Clarity Connect integration
FreshBooks Shopify Integration
Get Shopify sales into FreshBooks without re-keying them, as an invoice per order or as income entries, whichever your accountant prefers.
What moves between Shopify and FreshBooks
FreshBooks is accounting software with a JSON API that apps reach through OAuth2. A Shopify sale can land in it two ways. As an invoice, it creates or updates the FreshBooks client and records the payment against it. As Other Income, which FreshBooks provides for money that doesn't need an invoice and names Shopify as an example source, it records the amount, date and taxes without a client record.
FreshBooks
Where the books are kept
- Clients
- Invoices and payments
- Other income
- Expenses
- Credit notes
Shopify
Where orders and payouts start
- Orders
- Customers
- Refunds
- Shopify Payments payouts
Shopify to FreshBooks record mapping
A starting map. Discovery confirms which records you want and how often they post.
| Shopify | FreshBooks | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Invoice, or Other Income entry | Shopify to FreshBooks |
| Customer | Client (invoice route only) | Shopify to FreshBooks |
| Product variant | Item | Shopify to FreshBooks |
| Order payment | Payment against the invoice | Shopify to FreshBooks |
| Refund | Credit note | Shopify to FreshBooks |
| Payout fees | Expense | Shopify to FreshBooks |
How the sync works
Invoice per order, or income per sale
Invoices suit stores selling to repeat business customers who need a FreshBooks client record. Other Income, with the online sales category, suits high-volume consumer sales where a client per shopper would clutter the books. Connect can post each order as it's placed or roll a day's sales into one entry.
Payouts and fees that reconcile
Shopify Payments pays out in batches, and each payout in Shopify's API carries a summary of charges, refunds, adjustments and fees. Connect can post the fees to FreshBooks as an expense, so gross sales minus fees matches the deposit that reaches your bank.
Refunds as credit notes
A refund issued in Shopify becomes a FreshBooks credit note for that client, or is netted off the Other Income entry if the sale was booked that way, so revenue in FreshBooks drops by the same amount.
See Clarity Connect move an order
Watch an online order travel into the ERP and its status come back in our Clarity Connect demo, or book a live walkthrough on your own systems.
What the FreshBooks API involves
A FreshBooks user authorises the integration once, and Connect then works with an OAuth2 access token scoped to that FreshBooks account. FreshBooks webhooks, which it calls callbacks, have to be verified before they start and are signed with an HMAC header; each one carries the ID of the changed record, which Connect then reads through the API.
Callbacks let changes made in FreshBooks, such as an edited client or a recorded payment, come back to Shopify where that's useful. On the Shopify side, Connect uses the GraphQL Admin API, which Shopify now builds its new features into.
How Clarity Connect runs it
Clarity Connect is Clarity's integration platform. It keeps a persistent, two-way connection between Shopify and FreshBooks and runs each flow as a task, either as it happens or on a schedule. Over 3,000 integrations have been built on it, and you can watch more of them in our video playlist.
Discovery
A Clarity business analyst documents the data fields and workflows each system can share and which ones you need.
Tasks and mapping
Each flow becomes a Connect task, such as orders to the ERP or stock to the store, set to run in real time or on a schedule.
Testing
Orders and updates are run end to end, including the return trip of statuses back to the customer-facing system.
Live, with a dashboard
Queues and scheduled tasks show in Connect's Hangfire dashboard. A job whose target is offline is retried 10 times, every 30 minutes, and can be re-queued once the cause is fixed.
Clarity Connect is sold as a SaaS subscription at $599 a month or as a one-time license at $15,000 with no ongoing fees, and larger projects are priced to scope. See pricing.
Questions
Should Shopify orders be invoices or Other Income in FreshBooks?
Invoices if your buyers are businesses that need a client record and statement; Other Income if you sell to consumers in volume. Your accountant usually decides, and Connect can do either.
Will FreshBooks match my Shopify Payments deposits?
It can. Connect records each payout's fees as an expense, so sales less fees equals the amount Shopify deposits.
Do refunds sync?
Yes. A Shopify refund becomes a FreshBooks credit note, or is netted off the income entry if the sale was booked as Other Income.
What does a FreshBooks Shopify integration cost?
Clarity Connect costs $599 a month on SaaS, or $15,000 once for a license with no ongoing fees. Bigger scopes are quoted separately. See pricing.
Related resources
Connect Shopify and FreshBooks
Tell us how you want Shopify sales to appear in FreshBooks. A Clarity business analyst will agree the records and timing with you and your accountant before anything is built.
Book a demo