# Shopstar — full agent context > Concatenated Markdown of Shopstar's core marketing pages and help center. For blog posts, see https://www.shopstar.io/blog.md and each post's `.md` URL. For the API, see https://www.shopstar.io/api/v1/openapi.json. --- # Shopstar — Sell anything from one simple page > Shopstar is the simplest way to start selling online. Create a page for physical products, digital downloads, bookings, memberships, or event tickets — no website build required. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io_ ## What Shopstar is Shopstar lets anyone with something to sell launch a beautiful, mobile-first selling page in minutes — no code, no website build, no separate hosting. You get a link you can share anywhere (Instagram bio, WhatsApp, TikTok), a full checkout, and the tools to manage orders, customers, and payouts. It is built for entrepreneurs, makers, creators, and small businesses, with first-class support for South African sellers (local payment methods and ZAR) and merchants expanding into the UK and beyond. ## What you can sell Shopstar supports five product types from the same page: - **Physical products** — anything you ship, with inventory, variants, and shipping rates. - **Digital products / downloads** — files, ebooks, templates, music, and more, delivered automatically after payment. - **Bookings & services** — appointments and time-slot bookings with availability and capacity. - **Memberships** — recurring subscriptions and gated member content. - **Event tickets** — sell and check in tickets for events, with capacity and tiers. ## Why sellers choose Shopstar - **Launch in minutes** — a page, not a website project. - **One link for everything** — sell products, downloads, bookings, memberships, and tickets side by side. - **Built-in payments and payouts** — accept cards and local payment methods; get paid out to your bank. - **AI store builder** — generate a store, product copy, and branding with AI. - **Agent-ready commerce** — your catalog is discoverable and buyable by AI shopping agents (see /agentic-commerce). - **Start free** — begin on a free plan and only pay more as you grow (see /pricing). ## Get started Create your page at https://www.shopstar.io — pick what you sell, add a product, connect payments, and share your link. --- # Shopstar Features — everything you need to sell online > Storefront, checkout, payments, inventory, bookings, memberships, tickets, digital delivery, AI tools, and analytics — all in one Shopstar page. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/features_ ## Sell any product type - **Physical products** — variants, inventory tracking, and configurable shipping rates with delivery estimates. - **Digital downloads** — automatic, secure delivery with download limits and expiry controls. - **Bookings & services** — calendar availability, time slots, capacity, and calendar sync. - **Memberships** — recurring billing, member-only content, pause/resume, and dunning. - **Event tickets** — ticket tiers, capacity holds, and check-in. ## Storefront & checkout - Mobile-first, conversion-focused storefront on a shareable link or your own custom domain. - Fast hosted checkout with idempotent order creation. - Discounts, promotions, and abandoned-cart recovery emails. ## Payments & payouts - Card and local payment methods; automatic payout splits and journaling. - Refunds and order management from one dashboard. ## AI built in - AI Studio generates a full store, layout, and branding. - AI writes product descriptions, SEO, and bios. - Browser-local free AI for quick copy. ## Grow & manage - Customers, orders, and fulfillment workflows. - Insights and sales analytics (by payment status, not just fulfillment). - Email notifications and branded transactional emails. See pricing at /pricing and the full API at /developers. --- # Shopstar Pricing — start free, pay as you grow > Start free and pay when you sell. Upgrade to lower fees once sales are steady. Built-in card payments, daily payouts, and no separate gateway setup. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/pricing_ Shopstar is designed so you can **start free** and move to lower fees as sales grow. ## Plans ### Start Free — Free Best when you are getting started. No monthly fee. We only earn when you sell. - No monthly fee - Standard 6% all-in rate (2.9% payment gateway rate + 3.1% Shopstar fee) - Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. - Built-in card payments - Automatic daily payouts ### Lower Fees — $29.00/month Best once sales are steady. Pay monthly and keep more of every sale. - Standard 2.9% payment gateway rate per sale - Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. - No Shopstar fee on sales - Priority support - Best for volume > $935.48/month ## Included on every plan - Products, downloads, bookings, memberships, and tickets - One simple sellable page - Built-in card payments - Automatic daily payouts - 2.9% payment gateway fee — no gateway account needed - Custom domain - Analytics dashboard - Inventory management - Order & fulfillment management - Customer management - Email notifications - Mobile-friendly storefront ## Common questions ### What fees do I pay per sale? The standard payment gateway rate is 2.9% per sale. On Start Free, Shopstar adds a 3.1% fee, making the standard all-in rate 6%. On Lower Fees, Shopstar adds nothing per sale, so the standard rate is 2.9%. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. ### Do I need a credit card to sign up? No. You can start on Start Free without a credit card. ### Can I change plans later? Yes. Start free, then switch to Lower Fees when your sales volume makes the monthly fee worthwhile. ### Which plan is right for me? If you sell more than $935.48/month, Lower Fees saves you money compared to Start Free. ### What payment methods do you support? Shopstar includes built-in card payments, so you do not need to open or connect a separate payment gateway account. Current region-specific pricing: https://www.shopstar.io/pricing --- # Agentic Commerce on Shopstar — sell to AI shopping agents > Shopstar makes every eligible store agent-ready: product feeds and checkout that AI shopping agents can discover and complete via open protocols (ACP/UCP). _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/agentic-commerce_ ## Commerce for the AI era Shoppers increasingly discover and buy through AI assistants. Shopstar makes your catalog **discoverable and buyable by AI shopping agents** — not just human browsers — using open agentic-commerce protocols. ## How it works - **Product feeds** expose your eligible catalog in a machine-readable format agents can read. - **Agentic checkout** lets an agent complete a purchase on a customer's behalf through a supported protocol flow. - **Merchant control** — eligibility is governed by your store's agentic settings; you decide which products participate. ## Protocols Shopstar implements agentic-commerce protocol surfaces (Agentic Commerce Protocol / Universal Commerce Protocol families) for feed and checkout. Protocol descriptors are published under the site's well-known endpoints, and the public API documents the relevant resources. ## Why it matters for sellers Being agent-ready means your products can surface as answers inside AI assistants — an emerging, fast-growing discovery channel — without extra work. Turn it on in your store settings. Developers: see /developers and the OpenAPI document at /api/v1/openapi.json. --- # Shopstar for Developers — API, MCP, and integrations > Build on Shopstar with the Merchant REST API (OpenAPI 3.1), MCP access, and agentic-commerce protocol endpoints. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/developers_ ## Build on Shopstar Shopstar exposes a public **Merchant API** for programmatic access to stores, products, orders, and more. ## API reference - Interactive API reference: https://www.shopstar.io/api-docs - OpenAPI 3.1 document (machine-readable): https://www.shopstar.io/api/v1/openapi.json - Auth: Bearer API keys and OAuth2 (scoped access). ## MCP Shopstar supports Model Context Protocol access so AI agents and tools can work with a merchant's data through a standard interface. - Server manifest: https://www.shopstar.io/.well-known/mcp.json (endpoint, transport, protocol versions, auth) - Transport: Streamable HTTP with Bearer OAuth access tokens only - OAuth metadata: https://www.shopstar.io/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server and https://www.shopstar.io/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource ## Agentic commerce Protocol descriptors and checkout surfaces are published for AI shopping agents — see /agentic-commerce and the site's `/.well-known/` endpoints (including UCP and OAuth authorization-server / protected-resource metadata). ## Getting started Create a store, generate an API key in your dashboard, and call the API described in the OpenAPI document above. --- # Shopstar Referral Programme > Refer sellers to Shopstar and earn 35% of what they pay us, for as long as they keep selling. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/referrals_ ## Refer a seller, earn 35% for life Anyone can join the Shopstar referral programme. Share your personal link or code; when a business signs up through it and starts selling on Shopstar, you earn 35% of the net revenue Shopstar makes from that store, every month, for as long as it sells. ## What counts - Platform subscription fees the referred store pays Shopstar. - Shopstar's transaction fee on the store's sales (payment-processor costs excluded). - Refunds reverse the matching share. ## How attribution works - Your link remembers the visitor for 90 days. The first referral link a visitor uses wins. - A referral code typed at signup always applies. - Self-referrals are not paid. ## Payouts - Payouts are made manually by the Shopstar team to the bank details on your referral profile. - There is no minimum payout. - Your dashboard shows unpaid, paid and lifetime commission per currency. Join at /signup?as=referrer. Existing merchants find their link under Refer & earn in the dashboard. --- # About Shopstar > Shopstar is on a mission to give anyone the simplest way to start, manage, and grow a successful online store. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/about_ ## Our mission Shopstar exists to give entrepreneurs, makers, and creators the simplest possible way to start, manage, and grow a successful online business — starting in South Africa and expanding internationally. ## What we believe Selling online should be as easy as sharing a link. You should not need a web developer, a separate hosting plan, or a month of setup to take your first order. One page should be able to sell anything — a product, a download, a booking, a membership, or a ticket. ## Who we serve From first-time side-hustlers to established small businesses, Shopstar powers thousands of stores across a wide range of categories, with tools that scale from your first sale to your thousandth. Learn more or start selling at https://www.shopstar.io. --- # Become a Shopstar Partner > Partner with Shopstar to offer branded commerce to your audience or clients, with your own storefronts and payouts. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/become-a-partner_ ## Partner with Shopstar The Shopstar partner programme lets agencies, communities, and platforms offer commerce to their own audiences and clients — with partner-branded experiences and revenue sharing. ## What partners get - Onboard and manage merchants under your partner account. - Partner-branded storefront and marketing surfaces (white-label options). - Revenue share on the stores you bring and support. ## Who it's for - Agencies building stores for clients. - Communities and creators enabling their members to sell. - Platforms that want embedded commerce. Apply or learn more at https://www.shopstar.io/become-a-partner. --- # Welcome to Shopstar > A friendly tour of what your page can do and where to start. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/getting-started/welcome-to-shopstar · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~3 min read_ We built Shopstar so anyone with something to sell can launch a beautiful, modern page in an afternoon — no design degree, no developer required. This short guide walks you through what's possible and where to go next. ## What you can sell Your page is built to handle the most common ways people sell online today. Pick one or combine all of them in a single storefront. - Physical products you ship to customers - Digital downloads delivered instantly after payment - Bookings for services, classes, or appointments - Event tickets with check-in at the door - Memberships and subscription plans ## How your page works Your page is the page customers visit to browse and buy. Your dashboard is where you add products, fulfill orders, manage customers, and watch your sales come in. The two stay in sync — change something in the dashboard and it shows up on your page in seconds. > **Built for South Africa and beyond** — You can accept payments through Stripe or Paystack, sell in your local currency, and ship anywhere you want to. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on your product and your customers. ## Where to start 1. **Work through your setup checklist** — Your dashboard shows a Setup checklist with six required items — store name, logo, payments, at least one product, shipping, and policies — plus the optional custom domain, and a progress bar so you know what is left. 2. **Add your first product** — Whether it is a physical item, a downloadable file, or a class you teach — start with one product and build from there. 3. **Customize your page** — Open Branding to upload your logo, set your brand colors, and tweak the look of your page so it feels like you. 4. **Share your page and make your first sale** — Send the link to friends, post it on social media, or run a small launch promotion to bring the first customers in. > **Tip: We're here if you get stuck** — Every page in this help center is written in plain language with step-by-step guides. If you cannot find what you need, the contact card at the bottom of any help page links you to our support team in one click. **Do I need any technical skills?** No. If you can use Instagram or write an email, you can run a Shopstar page. Most merchants launch in under an hour without ever touching code. **How long does it take to launch?** Most stores go live the same day they sign up. The setup checklist in your dashboard takes you through it step by step. **Can I change things later?** Yes. Your theme, branding, products, prices, and policies can all be updated at any time. Changes go live straight away. ## Related - [Launch checklist: from sign up to first sale](/help/getting-started/launch-checklist.md) - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) --- # Launch checklist: from sign up to first sale > The exact eleven steps to take your page from empty to open for business. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/getting-started/launch-checklist · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ A launch can feel overwhelming, so we have broken it into a short checklist. Tick them off in order and your page will be ready to take real orders by the end. ## The steps 1. **Name your page** — Pick a friendly store name. It shows up at the top of your page, in emails to customers, and on receipts. You can change it later if you change your mind. 2. **Upload your logo** — A square or wide PNG works best. If you do not have one yet, your page name in text looks great too. 3. **Set your brand colors** — One main color and an accent are usually enough. Use the brand colors that match your social media so customers recognize you. 4. **Pick a theme** — Themes change the layout and feel of your page. Browse, preview, and pick the one that fits your products best. 5. **Add your first product** — Start with your hero product. Once you can see one item in your page, the rest gets easier and faster. 6. **Set up payments** — Activate payments so customers can check out. Your page sets you up with Stripe or Paystack automatically based on the country on your profile — you just complete the guided flow. 7. **Add your page policies** — Refund, shipping, and privacy policies build trust. We provide friendly templates you can review and edit in a few minutes. 8. **Add shipping rates** — Tell your page where you ship and how much it costs. Create one or more Shipping Areas with flat rates or free-over-threshold rates, and add Collection Points if you offer pickup. 9. **Connect a custom domain (optional)** — Pointing your own domain at your page makes the URL match your brand. Skip if you are happy on your default Shopstar address — you can add it any time. 10. **Preview your page** — Click through your page like a customer would. Try the checkout, view the order confirmation page, and read the emails that get sent. 11. **Share the link** — Your page is reachable to anyone with the URL from day one. Share it with friends, post it on socials, and start telling customers it is open. > **Your dashboard tracks the essentials** — The Setup checklist on your merchant dashboard tracks six required items — store name, logo, connected payments, at least one product, shipping, and store policies — plus the optional custom domain. A percentage progress bar shows how far you have come. Brand colours, theme, and preview steps are not tracked there but matter just as much for a polished launch. **Do I have to finish every step before sharing my link?** No. You can start sharing as soon as you have a product, payments connected, and shipping set up. Everything else can be polished after. **What if I miss a step?** The dashboard's Setup checklist surfaces required items at the top with a progress bar. If something is missing — like payments or a policy — you'll see a friendly nudge to finish it. **How do I stop accepting orders if I need to pause?** Use Maintenance mode — go to Store > General, find the Store Availability section, turn the switch on, and click Save availability. Your store status changes to Offline and customers see a friendly message while you are paused. You can also set individual products to Draft or Archived from the Products list if you only want to hide specific items. ## Related - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) - [Connect a custom domain](/help/your-store/connect-custom-domain.md) - [Set up payments so you can get paid](/help/payments/set-up-payments.md) --- # How to get your first sale > Practical, low-cost ways to bring in your first paying customers. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/getting-started/first-sale-guide · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your page is live — congratulations. The first sale is the hardest one, but it doesn't have to come from a stranger. Here is how merchants we work with usually get there. ## Start with people who already like you - Send the link to ten friends and family members and ask for feedback - Share a launch post on your personal social accounts - Email anyone who said "let me know when you launch" - Offer a small launch discount as a thank-you ## Launch promotions that work 1. **Create a discount code** — Make a memorable code like LAUNCH or HELLO and offer 10 to 20% off for the first week. Customers love feeling like early supporters. 2. **Bundle related products** — If you sell more than one thing, try a starter bundle. It bumps the average order value and helps new customers pick what to try first. 3. **Offer free shipping for a few days** — Free shipping is one of the best ways to win a sale. Try it for a launch weekend and see what happens. ## Tell your story People buy from people. Open Branding from your sidebar and write a short brand bio — two or three sentences on who you are and why you made this. It shows up on your page and does more work than any clever marketing trick. > **Tip: Take a screenshot of your first sale** — It feels silly until it happens. Keep it somewhere — every merchant we know loves looking back at theirs. **Should I pay for ads from day one?** Not usually. Get a handful of organic sales first to test that everything works. Then think about ads once you know what converts. **How long until I should expect daily sales?** Every store is different. Most merchants see consistent sales after they have built up about 100 visits a week and a small audience on social. ## Related - [Create discount codes](/help/marketing/create-discount-codes.md) - [Customize the emails customers receive](/help/marketing/customize-customer-emails.md) --- # Update your store details > Set your store name, currency, address, and legal details for invoices and tax. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/update-store-details · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your store details are the foundation your page is built on — your name, your currency, your timezone, and your legal information. Getting these right saves a lot of headaches later, especially around invoices and tax. ## Open store settings In the sidebar, click Store, then General. This is where all the store-wide settings live, grouped into cards: Store Details, Store Availability, Operating Preferences, Invoice Details, and Physical Address. ## The basics 1. **Store name** — In the Store Details card, set the name your customers see at the top of your page, in their emails, and on every receipt. Keep it short and memorable — it is the first word in every customer relationship. Click Save Changes when you are done. 2. **Store URL** — The Store Details card also shows your free Shopstar address — the link you can share even before you connect a custom domain. It looks like shopstar.page/yourstore. This is shown for reference only; if you want your own web address, connect a custom domain instead. 3. **Timezone** — In the Operating Preferences card, pick the timezone where your business runs. Your dashboard, reports, order times, and booking slots all use this timezone. If you run from Johannesburg but your reports look off, check this setting first. 4. **Currency** — Your base currency is shown in the Operating Preferences card too. It is the currency you price your products in, and all revenue reports and fees use it. Your base currency is chosen when you set up your store and is shown here for reference — it is not something you change on this page. ## Legal details for invoices and tax These fields are optional for most stores, but worth filling in if you are VAT-registered, run a company, or want to send proper tax-compliant invoices. They appear on receipts, order confirmations, and any PDF invoices you send. - Legal Business Name — your legal trading name as it appears on company registration - Company Registration Number — your company or business registration number - VAT Registration Number — your VAT or tax registration number, if you have one - Invoice Footer — custom legal text, a returns note, or payment terms that appear at the bottom of every invoice - Invoice Terms — additional terms to include on invoices (for example, "Payment due within 30 days") > **Required for tax-compliant invoices** — If your customers or your local tax authority require VAT-compliant invoices, fill in your Legal Business Name and VAT Registration Number here. We include them on every invoice automatically. ## Your business address In the Physical Address card, set the address your business operates from. It is kept as part of your business record, and you can choose whether to show it on your page — a real address helps build customer trust. Once you have filled in the address, use the Show address on shopfront toggle to control whether customers can see your address publicly on your page, or whether it is kept private for compliance use only. > **Tip: Measurements matter for physical products** — The Weight Unit and Dimension Unit fields (in the Operating Preferences card) decide the units shown when you enter product weights and sizes — kilograms or pounds, centimetres or inches. Pick the ones that match how you weigh and measure your products. **Can I change my base currency later?** Your base currency is fixed once your store is set up because existing product prices, orders, and payouts are all tied to it. The settings page shows it for reference but does not let you change it. If you genuinely need a different currency, contact support and we will help you through the transition. **Will changing my store name break my current URL?** No. Changing your store name (what customers see) is always safe — it does not change your web address. Your free shopstar.page address stays the same. If you want a different web address, connect a custom domain instead. **Do I have to add legal details to sell?** No — legal details are optional unless required by your local laws. Shopstar does not block selling if they are missing. But if you are VAT-registered, filling them in is good practice so your invoices are valid. **What is the difference between my store name and my brand name?** They are usually the same. The store name (set here) appears on emails and receipts. The brand bio and logo (set in Branding) control how you are introduced visually on your page. Keep them consistent and customers will not notice the difference. ## Related - [Set up your branding](/help/your-store/set-up-branding.md) - [Connect a custom domain](/help/your-store/connect-custom-domain.md) - [Write and publish your page policies](/help/your-store/update-store-policies.md) --- # Choose and customize your theme > Pick a layout that fits your products and adjust it to match your brand. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/choose-and-customize-theme · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Your theme controls the layout, look, and feel of your page. You can switch between themes anytime, and your products and content stay safe in the background. ## How to pick a theme 1. **Open Branding from your sidebar** — Click Branding in the left sidebar. The Theme section at the top shows every theme you can choose from — Store, Bio, Showcase, and Gallery. 2. **Pick the one that fits your products** — Store works for most catalogs with a traditional product grid. Bio is a mobile-first link-in-bio style page great for creators and social media profiles. Showcase is a venue-style layout with a hero gallery and product list — great for service businesses, salons, and appointment-driven stores. Gallery uses a masonry grid for visual brands and artists. 3. **See it in your live preview** — The preview on the right shows your real store with the theme applied — switch between desktop, tablet, and mobile views as you tweak. 4. **Click Save changes** — Hit Save changes in the studio bar at the top (on a phone, use the sticky Save changes button at the bottom of the screen). Your page updates straight away, and you can switch themes again any time without losing your products or content. ## Tweak the rest of your branding The same Branding page has an accordion of sections you can open one at a time to refine the storefront — picking presets, fine-tuning tokens, and uploading the right images. - Theme — pick how your page is laid out - Identity — your logo and a short brand bio that introduces you - Colors — pick a preset or fine-tune individual color tokens - Typography — heading and body fonts your customers see - Social links — links to your social profiles and website - Hero image — a banner image at the top of your page (Bio theme only) > **Tip: Less is more** — A clean storefront with three or four well-chosen sections converts better than one stuffed with everything. Start simple and add over time. **Will I lose my products if I switch themes?** No. Your products, customers, orders, and policies are stored separately from the theme. Switching themes only changes the layout. **Can I edit the code of a theme?** You do not need to. Every customization you can think of is available through the visual editor — colors, fonts, layout, and sections. **Can I preview changes before they go live?** Yes. The Branding page shows a live preview of your page on the right while you edit. Nothing changes for customers until you click Save. ## Related - [Set up your branding](/help/your-store/set-up-branding.md) - [Write and publish your page policies](/help/your-store/update-store-policies.md) --- # Set up your branding > Upload a logo, set brand colors, and pick fonts that match your story. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/set-up-branding · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your branding is what makes your page feel like yours. The good news: you only need a few simple pieces to look polished and professional. ## What you need before you start - A logo image (PNG works best, with a transparent background if possible) - Your main brand color in hex code (for example, #5A77D8) - An optional accent color for buttons and highlights - A two-or-three sentence brand bio that introduces you to visitors ## Apply your branding 1. **Open Branding from your sidebar** — Click Branding in the left sidebar of your dashboard. 2. **Upload your logo** — In the Identity section, click the Store logo tile and pick your file. A square mark works best at 400×400 pixels or larger, or a wide logo with your name at 800 pixels wide or more, so it stays sharp on every screen. You can nudge the size with the Logo display size slider. 3. **Write your brand bio** — Still in Identity, fill in Brand bio — up to 320 characters that introduce your brand to visitors. It appears in your shopfront sidebar, so write directly to the customer. 4. **Set your brand colors** — Open the Colors section. The quickest way is to pick a ready-made palette — choose a vibe, then a colour scheme within it. To go further, open "Customise individual colors": the Essentials are Background, Primary, and Accent, and the Additional colours (Foreground, Card, Secondary, Muted, Muted text, Border) let you fine-tune. The live preview updates as you go. 5. **Pick your fonts** — Open the Typography section and choose a heading font and a body font. We have curated a small list that pairs well together — you cannot go wrong. 6. **Add your social links (optional)** — Open the Social links section and paste in the web addresses for your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, or website. Any you fill in appear as clickable icons on your page so customers can follow you — they show up especially well in the Bio theme. 7. **Click Save changes** — Hit Save changes in the studio bar at the top of the page (on a phone, use the sticky Save changes button at the bottom). Your page refreshes with your new look. > **Tip: Don't have a logo yet?** — Use your page name in a nice font and call it done. Plenty of successful stores launched with a wordmark and added a graphic logo later. **What file size should my logo be?