Automatic Rental Product Import

Setting Up Automatic Rental Product Import

Automatic Product Import adds newly created Shopify products to your Rental Products list for you, no manual importing required. Once it's enabled, any product you create in Shopify with your chosen Product Type is added to your rental catalogue automatically, using your store's default rental settings.

Before you start

- Pick a Shopify Product Type for your rentals. The workflow watches one Product Type (for example, `Dress Hire`). The type must already exist on at least one product in your Shopify store so it appears in the dropdown.
- Matching is exact. A product is only imported if its Product Type matches your chosen type exactly, including spelling and capitalisation. `Dress Hire` and `dress hire` are treated as different types.
- Only new products are imported. The workflow applies to products created *after* you enable it. Products that already exist in Shopify are not picked up, use Import Products to bulk-import those instead.

How to enable it

1. In the app, open Settings and scroll to the Automatic Product Import card.
2. Tick Enable automatic product imports.
3. Under Shopify Product Type, choose the product type you want to watch (for example, `Dress Hire`).
4. Click Save automatic import workflow.

The status line under the dropdown confirms your setup. When active, it reads:

> Enabled for new products with the exact type: Dress Hire

If it still says "Automatic product imports are disabled," the workflow hasn't been saved, check that the checkbox is ticked and a product type is selected, then save again.

How it works

From now on, whenever you create a product in Shopify:

1. Shopify notifies the app that a new product was created.
2. The app checks the product's Product Type against your saved type.
3. If it's an exact match, the product is added to Rental Products automatically.

Each auto-imported product starts with your store's default rental settings, duration mode and durations, stock method and inventory count, bond, cleaning fee, and calendar window. You can open any product in Rental Products afterwards and override these settings individually.

What is skipped

The workflow will not import a product when:

- Its Product Type doesn't exactly match your chosen type (or has no type set).
- It's already in your Rental Products list, duplicates are never created.
- It's one of the app's internal helper products (refundable rental bond, cleaning fee, insurance, or rental add-on items).

Tips

- Set the Product Type before saving the product in Shopify. The check runs when the product is first created, so make sure the type is filled in on the new-product form.
- Renamed your product type? Update the workflow to match: choose the new type in the dropdown and save the workflow again.
- Products created before enabling the workflow can be added in bulk with the Import Products tool on the same Settings page.
- Want to add rental duration options to the Shopify product too? After products are imported, use Add Duration Options to Shopify Products to add the Duration option to matching products.

Turning it off

Untick Enable automatic product imports and click Save automatic import workflow. New Shopify products will no longer be added automatically. Products that were already imported stay in your Rental Products list.

FAQ

I created a product but it didn't appear in Rental Products. Why?
Check that (1) the workflow is enabled and saved, (2) the product's Product Type exactly matches the saved type, including capitalisation, and (3) the product was created after you enabled the workflow. Products created before enabling must be imported with the Import Products tool.

Does this change anything on my Shopify products?
No. Automatic import only adds the product to the app's rental catalogue. Your Shopify product, its variants, and pricing are untouched.

What settings do auto-imported products get?
Your store-wide defaults from Settings (durations, inventory, bond, cleaning fee, etc.). You can override any of them per product afterwards.