Fishbowl 2026.3: the MySQL 8.4 upgrade path, REST API shipments, and QuickBooks/Xero export fixes

Fishbowl shipped version 2026.3 (26.3). The headline this time is a date, not a feature: MySQL 8.0 reaches end of life in April 2026, and this release opens the official upgrade path to MySQL 8.4.

The MySQL clock is ticking (but not loudly yet)

Oracle stops patching MySQL 8.0 in April. Fishbowl will keep supporting it until the September 2026 release, so nothing breaks today; the standard auto-update keeps your 8.0 installation as-is. But the migration is now officially supported and it’s better done on your schedule than under deadline:

Windows, Fishbowl-installed MySQL: run the full 26.3 installer (not auto-update) over your existing installation and it upgrades MySQL 8.0 → 8.4 automatically.
Manually-installed MySQL (any OS) or macOS/Linux: upgrade MySQL to 8.4 yourself first, then install Fishbowl 2026.3.

Plan for it before the September release makes it mandatory.

What’s new

REST API shipment management. GET /api/shipments/:id retrieves a shipment, POST /api/shipments/:id/pack moves it from Entered to Packed with proper status validation, and shipment search returns paginated results with access-rights checks. Shipping automations that previously needed the legacy API can start moving over.
REST API payment and product search. Both now support paginated, filtered search.
Level 2/3-style payment data, automatically. Fishbowl Payments now sends line items, PO numbers, tax, and shipping detail with each transaction, the detail that qualifies B2B transactions for lower card processing rates. There’s nothing to configure.
Kit item type flexibility. A new Sales Order module option allows changing kit item types (Sale, Credit Return, Drop Ship) after they’re on an order. Off by default.
“Never notify or update automatically.” A new server auto-update setting, and we’re glad to see it. Fishbowl has historically pushed updates with pop-ups, and people click OK on pop-ups. That’s how servers get updated when they weren’t supposed to be, and how outages happen. Small shops often don’t update until something breaks or they need a feature; larger operations have change management teams and don’t want surprises. Now both can turn the nagging off and update on their own schedule.
eBay plugin is Java 21 compatible again. It had been broken since the 2026.1 platform change.

Fixes worth noting

Two accounting export fixes that will end recurring headaches:

QuickBooks Online can create currencies again. Exports involving a currency that didn’t yet exist in QBO were failing with the cryptic “Operation could not find resource for entity companycurrency” error. Fishbowl now creates the currency as part of the export, the way it used to.
Xero part-cost journals work with class tracking. With categories enabled, part cost changes were exporting as journal entries with no class assigned and dying on a null error.

Also notable:

Vendor costs stay put when “Update vendor cost on issue” is unchecked. Multi-currency POs could previously overwrite vendor last costs for both home and foreign currencies just by changing a conversion rate.
BOMs with notes can be deleted from partially fulfilled Manufacturing Orders without a call to support.
CloverConnect terminal processing keeps working after outdated port numbers were removed from the integration URLs.

If you’d like help planning the MySQL migration or putting the shipment API to work, get in touch.