What Is the iVendNext Node for n8n?
Introduction
What Is the iVendNext Node for n8n?
The iVendNext Node for n8n is the official connector that links your iVendNext tenant to n8n — a visual workflow automation platform used by hundreds of thousands of teams worldwide. It lets you build automations that move data between iVendNext and other applications without writing code. Orders, stock levels, customers, prices, and any other document in iVendNext can flow in and out of automated workflows, triggered by events in real time or run on a schedule.
n8n works by letting you place boxes — called nodes — onto a canvas and join them with arrows. Each node does one job: read from a system, send a message, call an external service, or write data somewhere. The iVendNext Node is the box that represents your iVendNext tenant on that canvas. Once it is in a workflow, any data inside iVendNext is available to the automation.
The Two Nodes
The connector installs as two complementary nodes that serve different purposes:
| Node | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| iVendNext | Action | Reads from and writes to iVendNext on demand — create, retrieve, update, or delete any document |
| iVendNext Trigger | Trigger | Starts a workflow automatically the moment a chosen event occurs in iVendNext |
The Action Node is the operational arm. It executes when the workflow reaches it — reading a record, creating a document, updating a field, or removing a draft. It works on demand, whether the workflow was started by a schedule, another application, or the Trigger Node.
The Trigger Node is the listener. It registers a notification inside your iVendNext tenant and fires the workflow the instant a chosen event occurs — a new order is submitted, a stock figure changes, a customer record is updated. It requires no polling and introduces no delay.
Most complete automations use both: the Trigger Node detects the event and starts the chain; one or more Action Nodes then fetch additional data, transform it, and write results back to iVendNext or pass them to another system.
What You Can Build
The connector covers the integration scenarios that matter most in retail:
E-commerce synchronisation. Keep items, prices, and stock identical between iVendNext and an online store. Pull web orders into iVendNext as Sales Orders automatically. iVendNext is the system of record; the store stays in sync.
Shipping automation. When an order is submitted in iVendNext, push the shipment to a carrier, receive the tracking number back, and write it onto the order — without manual copying.
Customer experience. Trigger post-sale communications based on iVendNext events: order confirmations, loyalty notifications, or review requests, at exactly the right moment.
Operational alerts. Notify a manager via Slack or email when stock falls below a threshold, when a high-value order arrives, or when a document sits without action past a deadline.
AI assistants. Attach the iVendNext Node to an n8n AI Agent and connect a language model. The agent can then answer plain-language questions — "what sold best yesterday?", "is this item in stock?" — by reading live iVendNext data.
Key Concepts
Tenant — your dedicated iVendNext environment, reached at your own web address (for example, https://acme.ivendnext.com).
Document and Document Type (DocType) — everything stored in iVendNext is a document. A Sales Order is a document; a Customer is a document; an Item is a document. Documents of the same kind share a Document Type, referred to in the node as DocType — for example Sales Order, Customer, Item, or Sales Invoice.
Document Name — every document has a unique name that serves as its identifier. For a sales order it might be SAL-ORD-2026-00148; for a customer it might be the company name. You use the Document Name to fetch, update, or delete a specific record.
Workflow, Node, Execution — a workflow is the automation built on the n8n canvas. Each box is a node. Every time a workflow runs it is called an execution, and n8n logs each one in full.
Dynamic Field Loading
One of the most practical aspects of the connector is that it loads your DocType field lists live from your tenant at design time. When you select a Document Type in the Action Node, the node fetches that type's complete field list from your iVendNext instance. Required fields appear first; the list includes any custom DocTypes or custom fields you have defined.
This means the connector always reflects your actual data structure — not a generic template. A connector used on a fashion retailer's tenant shows that retailer's fields; a connector on a food distributor's tenant shows theirs.
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