** Your logo can be up to 5 MB, but you usually want something far smaller — a PNG under 1 MB loads fastest. Aim for a clean source file with a transparent background. We trim any extra empty space around it automatically. **Can I have a different logo for dark backgrounds?** Not today — there is one Store logo upload, used everywhere. Pick a logo that reads well on your chosen background colour, or upload a version with a small white outline so it works on both light and dark surfaces. **Will customers see my branding in their emails?** Yes. Your logo and brand colors automatically apply to order confirmations, shipping notifications, and other customer emails. ## Related - [Choose and customize your theme](/help/your-store/choose-and-customize-theme.md) --- # Connect a custom domain > Use your own domain — like yourstore.com — instead of the default address. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/connect-custom-domain · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ A custom domain like yourstore.com makes your page look more professional and easier to remember. If you already own a domain, you can connect it in a few minutes. ## What you need before you start - A domain you already own (such as yourstore.com) - Access to the place where you bought the domain — that is where you change its settings ## Connect your domain 1. **Open Store, then Domains** — In the sidebar, click Store, then General. On the Store settings page, click the Domains tab at the top. Then click Add Domain in the top right to open the form. 2. **Type in your domain** — Enter the full domain you want to use, for example yourstore.com. Don't add https:// at the front — just the domain. Leave "Also add www variant" ticked (recommended) so both yourstore.com and www.yourstore.com point to your page. 3. **Copy the records we show you** — We show you the exact DNS records to add at your domain provider — both as you type and again next to the domain after you add it. Keep this tab open; you will paste these values into the next step. 4. **Add the records at your domain provider** — Open the site where you bought the domain. Look for a section called DNS, DNS records, or Manage domain. Add each record exactly as we showed you. 5. **Come back and click Verify DNS** — Click Verify DNS next to your domain. It can take from a few minutes up to a few hours for the changes to spread across the internet — be patient and try again if the first verify says the records are not visible yet. > **Security is included** — Once your domain is verified, we automatically secure it with an SSL certificate so customers see the padlock in their browser. You don't need to do anything for this — it is built in. > **Tip: No domain yet?** — If you do not have a domain, common providers sell them for around the price of a cup of coffee per year. Pick one that matches your page name and is easy to spell out loud. **How long does it take to start working?** Usually within an hour after Verify DNS succeeds. Sometimes it takes longer for DNS changes to spread to every internet provider — up to 24 hours in rare cases. **Can I use www.yourstore.com and yourstore.com?** Yes. When you add your domain, leave "Also add www variant" ticked and both the plain and www versions are set up for you. Visitors can reach your page either way — you don't need to pick a primary by hand. **Will my old links break?** No. The old default address keeps working and automatically redirects to your new custom domain. **Can I move my domain away later?** Yes. Your domain is yours. You can disconnect it from Shopstar and point it somewhere else at any time. ## Related - [Set up your branding](/help/your-store/set-up-branding.md) --- # Write and publish your page policies > Refund, shipping, and privacy policies build trust and protect your page. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/update-store-policies · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Clear policies make customers more comfortable buying from a store they have not heard of before. They also save you a lot of back-and-forth questions over email. ## The policies your page can publish - Returns and refunds — set expectations for returns, exchanges, and refunds - Shipping policy — detail shipping methods, costs, and delivery timeframes - Privacy policy — explain how you collect, use, and protect customer data - Terms and conditions — the rules and guidelines for using your page - Cancellation policy — for booking products, the rules for cancellations, no-shows, and rescheduling ## Publish your policies 1. **Open Store, then Policies** — In the sidebar, click Store, then General. On the Store settings page, click the Policies tab at the top. You will see a card per policy with a status badge — Not Set Up, Enabled, or Disabled. 2. **Open a policy with Set Up or Edit** — Click Set Up on a policy you haven't started yet, or Edit on one you've already drafted. The editor opens with a rich text area for the policy copy. 3. **Start with our friendly template** — Click Reset to default to drop in warm, easy-to-read default copy instead of starting from a blank page. Edit it to match your business — your refund window, the countries you ship to, and how to contact you. 4. **Save and turn it on** — In the Policy settings card, switch on Enable policy so it goes live on your page, then click Save. The status updates back on the Policies tab so you can track which ones are still drafts. > **⚠️ Templates are a starting point** — Our templates are not legal advice. If you sell internationally, in regulated industries, or to children, get the policies checked by a lawyer in your country. **Do I have to offer refunds?** It is a great way to build trust, and in many countries some form of refund is required by law. Make your policy clear so there are no surprises. **Where do customers see my policies?** Every policy you enable is linked from your page footer, so customers can open and read it before they buy. **Can I change my policies later?** Yes. Update them anytime and the new version is published instantly. Existing orders are still governed by whatever policy was active when they bought. ## Related - [Issue a refund](/help/orders/issue-a-refund.md) --- # Customize your checkout > Add upsells, free shipping bars, trust badges, and urgency to lift your conversion rate. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/customize-your-checkout · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Your checkout is where browsers turn into buyers. A few smart additions — like a free shipping bar or a well-placed upsell — can lift your conversion rate without changing anything about your products. ## Open your checkout settings In the sidebar, click Store, then Checkout. The settings are grouped into a few cards — Product Recommendations, Free Shipping Incentive, Exit Intent Popup, and Trust & Urgency — each with simple on/off switches. Switch on the ones you want, tune the values, and click Save Settings. ## What each option does 1. **Upsell prompts** — Suggest higher-value alternatives or complementary products at checkout. Pick when to show them — based on cart value, number of items in the cart, or how many past orders the customer has placed — and set the matching threshold (a currency amount or a count). 2. **Cross-sell suggestions** — Recommend frequently bought together items at checkout, based on what is already in the cart. Great for accessories or matching products. 3. **Free Shipping Incentive** — Switch on "Show progress bar" to show customers how close their cart is to qualifying for free shipping. Set the minimum order amount and customers will often add another item to hit it. 4. **Exit Intent Popup** — Switch on "Show exit offer" so that when a shopper looks like they are about to leave, they see a final promo. Pick one of your active promo codes from the list — the offer applies that code if the customer stays. 5. **Urgency messaging** — Show a short message you write — for example, "Order in the next hour for same-day shipping" — to encourage faster checkout. The wording is up to you, so keep it honest. (This is a static message, not a live stock counter.) 6. **Trust badges** — Show security icons and payment provider logos at checkout to reassure first-time buyers. > **Tip: Turn things on one at a time** — Switch on one feature at a time and watch your conversion rate over a few days before adding the next. That way you know which one made the difference. > **Customer-friendly by default** — These features are designed to feel helpful, not pushy. Your page will only show messages when they are relevant and clear. **Do I need to set up a promo code for the Exit Intent Popup to work?** Yes. Create the code in Discounts first and make sure it is active. Then switch on "Show exit offer" and pick that code from the list — only active promo codes appear in the picker. **Can I run an upsell on a specific product?** Upsell prompts pick a recommended product based on what is in the cart, not on a single product you choose. Keep your collections and product details tidy so the suggestion lands on something relevant. **Does the urgency message update with my stock levels?** Not automatically — it shows the exact message you write. If you want it to feel honest during a real low-stock period, edit the wording or switch it off when stock is healthy again. **Will these slow down my checkout?** No. Each option loads quickly and is dismissed easily. If the customer ignores a prompt, they continue straight to pay. ## Related - [Create discount codes](/help/marketing/create-discount-codes.md) - [Set up shipping rates](/help/orders/set-up-shipping-rates.md) --- # Use your media library > Upload, organize, and reuse photos and videos across every product page. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/use-the-media-library · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your media library is one home for every image, video, and file you use across your page. Upload once and reuse anywhere — product photos, banners, social previews, and policy attachments all pull from the same place. ## What you can store - Product and brand photos (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG) - Product videos (MP4, WebM, MOV) for richer storytelling - Hero banners and section backgrounds - Document attachments (PDF, DOC, DOCX) for digital products or info pages ## Upload a file 1. **Open Media from your sidebar** — Click Media in the left sidebar to open your library. 2. **Click Upload Files** — Drag files into the upload sheet or click Choose files to pick from your computer. You can select multiple files at once. 3. **Stay under the size limit** — Each file can be up to 100 MB. For photos, that is comfortably big — export at around 2000 pixels on the long edge to keep file size down without losing detail. Resize large photos in your phone or photo app before uploading. 4. **Find a file later** — Use the search box at the top to search by file name, filter by type (Images, Videos, Documents), and toggle between grid and list view depending on how you like to scan. Click any file to see its size, type, public link, and a preview. ## Reuse files across your page When you are editing a product, designing your branding, or building a page, you will see an Add Images (or similar) button that opens the Media Library dialog. Switch to the Choose Existing tab to pick any file you have already uploaded instead of uploading it again. Each file also has a Copy link action so you can paste its public URL anywhere you need it. > **Originals stay as you uploaded them** — Your page serves the file you uploaded — we generate small thumbnails for previews in the library, but we do not shrink or re-compress the original. Big photos still mean slower pages, so trim them down before uploading if you can. > **Tip: Name your files before uploading** — A file named "lavender-soy-candle-front.jpg" is much easier to find than "IMG_0042.jpg". Future-you will thank you. **Can I delete files I do not need anymore?** Yes. Tick the checkboxes on the files you want to remove, then click Delete in the toolbar and confirm. Any product or page that still uses a deleted file will need a replacement, so double-check before removing. **Do videos work the same as images?** Yes — upload videos to the same library and pick them as product or banner media. Each video can be up to 100 MB; very long or higher-resolution videos are often better hosted somewhere built for streaming and linked from a product description. **Is there a file size limit?** Yes. Each file can be up to 100 MB. If you need to share something larger — like a long PDF guide — split it into smaller files, or link to it from a digital download product instead. **How do I get the public link for a file?** In list view, every file has a Copy icon next to it that copies the public URL. You can also click a file to open its details, where the Public URL is shown with its own Copy button. ## Related - [Set up your branding](/help/your-store/set-up-branding.md) - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) --- # Put your store in maintenance mode > Temporarily take your store offline for maintenance, upgrades, or a soft launch — with an optional password for trusted visitors. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/your-store/put-your-store-in-maintenance-mode · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~3 min read_ Maintenance mode lets you take your page offline instantly — useful when you are updating products, preparing for a launch, or doing a site refresh. Customers see a friendly message instead of your page, and you can optionally share a password with trusted people so they can still browse. ## Turn maintenance mode on 1. **Open Store settings** — In the sidebar, click Store. The General tab opens by default. 2. **Find Store Availability** — Scroll down to the Store Availability section. You will see the current status — Online or Offline. 3. **Toggle the switch on** — Click the switch to turn maintenance mode on. The status changes to Offline (Maintenance). 4. **Add a headline and message (optional)** — Fill in a Headline (e.g. "We're taking a short break") and a Message so customers know what is happening and when to check back. 5. **Save** — Click Save availability. Your store is now offline immediately. > **You can still preview your store** — When maintenance mode is on, click Preview offline store to see exactly what your customers will see. As the store owner you can always access your store — only visitors are blocked. ## Add an optional password for trusted visitors If you want select people — like a client, your team, or a photographer — to browse while the store is offline, you can set a password that lets them in. 1. **Turn on maintenance mode** — Follow the steps above to put your store offline first. 2. **Toggle Require a password** — A password field will appear. 3. **Enter a store password** — Type the password you want to share. It can be anything you like — keep it simple to share verbally. 4. **Save** — Click Save availability. Anyone who visits your store will be asked for this password before they can browse. > **Tip** — Changing the password signs out anyone who was already browsing with the old one. Use this to revoke access instantly if needed. ## Turn maintenance mode off 1. **Open Store settings** — In the sidebar, click Store > General, then scroll to Store Availability. 2. **Toggle the switch off** — Click the switch to turn maintenance mode off. The status returns to Online. 3. **Save** — Click Save availability. Your store is live again straight away. > **⚠️ Maintenance mode stays on until you turn it off** — There is no automatic timer. If you forget to turn maintenance mode off, your store will stay offline. Set yourself a reminder before you step away. **Will maintenance mode hurt my search engine rankings?** While your store is offline, search engines are automatically told to check back later. This protects your rankings for short maintenance windows. For longer periods, try to get back online as quickly as possible. **Can I change what the maintenance page looks like?** The maintenance page automatically uses your store branding — your logo, colours, and name. You can customise the headline and message text. The overall page design is fixed. **Does maintenance mode affect existing orders or customer accounts?** No — maintenance mode only prevents new visitors from browsing. All existing orders, accounts, and data are completely unaffected. Customers just cannot place new orders while your store is offline. **Can I use maintenance mode as a coming soon page?** Absolutely. Set a headline like "Something exciting is coming" and a message with a launch date. It is a great way to build anticipation before a new product launch or big sale without customers seeing unfinished content. ## Related - [Update your store details](/help/your-store/update-store-details.md) - [Connect a custom domain](/help/your-store/connect-custom-domain.md) --- # Add your first product > The fastest path from a blank store to a real product page. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/add-your-first-product · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Adding your first product is the single most satisfying part of setting up a page. Once you see one item in your page, the rest gets much easier. ## Before you start - Two or three good photos of your product - A short title and a paragraph describing what it is - Your selling price - How many you have available (or if it is unlimited) ## Add a physical product 1. **Open Products and click Add product** — In the sidebar, click Products. Then click the Add product dropdown in the top right and choose Physical. We also support digital downloads, bookings, tickets, and memberships — there is a dedicated guide for each. 2. **Give it a title and description** — The title is what customers see first. The description is your chance to sell it — answer questions like "what is it made of?", "what is it for?", and "what makes it special?". 3. **Upload your photos** — Drag and drop your images into the media area, or pick existing images from your media library. Most stores look best with three to five photos per product — main shot first, then details and lifestyle. 4. **Set your price** — Type in your selling price. If you want to show a discount, set a Compare at price (must be higher than your selling price) so customers can see what they are saving. 5. **Set the available stock** — Type how many you have. If you do not want to track inventory for this product, switch the Track inventory toggle off. 6. **Click Save Product** — Hit Save Product at the bottom of the page. A brand-new product is saved as a Draft, so it stays hidden from customers while you finish it. 7. **Set Status to Active to publish** — Once the product is saved, a Status chooser appears in the form sidebar. Set it to Active to make the product live on your page, or leave it on Draft to keep working on it. (You will not see the Status chooser until after that first save.) > **Tip: Write your description in customer language** — A great description answers the questions customers have before they buy. Read it out loud — if it sounds like a magazine ad, you are on the right track. **What sizes should my product photos be?** Square photos work best across most layouts. Anything from 1000x1000 to 2000x2000 pixels is a sweet spot. We generate small previews automatically, but the storefront serves the file you uploaded — so resize huge originals down to keep pages quick. **Can I save a product without publishing it?** Yes. New products are saved as a Draft, so they stay in your dashboard but are not visible on your page. Once it is saved, set Status to Active in the form sidebar when you are ready to go live. **How do I add variants like sizes and colors?** In the product form, scroll to Variants and click Add your first option. Add a product option (like Size) and its values (Small, Medium, Large). Variants are generated automatically from your option values — and on an existing product, variant changes save immediately as you apply them. **How do I delete or duplicate a product later?** To duplicate, open the product and click Duplicate Product in the sidebar — handy when you want to clone a product and tweak a few fields. To publish or archive, change the Status (Active or Archived). To delete, go to your Products list, open the row menu next to the product, and choose Delete permanently. **Can I update prices for many products at once?** Yes. From the Products list, tick the checkboxes next to the products you want to change. A floating action bar appears at the bottom — click Update Prices. Choose to increase or decrease by a percentage or a fixed amount, then click Apply. Useful after a supplier price change or for a sale event. **How do I see archived products?** The Products list shows active products by default. Click the Archived filter at the top of the list to switch to archived products. Archived products are hidden from your page but their data is kept. ## Related - [Sell a digital download](/help/products/add-digital-download.md) - [Organize products with collections](/help/products/organize-with-collections.md) --- # Sell a digital download > Upload a file once and let your page deliver it to every buyer automatically. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/add-digital-download · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Digital downloads are perfect for ebooks, templates, audio files, photos, software, or any file you sell. Once a customer pays, the download is delivered to them automatically — no manual sending required. ## What you can sell as a digital product - Ebooks, guides, and PDFs - Photos, illustrations, and images (JPEG, PNG) - Audio files and music (MP3) - Video files and tutorials (MP4) - Documents and spreadsheets (DOCX, XLSX) - Templates and data files (CSV, TXT, Markdown) - Archives and bundles (ZIP) - EPUB ebooks ## Add a digital product 1. **Open Products and click Add product** — In the sidebar, click Products, then click the Add product dropdown in the top right and pick Digital. 2. **Upload your file** — Drag and drop the file customers will receive — you can attach more than one. Supported formats include PDF, EPUB, ZIP, MP3, MP4, images, Word documents, spreadsheets, and text files. The upload area shows the running total as you add files. 3. **Write your product page** — Title, description, cover image. Even though there is nothing to ship, customers still want to know what they are getting — a screenshot or sample image goes a long way. 4. **Set your price** — Type in your selling price. Many digital products sell well between low and mid-double-digits. 5. **Decide on download limits** — By default, customers can download their file an unlimited number of times within 30 days of purchase. You can tighten this to a fixed number of downloads, change the time window, or set unlimited time. 6. **Pick a license type (optional)** — If your product comes with a specific license — Personal Use, Single User, Multi User (5 devices), Commercial, Extended Commercial, or Custom License — select it from the License type dropdown. Leave it blank if you handle licensing in your product description. 7. **Save Product and test** — Click Save Product. It saves as a Draft first; once it is saved, set Status to Active in the sidebar to make it live. Then place a test order on your own store to see exactly what the customer experiences. > **Delivery happens automatically** — When a customer pays, your page sends them an email with a secure download link. They can also access the file from their account on your page. > **Tip: Bundle multiple files** — You can attach more than one file to a single product. Great for "buy the bundle and get the workbook plus the templates" offers — every file goes out together as part of the same purchase. **How do customers get their file?** Right after paying, they get an email with a secure download link. They can also log in to your page and access it from their account page. **Can I prevent customers from sharing the file?** Every download link is unique to the customer and expires. Nothing fully prevents someone screenshotting or re-uploading a file, but the per-customer link plus your chosen download limit and time window make casual sharing harder. **Can I update the file after publishing?** Yes — replace the file from the product page and a new version goes live for any new buyers. To keep existing customers on a working link, anyone who has already bought continues to download the version they originally got. If you want every past customer to receive the new version, send them a free coupon or replacement order. **What if the file is very large?** Downloads are streamed straight to the customer so sizeable files load smoothly. For extremely large files (long video courses, full raw photo shoots), consider hosting them on a dedicated video or file platform and linking to them from the product description. ## Related - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) --- # Sell bookings and services > Take appointments, classes, or service bookings with availability windows. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/set-up-bookings · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~7 min read_ Bookings let customers reserve a time slot with you. They work great for classes, consultations, sessions, rentals, and anywhere else you sell your time. ## Before you start - A clear idea of how long one booking takes - A resource set up under Resources (the person, room, or kit being booked) — this is where your weekly schedule and holiday block-outs live. The separate "Manage your booking resources" article walks through it. - Your page-wide booking defaults set under Store > Products > Bookings (advance window, minimum notice, cancellation window, default clients per slot) ## Add a booking product 1. **Open Products and click Add product** — In the sidebar, click Products, then click the Add product dropdown in the top right and pick Booking. 2. **Describe what you are offering** — Add a title, description, and photo. Tell customers what to expect — where it happens, what to bring, what is included. 3. **Set the duration** — In Booking details, set Duration in minutes. This is how long a single appointment takes. 4. **Add buffer time if you want one** — Buffer time protects the resource after each booking — handy for resetting the room or commuting. Changing it affects future existing bookings that use the setting, and unsafe changes are rejected. 5. **Set Clients per slot** — How many customers can book the same time? Use 1 for a one-on-one session, or higher for group classes. Leave it blank to inherit your page default. 6. **Pick a reminder mode** — Email reminders default to Default (use your store defaults). Switch to Custom to toggle the 24-hour and 2-hour reminders for this product specifically, or Disabled to send nothing. 7. **Attach a resource and set your price** — Attach the resource that fulfils this booking — that resource's weekly schedule and any holiday exceptions decide which slots customers see. Set your price and click Save Product. It saves as a Draft first; once it is saved, set Status to Active in the sidebar to make it live. ## Manage your bookings Open Orders > Bookings in the sidebar to see your bookings on a calendar. Tap a booking to view it, reschedule it, cancel it, or block out time. You and the customer both get email notifications when a booking is created, rescheduled, or cancelled. > **Tip: Add a buffer between bookings** — Even five or ten minutes of buffer gives you time to reset. Customers cannot book back-to-back when you set this, which saves you from rushed handovers. > **Availability lives on the resource, not the product** — The days and times you accept bookings (Monday 9–5, every weekday, weekends off) are set on the resource itself under Resources. Block out a public holiday or a personal day there too — those exceptions disappear from the booking calendar straight away. **Can customers reschedule themselves?** Yes — within the cancellation window you set under Store > Products > Bookings, customers can reschedule from their account on your page. After that window, only you can move them. **What if I am sick on a booked day?** Open Orders > Bookings, find the booking, and cancel it. The customer gets an email letting them know, and you can offer a refund or a free reschedule. **Can I block out specific dates like holidays?** Yes — open the resource under Resources and add an exception for that date. The matching slots disappear from the customer calendar straight away. Public holidays show up as suggestions, so you can block a national holiday in two clicks. **Can I offer different versions of the same service?** Yes. Create a separate booking product for each version — for example a 30-minute session and a 60-minute session, each with its own price and duration. If the difference is just who or where (a particular trainer or room), attach different resources to the booking product instead. ## Related - [Manage bookings on your calendar](/help/orders/manage-bookings-on-your-calendar.md) - [Configure your global booking settings](/help/products/configure-booking-settings.md) --- # Sell event tickets > Run a one-off event, sell tiered tickets, and check guests in at the door. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/sell-event-tickets · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Whether you are running a workshop, a launch party, a class, or a music night — ticketing handles the selling, the QR codes, and the door scanning for you. ## Set up an event 1. **Open Products and click Add product** — In the sidebar, click Products, then click the Add product dropdown in the top right and pick Ticket. 2. **Fill in the ticket details** — In the Ticket Details section, enter the Event start date & time, an optional end date, and the Venue. Use the Venue field for the address; put parking, dress code, and doors-open notes in the product description so customers see them on the ticket page. 3. **Set the event capacity** — The Capacity field caps the total attendees across the whole event — tickets stop selling automatically when you hit it. 4. **Add ticket types if you want tiers** — In the Pricing section, choose the Multiple Ticket Types pricing model and add tiers like General Admission, Early Bird, or VIP. Each tier has its own price and stock, which acts as a per-tier cap underneath the event capacity. 