Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Shopify integration

What moves between them

Orders flow from Shopify into Microsoft Dynamics NAV. ml-connector reads Shopify orders via GraphQL webhook push and direct API pull, creates matching sales orders in NAV with customer, line items, and amounts. Customer records sync in both directions so NAV customer master reflects Shopify billing and shipping profiles. After each order is posted in NAV, ml-connector posts the revenue GL entry to the sales GL account, mapped to the correct dimension if applicable. Shopify has no GL ledger, so GL entries flow one way only, into NAV.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores both OAuth tokens encrypted and uses Shopify's GraphQL API endpoint with offline tokens that do not expire, reducing renewal overhead. For Microsoft Dynamics NAV, it detects whether the customer uses Business Central online or on-premises, assembles the correct base URL and tenant ID, and authenticates with OAuth 2.0 via Entra ID. It subscribes to Shopify webhooks for orders/create and orders/updated, and also polls the Shopify GraphQL API on a daily schedule to catch orders that webhook delivery may have missed (webhook guarantees are eventual, not immediate). For each order, it maps Shopify line items to NAV sales order lines, looks up or creates the customer in NAV if needed, and constructs a sales order document. After the sales order is posted, it polls NAV to wait for the GL entry to be posted, then mirrors it back via the audit trail for replay. NAV webhook subscriptions expire after 3 days, so ml-connector does not rely on NAV webhooks; instead it polls NAV sales orders on the same daily schedule. The integration stores webhook IDs for deduplication so a retransmitted Shopify webhook does not create duplicate orders.

A real-world example

A mid-sized retail wholesaler runs Shopify for their B2B e-commerce site and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Business Central for order fulfillment and accounting. Orders come in 24/7 from distributors and franchisees, and before the integration the operations team manually keyed each order into NAV once per day, a process that introduced typos and held up picking by a day. Revenue was posted to a suspense GL account and manually reclassified during close. With Shopify and NAV connected, orders flow into NAV within minutes of checkout, line items are mapped to inventory, and the revenue GL entry posts automatically. The accounting team sees real-time revenue on the dashboard, and operations starts picking orders immediately without waiting for the daily batch entry.

What you can do

• •Create Microsoft Dynamics NAV sales orders automatically from Shopify orders, with items, quantities, and customer details mapped from Shopify.
• •Keep NAV customer records in sync with Shopify customers, including billing and shipping address updates.
• •Post revenue GL entries to the correct sales GL account in NAV after each order is confirmed, with optional dimension allocation.
• •Bridge Shopify GraphQL webhooks with NAV OData API, handle token expiry and renewal, poll for missed events, and deduplicate via Shopify webhook ID.
• •Replay orders from the audit trail if a downstream GL post fails, with full error context and recovery steps.

Questions

Does ml-connector handle the different auth models between Shopify and Microsoft Dynamics NAV?

Yes. Shopify uses OAuth 2.0 with long-lived offline tokens (prefix shpat_) that do not expire. NAV uses OAuth 2.0 via Microsoft Entra ID for Business Central online, or OAuth 2.0 or basic auth with a web service access key for on-premises. ml-connector stores all credentials encrypted and detects the NAV deployment type to select the correct auth flow.

Why does ml-connector poll if Shopify webhooks are available?

Shopify webhook delivery is eventual and can be delayed or lost in rare cases. ml-connector subscribes to webhooks for real-time push, but also polls the Shopify GraphQL API on a daily schedule to catch any orders that webhooks may have missed. Webhook IDs enable deduplication so a retransmitted event does not create duplicate orders.

Can ml-connector handle on-premises Microsoft Dynamics NAV?

Yes. For on-premises NAV, ml-connector accepts the instance URL and port (default OData port 7048) and authenticates with OAuth 2.0 or basic auth as configured by the NAV administrator. The integration works the same way; the only difference is that the customer must ensure OData is enabled in NAV Server Administration and port 7048 is open through the firewall.