Frequently Asked Questions¶
General¶
What is Emersoft Books?¶
Emersoft Books is a Shopify app that connects your store to Ingram Content Group's catalog, automated Consumer Direct Fulfillment (CDF Lite), and Pubnet EDI purchasing. It lets you search Ingram's full catalog, import books as Shopify products, and fulfill customer orders automatically — all from inside Shopify Admin.
Who is this app for?¶
The app is used by independent bookshops, online-only booksellers, authors, small publishers, and TikTok Shop book sellers. See the home page for a breakdown of use cases by store type.
Is Emersoft Books on the Shopify App Store?¶
Yes. You can install it directly from the Shopify App Store. After installation, the Emersoft team reaches out to schedule your assisted onboarding session — all plans include this.
Does the app work outside the US?¶
Yes. Ingram ships internationally. Prices can be converted from USD to your store's currency at import.
Catalog & Importing¶
I imported a book but it's not showing on my store — why?¶
Books are imported as draft products and are not added to any sales channel automatically. To make a book visible on your storefront:
- Go to Shopify Admin > Products and open the product.
- Change the status from Draft to Active.
- Under Sales channels, add it to your Online Store.
- Save.
See Import a Single Book for a full walkthrough.
How many books can I import?¶
The Author / Starter plan supports up to 20 books. Growth and Omnichannel Pro plans have no import limit. See Plans & Pricing.
What information is included when I import a book?¶
Each import includes: title, author, description, cover image, ISBN, publisher, publication date, price, cost, BISAC subject tags, audience type, and awards where available. See Import a Single Book for the full field list.
What format are the BISAC subject tags in?¶
BISAC subject tags include a level number prefix so you can tell where each subject sits in the hierarchy. For example, a book classified as Fiction | Romance | Romantic Comedy gets three tags: 1:Fiction, 2:Romance, and 3:Romantic Comedy. This makes it straightforward to build Shopify Smart Collections or filters by broad genre, sub-genre, or specific category. See BISAC subject tags for more detail.
Are imported books set as taxable in Shopify?¶
Yes — books are imported with Shopify's Charge tax setting enabled by default. If books are tax-exempt in your region, you will need to uncheck this on each product manually after a single import. For bulk imports, the Emersoft team can disable tax on all products in the job — let them know when setting up the import.
Does the app know my specific Ingram discount?¶
Not automatically. The cost price populated at import is based on Ingram's standard wholesale pricing data — it does not reflect your account-specific discount tier. If you have a negotiated discount with Ingram, you can apply it using a custom cost rule in Bulk Import (e.g. "Ingram price minus 10%"), which adjusts the cost across your entire import batch.
When using the Pubnet EDI purchase orders, the cost can be updated from your actual Pubnet order data, which will reflect your negotiated supplier pricing rather than the Ingram standard wholesale value.
Can I import a book that isn't in my physical store?¶
Yes. You can import any in-print title from Ingram's catalog regardless of whether you stock it. CDF Lite fulfillment means the order ships from Ingram directly to your customer.
Can I sell pre-order titles before they are published?¶
Yes. Ingram accepts backorders on upcoming titles. When you import a pre-order, customers can purchase it immediately and Ingram ships as soon as the book is available. If the product shows as "Sold Out" on your storefront before the release date, enable Continue selling when out of stock on the product in Shopify Admin. See Import a Single Book for details.
Will my product data stay up to date?¶
Yes. Prices, descriptions, cover images, and availability update automatically via Ingram's feed. Publication dates for pre-orders update on publication day.
What happens to a product if I edit it manually?¶
Manually edited fields are not overwritten by sync. If you want to reset a field to Ingram's latest data, run a Bulk Import job in Create and update mode with only that field selected.
Fulfillment¶
How do I know my CDF Lite account is working correctly?¶
The best way is to place a test buy — import a book, publish it to your Online Store, go through your own storefront checkout using your own shipping address, and complete the order. Ingram will ship the book to you. If the fulfillment fails or no tracking arrives within a couple of business days, contact support — the Emersoft team can check the logs.
Common reasons a test buy fails: the Ingram account is not yet fully activated, or a payment method has not been added to the Ingram account. Both are quick fixes once identified.
A book shows out of stock at Ingram — can I still sell it?¶
Yes. Ingram accepts backorders on in-print titles. When a customer orders a book that is temporarily out of stock at Ingram, the order is held as a backorder and fulfilled as soon as stock is restored. The app updates the Shopify order with tracking when Ingram ships, and Shopify notifies your customer automatically — no manual action needed.
To keep selling an out-of-stock book, enable Continue selling when out of stock on the product in Shopify Admin so it doesn't show as unavailable on your storefront.