5. **Save and start selling** — Click Save Product. It saves as a Draft first; once it is saved, set Status to Active in the sidebar to make it live. Customers buy tickets like any other product. Each ticket includes a unique QR code in the confirmation email. ## Check guests in at the door On event day, open Orders, then Ticketing on a phone or tablet, tap into the event, and hit Check-in mode. Scan the QR code on each guest ticket as they arrive. Already used tickets are flagged so you spot duplicates. > **Tip: Pre-print your guest list** — In case Wi-Fi is unreliable at the venue, export the guest list before the event so you have a backup to tick people off manually. > **Want the full check-in walkthrough?** — See the linked article below ("Check guests in at the door") for how scanning, manual lookup, and the Check-in Only role work on event day. **Can I sell tickets to multiple events?** Yes. Each event is its own product. You can run several events at once and customers can buy from any of them. **What if someone wants a refund?** You can refund tickets from the order page like any other product. Set your event refund policy clearly in your page policies so expectations are clear. **Can my team check guests in too?** Yes — invite team members and give them the Check-in Only role. That role only lets them scan tickets in Ticketing, not see the rest of your dashboard. **Can attendees transfer their ticket to a friend?** The simplest path is for the original buyer to forward the confirmation email — the friend can use the QR code at the door. There is no separate self-serve transfer flow today, so if you need the name changed, get in touch with the buyer through the order and update them manually. ## Related - [Check guests in at the door](/help/products/check-in-event-tickets.md) --- # Sell memberships and subscriptions > Charge a recurring price and give members ongoing access or perks. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/sell-memberships · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Memberships turn one-off customers into recurring revenue. They are great for clubs, ongoing access to content, repeat services, or any "members-only" offering. ## Set up a membership plan 1. **Open Products and click Add product** — In the sidebar, click Products, then click the Add product dropdown in the top right and pick Membership. 2. **Name an access level** — In Membership Details, set Access level — a short label like Basic, Premium, or VIP. This is what your members see and what your page uses to gate content. 3. **Describe what members get** — Be specific in the product description and the Included features list. What do members get that non-members do not? Examples: monthly product drops, free shipping, exclusive content, a private community. 4. **Pick a billing period** — Choose Monthly or Annual. Each membership product has one billing period — to offer both, create two products (e.g. "Premium Monthly" and "Premium Annual" at different prices). 5. **Set the price** — Type in the recurring price. This is what customers are charged on the same day each cycle. 6. **Offer a free trial if you want one** — Set Trial period (days) up to 365 days. Trials only run on Stripe checkout — Paystack memberships charge immediately, so any trial days you set are treated as 0. 7. **Save Product and start selling** — Click Save Product. It saves as a Draft first; once it is saved, set Status to Active in the sidebar to make it live. Customers join from your page, get a welcome email, see a member area on your page, and recurring charges run automatically. ## Manage members Open Orders > Memberships in your sidebar to see every active member. The page shows your active count, your recurring revenue, a searchable list of members, and a detail sheet per member with their billing schedule and history. If a payment fails, we retry automatically and email the customer — they can update their card straight from the email. > **Cancellations are friendly** — Members can cancel themselves from their account on your page, or you can cancel for them. Either way, they keep access until the end of the period they have already paid for — and if it was a mistake, they can undo the cancellation from the same screen. **What happens when a payment fails?** We retry the payment a few times over a few days and email the customer to update their card. If it still fails, the membership pauses until they fix it. **Can I offer different membership tiers?** Yes — create one membership product per tier (for example Bronze, Silver, Gold) at different prices and Access level labels. **Can members upgrade or downgrade?** Yes. They can change plan from the membership area in their account on your page, or you can change it for them from the member detail sheet. We pro-rate the next bill automatically. **Will customers see their next bill date?** Yes. Members see their next billing date, their billing history, and a cancel option from their account on your page. **Why is the trial field disabled on my membership?** Trials only run on Stripe checkout. If your page uses Paystack, members are charged immediately at signup — the field is greyed out and trial days are treated as 0. ## Related - [Manage your members](/help/orders/manage-member-subscriptions.md) - [Manage membership billing plans](/help/orders/manage-billing-plans.md) - [Set up payments so you can get paid](/help/payments/set-up-payments.md) --- # Migrate from Booksy to Shopstar > Bring your public Booksy services, team, hours, business details, and eligible reviews into Shopstar. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/migrate-booksy-to-shopstar · Updated 2026-08-14 · ~8 min read_ Moving your booking catalogue should not mean rebuilding it one service at a time. Shopstar reads your public Booksy venue page, lets you review exactly what is available, and imports only the sections you choose. ## Before you start - Your public Booksy venue link — no Booksy password or private account access is needed - Owner or manager access to your Shopstar dashboard - A Shopstar store currency that matches the currency shown on your Booksy page if you plan to import services - A quick check that the services, prices, team, and opening hours on your public Booksy page are current > **⚠️ Match your currencies first** — Shopstar will not import services when your Booksy page and Shopstar store use different currencies. Change your store currency to match before importing services. You can still import business details, staff, hours, or reviews without importing service prices. ## Import your Booksy catalogue 1. **Open the catalogue migration tool** — In your Shopstar dashboard, open Products, click Resources, and choose Migrate booking catalogue. 2. **Choose Booksy and paste your link** — Select Booksy, paste the full public venue link, and click Read my page. Use the venue page customers can open in a normal browser, not a private account or appointment link. 3. **Review what Shopstar found** — Check the business name, location, services, prices, durations, staff, opening hours, photos, and any notices. Nothing is imported during this preview. 4. **Choose the sections you want** — Turn Services, Staff, Opening hours, Business details, and Reviews on or off. Opening hours need Staff because each imported team member owns a schedule. Reviews are off by default and only reviews confidently matched to a service can be published. 5. **Choose individual services** — Keep or untick each service in the service list. This is useful when you want to leave old, seasonal, or duplicate services behind. 6. **Start the import and leave the page open** — Click Import my catalogue. The progress screen shows resources, services, business details, media, and reviews as they are handled. If a photo cannot be copied, the rest of the import continues and the completion screen explains what needs attention. 7. **Review your drafts before publishing** — Open Products and review every imported booking product, its price, duration, assigned staff, availability, description, photos, payment settings, and cancellation rules. Imported services stay in Draft until you deliberately publish them. ## What comes across - Services, categories, descriptions, public prices, and durations - Service-to-staff assignments when Booksy publishes that relationship - Staff names, descriptions, and public profile photos - Weekly opening hours for imported staff - Business logo, cover and gallery photos, address, description, website, and public social links when available - Public reviews that can be confidently matched to an imported service, when you opt in > **Services with several options** — A service with several public price or duration options becomes separate draft booking products so each option keeps a clear price and duration. Review their titles before publishing. ## What does not come across - Past or future appointments and their customer details - Private notes, messages, payment records, or account settings - Retail stock and products - Booksy logins, subscriptions, or payment setup - Service bundles or add-on details that are not fully published on the public venue page - Reviews that cannot be safely tied to a service ## Importing the same page again You can run the same Booksy page again after updating it. Shopstar reuses items it has already imported and skips duplicates. The completion screen tells you when everything was already in your catalogue. Always review the result because an existing Shopstar item is not overwritten just because its public Booksy version changed. ## Troubleshooting - Link not accepted: open your public Booksy venue page, copy its complete address from the browser, and try again. - Currency warning: change your Shopstar store currency to the source currency, or turn Services off and import the other sections only. - A service or team member is missing: confirm it is visible to customers on the public Booksy page, then create a fresh preview. - No reviews imported: reviews must be selected and must name an imported service clearly enough to match it safely. - A photo failed: finish the import, then upload that image directly while reviewing the draft product or resource. - Import failed: use Try again after checking the public page still opens. If it continues, contact Shopstar support with the public link and the time you tried. **Will customers see imported services immediately?** No. Imported booking products are Drafts. Check each one and publish it only when its price, duration, staff, availability, and payment settings are ready. **Can I import staff without services?** Yes. Turn Services off and keep Staff on. You can also bring across Opening hours, but Staff must stay selected because the hours belong to those imported resources. **Does this cancel or move my Booksy appointments?** No. The importer reads public catalogue information only. Existing appointments and customers stay in Booksy and should be handled separately. **Will a second import create duplicates?** Items already imported from the same Booksy page are reused or skipped. Shopstar does not duplicate them, and the completion summary shows how many items were skipped. **Do I need to share my Booksy password?** No. Never share it. The migration uses only the public venue page that any customer can visit. ## Related - [Migrate from Fresha to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-fresha-to-shopstar.md) - [Migrate from Shopify to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-shopify-to-shopstar.md) - [Sell bookings and services](/help/products/set-up-bookings.md) - [Manage booking resources](/help/products/manage-booking-resources.md) --- # Migrate from Fresha to Shopstar > Bring your public Fresha services, team, hours, business details, and eligible reviews into Shopstar. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/migrate-fresha-to-shopstar · Updated 2026-08-14 · ~9 min read_ You can use your public Fresha venue page to build a Shopstar booking catalogue without copying every service by hand. You see a full preview first, choose exactly what to bring across, and review the imported drafts before customers see them. ## Before you start - Your public Fresha venue link — no Fresha password or private account access is needed - Owner or manager access to your Shopstar dashboard - A Shopstar store currency that matches the currency shown on your Fresha page if you plan to import services - A quick check that the services, option prices, team, and opening hours visible on Fresha are current > **⚠️ Match your currencies first** — Shopstar will not import services when the Fresha page and your store use different currencies. Change your store currency to match before importing services. You can still import the team, hours, business details, or eligible reviews with Services turned off. ## Import your Fresha catalogue 1. **Open the catalogue migration tool** — In your Shopstar dashboard, open Products, click Resources, and choose Migrate booking catalogue. 2. **Choose Fresha and paste your link** — Select Fresha, paste the full public venue link, and click Read my page. Use the venue page customers can browse, not a private appointment, calendar, or account link. 3. **Read the preview notices** — Check the venue, services, options, prices, durations, categories, team, opening hours, photos, and notices. Fresha public pages do not publish every private relationship, so these notices explain any choices you need to review. 4. **Choose the sections you want** — Turn Services, Staff, Opening hours, Business details, and Reviews on or off. Opening hours need Staff. Reviews are off by default and only service-attributed reviews can be imported. 5. **Choose individual services** — Untick services you no longer offer or do not want in Shopstar. If a service has public options, the preview shows how many draft booking products it will create. 6. **Start the import** — Click Import my catalogue and leave the page open while progress is shown. A failed photo does not stop the rest of your catalogue; the completion notes tell you what needs a manual check. 7. **Review every draft** — Open Products and check each imported booking product. Pay special attention to starts-at prices, option titles, duration, assigned resources, availability, payment settings, and cancellation rules before changing the product to Active. ## What comes across - Public services, option names, categories, descriptions, durations, and fixed or free prices - Starts-at prices as the lowest public price, clearly marked for review on a Draft product - The full imported team as booking resources, including public names, descriptions, and photos - Weekly venue opening hours copied to imported team schedules - Business logo, cover and gallery photos, address, description, website, and public social links when available - Public reviews that explicitly identify an imported service, when you opt in > **⚠️ Check who can perform each service** — Fresha public venue pages do not expose reliable service-to-team assignments. Shopstar therefore makes the full imported team available to imported services. Review the Resources & Availability section on every draft and remove anyone who does not perform that service. > **Starts-at prices need your decision** — When Fresha shows a service as “from”, Shopstar uses the lowest public amount so the draft has a usable price. It remains a Draft because that amount may depend on length, staff member, or another choice that is not public. Confirm the final selling price before publishing. ## What does not come across - Past or future appointments and customer details - Private notes, messages, payment records, staff permissions, or account settings - Retail products, inventory, and packages - Fresha logins, subscriptions, or payment setup - Exact service-to-team assignments because they are not reliably available on public venue pages - Reviews without a clear public service attribution - Private details or long content that is not available in the public venue page ## Importing the same page again Running the same Fresha page again is safe. Shopstar reuses or skips items it already imported instead of creating duplicates, and the completion screen says when everything was already present. Existing Shopstar items are not silently overwritten, so make changes in Shopstar after the first import or review a fresh preview before adding anything new. ## Troubleshooting - Link not accepted: open the public Fresha venue page, copy its complete address from the browser, and try again. - Currency warning: change your Shopstar store currency to match, or turn Services off and import the other sections only. - A service, option, or staff member is missing: check that customers can see it on the public Fresha page, then create a new preview. - No reviews imported: select Reviews and confirm the public reviews name a service that is also being imported. - Everyone is assigned to every service: this is the safe starting point when Fresha does not publish the relationship; edit each draft product’s resources before publishing. - A photo failed: finish the import and upload the photo directly while reviewing the draft. - Import failed: use Try again after confirming the public page still opens. If it continues, contact Shopstar support with the public link and the time you tried. **Why are all team members attached to a service?** The public Fresha page does not reliably say which team member performs which service. Shopstar starts with the full imported team so nobody is accidentally missing; remove unsuitable resources from each draft before publishing. **What happens to a “from” price?** Shopstar uses the lowest public amount as a starts-at price and keeps the product in Draft. Check the real price rules and adjust it before customers can book. **Can I import only the team and opening hours?** Yes. Turn Services and Business details off, keep Staff and Opening hours on, and start the import. Opening hours cannot be selected without Staff. **Will this move my appointments or customers?** No. This imports public catalogue information only. Existing appointments, customer records, and private data remain in Fresha. **Do I need to share my Fresha login?** No. Never share it. Shopstar uses only the public venue page customers can already visit. ## Related - [Migrate from Booksy to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-booksy-to-shopstar.md) - [Migrate from Shopify to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-shopify-to-shopstar.md) - [Sell bookings and services](/help/products/set-up-bookings.md) - [Manage booking resources](/help/products/manage-booking-resources.md) --- # Migrate from Shopify to Shopstar > Bring your public Shopify products, variants, collections, prices, tags, and supported photos into Shopstar. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/migrate-shopify-to-shopstar · Updated 2026-08-14 · ~9 min read_ Shopstar can read the catalogue your public Shopify storefront already exposes, show you a product-by-product preview, and create draft physical products without asking for a Shopify password or private app token. ## Before you start - Your public Shopify storefront address — a custom domain or public myshopify.com storefront can be used - Owner or manager access to your Shopstar dashboard - A Shopstar store currency that matches the currency used by the Shopify storefront - A quick check that the public products, variants, prices, collections, and images are current - Your intended stock quantities, shipping setup, and tax settings ready for the final draft review > **⚠️ Match your currencies first** — Shopstar does not convert or relabel Shopify prices. Products can only be imported when the source catalogue and your Shopstar store use the same currency. Change your Shopstar store currency before importing if they differ. ## Import your Shopify catalogue 1. **Open the catalogue migration tool** — In your Shopstar dashboard, open Products and choose Migrate catalogue. You can also open Resources and use the same migration tool. 2. **Choose Shopify and paste your link** — Paste the HTTPS address of your public storefront. Shopstar also accepts its products.json, collections.json, or sitemap.xml address and normalizes it back to the store. 3. **Review the source and notices** — Confirm the store name and currency, then read every notice. The preview lists products, variant counts, price ranges, collections, and the number of products selected. 4. **Choose individual products** — Untick products you do not want. Nothing is created while you are reviewing, and an unticked product is also left out of imported collection memberships. 5. **Start the import** — Click Import my catalogue and keep the progress screen open. Products and supported photos are counted separately, and non-fatal image problems appear in the completion notes. 6. **Review every draft** — Open Products and check the title, description, variants, prices, compare-at prices, SKUs, weights, images, tags, collections, inventory, shipping, and tax before making the product Active. ## What comes across - Public product titles and rich-text descriptions - Variant option names and values, variant titles, public availability, and weights - Prices and compare-at prices using the source currency, with zero-decimal currencies handled correctly - Product and variant SKUs when they are public - Product tags, vendor, product type, and the source handle retained with the import identity - Supported JPEG, PNG, and WebP product and variant photos from Shopify’s CDN - Manual collection names, descriptions, handles, and product membership > **Everything is a Draft** — Imported products never appear to shoppers automatically. Draft status gives you time to add stock quantities, delivery settings, taxes, and any private details that were not available publicly. ## What does not come across - Exact stock quantities or inventory by Shopify location — imported products start with stock tracking turned off - Customers and orders, including order history, addresses, notes, and payment details - Shipping rates, tax overrides, discounts, gift cards, payment setup, or Shopify billing - Themes, navigation, pages, blog posts, domains, storefront settings, or private metafields - Collection artwork because Shopstar collections do not currently have a collection-image field - Images in unsupported formats; the product still imports and the completion note tells you to upload those images manually > **⚠️ Set inventory before publishing** — The public Shopify catalogue can show whether a variant is available, but it does not expose the exact stock quantity. Shopstar therefore imports public availability while leaving stock tracking turned off. Enter quantities and choose your out-of-stock policy before publishing. ## Importing the same store again A re-import identifies each product by its Shopify store and product ID. Products already created from that same store are reused, products from another provider or Shopify store remain separate, and collection memberships are rebuilt around the selected imported products. Existing Shopstar products are not silently overwritten. ## Troubleshooting - Link not accepted: use the HTTPS address of the public storefront, products.json, collections.json, or sitemap.xml — not an admin, preview, cart, or checkout link. - Store cannot be read: confirm the storefront is public and that its sitemap.xml and products.json open without signing in. - Currency warning: change your Shopstar store currency to the source currency, then create a fresh preview. - A product is missing: confirm it appears in the public products.json catalogue, not only in Shopify Admin or a private sales channel. - A collection is empty: confirm the product is publicly included in that collection and that you selected it in the preview. - A photo failed: upload it directly to the imported draft. HEIC and other unsupported public image formats may need conversion to JPEG, PNG, or WebP first. - A product failed: check its option names, public prices, and compare-at prices, then try the import again or create that one product manually. **Do I need to install a Shopify app or share my password?** No. Shopstar reads only public catalogue routes on your storefront. It never needs your Shopify password, admin session, or private access token. **Will imported products be visible immediately?** No. Every imported physical product is a Draft until you review and activate it. **Why is stock tracking turned off?** The public Shopify catalogue exposes availability but not exact quantities. Keeping tracking off avoids inventing stock that could oversell or hide a product incorrectly. **Can this import my customers and orders?** No. Customers and orders are private Shopify data and are not available through the public catalogue routes used by this migration. **Will a second import create duplicates?** No. Products from the same Shopify store are matched by their source product ID and reused. Existing Shopstar changes are not overwritten. ## Related - [Migrate from Booksy to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-booksy-to-shopstar.md) - [Migrate from Fresha to Shopstar](/help/products/migrate-fresha-to-shopstar.md) - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) - [Organize products with collections](/help/products/organize-with-collections.md) --- # Organize products with collections > Group related products into shoppable collections customers love to browse. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/organize-with-collections · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Collections are how you group products that go together — like 'Summer arrivals', 'Under R200', or 'For coffee lovers'. They make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for and discover more of what you sell. ## Create a collection 1. **Open Products, then Collections** — In the sidebar, click Products, then Collections. The top of the page shows headline stats — total collections, how many are Manual, how many are Smart, and the products inside them. 2. **Click Create collection and pick the type** — The Create collection dropdown gives you two choices: Manual collection (you hand-pick the products and reorder them) or Smart collection (the products are added automatically based on rules you set). 3. **Give it a friendly name** — Use words customers would search for. 'Best sellers', 'New in', or 'Gifts under R500' all work. Keep it short. 4. **For Smart collections, set your rules** — Add one or more conditions using the available fields: Product type (Physical, Digital, Booking, Ticket, Membership), Product status (Active, Draft, Archived), Minimum price, Maximum price, Created after a date, and Has a compare-at price (on sale). For example, a rule of 'Product type is Physical' with a 'Maximum price of 200' builds a Smart collection of all your physical products at most R200. 5. **Add a description** — Give the collection a short description so customers know what they are looking at. A collection has a title, a description, and the products (or rules) inside it. 6. **Save and link to it from your page** — Once saved, the collection has its own page. Link to it from your navigation, your homepage, or your social media bio. > **Tip: Three or four collections is plenty** — Too many collections can be overwhelming. Start with a small number that cover the main reasons customers visit your page. > **Smart collections keep themselves up to date** — Add a new product that matches your Smart collection rules and it shows up automatically. Archive a product and it drops out. No manual reshuffling needed. **Can a product be in more than one collection?** Yes. A single product can show up in as many collections as you like. **What's the difference between collections and tags?** Tags are internal labels for organizing in your dashboard. Collections are customer-facing groups they see on your page. **Can I mix manual picks with automatic rules?** A collection is either Manual or Smart — you choose when you create it. If you want most of a Smart collection but with one or two extras pinned, switch to Manual and use the rule logic as a checklist when you're adding products. ## Related - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) - [Track and manage inventory](/help/products/manage-inventory.md) --- # Track and manage inventory > Keep stock accurate, avoid overselling, and get warned when you run low. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/manage-inventory · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Tracking inventory means your page knows how much of each product you have, blocks orders when you are sold out, and warns you before you run low. ## Turn on inventory tracking 1. **Open the product you want to track** — From Products in your sidebar, click the product to edit it. 2. **Tick Track inventory** — In the Inventory section, tick the Track inventory checkbox. A Stock quantity field appears underneath. 3. **Set your current stock** — Type the number you have on hand right now into Stock quantity. 4. **Decide what happens when stock hits zero** — Leave the Continue selling when out of stock switch off (recommended) so the product shows as Sold out and orders are blocked once you run out. Turn it on if you would rather keep accepting orders — handy for made-to-order or pre-order products. 5. **Click Save Product** — Save Product at the bottom of the form. Each paid sale automatically reduces the count, and refunds add stock back. ## Watch for low stock In the sidebar, click Products, then Inventory. The top of the page shows headline numbers (total stock units, low stock count, out of stock count, and a Health label) and the list below highlights products with low or zero stock so you know what to restock first. ## Update lots of products at once Two buttons in the top right of the Inventory page handle the most common bulk situations: - Bulk update — download a CSV template, fill in the new stock counts in your spreadsheet, then upload it. We update every row in one go and tell you which ones did not match. - Adjust inventory — pick a product (or a few), change the count, and add a reason (required) like "Stock take" or "Damaged goods". The reason is kept on the adjustment history so you have a paper trail. > **Tip: After a delivery, use Bulk update** — It is much faster than opening every product. Download the template once, paste in the quantities from your delivery note, and upload. Done in a couple of minutes for a hundred products. **What happens when stock hits zero?** By default, the product shows as Sold out on your page and customers cannot buy it. Turn on Continue selling when out of stock to keep accepting orders. **Can I track stock by size or color?** Yes. If your product has variants (for example, a Variable Product with size and color options), each variant has its own stock count and its own low-stock threshold. **What is a low stock threshold?** A number that decides when a product or variant is considered "low stock" and shows up in the alerts on your Inventory page. When the count drops below it, the item is highlighted so you can restock in time. ## Related - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) - [Organize products with collections](/help/products/organize-with-collections.md) --- # Manage booking resources > Track the staff, rooms, and equipment your bookings depend on so nothing gets double-booked. