Eatsy Orders
Troubleshooting

Menu items not syncing from Shift4: diagnosis and fix

When Shift4 menu items don't appear in Eatsy or show wrong prices, here's the systematic way to find and fix the cause.

Last updated: 6 min read

You updated a price (or added a new item) in Shift4 and it didn't show up in Eatsy. Here's how to diagnose and fix.

Quick checks (try these first)

  1. Wait 5 minutes, then check again

    Shift4-to-Eatsy sync runs every 60 seconds for active changes. New menu items occasionally take longer if Shift4's API is under load. If less than 5 minutes have passed, just wait.

  2. Force a manual resync

    In admin.eatsyorders.com, go to Account → Settings → Integrations → Shift4 and tap "Resync menu now." This bypasses the 60-second poll and pulls fresh data immediately. Takes 30-90 seconds.

  3. Confirm the change is live in Shift4

    Sometimes the issue is that a menu update was saved as a draft in Shift4 but never published. Open the Shift4 menu manager and confirm the change is in the active (live) menu, not a draft.

Most common fix

Manual resync solves about 70% of sync issues. If it didn't work, continue below.

Diagnose the root cause

Hypothesis 1: Shift4 modifier groups not mapped

The single most common Shift4 sync issue: a new menu item references a modifier group (like "Salsa choice" or "Spice level") that hasn't been mapped in Eatsy yet. The item gets pulled but the modifiers don't appear, so the item is hidden until configured.

How to verify. Check the menu sync log in Eatsy (Account → Settings → Integrations → Shift4 → Sync log). Look for warnings like "Modifier group X not mapped — item Y hidden."

How to fix. In admin.eatsyorders.com → Menu management → Modifiers, find the unmapped group, set its display name and price overrides for online channels, save. Item appears within 60 seconds.

Hypothesis 2: Item is marked POS-only in Shift4

Shift4 lets you mark items as POS-only (in-restaurant ordering only, never online). These items are deliberately excluded from Eatsy syncs.

How to verify. In Shift4, open the item's properties and check the "Channels" or "Visibility" field. If "Online ordering" is unchecked, that's why.

How to fix. Check the box. Resync.

Hypothesis 3: Pricing tier mismatch

If you use Shift4's pricing tiers (different prices for different times or menus), Eatsy needs to know which tier corresponds to your online menu. If unmapped, items either don't sync or sync at the wrong price.

How to verify. Account → Settings → Integrations → Shift4 → Pricing tier mapping. Check that your online menu tier is set.

How to fix. Select the appropriate Shift4 pricing tier for online ordering. Resync.

Hypothesis 4: Shift4 API rate limit

Rare but possible: if you've made hundreds of menu changes in rapid succession, Shift4's API may rate-limit syncs. Eatsy retries automatically with exponential backoff, but it can delay updates by up to an hour.

How to verify. Sync log shows "Shift4 API rate-limited, retrying in N minutes."

How to fix. Wait it out. If you're regularly hitting rate limits (changing menu items 100+ times a day), contact us so we can request a higher API quota for your account.

When to contact us

If you've tried all of the above and items still don't sync after 30 minutes, open a support ticket. Email support@eatsyorders.com or call +1-929-413-3080 and include the exact item name in Shift4, a screenshot of the Shift4 item configuration, and a screenshot of the Eatsy sync log.