Once your ShopMonkey account is connected, SalesThumb keeps a copy of your ShopMonkey parts list and refreshes it every night. You can also refresh it yourself at any time. This article covers keeping that parts copy current. For moving customers, vehicles, invoices, and appointments over, see How to migrate from ShopMonkey.
Connecting, syncing, and disconnecting are done by shop owners and admins by default. Other roles need the manage integrations permission added by the shop owner.
Where to find it
From the sidebar, open Settings, click Integrations, then click Connect (or Manage, once connected) on the ShopMonkey card.
Connecting for the first time
- In ShopMonkey, generate an API key under Settings → API → Generate key.
- On the SalesThumb ShopMonkey page, paste it into API key.
- Leave API base URL as it is unless ShopMonkey gave you a custom one.
- Click Test connection to check the key. You'll see "Key verified" if it works.
- Click Connect. SalesThumb checks the key again, saves it encrypted, and runs the first parts sync right away. The button reads Connecting + syncing… while that runs.
When it finishes, a message tells you how many parts were mirrored. The key is never shown again after you save it.
What the parts sync copies
For each part in ShopMonkey, SalesThumb keeps its SKU, name, description, vendor, category, unit cost, retail price, quantity on hand, quantity reserved, and status.
Each sync:
- Adds parts that are new in ShopMonkey.
- Updates parts that changed.
- Removes parts that are no longer in ShopMonkey. If any part fails to copy during a run, SalesThumb skips this cleanup step for that run so nothing is removed by mistake.
The sync only reads from ShopMonkey. It doesn't change anything in your ShopMonkey account. The parts copy is kept separately from your SalesThumb inventory catalog; syncing doesn't add or change items on your Inventory page.
The nightly sync
SalesThumb syncs parts for every connected shop automatically each night, around 3 a.m. Central. Near the bottom of the connected card, a line tells you when the nightly sync last ran for your shop, or that it's scheduled but hasn't run yet.
Syncing parts on demand
The connected card shows a Parts tile with the number of parts mirrored and when they were last synced. To refresh now, do either of these:
- Click Sync parts on the Parts tile.
- Open Advanced — run individual imports and click Sync inventory now.
When it finishes, you'll see a message like "Parts synced — [number] mirrored ([number] removed)." If it fails, the message starts with "Sync failed" and the error also shows in a red box on the card.
Import everything also refreshes parts first, then brings in customers, vehicles, invoices, estimates, upcoming appointments, and message history. It's safe to run more than once.
Only one import at a time
Only one ShopMonkey import can run for a shop at once, whether you started it, a teammate started it, or the nightly sync is running. While one is running, the card says "An import is running" and the import buttons are disabled. The page updates on its own when it finishes. If a run looks stuck, it's released automatically after 30 minutes.
Reading the sync history
The Recent activity list on the connected card shows each run: what was synced (for example Parts), how it started ((manual), (cron) for the nightly sync, or (initial) for the first sync when you connected), how long it took, and the counts.
If a sync keeps failing, open Advanced — run individual imports and click Run diagnostics to check what your ShopMonkey key can reach.
Disconnecting
Click Disconnect at the bottom of the card and confirm. SalesThumb deletes the saved key and stops syncing. The parts already copied stay as a read-only snapshot.
Related articles
Frequently asked questions
Q: How often does SalesThumb sync my ShopMonkey parts?
A: Every night, around 3 a.m. Central, for every connected shop. You can also click Sync parts on the Parts tile, or Sync inventory now under Advanced, to refresh at any time.
Q: Does the sync change anything in ShopMonkey?
A: No. It only reads your parts from ShopMonkey and updates the copy in SalesThumb.
Q: Will synced parts show up on my Inventory page?
A: No. The ShopMonkey parts copy is kept separately from your SalesThumb inventory catalog. Syncing doesn't add or change Inventory items.
Q: What happens to parts I delete in ShopMonkey?
A: The next sync removes them from the SalesThumb copy, as long as every part in that run copied cleanly. If any part failed, removal is skipped for that run.
Q: Why are the sync buttons greyed out?
A: Another ShopMonkey import is already running for your shop, possibly started by a teammate or the nightly sync. The page updates when it finishes, and a stuck run is released automatically after 30 minutes.