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/manage-booking-resources · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~7 min read_ Resources are the people, places, and things your bookings need to actually happen — a trainer, a treatment room, a piece of equipment. Linking a resource to a booking product means your page will not let two customers book the same one at the same time. ## What you can add as a resource - Staff Member — employees, consultants, trainers, instructors - Room / Space — meeting rooms, treatment rooms, studios, event spaces - Equipment — machines, tools, vehicles, gear - Other — anything else that needs to be reserved when a booking is made ## Add a resource 1. **Open Products, then Resources** — In the sidebar, click Products, then Resources. (Resources only appears once you have at least one Booking product on your page.) Click Add resource. 2. **Give it a name and pick a type** — For example, "Maya — Pilates instructor" with type Staff Member, or "Studio B" with type Room / Space. The available types are Staff Member, Room / Space, Equipment, and Other. 3. **Set capacity** — How many bookings this resource can handle at the same time. Usually 1 for staff and rooms; higher for shared equipment or group sessions. 4. **Add contact details (optional)** — Email and phone are handy for staff resources so you can get hold of them quickly when bookings change. 5. **Save** — Once saved, the resource is available to link to any of your booking products. ## Set the resource's schedule A resource without a schedule has no bookable slots. Open the resource you just created and use the schedule editor to set the days and times it is available — for example, Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. Use the Weekdays preset for a Mon–Fri shortcut, or build a custom shape if a resource works split shifts or weekends only. ## Block out holidays and one-off days On the same resource page, add an exception for dates this resource is not available — public holidays, training days, leave, or maintenance. Upcoming public holidays appear as suggestions so you can block a national holiday in two clicks. Blocked slots disappear from the customer calendar straight away. ## Link a resource to a booking product Open the booking product from your Products list. In the Resources & Availability card, tick the resources this booking needs. When a customer tries to book a time slot, your page checks every linked resource's schedule and exceptions, plus their existing bookings, before letting the customer confirm. > **Tip: One resource, many products** — A resource can be linked to multiple booking products — useful when the same trainer or room is used for several different classes. Their schedule and exceptions apply to every product they are linked to. > **No "main schedule" — schedules live on the resource** — There is no single store-wide booking schedule. Each resource owns its own weekly working hours and exceptions, and the booking product borrows those when it decides which slots to offer. ## Group resources together Resource groups let you bundle related resources — several trainers at the same studio, or a set of interchangeable treatment rooms — and link the whole group to a booking product instead of wiring up each resource one by one. Open Products > Resources and switch to the Resource groups tab. Click New group, give it a name (this one is just for you), set the Shopper label customers see when they pick, and choose the group type: - Location — use this when all the resources in the group share a physical place, like "Sandton Studio — all trainers". The group can have an address and contact details that show on the booking. - Interchangeable — use this when any resource in the group can fulfil the booking equally well, like "Any available treatment room". Good for things like equipment pools and hot desks. Then pick how the customer interacts with the group when they book: - Require choice — the customer sees the individual resources in the group and must choose one. Great when the specific trainer or instructor matters to them. - Auto assign — your page silently picks the first available resource. The customer just picks a time. Ideal for rooms, equipment, or any case where the resource does not matter to the buyer. > **Tip: Add resources to a group after creating it** — Once the group is saved, open it and tick the resources it should include. You can add or remove resources at any time without affecting existing bookings. **What if I do not need resources?** If your booking is just about time slots (not who or where), you can leave a booking product without resources. With no resource attached, there is no schedule to consult — you may end up needing to set one up anyway so customers see real availability. **Can different resources have different working hours?** Yes — that is the point. A part-time instructor can work Tuesdays and Thursdays while a studio is open every day. Each resource's schedule is independent. **What happens if a resource is fully booked?** Customers won't see time slots that would conflict with a fully-booked resource. They simply pick from the times that are still free. **Can I delete a resource that has been booked?** Yes, but consider deactivating it first instead — past bookings remain attached to the resource for your records, and deactivating stops it being offered for new bookings without disrupting the order history. **What is the difference between a resource group and linking resources directly to a product?** Linking resources directly works well when you have a small number of resources and want full control. Resource groups make it easier to manage larger teams or pools — add a new trainer to the group and they are automatically available for every booking product that uses that group. ## Related - [Sell bookings and services](/help/products/set-up-bookings.md) - [Configure your global booking settings](/help/products/configure-booking-settings.md) --- # Configure your global booking settings > Set the default rules for all your booking products in one place. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/configure-booking-settings · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your page has a set of global booking settings that apply to every booking product unless you override them on a specific product. Getting these right once means you do not have to repeat yourself every time you add a new service. ## Open the booking settings In the sidebar, click Store, then Products. Switch to the Bookings tab at the top of the page. ## What each setting does 1. **Timezone** — Pick the timezone that matches where most of your bookings take place. All booking times in your dashboard are shown in this timezone, and customers see slots in their own local time. If you run sessions across multiple timezones, set the primary one here. 2. **Buffer time** — Protected time after each booking. A 15-minute buffer after a 60-minute session protects the resource until 75 minutes after the session began. Changing it affects future existing bookings that use the setting, and a change is rejected if it would exceed resource capacity. 3. **Allow Same-Day Bookings** — Switch this on to let customers book appointments for the same day. Switch it off to require at least one full day of notice — useful if you need time to prepare before new clients arrive. 4. **Advance booking window** — How far ahead customers can book. Set it in days — for example, 30 means customers can book any slot in the next 30 days but not further out. Useful if you do not want to commit your schedule too far in advance. 5. **Minimum notice required** — The minimum number of hours before an appointment that customers are allowed to book. For example, setting 2 means last-minute same-day bookings must be at least 2 hours away. Set 0 to allow bookings right up to the start time. 6. **Cancellation window** — The number of hours before an appointment that a customer can reschedule or cancel on their own. After this window closes, only you can change the booking. Set it to match your cancellation policy — for example, 24 means customers can self-serve up to 24 hours ahead. 7. **Default clients per slot** — How many customers can book the same time slot by default. Use 1 for one-on-one appointments, or a higher number for group classes. This is a default — individual booking products can override it. 8. **Email reminders** — Two toggles — one for 24 hours before and one for 2 hours before. Switch on the ones you want. Your customers get an automatic reminder email, reducing no-shows. These are defaults; per-product reminder settings let you override them for specific services. > **Products can override global defaults** — On each booking product, you will find a Reminder mode setting (Default, Custom, or Disabled) and a Clients per slot field. Set them to override the global defaults for that specific product. 'Default' means 'use whatever the global setting says'. > **Tip: Start with real numbers** — Think about how your average day actually runs. If you always need 10 minutes between clients, set 10 as the buffer. If you never fill bookings more than two weeks out, set 14 as the advance window. Realistic defaults save you from impossible schedules. **Do these settings affect existing bookings?** No. Changing global defaults only affects new bookings made from this point forward. Existing confirmed bookings keep the rules that were in place when they were created. **Can I turn off reminders for one product but keep them on globally?** Yes. Open the booking product, find the Reminder mode setting, and switch it to Disabled. That product sends no reminders, while all your other products keep the global default. **What if I want a longer cancellation window for one product?** Today, the cancellation window is a global setting — it applies to all booking products. If you need per-product cancellation rules, set the global window to your strictest case and explain any exceptions in your cancellation policy. **My bookings show the wrong time — what do I check?** Start with the Timezone field here. If the timezone is wrong, every time slot will be off by a fixed amount. Customers see slots in their own local time, so check the timezone setting matches the physical location where the bookings happen. ## Related - [Sell bookings and services](/help/products/set-up-bookings.md) - [Manage booking resources](/help/products/manage-booking-resources.md) - [Sync bookings with your calendar](/help/products/sync-bookings-with-your-calendar.md) --- # Sync bookings with your calendar > See your Shopstar bookings in Google, Apple, or Outlook — and block time from external calendars automatically. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/sync-bookings-with-your-calendar · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Calendar sync keeps your booking schedule in step with your other calendars. Pull in events from Google or Apple Calendar so they block your availability, and push your Shopstar bookings back out so they appear in whatever calendar you use day-to-day. ## Open calendar sync In the sidebar, click Store, then Products. Switch to the Bookings tab. Scroll down to the Calendar sync section. ## Block busy times from an external calendar (import) Connecting an external calendar means events in that calendar block matching time slots in your booking schedule — customers simply will not see those times as available. Useful if you have personal appointments, client calls, or other commitments outside Shopstar that eat into your bookable hours. 1. **Connect Google Calendar (if available)** — If you see a Connect Google Calendar button, click it and sign in with the Google account that holds the calendar you want to import. Once connected, a Google Calendar picker opens — choose which calendar or calendars should block your time. You can connect more than one. If this option is not available to you, use the private calendar link below instead — it works with Google too. 2. **Connect Apple Calendar, Outlook, or any other calendar** — Click Connect Apple / other calendar. A dialog opens explaining how to find the private calendar link in Apple Calendar (iCloud), Google Calendar, and Outlook. Copy your link from your calendar app, paste it into the field, give the connection a friendly name, and click Connect. This way always works, whatever calendar app you use. 3. **Choose what it blocks** — After connecting, pick the scope: 'All bookings' means events in this calendar block out time across all your bookings (great for a personal calendar that affects your whole day). Or pick a specific resource — for example, link a room calendar only to that room. > **Busy times are checked in real time** — When a customer tries to book a slot, your page checks connected calendars at that moment. If there is a clash, the slot is hidden. You do not need to do anything — new events in your external calendar block time automatically. ## See your bookings in an external calendar (export) Export feeds are subscribable calendar links. Paste one into Google, Apple, or Outlook and your Shopstar bookings appear as events in that app — useful for seeing your full day in one place. 1. **Get the all-bookings feed** — In the Export feeds section, click Copy next to 'All bookings' to copy the subscribe link for your entire booking schedule. 2. **Get a per-resource feed** — Each resource listed under Export feeds has its own Copy button. Click it to get a link that shows only that resource's bookings — handy if a staff member wants just their own schedule in their calendar. 3. **Subscribe in your calendar app** — In Google Calendar: Other calendars → Subscribe via URL → paste the link. In Apple Calendar: File → New Calendar Subscription → paste the link. In Outlook: Add calendar → Subscribe from web → paste the link. Your bookings appear and refresh automatically. 4. **Reset a feed link if needed** — If you want to stop someone from seeing your bookings, click the Reset icon next to any feed link. A new link is generated instantly and the old one stops working. Give the new link to anyone who still needs access. > **Tip: Check the resource card too** — When you open a resource from Products > Resources, a 'Connected calendars' card shows which external calendars currently block that resource's time — a quick check without opening the full settings page. > **⚠️ Treat export feed links as private** — Each export feed link is private and token-protected, but anyone you give it to can see your bookings — including the booking time, the product or service name, the resource, and the customer's name. Only share a feed with people who should see that, and reset the link if someone should no longer have access. **Can I connect more than one external calendar?** Yes. Add as many as you need — each connection has its own scope (all resources or a specific one). A busy slot from any connected calendar blocks the matching time. **Does the import update in real time?** Yes. When a customer looks at available slots, your page checks connected calendars at that moment so any newly added events are reflected straight away. **Will customers see which calendar blocked the time?** No. They just see that a slot is unavailable. The reason (an external event, another booking, a manual block) is never shown to customers. **Can I disconnect a calendar?** Yes. Each connection in the Calendar sync section has a Disconnect (trash) button. Removing it means those events no longer block your availability — the time opens back up for new bookings. **Do export feeds show customer names?** Yes. Each event in the feed includes the booking time, the product or service name, the resource, and the customer's name — so the feed shows who you are booked with, not just when. The feed link is private and token-protected, so treat it like a password: only share it with people who should see your customers' details, and reset it if that changes. ## Related - [Configure your global booking settings](/help/products/configure-booking-settings.md) - [Manage booking resources](/help/products/manage-booking-resources.md) - [Manage bookings on your calendar](/help/orders/manage-bookings-on-your-calendar.md) --- # Sell sizes, colors, and other variants > Offer one product in different sizes, colors, or styles — each with its own price and stock. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/sell-product-variants · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Variants let you sell one product in different forms — a t-shirt in three sizes and four colors, a candle in two scents, a course at two lengths. Customers pick what they want on the product page; you manage them all from one place. ## Common ways to use variants - Sizes (Small, Medium, Large) - Colors (Black, White, Navy) - Materials (Cotton, Linen, Silk) - Scents, flavors, or styles - Combinations — like Size + Color together ## Add variants to a product 1. **Open or create a product** — In the sidebar, click Products, then open the product you want to add variants to (or click Add product to start fresh). 2. **Pick the variable pricing model** — Variants are for physical products and event tickets. Scroll to the Pricing section — you will see a Pricing model chooser with two cards. On a physical product, pick Variable Product; on an event ticket, pick Multiple Ticket Types. Other product types do not show this chooser. Switching an existing simple product over shows a confirmation so you don't change it by accident. 3. **Click Add your first option** — In the Variants section below, click Add your first option. An option editor opens where you name the option and add its values. 4. **Add your first option** — Type a name customers will see — for example, Size or Color — and add the values like Small, Medium, Large. Press Enter or comma between values. 5. **Add more options if you need them** — If you sell Size and Color combinations, add a second option for Color. Combinations are generated automatically — Small + Black, Small + White, Medium + Black, and so on. You can stack up to ten options on a single product if you really need to. 6. **Tune each variant** — In the variants table, set the price, stock, and image for each combination. Use the bulk action bar to update price or stock across many variants at once. 7. **Click Save Product** — Click Save Product. It saves as a Draft first; once it is saved, set Status to Active in the sidebar to make it live. Customers see a friendly variant picker on the product page and the price updates as they choose. > **Tip: Give each variant its own photo** — When customers pick a color, the main image swaps to match. Upload one main photo per color (or per key variant) and your product page comes alive. > **Inventory stays accurate** — When inventory tracking is on, each variant has its own stock count and its own low-stock threshold. Selling out of Large in Black does not affect Medium in Black — the picker shows what is still available. > **⚠️ Variant changes save immediately on existing products** — On a product that has already been saved, edits to variant prices, stock, options, and deleted variants are written as soon as you apply them. Discard does not undo saved variant edits — so double-check before bulk-editing. **How many options can a product have?** Technically up to ten, but for shoppers, three is usually plenty (like Size + Color + Material). More than that gets overwhelming on the product page. **Can I delete a variant later?** Yes. Open the variant from the table and remove it. Any unsold stock is removed too; existing orders for that variant keep their record. **Can I switch a simple product to one with variants?** Yes. Pick the Variable card under Pricing model. You'll see a confirmation prompt so you don't switch by accident — your original price becomes the price of your first variant. **Do digital products and other non-physical types support variants?** Only physical products and event tickets support variants. Event tickets use Multiple Ticket Types (for example General Admission and VIP), each with its own price and stock. Digital downloads, bookings, and memberships do not have variants — instead, create a separate product for each option. For example, set up one membership product per tier, and for bookings use a separate booking product for each version (or attach different resources). ## Related - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) - [Track and manage inventory](/help/products/manage-inventory.md) --- # Check guests in at the door > Scan QR codes or search by name to check guests into your event from a phone or tablet. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/check-in-event-tickets · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Check-in mode is the tool you use on event day. Open it on a phone or tablet, scan the QR code on each guest ticket as they arrive, and watch your guest count update live. No printer, no paper list, no manual ticking off. ## What you need before you start - A ticketed event you have set up in your page - A phone or tablet with a camera (laptops with webcams work too) - Wi-Fi or mobile data at the venue - The team members who will help on the door, set up with the Check-in Only role ## Open check-in mode 1. **Open Orders, then Ticketing** — In your dashboard sidebar, click Orders, then Ticketing. You will see every event you have set up, with how many tickets have sold. 2. **Pick the event you are running today** — Click into the event to open its details. 3. **Tap Check-in mode** — The Check-in mode button is in the top-right of the event page. Tap it to open a clean, full-screen view designed for the door. ## Check guests in two ways Check-in mode has two tabs at the top — Scan QR Code and Manual Lookup. Switch between them as you need. 1. **Scan QR Code** — Point your camera at the QR code on the guest ticket (in their email or saved to their phone). The ticket is recognised, checked in, and the guest count goes up by one — usually in under a second. 2. **Manual Lookup** — No QR code or the camera is being difficult? Switch to Manual Lookup and search by name, email, or ticket number. Pick the right guest from the results and tap Check in. > **What you will see after each check-in** — Successful check-ins show a confirmation with the guest name and clear after about 4 seconds so the next guest is in front of you. If a ticket has already been used, you see when it was used — handy for catching duplicates. Cancelled or refunded tickets are blocked automatically, and unknown ticket numbers come back as "not found" so you can sort it out at the door. ## Track progress as you go A live progress bar at the top of check-in mode shows how many guests have arrived, how many are still expected, and the percentage checked in. The stats refresh every time you scan or search, so anyone watching the door knows where they stand. ## Let your team help on the door You do not have to do check-in alone. Invite a team member and give them the Check-in Only role — they will be able to open check-in mode for your events but will not see the rest of your dashboard. It is the safest option for casual helpers, door volunteers, or hired event staff. > **Tip: Set up your team before the day** — Invite your check-in helpers a day or two ahead so they have time to accept the email and sign in. On the night, they just open your page, sign in, and head straight to check-in mode. ## Have a backup plan for spotty Wi-Fi Venues can be unpredictable. Before the event, open the event page and export the guest list to a spreadsheet. If the internet drops at the door you can switch to ticking guests off the printed list, then reconcile in check-in mode once you are back online. > **⚠️ Check-ins are recorded** — Once a ticket is checked in, it is marked as used. If you let someone in by mistake and they come back later, the second scan will flag the ticket as already used — get in touch with support if you need to reverse a check-in. **Do guests need to print their tickets?** No. Most guests just show their ticket email or save the QR code to their phone wallet. Printing still works — the QR scans the same either way. **Can two helpers check guests in at the same time?** Yes. Each helper opens check-in mode on their own device and works independently. Every check-in is recorded centrally, so the same ticket can never be scanned in twice across devices. Each device updates its own count when it does a check-in or reloads — if you want the freshest total mid-event, pull to refresh. **What if a guest lost their ticket?** Use Manual Lookup to search for them by name or email. As long as the ticket exists and has not been used, you can check them in straight away. **Can someone with the Check-in Only role see my sales or customers?** No. The Check-in Only role only opens check-in mode. They cannot view your other orders, products, customers, or settings. **What happens to refunded tickets?** They are blocked at check-in. If you scan a refunded or cancelled ticket, the result tells you it has been cancelled so the guest does not slip through. ## Related - [Sell event tickets](/help/products/sell-event-tickets.md) - [Invite team members and set roles](/help/account/invite-team-members.md) --- # Physical product settings > Configure store-wide low-stock alerts and find product-specific stock controls. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/products/configure-physical-product-settings · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Store > Products > Physical Products controls the low-stock threshold used across your inventory. Backorder behavior is configured per product so made-to-order items can differ from products that must stop selling at zero. ## How to open physical product settings 1. **Click Store in your sidebar** — Then click Products in the sub-menu to open the product settings page. 2. **Select the Physical Products tab** — The page has three tabs — Physical Products, Bookings, and Reviews. Click Physical Products. 3. **Set the low-stock threshold** — Save the stock level that should trigger alerts across your inventory. ## What each setting does - Low Stock Threshold — a number. Whenever a product's stock falls to this level or below, it appears highlighted in your Inventory list and you receive a low-stock notification. The default is 5. > **Tip: Backorders are configured per product** — Open a physical product and use Continue selling when out of stock. Turn it on for made-to-order or pre-order items, and leave it off when that product must show Sold out at zero stock. > **Stock alerts go to your Notifications** — To receive low-stock emails, make sure Inventory alerts is switched on — click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar and select Notifications. The threshold here decides when an alert fires; the notification switch decides whether you hear about it. **Where do I enable backorders?** Open the physical product in your catalog, find Inventory, and turn on Continue selling when out of stock. The choice applies only to that product. **What is a sensible stock alert threshold?** It depends on how long it takes you to restock. If it takes a week to get more stock in, you might set the threshold to your average weekly sales so you have time to order before you run out. ## Related - [Track and manage inventory](/help/products/manage-inventory.md) - [Fulfill and ship an order](/help/orders/fulfill-and-ship-order.md) --- # Understanding your orders > A friendly tour of the order page, statuses, and what each one means. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/understanding-orders · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Every order in your page has a clear story — what was bought, who bought it, whether it was paid, and where it is in the journey to the customer. This guide explains how to read it. ## The two statuses to know Each order has two important statuses, side by side: - Payment status — whether you have been paid. Values you will see: Pending, Processing, Paid, Failed, Cancelled, Refunded, and Partially Refunded. - Fulfillment status — whether the customer has what they bought. Values: Unfulfilled, Partial, Fulfilled, Shipped, Delivered, and Returned. > **They move independently** — You can have a paid order that is not fulfilled yet (customer paid, you have not shipped), or a fulfilled order that has been refunded (a return). Watching both gives you the full picture. ## The three order views The Orders list has three tabs at the top to help you focus on what needs action: - All — every order, searchable and filterable by status - Pending — orders that are still in the Pending status and need attention. This includes orders waiting for payment confirmation, orders where a payment failed, and paid orders you have not fulfilled yet. - Shipping — your shipping workspace for orders that need posting. It has three views: Ready to ship (orders waiting to go out), Shipped (orders already on their way, each with a Track package link), and Delivered (orders that have arrived). It lets you see every shipment at a glance. > **Tip: Start your day on Pending** — Opening the Pending tab each morning surfaces the orders that need you — including any waiting on payment. When you are ready to pack and post, switch to the Shipping tab to work through the ones that are ready to ship. ## Reading a single order 1. **Open an order from the Orders list** — Click any row to see the full order page. 2. **Check what was bought** — The order page lists every item, the quantity, the price, and any discounts or taxes that applied. 3. **Check the customer details** — The customer card shows shipping address, billing address, email, and phone — useful before you ship or call. 4. **Read the order timeline** — The timeline card shows the order story end to end — payment received, customer emails sent, fulfillment steps, refunds, and any system events. Use it to answer "what has happened on this order, and when?". 5. **Resend an email if needed** — Click the Send dropdown button (near the top of the order page) to resend any system email the customer may have missed — order confirmation, shipping notification, ticket confirmation, or booking confirmation. > **Tip: Use the timeline as your paper trail** — The order timeline records each meaningful step automatically, so you do not need to keep your own log. If a customer asks "when did you ship my order?", the answer is right there with a timestamp. **What are the Quick actions on the Pending tab?