INV3NTORY + ShopMate
ShopMate is one of the most widely used EPOS systems in UK convenience retail — built specifically for the sector, trusted in thousands of stores. Because it runs locally on Windows rather than the cloud, connecting it to stock management software requires a slightly different approach to Square or Zettle. INV3NTORY has that approach: a lightweight background agent that runs silently on your till PC.
Once set up, the agent watches the CSV export that ShopMate produces automatically, detects any changes, and syncs your product catalogue to INV3NTORY — typically within 15 minutes of any update. On top of that live catalogue, INV3NTORY adds everything ShopMate's own stock module doesn't cover: deliveries scanned in by barcode, waste tracked with reasons, per-product margins, low-stock alerts, and a plain-English morning briefing.
How the connection works
- Configure ShopMate's auto-export — In ShopMate, set up a scheduled product export to a folder on your till PC. Our onboarding guide walks you through the exact menu — it takes about two minutes.
- Download and run the sync agent — From your INV3NTORY onboarding page, download a personalised config file and the small agent .exe. Double-click it once on the till PC — it asks for the export path and then runs silently in the background from then on.
- Your catalogue syncs automatically — The agent detects file changes every 15 minutes and uploads any updates to INV3NTORY. Products, prices, and barcodes stay in step without any manual effort.
What stays in sync
- Product catalogue and stock levels sync from ShopMate's export file automatically
- Changes in ShopMate appear in INV3NTORY within 15 minutes
- The agent starts itself every time Windows boots — no maintenance needed
- All 60+ ShopMate column formats auto-detected — no manual mapping
- Full sync log written to file so you can check what happened and when
Common questions
Why is ShopMate connected differently to Square or Zettle?
Square, Zettle, and Lightspeed are cloud platforms that can send data to INV3NTORY over the internet via webhooks. ShopMate runs locally on a Windows PC with no cloud API, so INV3NTORY uses a small background agent that reads the CSV file ShopMate already exports — then uploads it automatically.
How often does stock update?
The agent checks for file changes every 15 minutes. If ShopMate has written a new export, the changes appear in INV3NTORY shortly after. The update frequency ultimately depends on how often ShopMate writes its export — our onboarding guide shows you how to set that to the minimum your version supports.
Does anything need to stay running for it to work?
The agent registers itself with Windows Task Scheduler on first run, so it starts automatically every time the PC boots. You don't need to think about it again — it runs silently in the background.
Will it affect ShopMate's performance?
No. The agent is read-only — it never writes to ShopMate or its database. It simply reads the CSV file ShopMate has already produced. CPU and memory usage are negligible.
What if my ShopMate export path is different from the default?
The setup wizard shows you the most common ShopMate export paths and lets you confirm or change yours. If you're not sure, do one manual export from ShopMate, right-click the file, and choose Properties to see the full path.