them.
Will Overwrite all of them now change my purchase orders? No. It only writes cost per item in Shopify. Your purchase orders and their prices stay as they are.