GrowFlow E-commerce: Your Guide to Getting Started

Welcome to GrowFlow E-commerce! This guide will walk you through setting up and managing your online store, from initial activation to customizing your product menus and understanding key operational details. Our goal is to help you establish a seamless and efficient online presence for your business.

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Introduction to GrowFlow E-commerce

Overview of E-commerce Capabilities

GrowFlow E-commerce provides a robust platform designed to empower your business in establishing its online storefront. This system facilitates comprehensive management of your product menus, efficient processing of pre-orders, and seamless integration with your existing inventory. The platform is engineered to deliver a fluid and intuitive customer experience, while providing you with powerful controls for your online operations.

Key Benefits

The GrowFlow E-commerce platform offers several key benefits aimed at optimizing your online retail operations. These include:

Streamlined menu management which simplifies the process of updating and organizing your product offerings.
Automated inventory synchronization ensures that product availability is consistently accurate, reducing manual effort and potential discrepancies.
Customizable branding options allow you to maintain your unique identity across your online store.

Furthermore, the platform offers integration with essential business operations, such as loyalty programs and delivery services, creating a cohesive and efficient ecosystem for managing your online presence.

Getting Started: Enabling Your E-commerce Store

To begin using GrowFlow E-commerce, you will first need to contact your GrowFlow Sales representative or our Support team. They will enable the "GrowFlow E-commerce" setting for your store within your account. Once this is done, you can proceed with configuring your online store.

I: Domain Name Configuration

To set up your e-commerce domain, enter your desired domain name into the "Domain Name" field located in Organization Settings > E-commerce. Your full domain will be Shop.YourwebsiteName.com. Please note that we will automatically append "shop." to any URL entered, so you should only have to input your website to proceed.

Important Note on Domain Changes: You can make changes to this domain name as many times as needed before it is verified. However, once your domain name has been successfully verified, any subsequent modifications will require assistance from GrowFlow Support. Please ensure your domain choice is final before verification.

II: DNS Setup Instructions: Adding your CNAME Record

To use your E-commerce URL, you need to add a Canonical Name (CNAME) record to your domain's DNS (Domain Name System) settings. This record acts as an alias, directing internet traffic from a chosen subdomain to the GrowFlow E-commerce platform

General CNAME Requirements: the CNAME record requires specific values for proper configuration:
- Host/Name: This refers to the subdomain prefix you choose for your e-commerce site, such as shop. This will form the initial part of your URL (e.g., shop.yourwebsite.com).
- Propagation Timeframes: DNS changes, including adding a CNAME record, can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to fully update across the internet. You can use the "Test DNS Status" button to check if your changes have been recognized by the system.

For a quick reference, the essential CNAME record details for GrowFlow E-commerce are summarized in the table below:

Table 1: CNAME Record Details for GrowFlow E-commerce

Field	Value/Instruction
Type	CNAME Record
Host/Name	`shop`
Value/Target	cname.vercel-dns.com
TTL	`3600 seconds` (or `1 hour`)

Step-by-step instructions for adding the CNAME records for popular providers can be found here.

III: Store-Specific General Settings

After configuring your organization's e-commerce settings, navigate to the Store Settings > General section to set up your store's specific preferences. This includes your location details, operating hours, delivery parameters, and global pre-order statuses.

Loyalty Program Configuration

You can configure various aspects of your loyalty program, including:

Earn Points When Points Spent on Order: Allows customers to earn loyalty points when they spend money on orders.
Earn Points On Tax: Option to include tax amounts in the calculation for earned loyalty points.
Referred Earn Points on Referral: Configure points awarded for customer referrals.
Points Per Dollar: Define how many loyalty points a customer earns for each dollar spent.
Points Per Referral: Specify the number of points awarded for a successful referral.
Allow GrowFlow E-commerce Loyalty Redemption: Enable customers to redeem their accumulated loyalty points directly through the GrowFlow E-commerce platform.
Loyalty Point Cash Value: Assign a monetary value to each loyalty point.

Delivery & Pickup Options

The platform provides flexible options for order fulfillment, visible in the Delivery Hours and Radius subsection.

Delivery Options:

You can define Specific Delivery hours in this section; however, if no hours are defined, you will see an error stating that you haven't added your hours of delivery.
- Multiple rows can be added to create delivery windows.

A "Delivery Radius" can be set, specifying the geographical area within which delivery services are offered

Pickup Options:

Pickup (In-Store): Allows customers to pick up their orders directly from your physical store location.