** When you have pending orders, the Pending tab shows a Quick actions panel that moves groups of orders forward in one click. Confirm All Normal marks your normal-priority orders as processing together. Email Urgent Customers sends a quick heads-up email to customers whose orders have been waiting three days or more. Review Failed Payments takes you straight to the orders where a payment did not go through, so you can follow up. **What does Pending payment mean?** The customer started the checkout but the payment has not been confirmed yet. Some payments take a few seconds to clear — if a Pending order stays Pending for hours, contact the customer or check your payment provider for what happened. **What is the difference between Refunded and Partially Refunded?** Refunded means the full order amount went back to the customer. Partially Refunded means you returned some of the money (for example, one line item out of three). The order timeline shows exactly which lines were refunded and when. **Can I edit an order after it is placed?** Items, prices, and totals are locked after payment so the record stays accurate. To change the goods, refund and create a new order. Shipping address corrections should be made before the order is marked as Shipped. **How do I find a specific order?** Use the "Search orders or customers..." box at the top of the Orders list. Search by order number, customer name, or customer email. For product-based searches, use the Products page and click into the product to see its recent sales. ## Related - [Fulfill and ship an order](/help/orders/fulfill-and-ship-order.md) - [Issue a refund](/help/orders/issue-a-refund.md) --- # Fulfill and ship an order > Mark an order as shipped, add tracking, and notify your customer. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/fulfill-and-ship-order · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ When an order comes in for a physical product, the next step is packing it up and sending it on its way. Here is the full flow from your dashboard to your customer's door. ## Mark an order as shipped 1. **Open the order** — From the Orders area, click the order you want to ship. 2. **Pack your items** — Read or print the order details — they list every line item, the shipping address, and any notes the customer added at checkout. 3. **Optional: click Mark Processing first** — If you have a longer pack time and want customers to know you have started, hit Mark Processing. The order moves to Processing without sending tracking details yet. 4. **Click Mark Shipped** — A dialog titled "Ship Order" with the order number opens, ready for the carrier and tracking details. 5. **Pick the carrier and add tracking** — Pick the Carrier from the dropdown (the list is tuned to your page's currency, with Other for anything not listed) and paste the Tracking Number from your shipping label. If you choose Other, a Tracking URL field appears so you can paste the tracking link yourself. 6. **Customer receives tracking details** — When the order is marked as shipped, your page automatically sends the customer their carrier and tracking details when an email address is available. 7. **Click Mark as Shipped** — The order status moves to Shipped. Once the parcel arrives, you can come back to the order and click Mark Delivered to close the loop. For pickup or collection orders the button reads Mark Collected instead. > **Tip: Print or export the order** — From the order page, click Print for a clean printed slip to ship with — or Export to download a CSV of the order details for your records. ## See what is ready to ship The Orders page has a Shipping tab that gathers your physical orders by where they are in the journey. Switch between three views — Ready to ship (orders waiting to go out), Shipped (orders already on their way, each with a Track package link to the carrier), and Delivered (orders that have arrived). It is the fastest way to see your whole shipping queue at a glance. To post an order, open it from your Orders list and follow the steps above. **Do I have to use a specific carrier?** No. The carrier dropdown is tuned to your page's currency — for example, South African stores see Aramex, The Courier Guy, Pudo, Dawn Wing, plus DHL, UPS, and FedEx. If you ship with someone not in the list, pick Other and type the carrier name yourself. **What if I made a mistake on the tracking number?** Reach out to support and we will help you correct the tracking details on the order and re-notify the customer. **When are non-physical products fulfilled?** Digital downloads, ticket purchases, memberships, and paid bookings fulfill automatically the moment payment is confirmed. You do not have to do anything for those. **Why is the customer-notification switch greyed out?** The order has no customer email — usually because it was placed without one. Add an email to the order before shipping if you want the customer to receive the tracking notification. ## Related - [Understanding your orders](/help/orders/understanding-orders.md) - [Set up shipping rates](/help/orders/set-up-shipping-rates.md) --- # Set up shipping rates > Define where you ship to and how much it costs. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/set-up-shipping-rates · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Shipping rates are the prices customers pay at checkout to receive their order. You decide where you ship to and how much it costs. ## How shipping rates work Rates are organized into zones — groups of places you ship to. For each zone, you add one or more rates. When a customer enters their address at checkout, your page picks the right zone and shows them the rates that apply. ## Add your first shipping area 1. **Open Store, then Shipping** — In the sidebar, click Store, then Shipping. You will land on the Delivery Zones tab — click Add Shipping Area (or Add Area if you already have one). 2. **Name your area** — Something simple like 'South Africa', 'Domestic', or 'International'. The name is just for you. 3. **Pick the locations it covers** — Choose the countries, and optionally narrow down to specific provinces or cities — useful when you want different rates inside the same country. 4. **Add rates** — Each rate has a method, name, and price. Pick a method (Standard delivery, Express delivery, Overnight delivery) and add the price. Common patterns: a flat 'Standard delivery — R75', a free rate that only applies above a threshold ('Free over R1000'), and an express option like 'Next day — R150'. 5. **Save** — Once saved, the rates show up at checkout for any matching address. ## Offer pickup or collection If customers can collect their order in person, switch to the Collection Points tab and click Add Collection Point. Add the address and any helpful notes for collection (hours, where to park). At checkout, customers can pick Pickup / collection instead of paying for delivery and get the collection details in their confirmation email. > **Tip: Customers love free shipping** — Customers respond well to free shipping. Try a 'Free shipping over R1000' rate and watch your average order go up. **Can shipping cost depend on order value?** Yes — every rate has optional minimum and maximum order totals. Set just a minimum for 'Free over R1000' deals, or use both to create tiered pricing. **Can I set rates by weight?** You set your rates by delivery area and order total, not by weight — so you can’t build your own weight tiers. But weight still matters: for heavier orders, a small amount is added to the delivery price automatically for the extra weight, so a big heavy order costs a little more to ship than a light one. Pickup and free shipping are never charged extra for weight. The best thing you can do is put accurate weights on your products so the maths comes out right. **Can I have different rates within the same country?** Yes. Set up one area for the country with general rates, and another more specific area for the city or province where you offer something different (like same-day delivery in your home city). Your page picks the most specific matching area for the customer's address. **What if a customer is in a country I do not ship to?** They see a friendly message at checkout saying delivery is not available to their address. They can change to an address you do ship to, or pick up if you offer it. ## Related - [Fulfill and ship an order](/help/orders/fulfill-and-ship-order.md) - [Customize your checkout](/help/your-store/customize-your-checkout.md) --- # Issue a refund > Refund part or all of an order, and the money goes back the way it came. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/issue-a-refund · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Refunds happen — a customer changed their mind, an item arrived damaged, or a service had to be cancelled. Refunds work the same way for any paid order, whatever the product. The flow is short, and the money goes back through the same payment method the customer used. ## Refund an order 1. **Open the order** — In Orders, find the order you need to refund and click it to open the order page. 2. **Click Refund** — Click the Refund button on the order page. The Refund Order panel opens with a clear summary of how much is available to refund and how much has already gone back. 3. **Write a reason** — A reason is required and free-form — for example, "Customer requested refund, item damaged, order cancelled". This is mainly for your own records and the order timeline. 4. **Click Process Refund** — The full available amount is refunded to the original card or wallet, and we email the customer a confirmation automatically. For a partial refund (returning only some of the money), contact support — partial refunds are not yet self-serve. ## When a refund cannot go through automatically Sometimes the original payment cannot be reversed automatically — for example, very old payments, a closed merchant account, or a payment method that does not support refunds. In those cases the panel shows a "Manual Refund Required" message and asks you to arrange the refund directly with the customer (for example, by EFT) instead. > **⚠️ Refunds cannot be undone** — Once Process Refund completes, the money is on its way back to the customer's bank. Double-check the amount and the reason before you confirm — there is no rollback. **How long do refunds take to appear?** Refunds usually show up on the customer's statement within 5–10 business days, depending on their bank. We email the customer the moment the refund is processed on our side, so they know it is on the way. **Can I issue a partial refund?** Not from the Refund Order panel today — it processes full refunds only. To refund a portion of an order, reach out to support and we will sort it out for you. **Does refunding restore inventory?** Yes. When you refund a physical order, your page puts the items back into stock automatically. If you ever see a yellow notice that stock could not be restored, you can adjust it by hand from the Inventory page. **What happens to a digital download after refund?** The customer's download access is removed automatically. They no longer see the file in their account or in their original email link. ## Related - [Write and publish your page policies](/help/your-store/update-store-policies.md) - [Understanding your orders](/help/orders/understanding-orders.md) --- # Send a manual order or invoice > Charge a customer outside the storefront — invoices, custom orders, or one-offs. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/send-manual-order · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ Sometimes a customer wants something custom, wants to pay by EFT, or has reached out by email instead of through your page. Manual orders let you handle these cleanly without leaving your dashboard. ## When to use a manual order - A customer asked for a custom quote and you are sending them the final price to pay - You want to invoice a business client by EFT - You are recording an in-person or offline sale for your records - You want to gift an item to someone without charging them - You are taking a booking, membership, or ticket sale over the phone or in person ## Create a manual order 1. **Open Orders and click Create order** — In the Create order dropdown, pick the type of order you are sending — Physical product, Digital product, Booking / appointment, Membership, or Event ticket. A blank order sheet opens. 2. **Add the customer** — Search for an existing customer or add a new one with their name and email. 3. **Add the items** — Add one or more products from your page. You can adjust the quantity on each line. 4. **Add the delivery address if relevant** — For a physical order, enter the delivery address. Shipping is applied automatically from your shipping settings, so there is nothing to price by hand. 5. **Pick how the customer will pay** — Three options: Send Payment Link (email the customer a link to pay online), Paid Order (you have already taken payment in person, so it is confirmed right away), or Free Order (no payment required — for gifts or comp tickets). 6. **Send to the customer** — Click Create Order to finish (for a booking, the button reads Create Booking). If you picked Send Payment Link, the customer gets an email with a link to pay; Free and Paid Order are confirmed straight away. Either way, the order is tracked like any other. ## What changes for each product type The order sheet adapts to the type you picked in the Create order dropdown: - Physical product — you add a delivery address, and shipping is applied automatically from your shipping settings. - Digital product — instead of an address, you enter a delivery email; the download links are sent there once the order is paid. - Booking / appointment — you pick the service, the date, and the time (plus a staff member or room if the service uses one). No address needed. - Membership — you pick the membership plan the customer is joining. No address needed. - Event ticket — you pick the event, and the tickets are issued to the customer once the order is paid. > **Manual orders count toward your stats** — They show up in your sales reports just like storefront orders, so your numbers are accurate no matter how the sale happened. **How does the customer pay an invoice?** They get an email with a Pay now link. Clicking it opens a secure payment page where they can use a card or other supported method, just like checkout. **What if the customer pays me by EFT or cash?** Use Paid Order — that mode is for payments collected outside the platform (cash, EFT, card machine, you name it). The order is created already confirmed. **What if the payment link does not work?** Open the order and use the Send dropdown — it can resend payment links, receipts, and delivery updates. Payment links stay valid until you cancel the order or it is paid. **Can I edit a manual order after I create it?** Once the order is created the items and totals are locked, just like a storefront order. If you need to change the goods, refund and create a fresh order — that way the audit trail stays clean. ## Related - [Understanding your orders](/help/orders/understanding-orders.md) - [Set up payments so you can get paid](/help/payments/set-up-payments.md) --- # Manage bookings on your calendar > See every reservation at a glance, reschedule, block out time, and add bookings yourself. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/manage-bookings-on-your-calendar · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ If your page takes bookings, the calendar is where you'll spend a lot of your day. It shows every reservation, blocked time, and free slot at a glance — and lets you act on any of them in one tap. ## Open your bookings In the sidebar, click Orders, then Bookings. You will land on the Calendar view. Use the tabs at the top to switch between Calendar view and List view, and the Month, Week, and Day buttons to zoom in or out. Today and the arrow buttons move you through the dates. ## What you can do from here 1. **Tap a booking to see the details** — Click any coloured block on the calendar to open the booking detail sheet. You will see the customer, the product, the time, and the resources linked to it. 2. **Reschedule a booking** — From the booking sheet, open Reschedule to pick a new time. Your page checks availability against the linked resource and the customer is notified of the new slot. 3. **Cancel a booking** — Cancel from the booking sheet. The customer is notified and the slot opens back up. If a refund applies, click Refund on the same sheet to open the Refund Order panel — no need to bounce to the order page. 4. **Block out time on the calendar** — Drag across an empty range on the calendar to open the Block Time Slot dialog. Pick which product the block applies to, optionally add a reason (e.g., "Lunch break"), and click Block Time. The slot disappears from the customer-facing calendar straight away. 5. **Add a booking yourself** — Click New Booking at the top to create one without a customer going through your page — handy for phone or in-person bookings. > **Tip: Filter by product or resource** — On a busy calendar, use the Product filter and Resource filter above the grid to show only one product (like 'Pilates class') or one resource (like a specific instructor). It is the fastest way to tidy a packed week. > **Two ways to block time** — Use the calendar drag for one-off blocks tied to a specific product (lunch break, dentist appointment). For recurring or holiday block-outs that apply to a whole resource — every product that uses that staff member or room — set those up on the resource itself via Resources. **Can customers see my calendar?** No. Customers only see the time slots that are free for the product they are booking. Your full calendar — other bookings, blocks, and notes — stays private to you and your team. **What does the List view show?** Every booking as a row, ordered by date and time. It is the best view if you want to scan upcoming bookings or quickly spot a specific customer. **Do refunds happen automatically when I cancel?** No — refunds are a separate decision. Once you cancel, the booking sheet shows a Refund button so you can issue a refund right there. Decide based on your cancellation policy. ## Related - [Sell bookings and services](/help/products/set-up-bookings.md) - [Manage booking resources](/help/products/manage-booking-resources.md) - [Sync bookings with your calendar](/help/products/sync-bookings-with-your-calendar.md) --- # Manage your members > See who is subscribed, pause or cancel memberships, and track your recurring revenue. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/manage-member-subscriptions · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ The Memberships page shows every customer who has an active, paused, or cancelled subscription — across all your membership products. You can take action on any member from here without touching the original order. ## Open Memberships In the sidebar, click Orders, then Memberships. At the top of the page you will see headline stats — Active members, Monthly revenue, New this month, Churned this month, and Expiring soon. The list below shows every subscription with its status, plan, billing period, and next renewal date. ## Member status types - Active — the member is paying and has full access - Trialing — the member is in a free trial period - Paused — billing is paused; access may be restricted depending on your plan settings - Cancelled — the membership has been cancelled; access continues until the end of the billing period - Past due — a payment failed and we are retrying; access is usually still active briefly during this window - Unpaid — payment has failed and retries are exhausted; access is typically suspended - Trial expired — a trial ended without a payment method being added ## What you can do from the list - Filter by plan or by status to focus on a specific group - Search by customer name or email - Click any row to open the member detail sheet ## Actions you can take on a member Click any member to open their detail sheet. From there you can: 1. **View their billing history** — See every charge, payment status, and when the next renewal is due. 2. **Pause a membership** — Pausing stops the next billing cycle. The member can resume at any time, or you can resume on their behalf. Useful when a member contacts you asking to put their subscription on hold. 3. **Resume a paused membership** — Billing resumes from the next cycle. The member regains full access straight away. 4. **Cancel a membership** — Cancelling stops the membership at the end of the current billing period, so the member keeps access until then — they have already paid for the time they have. The member is notified. Once the period ends, a membership cannot be reactivated — the customer would need to subscribe again. 5. **Undo a scheduled cancellation** — If you or a customer schedules a cancellation and changes their mind, click Undo cancellation before the period ends to keep the subscription running. > **Adding a member yourself** — You can add a member manually with the Add member button at the top right. Pick the plan and enter the customer details — useful for gifted memberships or phone sign-ups. > **Tip: Watch the "expiring soon" stat** — Members shown in the Expiring soon count are approaching the end of an annual plan. It is a good time to send a personal note encouraging renewal before the automatic billing fires. > **Manage the plans themselves** — The Memberships page manages individual members. To create, edit, or archive the billing plans themselves (price, interval, features), head to the Subscription plans page in your Memberships area — see the "Manage membership billing plans" article for the full walkthrough. **Can a member change their own plan?** Yes — members can manage their subscription from the account area on your page. They can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel, and any plan change is pro-rated on the next bill. **What happens when a payment fails?** We retry the payment automatically over a few days and send the customer an email asking them to update their card. The membership stays accessible during this window. If all retries fail, the membership moves to Unpaid and access is suspended until they fix their payment method. **Does cancelling a member issue a refund?** No — cancellation stops future charges but does not automatically refund past ones. If you want to refund the current period, issue a refund from the Orders page for the relevant order. **What does Monthly revenue show?** Monthly revenue (also known as MRR — Monthly Recurring Revenue) is the total amount your active members pay each month. Annual plans are divided by 12 to give a monthly equivalent. It is the single best number for tracking the health of a subscription business. ## Related - [Sell memberships and subscriptions](/help/products/sell-memberships.md) - [Understanding your orders](/help/orders/understanding-orders.md) - [Manage membership billing plans](/help/orders/manage-billing-plans.md) --- # Manage membership billing plans > Create and manage the recurring billing configurations that power your membership products. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/orders/manage-billing-plans · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Billing plans are the pricing configurations that power your memberships — they define how much customers pay, how often, what features are included, and whether the plan is publicly listed. Managing them in one place makes it easy to keep your membership offering tidy as it grows. ## Open the Subscription plans page From your Memberships area, open the Subscription plans page (titled "Subscription plans") to manage every billing plan in one place. This is separate from the Memberships page, which is where you manage individual members. ## What you see on the page - Billing plans — how many billing plans you have set up - Members with access — the number of members currently on a plan - Monthly recurring revenue — your total monthly recurring revenue across all plans Below the stats, a searchable table lists every plan with its name, billing interval, price, and how many subscribers are on it. ## Create a billing plan 1. **Click New billing plan** — Click New billing plan (if you have not made one yet, the empty state shows a Create Billing Plan button instead). The form, titled Create Membership Billing Plan, opens from the right. 2. **Give it a name and description** — Use a name customers will recognise — like "Monthly" or "Annual Premium". The description appears in any plan picker your customers see. 3. **List what is included** — In the Features section, add a short list of what members get with this plan — for example "Access to all classes", "Monthly newsletter", "Free shipping". Each feature appears as a bullet point in the plan description. 4. **Set the price and billing interval** — Enter the recurring price and choose the billing interval — monthly or annual. This is what customers are charged on a repeat schedule. 5. **Decide if it is public** — Public plans are visible to customers in plan pickers on your page. Private plans are only accessible to you and your team — useful for grandfathered pricing or special arrangements. 6. **Click Create Plan** — The plan is saved and available straight away for new members to join. ## Manage an existing plan Click the actions menu (the three dots icon) next to any plan in the list to: - View details — see the plan details and the members on it - Edit plan — update the name, description, and features - Archive plan — retire the plan so no new members can join it To change the price or the billing interval, open the plan and add a new price on its Prices tab. New subscribers are charged the new price, while existing members keep the price they signed up at. > **⚠️ Archiving does not cancel existing subscriptions** — When you archive a plan, existing members on that plan keep their subscription and are billed as normal — archiving only stops new sign-ups. To end subscriptions for existing members, cancel them individually from the Memberships page. > **Plans power membership products** — Billing plans work alongside the membership products you create in Products. A customer joins via a membership product on your page; the billing plan attached to that product defines the price and interval they are charged. **Can I change the price on an existing plan?** Yes. Open the plan and add a new price on its Prices tab — you can change both the price and the billing interval this way. New subscribers are charged the new price, while existing members keep the price they signed up at. If you need to charge existing members more, contact support about migrating them. **What does Monthly recurring revenue show?** Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is the combined monthly billing across all active subscriptions using your plans. Annual plans are divided by 12 to give a monthly equivalent. It is the best single number for tracking the health of your membership business. **Can I have different plans for monthly and annual billing?** Yes. Create one plan per billing interval — for example "Standard Monthly" at a monthly price and "Standard Annual" at a discounted annual price. Both can sit alongside each other so customers can pick the one that suits them. **How do private plans work?** Private plans do not appear in any public plan picker on your page. Use them for legacy pricing you want to grandfather in, or for custom arrangements with specific customers that you create via a manual order. ## Related - [Manage your members](/help/orders/manage-member-subscriptions.md) - [Sell memberships and subscriptions](/help/products/sell-memberships.md) --- # How customer accounts work > Let customers create accounts to track orders, save details, and shop faster. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/customers/customer-accounts · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Customer accounts make shopping faster and friendlier. Returning customers do not have to retype their details, and they can see all their orders, downloads, bookings, and memberships in one place. ## What customers can do with an account - Track every order they have placed and re-order items in one click - Save addresses for faster checkout next time - Access digital downloads, memberships, and tickets they bought - View and manage their subscriptions - Update their email and contact details ## How accounts fit into your checkout Guest checkout is always available on your page — a shopper can complete an order with just an email and a delivery address. Customers can also sign in (or sign in for the first time) to keep their order history attached to one account. Some product types naturally need an account to make sense: memberships sign the buyer in as a member, and event tickets that you check in at the door work best when each ticket holder has an account. Those flows nudge the customer to sign in or create an account during checkout. > **No passwords to remember** — There are no customer passwords. Each sign-in uses a one-time verification code sent to the customer's email, so there is nothing for them to forget and nothing for you to reset. **How does a customer sign in?** They click Sign in on your page and enter their email. We email them a 6-digit verification code; they type it in and they are signed in for the session. **What if a customer never gets their code?** Ask them to check their spam folder and double-check the email address they entered. They can request a fresh code from the same sign-in screen — each one is valid for a short window. **Can I see what a customer has bought?** Yes. Open the customer in your Customers area and you see their orders, total spent, average order value, and contact details. ## Related - [View a customer profile](/help/customers/view-customer-profile.md) - [Understand customer segments](/help/customers/segments-and-lists.md) --- # Understand customer segments > How your page groups customers automatically so you can focus your attention. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/customers/segments-and-lists · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Your page automatically sorts every customer into a segment based on their buying behavior. Segments are how you spot your most loyal customers and the ones who might be slipping away. ## The five segments - New — joined recently and may have placed their first order - Active — bought from you recently - VIP — your top spenders and most loyal customers - At risk — used to buy and have gone quiet - Inactive — no recent activity for a long time ## Where to find them 1. **Open Customers from your sidebar** — Click Orders, then Customers in the left sidebar. The dashboard opens with headline stats — total customers, new customers, retention rate, and average customer value — plus a few more metrics, a Top customers list, and insights about your top spenders and at-risk shoppers. 