Sync Troubleshooting - Fix Stale Data

Sync Troubleshooting

Sync troubleshooting helps you diagnose and resolve issues when your MerchantFlow data looks stale, incomplete, or a sync request fails. Use this checklist to identify the root cause and apply the correct fix.

First Checks

1. Confirm the workspace is not still in demo mode
2. Confirm onboarding and billing approval are complete for the live workspace
3. Open the Live indicator and check the current state
4. Review Settings > Integrations for provider health and the Audit Logs panel on that page
5. Confirm the expected property, account, or site is still selected after any reconnect

How to Fix a Job Queued for a Long Time

• Wait briefly in case workers are busy
• Refresh the status view
• Avoid submitting duplicate full syncs unless the previous request has cleared - a second request while one is running is rejected with "Sync already in progress"

If the queue clears and the same request never begins, review integration health before retrying.

How to Fix a Failed Sync Job

Common causes include:

• disconnected or partially configured integrations
• switching accounts without reconfiguring the selected property or ad account
• provider-side permission changes
• expired or revoked OAuth credentials
• trying to sync after trial or subscription access expired

The health message shown next to the integration tells you which category applies. For example, an expired token reads "Authentication expired. Please reconnect your account to continue syncing." and a missing connection reads "Integration setup incomplete. Please complete the connection in Settings."

Run a targeted sync after fixing the connection. See Connect Integrations for reconnection steps.

How to Fix a Single Stale Provider

Open Settings > Integrations, click Manual Sync Runner, and rerun that provider only. The scope selector lists every provider you have connected, which can include:

• Google Services
• Shopify Store
• WooCommerce
• Meta Ads
• Snapchat Ads
• TikTok Ads
• Pinterest
• Klaviyo
• Speedfulfill, CJ Dropshipping, Gooten, Printful

Pinterest and Printful are behind default-off feature flags, so those two scopes only appear for workspaces MerchantFlow has enabled them for.

See Selective Sync for details on provider-specific syncs.

How to Fix Incomplete Data After a Successful Sync

Check whether:

• the correct GA4 property, site, merchant account, or ad account was selected
• the provider itself has reporting lag
• the workspace recently changed integrations and needs a Full History sync rather than a Normal one

Examples:

• a Google reconnect without re-saving the property or site can leave the wrong resource selected
• Search Console can lag behind real-time store activity
• a commerce platform swap usually needs more than a quick incremental refresh

When to Contact Support

Contact [email protected] if:

• the same job remains stuck after multiple attempts
• a provider reconnects successfully but never resumes syncing
• you need help identifying whether the issue is account setup or platform latency
• the billing state looks correct but sync requests still say subscription access is blocked

When you contact support, include:

• workspace name or owner email
• which provider is failing
• the last successful sync time if known
• the exact error message or health warning you see in the UI

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my sync keep failing after I reconnect an integration?

After reconnecting, you must re-select the correct property, site, or ad account. A Google reconnect that does not re-save the GA4 property or Search Console site can leave the wrong resource selected, causing the sync to fail.

How long should I wait before assuming a sync is stuck?

Wait at least 5 minutes for a Normal sync. A Full History sync has no fixed ceiling -- a first import for a large store can legitimately run for hours, and MerchantFlow will not interrupt it as long as it keeps making progress.

What MerchantFlow does enforce is silence, not duration. A run that stops making progress is abandoned after 45 minutes of no activity for a normal sync, or 2 hours for a full-history sync; each piece of completed work resets that clock. Separately, a run whose worker died is marked failed with "Sync timed out after 30 minutes" the next time a sync is triggered.

So the practical rule: if the progress indicator is still moving, let it run. If it has not moved for the better part of an hour, review the integration health panel for error messages.

Can provider-side outages cause sync failures in MerchantFlow?

Yes. If Google, Shopify, Meta, or another platform experiences an outage or rate-limits API requests, MerchantFlow sync jobs may fail or return partial data. These issues typically resolve when the provider recovers.

Does MerchantFlow automatically retry failed syncs?

Yes, at two levels. Individual queued sync jobs are retried with exponential backoff starting at five seconds, up to five attempts by default; the recurring scheduled sync uses one bounded retry because it fires again 30 minutes later anyway. Beyond that, the next scheduled cycle picks the work up again. If the underlying issue persists (such as a revoked OAuth token), the retry will also fail until you fix the root cause.

Related Pages

• Connect Integrations - Integration setup
• Google Analytics - GA4 configuration
• Search Console - Search Console setup
• Shopify - Shopify connection
• WooCommerce - WooCommerce connection
• Sync Overview - Background sync model
• Manual Sync - On-demand sync
• Sync Status - Job state reference
• Incorrect Metrics - Data discrepancy fixes
• No Data Showing - Empty dashboard resolution

---

Last updated: September 16, 2026