Shopify for Pennylane
Connect Shopify to Pennylane and automate your sales documents
Connect your Shopify store to Pennylane to turn orders into sales documents automatically and process refunds.
You choose which workflows to enable, when they run, and the document status. Order Invoicer keeps each Shopify order linked to its Pennylane document.
Before you begin
You need:
- a Shopify account allowed to install apps;
- a Pennylane account with access to the company you want to connect;
- a Pennylane plan that supports direct connection, or help from your accounting firm.
See the Pennylane connection options if your company uses a Collaborative, Essential, or Premium plan.
Supported workflows
Orders into invoices
Each order is automatically converted into an invoice.
Orders into estimates
Convert your orders into estimates, with draft, validation and signing.
Orders into sales orders
Generate a sales order document for each store order.
Delivery notes
Issue a delivery note alongside each order.
Refunds into credit notes
Refunds automatically generate a credit note linked to the original invoice.
Customer sync
Customers are created or reconciled automatically by email.
Product sync
Products are matched to your catalog by reference, and created when missing.
Payment sync
Payments collected on your store are recorded against the document.
Invoices by email
Send finalized invoices to your customers by email automatically.
Install and configure the connector
Install the Shopify app
Open the following link, then choose the store where you want to install the connector.
Install from the Shopify App StoreThe app then appears under Apps and sales channels > Pennylane in your Shopify admin.
Connect Pennylane
After installation, you are redirected to the Pennylane connection step.
- Click Connect Pennylane.
- Allow Order Invoicer to access your account.
- Select the company to connect.
Your accounting firm can also complete this step through a secure link without an Order Invoicer account. See the Pennylane connection guide.
Configure workflows
Enable only the conversions you need. For each workflow, choose the conversion trigger and the available options.
Invoices can be created as drafts or finalized. You can also synchronize their payment status and send finalized documents by email.
Before finalizing invoices or credit notes, configure their numbering in Pennylane: without it, only the Draft status is available. Quotes and commercial documents need their numbering whatever the status.
The Accounting entries for orders workflow, in beta, records sales in a Pennylane journal without creating an invoice. See Accounting entries for orders.
Activate your Order Invoicer subscription
In Order Invoicer, start your trial and choose the subscription that matches your usage.
After the trial, Shopify bills your Order Invoicer subscription.
You can manage your subscription from Order Invoicer.
Verify the first conversion
Create or choose an order that meets the configured trigger. Shopify webhooks start processing it in real time; the document may take a few minutes to appear.
Then check:
- the order status in Order Invoicer;
- the customer, taxes, discounts, and shipping charges;
- the product SKU references;
- the resulting document in Pennylane.
Scheduled jobs regularly look for missed conversions. You can also resynchronize an order manually after a temporary outage.
What synchronizes, and when
| Shopify data | When | Result in Pennylane |
|---|---|---|
| Orders, line items, taxes, discounts, and shipping | When the workflow trigger is met | Enabled invoices, estimates, sales orders, or delivery notes |
| Orders | As soon as the order exists, one entry per order | Accounting entries when the beta workflow is enabled |
| Draft orders | According to the enabled workflow | Estimates or proformas |
| Refunds | In real time | Credit notes linked to the original invoice |
| Customers | During conversion | Creation or matching, including by email |
| Products | During conversion | Matching by SKU and creation according to your settings |
| Payment transactions | With the order and its updates | Invoice payment status, according to the selected mode |
| Shopify Payments payouts | Daily | Bank reconciliation of sales, refunds, fees, and adjustments |
The trigger controls when an order becomes a document: when placed, paid, fulfilled, or when a configured combination of these states is met.
Customer matching
During conversion, Order Invoicer looks for an existing Pennylane customer before creating one. Matching rules are configured separately for companies and individuals.
You can match by email, name, both, or either. For companies, a SIREN or SIRET also helps select the right record when available.
If no match is found, a customer is created unless you use a default customer. Shopify metadata keys can provide the VAT number, SIREN, and SIRET.
Product synchronization
During conversion, Order Invoicer looks up each item in Pennylane by its SKU reference and reuses the matching product.
If missing-product creation is enabled, a Pennylane product is created when the reference does not exist. Without an SKU, a product cannot be matched by reference.
Payments, reconciliation, and traceability
Payments and payouts
Order Invoicer retrieves the gateway, the payment method supplied by Shopify, and each transaction's amount, currency, status, and date.
This information remains visible on the order in Order Invoicer. Pennylane does not have a payment-method field on customer invoices.
The payment synchronization mode determines whether the invoice is marked as paid or whether the payment's transaction reference is added to it for bank reconciliation. A bank transfer entered as a manual payment in Shopify has no transaction reference.
Shopify Payments payouts are used for bank reconciliation in Pennylane.
Metadata and invoice downloads
Order Invoicer adds Shopify metafields that link the order to its generated documents. These include invoice_url, estimate_url, and creditnote_url.
See the metadata guide to find them in Shopify.
Add the invoice download block to your theme so customers can open invoices from their Shopify account.
To send finalized invoices automatically, configure the Pennylane email templates.
Accounting-firm access and ongoing configuration
With a Collaborative plan, your accounting firm can connect the company through the secure link you send them. They do not need an Order Invoicer account.
After connection, everyone with connector access uses the same settings in the Workflows and Accounting tabs.
You can change triggers, statuses, emails, payments, country templates, accounting rules, and matching criteria without reinstalling the app.
Frequently asked questions
Do Shopify draft orders synchronize?
Yes, if you enable Draft orders → Estimates or Draft orders → Proformas. They remain separate from completed orders.
When a draft order is completed in Shopify, Shopify creates a regular order that follows the workflows configured for orders.
Where do the Shopify order references appear?
On the Pennylane invoice, the Shopify PO number is synchronized as the purchase order number. The Shopify order identifier becomes the sales order number.
These references are separate from the sales-order document that the Orders → Sales orders workflow can create in Pennylane.
What is the difference between an invoice and an accounting entry?
An invoice is a customer-facing document. An accounting entry records the sale in a Pennylane journal, for now one entry per order; grouping by day or month is coming soon.
Choose the workflow that fits your accounting process with your accounting firm.
Are the invoices real Pennylane invoices?
Yes. Order Invoicer creates customer invoices in Pennylane's invoicing module, with its numbering and PDF: they are not mere accounting entries. A finalized invoice can be sent to your approved platform, see Sending to the PA.
How do I invoice only B2B orders?
Set Customers to invoice to Businesses only, or enter a tag such as B2B in Filter orders by tag. See Invoices from orders. To record sales to individuals as entries rather than invoices, see Accounting entries for orders.