By default, Ingram holds backorders for up to 90 days. You can adjust this in the CDF Lite Settings.
Do I need to do anything when a customer places an order?¶
No. Orders for Ingram-fulfilled products are dispatched automatically. Tracking syncs back to the Shopify order. You only need to act if a fulfillment fails (you will receive an email notification).
What if a title goes out of stock at Ingram after a customer orders it?¶
The app will flag the fulfillment as failed and notify you by email. You will need to contact the customer directly. See Ingram CDF Lite for more detail on failure handling.
Can I use Emersoft Books without selling through Ingram?¶
The catalog import and metadata sync features work independently of fulfillment. You can import books and manage them yourself without using CDF Lite. However, CDF Lite is what makes automated fulfillment possible.
Pubnet Purchase Orders¶
Do I need a Pubnet account to use the app?¶
Only if you want to use the purchase order features. Pubnet EDI is part of the Omnichannel Pro plan. Catalog search, importing, and fulfillment do not require a Pubnet account.
Can I submit POs to any publisher?¶
You can submit POs to any publisher or distributor that participates in the Pubnet EDI network. The app includes a built-in list of all supported Pubnet suppliers — browse and select them in Settings > Providers > Pubnet > Suppliers. You must also have an established trading relationship with each supplier under your SAN before orders can be accepted. For general Pubnet guidance, visit info.pubnet.org/support/for-booksellers.
What is a SAN?¶
A Standard Address Number (SAN) is a seven-digit identifier used across the book trade to uniquely identify publishers, distributors, and booksellers. You need a Bill to SAN for your business (as the buyer) and a Ship to SAN for each physical store location you are ordering stock for — Pubnet treats each location as a separate account. See Pubnet Setup & Credentials for details.
I operate multiple store locations. Do I need separate SANs for each?¶
Yes. Pubnet treats each physical location as a separate account, with its own SAN and its own trading relationship with each supplier. Each location that will place or receive orders needs its own Ship to SAN entered in Settings > Providers > Pubnet. See Pubnet Setup & Credentials.
I submitted a PO but it hasn't been accepted yet — what should I do?¶
Most publishers respond within one business day. If 48 hours have passed with no response, contact support — the Emersoft team can check the EDI transmission logs to confirm whether the order was delivered to the publisher's Pubnet mailbox. You can also check the PO's activity log in the app for a record of all transmission events.
What does "Accepted" status mean on a PO?¶
Accepted means the publisher has sent back their EDI 855 response. This does not necessarily mean every item was confirmed as ordered — open the PO to see the full breakdown: items accepted (with ordered vs. confirmed quantities), items backordered, and any items rejected or cancelled with reasons.
Can I add a book to a PO that isn't in my Shopify store yet?¶
Not directly. POs are built from products already in your Shopify catalog. If a title you want to order is not yet imported, go to the catalog search view, find the book, import it to your store, and then add it to the PO. See Import a Single Book.
What if not all items on a PO arrive at the same time?¶
This is handled naturally by the shipment-by-shipment receiving flow. Once a PO is in Shipped status, each delivery from the publisher appears as a separate shipment on the PO — you receive each one as it arrives. The PO stays open until all shipments are confirmed. If the quantity in a specific delivery is short, enter what you actually received in the overlay and the discrepancy is recorded. See Receiving a Shipment for the full process.
Does receiving a shipment update my Shopify inventory?¶
Yes — immediately. When you confirm receipt, Shopify inventory increases at the destination location by exactly the quantities you confirmed. The update applies within seconds.
Plans & Billing¶
What is included in assisted onboarding?¶
Onboarding covers: verifying your CDF Lite credentials are connected and working, setting up shipping rates for the GetBooks Stock Management location, installing the Shopify Flow workflow for pre-order management, configuring the Book Details Widget on your product pages, and completing your initial catalog setup. Growth and Pro plans also include a concierge catalog build — the Emersoft team can build your initial catalog for you. See pricing.
I have multiple physical store locations in Shopify — how does that affect pricing?¶
Every plan includes one physical POS location. If your Shopify store has more than one physical POS location connected, each additional location is charged at $100 / month.
This is because Emersoft Books is an Ingram data reseller, and under Ingram's licensing terms, each physical store location is treated as a separate account accessing the catalog data — even when they share a single Shopify instance. Get in touch before subscribing so the Emersoft team can confirm the correct total for your setup.
Can I change plans?¶
Yes. Contact the Emersoft team to discuss upgrading or downgrading. Upgrades take effect immediately.
Have a question not answered here? Get in touch with support.