2. **Open the full directory** — Use the "View all customers" button at the bottom of the Top customers card to open the directory. You will see segment tabs across the top — All, New, VIP, Active, At risk, and Inactive — each showing the count for that group. Click a tab to see only that segment. There is also a Segment dropdown and a Sort menu in the search area to refine further. 3. **Export the list** — Click Export in the top right to open the Export customers page. Set an optional "Created from" and "Created to" date range, tick "Include inactive customers" if you want them, then click Generate export. Your CSV is prepared in the background and appears under Recent jobs with a download link once it is ready. > **Tip: Focus on At risk first** — A customer who has bought before and gone quiet is often easier to win back than a brand new one to win for the first time. Reach out with a kind message or a small thank-you. **Do segments update automatically?** Yes. As customers buy or stay quiet, they move between segments on their own. You do not have to update anything by hand. **Can I create my own segment with custom rules?** Not today. The built-in segments cover the most common groupings most stores need. If you have a more specific use case, export your customers and filter in a spreadsheet. **Can I bring in a list of customers from another tool?** Yes — use the Import customers button on the directory page. There is a separate guide on importing from a CSV. ## Related - [How customer accounts work](/help/customers/customer-accounts.md) - [Recover abandoned carts](/help/customers/recover-abandoned-carts.md) --- # View a customer profile > Everything you can see and do from an individual customer's page. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/customers/view-customer-profile · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Open any customer from your customer list to see their full profile. It shows everything you know about that person — their contact details, what they have bought, how much they have spent, and more. ## Open a customer profile In the sidebar, click Orders, then Customers, then View all customers to open your customer directory. On any customer, open the actions menu (the three dots on the right) and choose View profile. ## What is on the profile - Contact information — email, phone number, date they joined, and date of birth if they provided it - Marketing preferences — whether they are subscribed to marketing emails, and any tags you have added to them - Default address — the shipping address they use most often - Order history — their most recent orders, each with the order number, date, total, and status, plus a link to view all their orders - Lifetime stats — total orders, total amount spent, average order value, and last order date, shown in the overview at the top of the profile - Reviews — any product reviews the customer has left, with their star rating, when they have written one - Booking access — shows whether the customer is blocked from making new bookings, and lets you block or unblock them with an optional reason and expiry date ## Tags Tags are short labels on a customer that help you remember something useful — for example "VIP", "wholesale", "influencer", or "do not discount". They show on the customer's profile and are only visible to you and your team, never to the customer. You can attach tags when you import customers from a CSV. > **Tip: Use tags to track personal context** — Tags are perfect for context that does not fit a standard field — a customer who told you they are a teacher, someone who placed a big corporate order, or a friend who gets a loyalty discount. They sit quietly on the profile so the detail is there when you need it. > **Marketing preferences are set by the customer** — You cannot switch a customer from Unsubscribed to Subscribed on their behalf. Subscription status is controlled by the customer — they opt in at checkout or via the marketing preferences link in any email they receive from you. **Can I edit a customer's contact details?** Customers update their own name, phone, and addresses from their account on your page. If a customer needs their email address corrected, reach out to support and we'll help. **Can I delete a customer?** Customers with orders cannot be fully deleted while their order records exist. To comply with data requests, contact support — we can help you process the right steps. **What does "booking access" show?** This section shows whether the customer is allowed to make new bookings on your store. If a customer has been difficult to work with or you want to prevent repeat bookings, you can block them here with an optional reason and an expiry date. When a block is active, the customer cannot book until you remove it or it expires. ## Related - [How customer accounts work](/help/customers/customer-accounts.md) - [Understand customer segments](/help/customers/segments-and-lists.md) --- # Recover abandoned carts > See the shoppers who almost bought, then send them a friendly recovery email to win the sale back. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/customers/recover-abandoned-carts · Updated 2026-08-21 · ~6 min read_ Lots of shoppers add things to a cart and never finish — they get distracted, they want to think it over, or the timing is just off. Your page keeps track of these almost-sales and can send friendly reminders automatically. You can also follow up by hand whenever you want. ## How it works When a shopper enters their email but does not finish paying, your page quietly remembers what they almost bought. Those near-misses collect on your Abandoned Carts page. If you turn on recovery reminders, eligible shoppers receive the enabled emails after 1 hour, 24 hours, and 72 hours. You can also choose carts and send a recovery email by hand. > **You are in the driving seat** — You choose which automatic reminders are enabled, can pause any stage at any time, and can still send a one-off message yourself. Shoppers who opted out of marketing are not eligible for recovery emails. ## See your abandoned carts In the sidebar, click Orders, then Abandoned Carts. The top of the page shows your headline numbers: how many carts were abandoned, your recovery rate, lost revenue, and revenue you have already recovered. Below that is a list of each abandoned cart with the customer, the cart's value and items, its status, and when it was abandoned. Use the status filter (all statuses, abandoned, new, pending recovery, email sent, recovered, or unrecoverable) and the timeframe filter (last 7, 30, or 90 days) to focus on the carts that matter most right now. ## Send a recovery email 1. **Open Orders, then Abandoned Carts** — You will land on the list of recent abandoned carts. 2. **Tick the carts you want to follow up on** — Use the checkboxes on the left to select one cart or several at once. Recent carts with a customer email are a good place to start. 3. **Click Send recovery email** — A short dialog opens. Choose an email style from the list, add a personal message if you'd like, and confirm with Send emails. Your selected shoppers get the email straight away, with your store name and branding already added. 4. **Mark carts as recovered or unrecoverable** — If a shopper comes back and buys, your page marks their cart as recovered for you. You can also tick carts and use Mark recovered if you closed the sale another way, or Mark unrecoverable for the ones that aren't worth chasing. > **Tip: A small discount works wonders** — A 10% off code can give a hesitant shopper the nudge they need. Create the code in Discounts, then attach it to the Discount Offer reminder from Recovery settings. You can still mention a code in a manual message too. ## Set up automatic recovery emails The Recovery tab has three automatic stages: a First Reminder after 1 hour, a Discount Offer after 24 hours, and a Final Chance after 72 hours. Each enabled stage sends once per eligible cart. 1. **Open Recovery settings** — On the Abandoned Carts page, click Recovery settings. This opens Checkout settings on the Recovery tab. 2. **Switch reminders on or off** — Under Recovery Email Sequences, use the toggle beside each reminder to enable or pause it. Each toggle saves on its own. 3. **Tidy up the wording** — Recovery emails use the same templates as the rest of your page, so you can rewrite the subject line and message to sound like you. See the guide on customizing customer emails for how to edit them. > **Automatic and manual messages work together** — Enabled reminders send automatically on their displayed schedule. You can also send a recovery email by hand from Orders > Abandoned Carts when a personal follow-up makes sense. ## Abandoned checkout reminder A shopper who reaches payment but leaves an order unpaid can receive one automatic reminder after an hour, with a secure link back to payment. Turn Payment reminder email on or off under Checkout settings > Recovery. You can also send the reminder by hand from Orders > Abandoned Checkouts; each checkout is reminded at most once, automatically or manually. ## See how recovery is performing On the Abandoned carts page, the Email performance section shows how many recovery emails went out, the open rate, and the click rate. Pair that with the recovery rate and recovered value at the top of the page to see what your follow-ups are bringing in. **Do recovery emails send automatically?** Yes, when you enable reminders under Checkout settings > Recovery. Cart reminders can send after 1, 24, and 72 hours, and an unpaid checkout can receive one payment reminder after an hour. You can pause these reminders or send a message by hand at any time. **Where do I send emails, and where do I choose my email styles?** Send one-off recovery emails from Orders > Abandoned Carts. Choose which automatic reminders are enabled under Checkout settings > Recovery, and edit the Cart Recovery template under Store > Email Templates. **Can I email more than one cart at a time?** Yes. Tick as many carts as you like, then Send recovery email once — each selected shopper gets their own email. You can also add a personal message that goes out with all of them. **Will a shopper who already bought get a reminder?** No automatic reminder is sent after the cart is recovered or completed. The cart status updates when the shopper returns to buy, so it is also easy to avoid sending an unnecessary manual follow-up. ## Related - [Customize the emails customers receive](/help/marketing/customize-customer-emails.md) - [Understand customer segments](/help/customers/segments-and-lists.md) --- # Import customers from a CSV > Bring your existing customer list across in a few clicks. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/customers/import-customers-from-csv · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Moving from another tool? You can upload a CSV of your existing customers and we will guide you through matching the columns. Once imported, those customers can sign in, see their order history, and receive emails from your page. ## What you need before you start - A CSV file of your customers (exported from a spreadsheet or another tool) - An email column for each customer — this is the only required field - Optional columns the import understands: first name, last name, phone, date of birth, accepts marketing, tags, and segment ## Import your list 1. **Open Orders > Customers, then View all customers** — In the sidebar, click Orders, then Customers, then click View all customers to open the directory. Click Import customers in the top right. 2. **Download the template (optional but recommended)** — On the import page, click Download sample CSV template to grab a CSV with the exact columns we recognise. Paste your data into it to skip most of the column-matching work later. 3. **Upload your CSV** — Drop the file into the upload area. We read the column names so we can suggest matches in the next step. 4. **Match the columns** — We auto-match the columns we recognise — like email, name, phone, date of birth, and marketing opt-in. Check each one, fix anything that didn't match, and map tags and segment yourself if you have them. Email must be mapped before you can continue. 5. **Preview the data and choose how to handle duplicates** — Look at the first few rows to make sure each column lines up with the field you expect. On this step you also pick what happens to customers who already exist: Skip duplicates (the default), Update existing customers, or Create with modified email. 6. **Run the import** — Click Import to start. You will see progress, then a summary of how many customers were created, updated, skipped, or failed. Rows with a missing or invalid email show up as failed so you can fix them. > **Tip: Put multiple tags in one cell** — Separate multiple tags with semicolons in the same cell (for example, "vip;regular"). Segment takes a single value per row. > **You decide what happens to duplicates** — If an email in your CSV already exists, the import follows the choice you made on the preview step — skip them (the default), update them with the new details, or add them under a slightly different email. Pick Update existing customers if you want to merge. **Will imported customers receive an email?** No. Importing doesn't send anything — customers simply land in your list. They'll receive your normal order emails once they place an order. **Can I import order history too?** Not from this tool. The import brings in customer records and contact details. Order history needs to live in your previous tool, or you can rebuild it with manual orders for the most important ones. **What happens if my CSV has bad data?** Rows with a missing or invalid email are reported as failed, and we tell you exactly how many. Fix those rows and upload again — and if you chose Update existing customers, re-uploading updates the matching customers instead of duplicating them. ## Related - [How customer accounts work](/help/customers/customer-accounts.md) - [Understand customer segments](/help/customers/segments-and-lists.md) --- # Set up payments so you can get paid > Activate Stripe or Paystack from your dashboard to start accepting card payments at checkout. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/set-up-payments · Updated 2026-08-21 · ~6 min read_ Before customers can buy from you, you need to set up payments. Your page uses one of two payment partners — Stripe or Paystack — and we pick the right one automatically based on the country on your merchant profile. From your side it is one guided flow either way. ## Which provider will I get? - If your page is based in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, or Côte d’Ivoire, you will set up with Paystack. Paystack supports card payments at checkout. Egypt and Rwanda are also supported via Paystack in pilot. - If your page is based in countries Stripe serves (for example the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, the Netherlands, or Sweden) you will set up with Stripe. Stripe supports cards and wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. - Your country comes from your merchant profile, so make sure that is set correctly before you start. > **Each store has one provider** — You do not need to choose Stripe versus Paystack yourself — your dashboard takes you to the right setup based on your country. Each store has one payment provider connected at a time. ## Activate payments The setup itself takes around five minutes. You will need your business details and a bank account in your name (or your business name) to receive payouts. 1. **Open Payments from your sidebar** — In the sidebar, click Store, then Payments. On the Settings tab you will see a card that says "Let's get you paid" with an Enable payments button. 2. **Click Enable payments** — This takes you to the activation flow that matches your country. For Paystack you go through a guided stepper inside Shopstar. For Stripe, you are sent to Stripe to fill in your details and then back to your dashboard. 3. **Tell us where to deposit your payouts** — Enter the bank account that should receive your payouts. Double-check the account number and name — payouts to a wrong account can be slow to recover. 4. **Verify your identity** — Both Stripe and Paystack run their own identity and business checks before they can pay you out. Have a government-issued ID and any business documents handy. 5. **Run a small test payment** — Place a small order on your own page with a real card. This is the best way to catch small issues before a real customer hits them. 6. **Start accepting cards** — Once the test payment goes through and the provider has finished verification, your checkout is live for every visitor. > **Tip: Don’t skip the test payment** — Running through checkout yourself is the fastest way to catch tiny issues before a real customer does. Most merchants find at least one thing to tweak. > **⚠️ You can’t go live until verification is complete** — While verification is still in progress, your Payments page shows a status callout. Often that just means we're finalizing your payout account and there's nothing for you to do. If a provider genuinely needs a document from you, the callout links you straight to them. Either way, payouts are held until verification is complete. **How long does verification take?** It depends on the provider and your country. Many merchants are approved within minutes. Others take a day or two — neither provider can pay you out until verification is complete. **Can I choose Stripe or Paystack myself?** Not directly — your country decides which provider you set up with. If your country is supported by both today or in the future, your dashboard will let you know. **Can I switch payment providers later?** Switching providers is not a self-serve action — it depends on your country and your existing account. If you need to switch (for example you moved countries), reach out to support and we will help you migrate cleanly. **What happens if I do not set up payments?** Customers cannot check out. Your Payments page shows a friendly reminder until payments are activated, so you do not accidentally go live without a way to be paid. ## Related - [Understanding payouts](/help/payments/understanding-payouts.md) - [Understanding fees](/help/payments/understanding-fees.md) --- # Understanding payouts > When and how the money from your sales lands in your bank account. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/understanding-payouts · Updated 2026-06-19 · ~4 min read_ Payouts are the deposits that move money from your sales into your bank account. Stripe and Paystack each run them on their own schedules, and the full payout history lives inside whichever provider your page is connected to. ## How often will I be paid? Your payout schedule is set by your payment provider, not by Shopstar. The timing can depend on your country and how long you have been trading, so sign in to your provider to see your exact schedule and change it if they let you. ## See your payouts In the sidebar, click Store, then Payments to see your payment connection — whether it is active, what step you are on if you are still setting up, and the bank account on file. Detailed payout history (each deposit, when it was sent, the orders it included) lives inside your payment provider — sign in there to see the full list. > **Refresh your status when something feels off** — There is a Sync status button on the Payments page. If a verification was just approved or a payout just landed, tap it to pull fresh status from your provider straight away. > **Tip: Keep your bank details up to date** — If you change banks, update your bank account in your payment provider straight away. Payouts to a closed account get bounced back and can take a few days to recover. **Why is my payout less than the sale total?** Payouts have the per-sale fees already deducted — the payment gateway fee plus any Shopstar fee, depending on your plan. Refunds during the payout period also lower the amount. **Can I get paid faster?** Your payout schedule lives with your payment provider, so any change to how fast you are paid is handled on their side. Sign in to your provider to see what schedule options they offer you. **A payout was reversed — what happened?** Usually because the bank account details were wrong or the account was closed. Update the bank account in your payment provider and they will retry. **Can I be paid in a different currency?** Yes, if your payment provider supports it. Both Stripe and Paystack let you set the currency your bank account expects. **My order shows as paid but I have not been paid yet — why?** Card payments take time to settle. Your provider typically holds them for a short period before releasing the next payout. The Payments page on Shopstar reflects what your provider has confirmed; the full timeline is on the provider side. ## Related - [Understanding fees](/help/payments/understanding-fees.md) - [Get a tax invoice for your fees](/help/payments/fee-tax-invoices.md) - [Set up payments so you can get paid](/help/payments/set-up-payments.md) --- # Understanding fees > What you pay on each sale and how to read your invoice. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/understanding-fees · Updated 2026-06-19 · ~4 min read_ Two fees can apply to a sale: a 2.9% standard payment gateway rate for card processing, and a Shopstar fee that depends on your plan. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. ## Payment gateway fees Card payments are processed by Stripe or Paystack through Shopstar. The standard payment gateway rate is 2.9% per sale on every plan. You never open a gateway account or get a separate gateway bill — it is built in. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. ## Shopstar fees On the Pay Per Sale plan there is no monthly fee and Shopstar adds 3.1% per sale, so the standard all-in rate is 6%. On the Subscription plan Shopstar adds nothing per sale — you pay the monthly fee and the standard 2.9% gateway rate. Fees are calculated per order and netted out before your payout. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. ## See your fees in the dashboard Click your avatar, then Billing, and switch to the Transactions tab. You will see a row per paid order with these columns: Gross (what the customer paid), Fees (everything deducted for that order), Refunded (any refunds), and Net (what is yours). Click a row for the full breakdown of a single transaction. - See your current plan and your Shopstar invoice from Billing > Overview and Billing > History - See per-order fees on Billing > Transactions - Gateway fees are included in the per-sale rate — there is no separate gateway bill > **No surprise fees** — Every fee on every order is shown to you in plain numbers. We do not charge listing fees, hidden fees, or fees for features that come with your plan. **Are there transaction fees on refunds?** Some processors do not refund the payment fee when you refund the customer. Others do. The Billing Transactions tab shows the original fees and any refunded portion side by side so you can see exactly what came back. **Can I pass the fee on to the customer?** You can do this indirectly by working it into your prices, or by adding a small handling line item at checkout. We do not separately charge the customer a card fee. **What if I want to switch plans?** Open Billing from your avatar menu. The Overview tab shows your current plan and lets you pick the other one. A confirmation appears before you commit. Switching to the Subscription plan starts right away; switching to Pay Per Sale from an active Subscription keeps your Subscription running until the end of your current billing period and then moves you over. ## Related - [Get a tax invoice for your fees](/help/payments/fee-tax-invoices.md) - [Understanding payouts](/help/payments/understanding-payouts.md) - [Export a fee report for your accountant](/help/payments/export-fee-report.md) --- # Sell in multiple currencies > Let customers see prices in their local currency at checkout. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/sell-in-multiple-currencies · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ If you sell internationally, showing prices in the customer's local currency boosts conversion. Your page can convert prices automatically into any currency you add, while you still report and get paid in your base currency. ## How currencies work - Base currency — the currency you price your products in and the one your reports use. Set when you create your page. - Customer-facing currencies — extra currencies you switch on so your page and checkout can show converted prices - Exchange rates — managed automatically and locked in at checkout, so the rate the customer sees is the rate they pay > **Your base currency stays fixed for reporting** — Adding a customer-facing currency does not change your base currency. Sales, fees, and totals in your dashboard still use the base currency you set up your page with. ## Add a customer-facing currency 1. **Open Payments from your sidebar** — In the sidebar, click Store, then Payments, then switch to the Currencies tab at the top of the page. 2. **Click Add currency** — Pick a supported currency from the grid — for example, USD if you have a lot of visitors from the United States. Some currencies may show as "Rate unavailable" until rates are refreshed; you can pick those again later. 3. **Decide if it should go live straight away** — Leave Active immediately switched on to expose the new currency to customers right away, or switch it off to add it now and turn it on later. 4. **Add the currency** — Click Add currency to confirm. The new currency joins the list, and prices for it are converted automatically using the latest rate against your base currency. > **Tip: Switch a currency off temporarily** — You can flip any currency between Active and Inactive without removing it. Useful if you want to pause a market while keeping your settings for later. **Will I lose money on exchange rates?** Rates move all the time. The rate the customer sees is the rate that applies to their order — we lock it in at checkout — so build a small buffer into your prices if you want a margin against currency moves. **What currency am I paid in?** You are paid in the currency your payment provider expects (usually your bank account currency). Your provider handles the conversion if a customer paid in a different currency. **Why is one of the currencies I want greyed out?** That currency does not have a usable exchange rate against your base currency right now. Try again later, or pick a different currency for that market in the meantime. ## Related - [Set up payments so you can get paid](/help/payments/set-up-payments.md) - [Customize your checkout](/help/your-store/customize-your-checkout.md) --- # Handle disputes and chargebacks > What to do when a customer disputes a payment with their bank. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/handle-disputes · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ A dispute (also called a chargeback) is when a customer asks their bank to reverse a payment, instead of asking you for a refund. They are rare, but knowing what to do makes them less stressful. ## What happens when you get a dispute 1. **You find out a dispute was opened** — Your payment provider flags the dispute, with the order it relates to and the reason the bank gave (for example 'product not received' or 'fraud'). Keep an eye on the email tied to your account so you do not miss it. 2. **The disputed amount is held** — Your payment provider temporarily holds the amount while the dispute is investigated. It is not a final outcome yet. 3. **You decide how to respond** — You can accept the dispute (the customer keeps the money) or respond with evidence. Log in to your payment provider dashboard to submit your response. 4. **Submit your evidence** — Upload screenshots, tracking info, signed delivery receipts, email exchanges — anything that helps show the order was legitimate and delivered. Be polite, factual, and clear. Your payment provider dashboard has a guided flow for this. 5. **Wait for the outcome** — The bank decides, usually within 60 to 90 days. If you win, the money is released back to you. If you lose, the disputed amount stays with the customer. > **⚠️ Always respond — even to lost causes** — Unanswered disputes are automatically lost. Even if you suspect you will not win, responding shows your payment provider you take fraud seriously, which keeps your account healthy. > **Tip: The best dispute is the one you prevent** — Clear product photos, accurate descriptions, reliable shipping with tracking, and friendly responsive customer support stop most disputes before they happen. **Is there a fee for disputes?** Some payment providers charge a small fee per dispute (usually deducted from your next payout) whether you win or lose. Check your payment provider dashboard for any fee that applied. **Can I refund instead of fighting a dispute?** Sometimes refunding the customer directly is faster and easier than going through the dispute process. Once the dispute is open, refunding through Shopstar usually resolves it. **How do I avoid fraud in the first place?** Watch for unusual signals — orders to addresses far from the card billing address, very large first-time orders, or many cards used by one customer. Trust your gut and contact the customer if anything feels off. ## Related - [Issue a refund](/help/orders/issue-a-refund.md) - [Understanding payouts](/help/payments/understanding-payouts.md) --- # Get a tax invoice for your fees > Each month we send you a VAT tax invoice for the Shopstar fees already deducted, so your accountant can record them and claim the VAT. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/fee-tax-invoices · Updated 2026-06-19 · ~5 min read_ You never get a separate bill for Shopstar fees — they come straight off each sale before your payout, so there is nothing for you to pay. But your accountant still needs a proper tax invoice to record those fees and claim the VAT back. So once a month we issue you a VAT tax invoice that sums up the fees already taken that month, and email it to you. ## Fees are deducted, not billed Every time a customer pays, the fees for that order are netted off before the money reaches you — you can see the gross, fees, and net for each sale on the Transactions tab in Billing. Because the fee was already taken at the time of the sale, the monthly tax invoice is a record, not a charge. It shows the amount as "Deducted from payouts" and nothing is owed. > **There is nothing to pay** — The monthly tax invoice always shows zero due. It exists so you and your accountant have a VAT-compliant document for fees you have already paid through the month — it is never a request for payment. ## When your invoice arrives Early in each month we generate the tax invoice for the previous calendar month, email it to you, and add it to your dashboard. Months where you had no fee activity get no invoice. If you ran more refunds than sales in a month, the totals net out and the invoice can come out small or negative — that is expected, and the VAT reverses in proportion. ## Find and download it 1. **Open Billing** — Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Billing. 