Website Sync (POS to Online Store)

If VMX built and hosts your online store, your web catalog is not maintained separately — the POS pushes item changes to the website automatically. Edit an item, receive stock, or sell something at the register, and the website updates on its own — usually within moments, and rarely more than a few minutes. There is nothing to run and no "publish" button; the sync is a background service that watches for changes.

Availability

Website Sync applies to stores with a VMX-built online store. If VMX does not host your website (for example, you run your own WordPress or Shopify site), this page does not apply — your web team manages that catalog. Interested in a VMX-built online store? Contact help@vmxllc.com.

What information syncs to the website

Website Sync sends changed records from the POS to your online store. The sync covers:

• Item details — name, descriptions, size, variety, color, pricing, brand, and the web-specific overrides from the item's Website tab (Web Name, Web Size, full web description, and so on)
• Item images — every image attached to the item with Show on web checked, in your chosen sort order, including captions
• Quantities — on-hand quantity per store, along with the quantity reserved on work orders so reserved stock is not sold online
• Stock on order — quantities on placed purchase orders and their estimated delivery dates (see "Which purchase orders count as stock on order online" below)
• Departments, sub-departments, collections, and brands — including their web images, so the website's category structure follows the POS
• Item attributes — attribute definitions and each item's attribute values
• Related items — sells-with and cross-sell links between items
• Customer price levels — class-specific item pricing, so pricing rules set in the POS carry to the website
• Deleted items — items deleted or merged in the POS are removed from the website

Changes to any of these in the POS flow to the website automatically — you never edit the web catalog directly.

When an item appears on the website

An item is visible on your online store only when both of these are checked on the inventory item page:

1. Show item on web? — on the item's Website tab
2. Allow Selling? — in the item's Selling section

If either box is unchecked, the item syncs as hidden and does not appear in the online store.

The Website tab also carries web-specific overrides: Web Name, Web Variety, Web Color, and Web Size. Leave any of these blank and the website uses the item's regular value; fill one in and the website shows the override instead. See Item Website tab for editing the item's web content, and Item Attachments for managing images.

How item images get to the website

Website images come from the item's image attachments:

1. Open the item and go to the Attachments tab.
2. On each image you want online, check Show on web.
3. Use the Sort field to control the order — the image with the lowest sort number becomes the item's main image on the website; the rest appear as additional photos.
4. A Caption entered on the attachment is sent to the website with the image.

Images without Show on web checked never leave the POS. The same Show on web and sort rules apply to department, sub-department, collection, and brand images.

How quantities stay accurate online

The website receives each item's on-hand quantity per store, updated automatically as sales, receipts, and adjustments happen in the POS. Quantities reserved on work orders are sent alongside on-hand, so stock that is spoken for is excluded from what customers can buy online. When stock changes at the register, the updated quantity typically reaches the website within seconds to a couple of minutes — no manual refresh needed.

Which purchase orders count as stock on order online

Website Sync sends your online store the quantities you have on order, so the website can tell customers more stock is coming and when to expect it. A purchase order line counts as stock on order for the website only when all of these are true:

• The purchase order has been placed with the vendor. Orders you are still building, and orders that are only approved but not yet placed, are not sent to the website.
• The line has not been received yet. Once you receive a line, it stops counting as on order — the received quantity flows to the website as regular on-hand stock instead.
• The line is general stock. Quantities ordered for a specific customer (special orders) are excluded, since that stock is already spoken for.

The estimated delivery date on the purchase order is sent along with each quantity, so the website can show when the stock is expected to arrive.

How often the sync runs

Website Sync is incremental and continuous:

• When something changes (an item edit, a sale, a stock receipt), a sync is typically triggered within seconds.
• Even with no detected changes, a full check runs at least every few minutes.
• Only records that changed since the last successful sync are sent, so routine syncs are small and fast. Stores with very large catalogs are set up by VMX to sync in batches — no action is needed on your part.

The sync only advances after the website confirms it received the data, so a temporary outage never loses changes — they are sent on the next cycle.

Troubleshooting: website shows the wrong stock, price, or item details

If your online store is showing stale quantities, old prices, or an item that should (or should not) be visible:

1. Open the item in the POS and confirm the values there are correct — the website mirrors the POS, so fix the POS record first.
2. For a missing item, check that Show item on web? (on the Website tab) and Allow Selling? are both checked.
3. For a missing image, check that the image attachment has Show on web checked.
4. Wait a few minutes — normal sync delay is seconds, but larger updates can take a little longer.
5. If the website is still out of date after 15–30 minutes, the sync service may need attention — contact help@vmxllc.com with an example item so we can check it.