Curbside: Enables customers to have their orders brought out to their vehicle.

Drive-Thru: For locations with a drive-thru facility, this option facilitates order pickup via drive-thru.

Store Location & Hours

Accurate store information is essential for customer service and operational planning. Key details include:

Address, City, State, Zip Code: Standard geographical information for your store location.

Time Zone: The time zone for your store.

Store Hours: You can define daily operating hours, specifying opening and closing times for each day, with the ability to "Add Row" for multiple time slots or days.

Menus & Pre-orders Settings (Global)

These settings, found under the Store Settings > General tab, control global behaviors related to menus and pre-orders for your entire store.

Pre-orders Toggle: This global setting allows pre-orders to be created via GrowFlow Embedded Menus and 3rd Party integrations.

Menus Toggle: Controls the overall availability of menus.

GrowFlow E-commerce Toggle: This is the global switch for enabling or disabling the GrowFlow E-commerce functionality for your store.

Delivery (Beta) Toggle: An option for enabling beta delivery features.

IV: Organizational E-commerce Settings

This section, located in the organizational settings tab, contains vital configurations for the overall operation and appearance of the online store, specific to the menu you are configuring.

Menu URL Slug: This field requires a unique, short identifier (maximum 16 characters) for the e-commerce menu's specific URL on your domain

Your Menu URL: This displays the complete URL for the menu. The "Unverified" status indicates pending domain setup.

Accepted Payment Methods: You must select the payment methods that will be accepted for pre-orders.

Customer Interaction Settings: These settings allow for tailoring the customer experience and adhering to specific regulatory requirements:
- Require driver's license: When enabled, this mandates that customers submit a current driver's license number to place a pre-order.
- Send Text Alerts: This option allows customers to opt in to receive text (SMS) updates regarding their order status.
- Hide Store Address: For businesses operating solely on a delivery model, enabling this option prevents the display of a physical store address.
- Require Medical ID: For specific store types, such as Medical (Med) or Medical-Recreational (MedRec) dispensaries, this setting requires customers to input their medical identification number during the ordering process.

Brand Logo Upload: You can upload your brand logo, which will be prominently displayed on your e-commerce site.

E-commerce Announcements and Menu Callout

These features allow for dynamic communication with customers on your e-commerce site.

Create New Announcement: This functionality enables the creation and display of important messages or promotional content directly on your e-commerce site.

E-commerce Menu Callout: A rich text editor is provided for adding custom content or special messages directly onto the menu page.

V: Creating and Customizing Your E-commerce Menu

Once your organization and store-level settings are configured, you will navigate to the "Menus" section to set up what inventory will be sent to your e-commerce menu.

Creating a New Menu

To begin setting up an e-commerce menu, navigate to Menus section within your Store Settings and click the green "+" button in the top-right corner of the screen.

Basic Menu Information

Upon selecting to add a new menu, several fundamental details need to be configured:

Published Toggle: This switch controls the public visibility of the menu. While a menu can be configured and saved in a draft state, it must be set to "Published" for it to become live and accessible on your e-commerce site.

Menu Name: A descriptive name is required for internal identification purposes, such as "Main Store Menu" or "Daily Specials."

Menu Type: This field specifies the intended purpose and functionality of the menu.

Menu Key: This is an automatically generated unique identifier for the menu, exemplified. This field is typically system-generated and not editable by the user.

Configuring Menu-Specific Pre-orders and Auto-accept Pre-orders

The platform offers settings to manage pre-orders specifically for this menu:

Pre-orders Toggle: Enabling this option allows customers to place orders for products before they are immediately available or for future pickup/delivery.

Auto-accept New Pre-orders Toggle: When this setting is activated, new pre-orders are automatically moved from the "New / Accept" column directly to the "Unfulfilled" column.

Menu Settings

The "Menu Settings" section contains settings for product presentation and filtering on your e-commerce storefront.

Default Menu Group: This area governs the default display behavior of products on your online store.

Display Product As: You can choose how products are presented to customers. If a product has a specific "Menu Name" defined, that name will be used on the e-commerce site; otherwise, the main product name will be displayed.

Applying Filters:
- Inventory Qty. Is Above: This filter allows setting a minimum inventory quantity for products to appear on the menu.
- Add Filter: The option to "Add Filter" provides the capability to introduce additional criteria for controlling product visibility on the menu.

Add Featured Menu Group: This feature enables you to highlight specific product categories or groups on the menu.

Preview Button: A "Preview" button is available, allowing you to visualize how your configured menu will appear to customers before it is published and goes live.