2. **Go to the Transactions tab** — Switch to the Transactions tab at the top of the Billing page. Near the top you will see a "Tax invoices" section listing your monthly VAT tax invoices. 3. **Pick the month you need** — Each row shows the invoice number and the date range it covers. Find the month your accountant asked for. 4. **Click Download** — Download saves the invoice as a PDF. It shows Shopstar as the supplier with our VAT registration, the fees as Subtotal, VAT, and Total, and the amount marked as deducted from your payouts. ## How VAT is shown The fee you already paid is treated as including VAT. The invoice splits out the VAT portion and shows Subtotal, VAT, and Total, so your accountant can book the expense and claim the input VAT. This does not change what you paid — it just shows the VAT that was already inside the fee. ## Add your VAT number if you are registered If your business is VAT-registered, add your details to your store settings so they appear on the invoice automatically. In the sidebar, click Store, then fill in your registered business name, company registration number, and tax/VAT registration number under the legal details. For a high-volume month where the fee total is large, a full tax invoice has to show your VAT number too, so it is worth adding yours now. > **Tip: Set it once and forget it** — You only need to enter your VAT number once. After that, every tax invoice — and every receipt and invoice you send your own customers — picks it up automatically. **Do I have to pay this invoice?** No. The fees were already deducted from your sales through the month, so the invoice shows zero due. It is purely a record for your bookkeeping. **What if I am not VAT-registered?** You still get the invoice for your records — you just cannot claim the VAT back. If you register for VAT later, add your number in Store settings and future invoices will include it. **My invoice for last month looks negative — why?** A month where you refunded more than you sold can net out below zero. Refunds reverse the fees you were charged, including their VAT, so the totals simply reflect what actually happened that month. **What about my Subscription plan fee?** If you are on the Subscription plan, the monthly plan fee is also issued as a VAT tax invoice. You will find those under the History tab in Billing, separate from the per-sale fee invoices. **I need figures for a custom date range, not a calendar month.** Use the interim fee report export on the same Transactions tab — it covers any date range you choose. It is a reconciliation file for your accountant, not a tax invoice. See "Export a fee report for your accountant". ## Related - [Understanding fees](/help/payments/understanding-fees.md) - [Export a fee report for your accountant](/help/payments/export-fee-report.md) - [Understanding payouts](/help/payments/understanding-payouts.md) --- # Export a fee report for your accountant > Download an interim fee reconciliation for any date range — handy for mid-month, VAT-period, or year-end bookkeeping. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/payments/export-fee-report · Updated 2026-06-19 · ~4 min read_ Accountants often reconcile over periods that do not line up with a calendar month — mid-month, a VAT return period, or your full financial year. For those, you can export an interim fee report covering any date range, with the gross, fees, VAT, refunds, and net for every order in one spreadsheet. > **This is a working file, not a tax invoice** — Your monthly tax invoice is the authoritative VAT document. The export is an interim reconciliation for any custom range — give it to your accountant alongside the monthly tax invoices, not instead of them. ## Export your report 1. **Open Billing** — Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Billing, and switch to the Transactions tab. 2. **Set the date range** — Use the From and To date fields to choose the period you want — a single week, a VAT period, or a whole year. Leave them blank to export everything. 3. **Click Export CSV** — The Export CSV button downloads a spreadsheet for the range you picked. It opens in any spreadsheet app. ## What's in the file Each row is one order, with a TOTAL row at the bottom. The columns are Date, Order, Customer, Gross, Fee (incl. VAT), Fee VAT, Fee (excl. VAT), Refunded, Net, and Status. Dates use your store timezone, so the numbers line up with what you see on your dashboard. > **⚠️ Do not file it as a tax invoice** — The export is clearly marked "INTERIM — not a tax invoice", and its filename says so too. Filing it as a tax invoice alongside the monthly tax invoice would double-count the same fees and VAT. The monthly tax invoice is the single VAT document; this export is for reconciliation only. **What date range can I choose?** Any range you like — a few days, a VAT return period, or a full financial year. Leave both date fields blank to export every transaction. **Why is it interim and not a tax invoice for my range?** Issuing a second tax invoice for fees already on your monthly tax invoice would double-count the VAT. The monthly tax invoice stays the one authoritative VAT document, and this export is the reconciliation file that sits beside it. **Will the totals match my dashboard?** Yes. The export uses your store timezone for its date boundaries, so a range you export reconciles with the same range on the Transactions tab. **Where do I get the official VAT invoice instead?** Your monthly VAT tax invoices are in the same Transactions tab, in the "Tax invoices" section. See "Get a tax invoice for your fees". ## Related - [Get a tax invoice for your fees](/help/payments/fee-tax-invoices.md) - [Understanding fees](/help/payments/understanding-fees.md) - [Choose your plan](/help/account/choose-your-plan.md) --- # Create discount codes > Run promotions with percentage, fixed amount, or free-shipping discount codes. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/create-discount-codes · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Discount codes are one of the most flexible marketing tools you have. Use them for launches, sales, loyal customers, recovery emails, influencer partnerships, or seasonal pushes. ## Create a code 1. **Open Discounts** — In the sidebar, click Discounts. Then click New discount to open the discount sheet. 2. **Name it and pick a code** — Give the discount an internal Title (just for you) and a Discount code that customers will enter at checkout — SUMMER25, WELCOME, or BLACKFRIDAY. Short codes are easier to share and remember. 3. **Pick the discount type** — Open Discount type and choose Percentage off (like 20% off), Fixed amount off (like R100 off), Buy X, get Y, or Free shipping. Then enter how much the discount takes off. 4. **Set the rules** — Open Advanced options to add a Minimum order amount and (for percentages) an optional Maximum discount so a 20% off code does not give away too much on a large order. 5. **Set limits and dates** — Still in Advanced options: Total uses (total times the code can be used across all customers), Per customer (use count per shopper), Starts, and Ends. 6. **Save** — The code is live straight away. Share it on your homepage, in emails, on social, or pass it to specific customers. ## Different ways to use codes - Launch sale — Total uses of 50 with 20% off for the first 50 customers - Recovery — short Ends date so the code only lasts 24 hours, sent in abandoned cart emails - Welcome — Per customer of 1 so each shopper uses it just once - Influencer — unique code per partner so you can track who drove the sale - Holiday — site-wide percentage off with Start and End Dates that match your sale window > **Tip: Use Free shipping for incentives without giving away margin** — Try a 'Free shipping over R1000' code: set the type to Free shipping and the Minimum order amount to R1000. Customers feel a real benefit at the threshold while you keep your margins on the goods. **Can I limit how many times a code can be used?** Yes. Total uses caps how many times the code can be used across all customers. Per customer caps how many times a single shopper can use it. Use both together for "one welcome code per customer, max 500 redemptions overall". **Can two codes be used together?** No — customers can only apply one discount code per order. Plan your promotions so the most generous applicable code is the one you encourage. **How do I see how a discount is performing?** On the Discounts list, each promotion shows live usage (how many times it has been redeemed against its limit), total orders, total revenue, and a conversion rate. Use these numbers to decide which codes are pulling their weight. ## Related - [How to get your first sale](/help/getting-started/first-sale-guide.md) --- # Customize the emails customers receive > Make order confirmations, shipping updates, and other customer emails feel like you. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/customize-customer-emails · Updated 2026-08-21 · ~5 min read_ Your page automatically emails customers at the moments that matter — when they order, when their items ship, when they get a refund, and more. You can customize the wording so every message sounds like your brand. ## The emails your page sends - Order confirmation — sent when a customer places an order - Order payment request — sent for manual orders where payment is still pending - Shipping and delivery notifications — sent when you ship a physical order and again when it arrives - Digital delivery and download expiry warning — sent when a digital product is paid for and again before access ends - Booking confirmation, reminder, and cancellation — sent through the lifecycle of a booking - Booking payment request — sent when a booking is created but payment has not come through yet - Ticket confirmation, cancellation, and event reminder — sent with the QR code, if a ticket is cancelled, and again before the event - Membership welcome, renewal reminder, renewal success, payment failed, and cancellation — sent across the membership lifecycle - Refund confirmation — sent when you refund an order - Abandoned cart recovery — automatic recovery reminders you enable, plus one-off messages you send by hand - Review request — sent after an order so you can collect feedback ## Edit a template 1. **Open Store, then Email Templates** — In the sidebar, click Store, then Email Templates. You will see every customer email your page can send, with an Active or Disabled badge on each and a Customized badge if you have edited it. 2. **Pick a template to edit** — Click Edit on the one you want to change. Each template has a subject line, an Active toggle, and a visual editor where you build the email out of blocks like text, buttons, and images. 3. **Write the subject and body** — Edit the subject line at the top, then drag and drop blocks to build the message body. Keep it friendly and short — customers are skimming for the important details. 4. **Toggle between Edit and Preview** — Switch to Preview mode to see exactly how the email will look. Use the Desktop and Mobile toggles to check both — most customers will open it on their phone. 5. **Send yourself a test** — Click Send Test, choose where to send it, and confirm. The real email arrives in your inbox so you can spot anything off. 6. **Save** — Hit Save and your customized version is used for every email of that type from now on. You can hit Reset on this template at any time to bring back the default. > **Your branding is built in** — Every customer email automatically uses your page logo, brand colors, and store name. You do not need to design anything — focus on the words. > **Tip: Personalize with dynamic fields** — In the subject line and body, wrap a placeholder like {{customer_name}} or {{order_number}} in double curly braces and your page fills it in for every email it sends. The editor shows the available fields as you type. **Can I stop a particular email from going out?** Yes. Each template has an Active toggle in the editor — switch it off and that email will not be sent until you switch it back on. Use this carefully for the emails customers rely on, like order or shipping confirmations. **Can I go back to the default?** Yes. Inside a template, click Reset to restore that one template to the default wording. From the Email Templates list page, the Reset to Defaults button resets every template at once — handy if you want a clean slate. **Do customers always receive these emails?** Transactional emails such as order confirmations, shipping updates, refunds, and deliveries send by default — they're how customers track what they bought, and you can switch any of them off with the Active toggle. Recovery reminders follow the stages you enable under Checkout settings > Recovery; you can also send a one-off message yourself from Orders > Abandoned Carts. **What email address do my customers see?** Emails come from a Shopstar sending address with your page name as the sender. When a customer replies, their message goes to your store's support email address. Customers see your page, not a third-party tool. ## Related - [Set up your branding](/help/your-store/set-up-branding.md) - [How your page emails customers automatically](/help/marketing/automatic-customer-emails.md) --- # How your page emails customers automatically > The emails that send themselves at the right moments — and how to make them yours. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/automatic-customer-emails · Updated 2026-08-21 · ~4 min read_ Some of the most important emails happen on their own. Order confirmations, shipping updates, refund notices, and booking reminders all send the moment they need to — no clicking, no scheduling. ## What sends on its own - Order confirmation — the moment a customer pays - Order payment required — when a manual order is waiting for the customer to pay - Shipping notification — when you mark a physical order as shipped with tracking - Delivery confirmation — when the order is marked delivered - Digital delivery — instantly after payment, with a secure download link - Digital download expiry warning — a heads-up before download access expires - Booking confirmation — when a customer reserves a time slot - Booking payment required — when a booking is awaiting payment - Booking reminder — ahead of the booking so customers do not miss it - Booking cancellation — when a booking is cancelled - Ticket confirmation — with a QR code for each ticket - Ticket cancellation — when a ticket order is cancelled - Event reminder — ahead of the event for ticket buyers - Refund confirmation — when you issue a refund - Membership welcome, renewal reminder, renewal success, payment failed, and cancellation — across the membership lifecycle - Review request — after an order so you can collect feedback - Abandoned cart recovery — enabled reminders after 1, 24, and 72 hours - Abandoned checkout payment reminder — once, an hour after checkout is left unpaid > **You control recovery reminders** — Recovery emails can send automatically when you enable them under Checkout settings > Recovery. You can pause individual stages, attach a discount code, and still send a one-off message yourself from Orders > Abandoned Carts. See the guide on recovering abandoned carts. ## Make them sound like you Every email above can be customized. Open Store > Email Templates from your sidebar, click Edit on the template you want to change, and adjust the subject and body. Switch between Edit and Preview to see how it will land for desktop and mobile, then click Save when you are happy. > **Branding is automatic** — Your logo, store name, and brand colors are applied to every customer email — you only need to worry about the words. > **Tip: Send yourself a test** — In the template editor, click Send Test to email the template to yourself with sample data. You can do this without placing a real order — it is the fastest way to read what your customers will see. **Do I need to switch these emails on?** Transactional emails such as confirmations, shipping updates, deliveries, and refunds are active by default. Each template has an Active toggle inside the editor. Recovery reminder stages have their own switches under Checkout settings > Recovery, where you can enable or pause automatic sends. **Can I add my own automated email?** Not yet. The built-in emails cover the main moments customers expect to hear from you. We're adding more automated email types over time. ## Related - [Customize the emails customers receive](/help/marketing/customize-customer-emails.md) - [Recover abandoned carts](/help/customers/recover-abandoned-carts.md) --- # SEO basics for your page > A friendly intro to helping customers find you on search engines. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/seo-basics · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~6 min read_ SEO (search engine optimization) is how customers find your page when they search for what you sell. Most of it is common sense — make your page easy to read and useful — and we handle the technical pieces for you. ## The four things that matter most - A clear store name and tagline that describe what you sell - Product titles that include the words customers actually search for - Honest, helpful product descriptions written for humans, not robots - Photos with alt text describing what is in them ## Improve a product page for search 1. **Use words customers actually search for** — If you sell handmade soy candles, your product title should say 'Lavender soy candle' — not just 'Lavender'. 2. **Write a description that answers questions** — Cover the most common questions a customer would ask before buying — ingredients, sizes, care instructions, who it is for, what it pairs well with. 3. **Fill in Meta title and Meta description** — Open the Search Engine Optimization section on the product. Meta title (up to about 60 characters) is what shows up as the link in Google. Meta description (up to about 160 characters) is the short blurb underneath — write a friendly sentence inviting the click. Stay under the limit shown next to each field. 4. **Set a clean URL handle** — In the same section, the URL handle is the part of the product URL after your domain — for example, lavender-soy-candle. Short, lowercase, words-joined-with-hyphens reads best for both customers and search. 5. **Add alt text to your photos** — Open Media in your sidebar, click any photo, and add Alt text — a short description of what is in the image. As the editor notes, alt text helps with both accessibility and SEO. > **Tip: Use Generate SEO when you are stuck on copy** — If the product title and description are filled in, you can click Generate SEO in the Search Engine Optimization section and your page drafts the Meta title and Meta description for you. Edit before saving — generated copy is a starting point, not a final answer. > **We handle the technical bits** — Sitemaps, structured data, fast page loads, mobile-friendly design, secure HTTPS — these are all done for you automatically. You focus on the words and the photos. **How long until I show up in Google?** New stores can take a few weeks to appear in search results. Adding good content, getting links from other sites, and being patient all help. **Should I write keywords everywhere?** No. Stuffing keywords reads badly to humans and hurts your ranking with modern search engines. Write naturally for customers — the rest follows. **What if I leave Meta title and Meta description blank?** Your page falls back to the product title and the first part of the description. That is fine to start with — fill them in when you want to control exactly what appears in search results. **Can I see my SEO performance?** Free tools from Google like Search Console show which searches bring customers to your page, and which pages get the most traffic. You can also see top traffic sources inside your page analytics. ## Related - [Add analytics tracking to your page](/help/marketing/add-analytics-tracking.md) - [Add your first product](/help/products/add-your-first-product.md) --- # Collect and display reviews > Turn happy customers into your most convincing marketing. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/reviews-and-social-proof · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Customer reviews are the most convincing thing on your page. They are written in real customer language, they show your product working, and they remove doubt for the next buyer. ## Where reviews live in your dashboard Every review on your page shows up in Orders > Reviews in the sidebar. Each row shows the product, the star rating, the comment, the customer, and a Verified badge when the reviewer actually bought the product. From the actions menu on each review you can Publish, Unpublish, or Delete. ## Ask customers to leave a review 1. **Let the automatic review request do the heavy lifting** — A short while after a customer receives what they bought, your page automatically sends a Review Request email — no need to chase each one yourself. You choose exactly when it goes out for each product type (see Configure how reviews behave below). The email is one of the customer email templates you can customise from Store > Email Templates. 2. **Make it easy to leave one** — The review request email opens a simple review form for that order. The customer picks a star rating and types a few words for each item they bought — and can leave overall store feedback too — all on one page. The whole thing takes a minute. 3. **Moderate as the reviews come in** — Open Orders > Reviews regularly. Publish the great ones if they need approval, Unpublish anything that breaks your guidelines without deleting the record, and use Delete for spam or clearly fake content. ## How reviews appear on your page Published reviews automatically appear on the product page they were left for, showing the customer's first name and last initial (like Jane D.) alongside the star rating. The overall product rating shows up everywhere the product is listed — on collection pages and in search results. ## Configure how reviews behave Open Store > Products and switch to the Reviews tab to control the review experience for your page: - Enable Reviews — show ratings and reviews on your page at all (turn off to hide them everywhere) - Auto-publish Reviews — let new reviews go live automatically, or keep them in moderation until you Publish them - Send Review Requests — toggle the automatic review-request email - Review Timing by Product Type — pick when (in days) the request goes out for each product type, since the right gap is different for a physical order vs a booking or membership > **Tip: Switch the review request off if you want to opt out** — If you would rather chase reviews your own way, switch Send Review Requests off on the Reviews tab. Leave it on for most stores — automated, polite follow-ups are how merchants reliably build up reviews. **Can I hide a bad review?** Yes — open the actions menu on the review and choose Unpublish to remove it from your page while keeping the record, or Delete if it is clearly spam or abusive. Try to learn from honest negative feedback before hiding it; one or two thoughtful negatives among positives can actually build trust. **Are reviews verified?** Reviews from a customer who actually bought the product show a Verified badge automatically. The badge gives future shoppers confidence the feedback is real. **Can I reply to a review?** Yes — open the actions menu on any review and click Draft response. An AI assistant drafts a response in the tone you pick (Thank them, Apologize & invite follow-up, or Professional concise). Copy the draft, then send it to the customer directly by email. The draft is never posted publicly on your page automatically. ## Related - [Configure your review settings](/help/marketing/configure-review-settings.md) - [Customize the emails customers receive](/help/marketing/customize-customer-emails.md) --- # Read your store feedback > Private star ratings customers leave about their overall shopping experience. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/store-feedback · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~3 min read_ After a purchase your page can invite customers to rate their overall shopping experience. These ratings are private — they are for your eyes only and never appear on your storefront. ## Where to find store feedback Open Orders > Reviews in the sidebar. At the top you will see two tabs — Product reviews and Store feedback. Switch to the Store feedback tab to see the overall ratings customers have given your page. ## What you see - Average rating — the mean star score across all responses - Rating distribution — how many customers gave 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 stars - Individual responses — each rating with the date and any comment the customer left > **Store feedback is private** — Unlike product reviews, store feedback is never shown to future customers. It is a behind-the-scenes signal to help you spot patterns — for example, if a delivery batch caused a dip in satisfaction. > **Tip: Look for patterns, not individual scores** — One low rating from a difficult customer does not mean much. A run of low ratings around the same date usually points to something worth investigating — a shipping delay, a pricing change, or a checkout issue. **When do customers see the feedback request?** It is part of the same review request email you send after a purchase — the review form includes a separate "Store feedback" section for an overall rating. So the timing matches the review-request timing you set in Store > Products > Reviews. **Can I respond to a piece of store feedback?** Store feedback does not have a built-in reply. If a customer left an email address on their order, you can reach out directly to follow up — especially for very low ratings where a personal message can turn a disappointed customer into a returning one. ## Related - [Collect and display reviews](/help/marketing/reviews-and-social-proof.md) --- # Add analytics tracking to your page > Connect Google Analytics or social media pixels to measure traffic and ad performance. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/add-analytics-tracking · Updated 2026-09-08 · ~5 min read_ Connecting an analytics tool lets you see exactly where your visitors come from, which products they look at, and which ads are actually paying for themselves. Your page passes all the right events automatically — you just paste in your tracking ID. ## What you can connect - Google Analytics 4 — to see traffic, search terms, and conversion funnels - Facebook Pixel — to measure Facebook and Instagram ad performance - TikTok Pixel — to measure TikTok ad performance and audience signals ## Add a tracking ID 1. **Open Store, then Tracking** — In the sidebar, click Store, then Tracking. You will see a card for each analytics tool you can connect. 2. **Grab your tracking ID** — Each card has a short "How to find your ID" guide that links straight to the analytics tool. Copy the ID exactly as it is shown — Google Analytics IDs start with G-, Facebook Pixel IDs are a 15–16 digit number, TikTok Pixel IDs are 10–30 letters and digits. 3. **Paste it in and connect** — Turn on the switch at the top of the card to open it, drop the ID into the field, and click Connect (it changes to Update once a tracking ID is saved). Tracking starts immediately for new visitors. 4. **Verify it is working** — Visit your page in a new tab and check your analytics tool a few minutes later — you should see your own visit appear. ## Verify your store for Google Merchant Center GA4 tracking works on both free store addresses and custom domains. To verify your website for Google Merchant Center, our supported setup uses a custom domain you own and a DNS record. Verification through the GA4 connection above is not supported. 1. **Connect your own domain** — Open Store > General > Domains and connect a domain you own. Check that your store opens at that address before continuing. 2. **Verify the domain in Google Search Console** — Sign in to Google Search Console with the Google account you use for Merchant Center. Add a Domain property for your domain, without https:// or a path, and copy the TXT verification record Google provides. 3. **Add the TXT record at your domain provider** — Open the DNS settings where you manage your domain and add the TXT record using the name and value Google gives you. Keep your existing store DNS records. Return to Search Console and click Verify; if the record is not found yet, allow time for it to update and try again. Keep the verification record after it succeeds. 4. **Claim your store in Merchant Center** — In Merchant Center, open Settings > Business info and edit your online store. Enter your store’s full custom-domain URL, including https:// and www if your store uses it. With the same Google account, your Search Console verification can be recognised so you can complete the claim. > **Using a free store address?** — Your free shopstar.page address does not include a mailbox or access to its DNS settings. An email address suggested by Google at shopstar.page is not an inbox you can use. Connect your own domain for the verification steps above. Product feeds and product approval are separate from verifying your website. ## What gets tracked - Page views and the journey through your page - Add to cart, begin checkout, and purchase events - Conversion value and the items in each order - Searches and product views > **You are responsible for the privacy disclosure** — Once you connect an analytics or pixel tool, your page sends those events to your account at Google, Facebook, or TikTok. Disclose that in your privacy policy and follow your local privacy rules. The platform does not ship a cookie banner today, so if your market needs one, add the disclosure to your policies and consider a third-party banner. **Do I need to pick just one?** No. You can connect all three at the same time — each one only fires for the platform it belongs to, so there is no double counting. **How long until I see data?** Most platforms start showing visits within a few minutes. Conversion events and reports usually populate within a day. **How do I disconnect a tracking integration?** Open the card on Store > Tracking and use the Disconnect action. We ask you to confirm — once you do, your page stops sending events to that platform straight away. ## Related - [SEO basics for your page](/help/marketing/seo-basics.md) - [Connect a custom domain](/help/your-store/connect-custom-domain.md) --- # Configure your review settings > Control which reviews appear on your page, how they are moderated, and when review request emails are sent. