Syncing from Square loses product categories

  • Resolved delahoc

    (@delahoc)


    11 months, 1 week ago

    I have a client with an ecommerce store synced to Square. Square is used as the SOR as they sell by POS and well as the website. On both Square and the website, each product has a product type category (eg, homewares, candles, etc). On both Square and the website I have a category called brand, and under that each brand is then a child category. We’ve gone to great pains to ensure that each category is written exactly the same in Woocommerce and Square.

    My problem is that when we sync products, Woocommerce loses the brand category, but keeps the product type category. If we manually add the brand category to each product on Woo (a laborious process), they are lost again with the next sync.

    We have to used Square are the SOR and update all products with each sync so that we ge tthe inventory numbers coming across correctly (not all are coming across correctly just yet, but that’s another story).

    Through experimentation we’ve discovered that it’s Square’s Reporting Category that is brought across – and you can only have one reporting category – and not the actual product categories, which can have multiple categories and is far more useful.

    How can I set things up so that each product retains the multiple categories we want for them, or at least copies across the two categories from Square?

    • This topic was modified 11 months, 1 week ago by delahoc.

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Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Plugin Support Shameem R. a11n

    (@shameemreza)

    HI @delahoc,

    Square only allows one category per product, while WooCommerce allows multiple categories. This is why you lose the “brand” category after syncing. Further information can be found here: https://woo.com/document/woocommerce-square/faq/#section-3

    Currently, there isn’t a built-in feature in the WooCommerce Square plugin to sync multiple categories from WooCommerce. However, I understand how important this feature is for your store’s operation.

    I recommend leaving a feature request on the WooCommerce Square Ideas Board here. Our developers regularly review this board for ideas when planning updates.

    In the meantime, you may need to update the categories in WooCommerce after each sync manually. We understand that this is not ideal and appreciate your understanding.

    Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions or concerns. We’re here to help.

    Thread Starter delahoc

    (@delahoc)

    ??

    Thanks for the reply. That is indeed disappointing. I’d point out, as I mentioned in my original question, that Square does, in fact, allow multiple categories – it’s only the “reportable categories” which is limited to one.

    As I was waiting to hear back I dove into the Woo/Square plugin code to see if there was some hook or filter I could tap into so I could code my own fix (eg, to filter the categories to include Square’s product categories, or to exclude categories from the update) but I found there were next to no hooks or filters!

    The addition of appropriate hooks and filters during the sync process may have allowed me to code my own fix.

    Plugin Support Shameem R. a11n

    (@shameemreza)

    Hi @delahoc,

    I understand your frustration regarding the category sync between WooCommerce and Square. As you’ve noted, Square does indeed allow multiple categories, but the WooCommerce Square plugin currently only supports syncing one category, which is the “reportable category” in Square.

    I can see how this limitation can affect the functionality of your online store, especially when you need to maintain multiple product categories. Your suggestion about including additional hooks and filters in the WooCommerce Square plugin is valuable.

    While we currently do not have a built-in solution for this issue, it would be great to have you add your ideas as a feature request, where developers look for future plugin features and improvements.

    We also recommend asking development questions on the #developers channel of the WooCommerce Community Slack. Many of our developers hang out there and will be able to offer insights into your query.

    In the meantime, unfortunately, the workaround would be to update the categories in WooCommerce after each sync manually. We understand this is not the most efficient process, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.

    I’m sorry I couldn’t immediately and effectively solve your issue. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any other questions or need further assistance. We’re here to help.

    Thread Starter delahoc

    (@delahoc)

    Hi, and thanks again for your reply.

    I intend to follow up with adding the feature requests as you’ve suggested.

    Updating the categories of scores of products after each automatic Square sync (so several times a day) is not practical, so my immediate fix was to turn off plugin updates for the Woo/Square plugin, then to comment out line 872 of the file plugins/woocommerce-square/includes/Sync/Product_Import.php so that categories in Woocommerce are not over-written at all. Then I can manage the categories in Woo without them being erased.

    Perhaps there’s another feature suggestion – turning on and off various elements of a product (like categories) from being updated from Square during sync.

    Now, I can turn my attention to why not all inventory levels are being updated from Square. ??

    Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!

    Plugin Support Zubair Zahid (woo-hc)

    (@doublezed2)

    Hello delahoc

    Thanks for your reply.

    We truly appreciate your valuable feedback and insights into how the WooCommerce Square plugin is working for you. Your initiative in suggesting improvements is invaluable to us.

    Please rest assured that once you submit a feature request, your suggestion will be recorded and processed through the appropriate channels. Customer feedback like yours is a cornerstone of how the WooCommerce Square plugin can evolve and better serve all users.

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

    Hi @delahoc, I tried to comment out ?line 872 and I the sync is still overwriting categories in WooCommerce from Square. Is there anything else I need to do?

    Hey, @mwnets!

    I understand you are facing a similar issue, right?

    We would love to help you check out what options are available on your case.

    Per WordPress forum guidelines, would you mind opening up a new thread for this so that we can keep things organized and offer more personalized support for you? We’ll be happy to help you out with this over there!

    Have a wonderful day!

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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