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/marketing/configure-review-settings · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Your review settings control whether product reviews are visible on your page, whether new reviews need moderation before they appear, and when customers receive an automated request to leave a review. ## Open review settings In the sidebar, click Store, then Products. Switch to the Reviews tab at the top of the page. ## Review display - Enable Reviews — switch this on to show star ratings and written reviews on your product pages. Switch it off to hide all reviews from customers while you collect more. - Auto-publish Reviews — when on, new reviews appear immediately without you approving them first. When off, new reviews wait in your review queue in Orders > Reviews until you approve each one. > **Tip: Start with auto-publish off** — Turning off auto-publish lets you read reviews before they go live. Once you have a good batch of reviews and trust the quality, switching to auto-publish saves you from approving each one manually. ## Review request emails - Send Review Requests — switch this on to automatically email customers asking for a review after each purchase. Switch it off if you want to manage review outreach yourself. - Review Timing by Product Type — when review requests are on, set when the email is sent for each product type you sell: - Physical products — After delivery, After fulfillment, or After order placed - Digital downloads — After download available, or After order placed - Bookings and services — After appointment, or After order placed - Event tickets — After event, or After order placed - Memberships — After activation, or After order placed > **Add a short delay before the email goes out** — Whichever trigger you choose, you can set a Delay (days) so the request does not arrive the instant the trigger happens. "After order placed" is the fallback trigger to use when delivery or fulfillment confirmation is not available for that product type. **Where do I see and manage the reviews customers leave?** In the sidebar, click Orders, then Reviews. You will find all reviews there — pending approval, published, and unpublished — plus a Store feedback tab for private star ratings. **Can I edit or delete a review that was published?** You can Unpublish a review (which hides it from your page) but you cannot edit the content. You can use Draft response in the actions menu to compose a private email reply to the customer if you want to follow up. If a review contains false, harmful, or inappropriate content, contact support. **What does the review email say?** Review request emails use the template in your Store > Email Templates settings. Open the Review request template there to see and edit the subject line and body. The email opens a simple review form for that order, where the customer rates and reviews each item they bought. ## Related - [Collect and display reviews](/help/marketing/reviews-and-social-proof.md) - [How your page emails customers automatically](/help/marketing/automatic-customer-emails.md) --- # Make your page ready for AI shoppers > Let AI shopping assistants discover, recommend, and check out your products. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/ai-tools/ai-commerce-overview · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ More and more shoppers are using AI assistants to help them find and buy things. AI commerce makes sure your products can show up in those conversations, are easy for AI to understand, and can be bought smoothly once you have set it up. ## Why this matters Imagine someone asking their AI assistant for "a soy candle that smells like a bookshop". You want your candle in that answer. AI commerce makes your products available to the AI assistants that power those experiences, and lets shoppers buy without leaving the conversation. ## How AI commerce works When AI commerce is available for your page, you will find it in your dashboard menu under AI Commerce. It has three tabs: - Setup — switch on the AI assistants you want to sell through, paste the web addresses of your policy pages (privacy, terms, and returns if you have one), choose which product types are eligible, and tick off the basics like adding products and setting up card payments - Performance — see the orders and revenue coming from AI assistants, with a breakdown of how each assistant is doing - Products — a list of every product with an on/off switch for AI shopping, so you can include or exclude items one at a time > **Rolling out gradually** — AI commerce is rolling out to stores in stages, so you may not see it in your dashboard yet. If you would like to know when it reaches your page, reach out to support. ## Get set up - Add the products you want to sell to your page — AI assistants can only sell products that exist there - Set up card payments, so shoppers can pay by card when they buy through an AI assistant - Publish your Privacy policy and Terms of service, then paste each one’s web address in Setup (add your Returns policy too, if you have one) - In Setup, choose which product types AI assistants are allowed to sell - Switch on the AI assistants you want to sell through, and follow any steps each one asks for to finish connecting - Your products are included by default — on the Products tab, switch off AI shopping for anything you would rather keep out - Use specific, descriptive titles and clear photos, and keep prices and stock up to date so AI assistants quote the latest details ## What AI commerce does not do - Share your private customer or order data — only your public product catalog is exposed - Change your prices or policies — you stay in control of every detail - Replace your page — visitors who come from AI still land on your normal product pages > **Your page still does the selling** — When an AI agent sends a customer your way, they see the same beautiful product page you have built. The AI is the introduction; you and your page still win the sale. **Can I see how many sales came from AI assistants?** Yes. When AI commerce is active for your page, the Performance tab shows the orders and revenue that came through AI assistants, with a breakdown of how each assistant is doing. **Will AI assistants quote my prices correctly?** AI assistants read from your live store, so the price and stock they show match what is on your product page. Keep both up to date and there are no surprises at checkout. **Can I opt my page out completely?** Yes. The simplest way is to switch off the AI assistants in Setup so none of them is on. You can also clear the eligible product types, or switch off AI shopping on individual products. If an option shows “Partner managed”, your partner controls it for you — ask them to make the change. ## Related - [Tips for AI-friendly product listings](/help/ai-tools/tips-for-ai-friendly-products.md) - [Write and publish your page policies](/help/your-store/update-store-policies.md) --- # Tips for AI-friendly product listings > Small changes to your product pages that help both humans and AI assistants. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/ai-tools/tips-for-ai-friendly-products · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ The same things that make a product page convince a human shopper also make it work better with AI assistants. Here is what to focus on. ## Quick wins - Use specific, descriptive titles (Lavender soy candle, 200ml — not just Candle) - Write a description that names the materials, dimensions, and intended use - Add at least three clear photos — a main shot, a detail close-up, and a lifestyle photo - Set up variants like size and colour where they apply, so the right options come through - Keep your prices and stock counts up to date so AI assistants quote the latest details ## Common pitfalls - Vague titles that need extra context to understand - Empty descriptions or one-word entries - Leaving a sold-out product Active with Track quantity switched off, so an AI assistant keeps recommending it - Photos that are tiny, blurry, or watermarked - Variants with unclear option names, so sizes and colours are hard to tell apart > **Tip: Write for a human first** — If your product page would convince a friend to buy, it will work for an AI assistant too. AI is trained on real human reviews and writing, so the rules of good storytelling still apply. > **Check the AI Commerce setup checklist** — The Setup tab in AI Commerce covers the must-haves — published privacy and terms policies, the product types AI assistants can sell, and on/off switches per product — so your products actually appear in AI answers. Tidy product copy and photos pair with that to give you the best result. **Will rewriting a product title break my links?** No. Your product’s web address stays the same when you edit its title — it only changes if you deliberately edit the address itself. So existing links to that product keep working. **How many photos is enough?** Three is a solid floor — a main pack shot, a detail close-up, and a lifestyle photo showing the product in use. More is fine if you genuinely have variety to show; padding the gallery with similar angles is not. **Do I need different descriptions for AI?** No. AI assistants read the same product page humans do, so improving it for one improves it for the other. The only AI-specific work happens in AI Commerce — switching on the AI assistants, choosing eligible product types, and adding your policy page web addresses. ## Related - [Make your page ready for AI shoppers](/help/ai-tools/ai-commerce-overview.md) - [SEO basics for your page](/help/marketing/seo-basics.md) --- # Read your dashboard > A friendly guide to the numbers on your home screen and what they mean. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/insights/read-your-dashboard · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ When you log in, the first thing you see is your dashboard. It gives you a fast read on how your page is doing over the last 30 days — without you having to dig. ## The four headline numbers - Total Revenue — money from paid orders over the last 30 days, with a trend arrow showing how it compares to the previous 30 days - Total Orders — how many separate orders came in, with the same trend arrow - Customers — how many different customers bought from you in the last 30 days, with the same trend arrow - Conversion — a sense of how often your page traffic turns into orders > **One quiet day is not the whole story** — The home numbers cover the last 30 days, compared with the 30 days before, so a single slow day does not throw you off. For other time ranges, open Analytics in your sidebar. ## What else is on the home screen - Setup checklist — your progress through the essentials (store name, logo, payments, products, shipping, and policies, plus an optional custom domain). It disappears once you have finished the essentials - Recent Orders — your five most recent orders with their status - AI Insights — short observations from your page data ## What to do with the numbers - Conversion rate low? Your page, pricing, or checkout might need a tune-up - Customer count flat? Time to invest in marketing — emails, social, ads - Revenue fine but orders few? You might be relying on a few big customers — diversify - Want to look at a specific time range? Open Analytics in your sidebar — that is where the date pickers live, not on the home page **Why are my numbers different from my payment provider?** Small differences are normal — your provider reports payouts after fees and timing differences. Big differences usually point to a sync issue; contact support and we will investigate. **Can I change the time range on the home dashboard?** The home numbers cover the last 30 days. For a specific time range — last 7 days, last 30 days, or last 90 days — open Analytics in your sidebar. The home page is designed to be glanceable, not configurable. ## Related - [Sales and product reports](/help/insights/sales-reports.md) - [Watch live cart activity](/help/insights/watch-live-cart-activity.md) --- # Sales and product reports > Dig deeper than the dashboard with reports on sales, products, and customers. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/insights/sales-reports · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ When your dashboard sparks a question, reports give you the answer. Dig into your sales, products, carts, and traffic — then export the numbers you need. ## The Analytics tabs - Traffic — where your visitors come from, your conversion funnel, and a global sales map - Sales — total revenue, orders, average order value, customers, sales trend, order status, and payment methods - Products — total products, inventory value, low stock and out of stock alerts, top performers, and performance by category - Carts — active and abandoned cart numbers, how carts are converting, and why shoppers abandon - Payments — a breakdown of how customers are paying - AI Insights — short observations and recommendations from your page data ## Run a report 1. **Open Analytics from your sidebar** — Click Analytics in the left sidebar. The top of the page has tabs — Traffic, Sales, Products, Carts, Payments, and AI Insights. Pick the one closest to your question. 2. **Set the date range** — Most tabs have a date picker near the top — choose last 7 days, last 30 days, or last 90 days. 3. **Drill into a chart** — Hover over any chart to see the exact numbers per day. Tables underneath show the top items in each category. 4. **Export the numbers** — On the Sales, Products, and Carts tabs, click Export (Export Data on the Sales tab) to download a copy you can open in a spreadsheet. > **Top customers live with Customers, not Analytics** — For a list of your highest-value buyers, open Orders in your sidebar and choose Customers — the top customers card and the directory show you who they are. Analytics focuses on store-wide numbers; Customers focuses on individual people. > **Tip: Check the Products tab once a week** — Knowing which products sell best — and which are running low — helps you decide what to feature, what to restock, and where to spend your marketing time. The Products tab puts both views in one place. **Why don’t my report totals match the money in my bank?** Reports show what your customers paid you. Your payout is that amount with the per-sale fees taken off, and any refunds lower it too — so the deposit in your bank is usually a little less than the gross sales in your reports. **Can I pick any date range I want?** You can switch most tabs between the last 7 days, the last 30 days, and the last 90 days. There is no fully custom date range yet. **Where do I see my best customers?** Open Orders in your sidebar and choose Customers. Analytics shows store-wide numbers, while the Customers area is where you find individual people and your top buyers. ## Related - [Read your dashboard](/help/insights/read-your-dashboard.md) - [Watch live cart activity](/help/insights/watch-live-cart-activity.md) --- # Watch live cart activity > See who is shopping in your page right now and which carts are most likely to convert. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/insights/watch-live-cart-activity · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~3 min read_ Cart Activity gives you a live view of every open cart in your page right now. You can see who is browsing, what they have added, and which shoppers are most likely to buy. ## How to open it 1. **Open Analytics** — In the sidebar, click Analytics. 2. **Open the Carts tab** — At the top of Analytics, open the Carts tab. 3. **Find the Recent Activity card** — Scroll down to the Recent Activity card. 4. **Click View All Activity** — Click View All Activity to open the live view. The page updates on its own, so you always see the most recent state. ## What you can see - Active carts — how many open carts there are at this moment - Total value — the combined value of every active cart - Avg active cart value — the average value of those open carts - Conversion probability — a rough estimate of how likely these shoppers are to complete a purchase - Top products in carts — which items show up most across active carts right now - Per-cart detail — click View Details on any cart to see the customer, the items, the cart value, how long they have been browsing, their page views, and their device and location ## Filter the list Use the filter dropdown to focus on a subset of carts: - All Carts — every open cart - High Value — carts above a set value threshold - Likely to Convert — shoppers who show strong buying signals - At Risk — carts that show signs of abandonment - Returning Customers — shoppers who have bought from you before > **This is a live view, not history** — Cart Activity shows carts that are open right now. For carts that were abandoned and not completed, go to Orders > Abandoned Carts — that is where you can send recovery emails and track your recovery rate. > **Tip: Great to check during a launch** — If you send a newsletter or post on social media and traffic spikes, open Cart Activity to see in real time how many people are adding to carts. It is an immediate signal of whether your promotion is working before the orders start arriving. **Can I contact someone who has an active cart?** Not from the activity view — you can only see their cart. If they entered an email address at checkout and do not complete the order, they will appear later in your Abandoned carts list where you can follow up. **How often does the page refresh?** The cart activity view refreshes on its own so you always see a current picture without pressing anything. You can switch it to manual, change how often it refreshes, or refresh on demand using the controls at the top of the page. ## Related - [Read your dashboard](/help/insights/read-your-dashboard.md) - [Recover abandoned carts](/help/customers/recover-abandoned-carts.md) --- # Choose your plan > How plans work, what is included, and how to upgrade or downgrade. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/choose-your-plan · Updated 2026-06-19 · ~4 min read_ Plans give you control over how you pay for Shopstar. The Pay Per Sale plan has no monthly fee and a standard 6% all-in rate — a 2.9% payment gateway rate plus a 3.1% Shopstar fee. The Subscription plan swaps the Shopstar fee for a monthly fee, so each sale has the standard 2.9% gateway rate — it pays off at higher volumes. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. You can switch between plans at any time. ## Switch between plans 1. **Open Billing** — Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Billing. The Overview tab shows your current plan in the Billing Model section, with the per-transaction rate underneath. 2. **Click the plan you want** — The two plans appear side by side as cards — Pay Per Sale and Subscription. Click the card you want to switch to. The break-even hint at the bottom shows roughly when Subscription becomes cheaper than Pay Per Sale based on your page. 3. **Confirm the switch** — A short confirmation appears. Switching up to Subscription takes effect right away. Switching from Subscription back to Pay Per Sale takes effect at the end of your current billing period, so you keep the Subscription you have already paid for. Either way, a toast confirms the change. > **Subscription starts after billing setup** — When you switch to Subscription, set up billing to activate the monthly plan. If you decide it is not for you later, switching back to Pay Per Sale is a single click and takes effect at the end of your current paid period. ## The other billing tabs The Billing page has four tabs at the top. Overview is where you switch plans. The other three tabs keep you on top of fees and payments. - Payment — add or update the credit or debit card used to pay your monthly subscription fee. If you are on Pay Per Sale, this tab is not relevant. - Transactions — a full history of the fees deducted on every sale, searchable by date range. Great for your bookkeeping. - History — your subscription billing invoices showing each billing cycle, the amount, and whether each one is paid, still open, or voided. **Will I lose features when I downgrade?** If a feature is only on a higher plan, you lose access when you downgrade. Your data stays safe — it is just hidden until you upgrade again. **How much does each plan charge per sale?** Pay Per Sale has a standard 6% all-in rate (2.9% payment gateway fee + 3.1% Shopstar fee) with no monthly fee. Subscription is a monthly fee plus the standard 2.9% gateway rate per sale. Standard rates apply to most sales. On small payments, provider-cost floors or currency minimum fees can make the effective percentage higher. The break-even point depends on your sales volume — the Billing page shows it for your account. **Can I switch back to Pay Per Sale later?** Yes. Click the Pay Per Sale card from the Billing Model section at any time. Your data stays safe — any features that are only on the Subscription plan become hidden until you switch back. ## Related - [Understanding fees](/help/payments/understanding-fees.md) - [Get a tax invoice for your fees](/help/payments/fee-tax-invoices.md) - [Invite team members and set roles](/help/account/invite-team-members.md) --- # Invite team members and set roles > Bring colleagues into your dashboard and give them only the access they need. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/invite-team-members · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ As your business grows, you will want help. Inviting team members lets you give other people access without sharing your login, and you can control what each person can do. ## Send an invite 1. **Open Team** — Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Team. Click Invite team member to open the invite page. 2. **Enter their name and email** — Type the team member's name and the email address you want the invite sent to. Both are required. 3. **Pick a role** — Choose one of Manager, Staff, or Check-in Only. Each card shows exactly what that role can and cannot do, so you can match the access to the job. 4. **Add a custom message (optional)** — You can include a short personal note that goes out with the invite email — handy for a heads-up to a new colleague. 5. **Send the invite** — Once you submit, the invite goes out by email. After the recipient accepts, they appear in your Team list — you can change their role or remove them at any time. ## The roles we offer - Owner — that's you. Full access including plan, billing, and store settings (not selectable from the invite page) - Manager — manages orders and refunds, products and inventory, customers, analytics, and team members; cannot access billing or store settings - Staff — views orders and customer information and can update order status; cannot process refunds, edit products, or change settings - Check-in Only — limited to scanning and checking in event tickets via the dedicated check-in interface; no access to orders, products, customers, settings, or billing > **Tip: Give the least access needed** — Picking the right role keeps your page safe. A bookkeeper does not need to edit products; a sales assistant does not need access to billing. ## Team settings and approval workflows Team Settings are available to Owners and Managers. They let you configure team-wide rules: - Require order approval — large orders above a threshold you set must be approved by a Manager before they are processed - Require refund approval — refunds above a threshold you set must be approved by a Manager before they go through - Working hours — set the start and end time for your team's working day (used for scheduling and reports) - Timezone — the timezone applied to order timestamps and reports for your team > **Approval workflows add a checkpoint** — If you enable order or refund approval, any order or refund that hits the threshold will show as Pending approval until a Manager approves or rejects it. This is useful for businesses where large transactions need a second pair of eyes. **How many team members can I add?** Most plans include unlimited team members. Check your plan for any specific limits. **Can someone be on two stores at once?** Yes. They use the same login email to switch between stores they have been invited to. **How do I remove someone?** From Team, click the person and Remove. Their access ends immediately. Anything they created (orders, notes, products) stays in your page. ## Related - [Choose your plan](/help/account/choose-your-plan.md) - [Keep your account safe](/help/account/keep-your-account-safe.md) --- # Keep your account safe > Simple steps to protect your page, your team, and your customers. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/keep-your-account-safe · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ Your page has money flowing through it and customer data inside it. A few small habits go a very long way toward keeping it all safe. ## The essentials 1. **Sign in with the right email** — There are no passwords to remember — your page uses a passwordless flow. When you sign in, you enter your email and we send you a one-time verification code. Use an email address only you have access to, and treat the code like a password (don't share it). 2. **Keep your email account secure** — Since the verification code goes to your email, your email account is effectively your page's front door. Use a strong, unique password on your email, and turn on two-factor authentication if your provider supports it. 3. **Be careful what you click** — If you get an email asking you to sign in or share information, double-check the sender. We will never ask for your verification code by email, chat, or phone. 4. **Review your team regularly** — Every few months, open Team from your avatar menu and check who has access. Remove anyone who is not actively working with you anymore. 5. **Keep your devices up to date** — Run updates on your phone and computer regularly. Most security issues are fixed by updates that take a couple of minutes. ## What we do on our side - Encrypt all data in transit so nothing can be snooped on its way to and from your dashboard - Use passwordless sign-in, so there is no password to leak or guess - Send fresh, short-lived verification codes for every sign-in - Run regular security reviews of our systems and software - Keep automatic backups of your data so it can be recovered if something goes wrong > **⚠️ We will never ask for your verification code** — No real support team — ours or anyone else worth trusting — will ever ask you to share your sign-in code by email, chat, or phone. If anyone does, do not share it and let us know. **What if I think someone got into my account?** Sign in yourself first, then open Account from your avatar menu and use Sign out other sessions to end every other session right away. After that, contact support so we can review activity and lock things down while we investigate. Also reset your email account's password, since that is where the sign-in codes are delivered. **There is no password — what's my second factor?** Your email is the second factor by design. The first factor is knowing your email address; the second is being able to receive the one-time code we send to it. Keep your email account tight (strong password, two-factor authentication on the provider) and your page is well protected. **What about my customer data?** Customer data lives behind your account. Anyone with access to your dashboard can see it, so be careful with who you give access to and what roles you give them. **Do you have a privacy policy?** Yes. Our privacy policy explains exactly what data we collect and why, and your page should have its own privacy policy that tells your customers the same. ## Related - [Invite team members and set roles](/help/account/invite-team-members.md) - [Update your profile](/help/account/update-your-profile.md) --- # Control your notifications > Pick which alerts and reports you want to receive — and turn off the rest. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/control-your-notifications · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~4 min read_ Every merchant prefers a different rhythm of alerts. Your page sends a few different types of notifications — you can switch each one on or off so you only hear about what matters to you. ## Open your notification preferences Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Notifications. You will see three groups of switches — Order & store notifications, Email reports, and Platform updates — followed by a Save preferences button at the bottom. ## Order & store notifications - New orders — get a notification every time a customer places an order - Customer messages — get alerted when a customer contacts you - Inventory alerts — be reminded when a product is running low in stock ## Email reports - Weekly reports — a friendly summary every Monday with the past week's highlights - Monthly reports — a more detailed breakdown of your sales and store performance ## Platform updates - Security alerts — recommended on, so you hear straight away about anything important to your account - Marketing & tips — occasional ideas and product updates from us > **Don't forget to save** — Toggling a switch doesn't apply the change until you click Save preferences at the bottom of the page. The button stays in view as you scroll so you don't lose track of it. > **Tip: Quiet but informed** — If new-order alerts are overwhelming on a busy day, switch them off and lean on the weekly report instead. Your dashboard always shows the live numbers when you want to peek. **Are these the same as customer notifications?** No. These settings only affect what you receive. Customers always get the order confirmations, shipping updates, and other messages your page sends them — those are managed separately under Store > Email Templates. **Do these settings affect my whole team?** Yes. Notification preferences are set at the store level, so what you switch on or off applies to everyone with access to your dashboard. If your team needs different rhythms, agree together and update them in one place. **Why is "Security alerts" recommended on?** Security alerts cover unusual sign-ins and important account events. Keeping them on means you'll hear about anything suspicious quickly — even if you've turned the rest off. ## Related - [Keep your account safe](/help/account/keep-your-account-safe.md) --- # API credentials > Create API keys to connect your store to custom apps, automation tools, and integrations. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/use-api-credentials · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~5 min read_ The Shopstar API lets developers connect your store to other tools — a custom mobile app, a reporting dashboard, an automation workflow, or anything else that needs to read or write store data. This guide is about creating and managing the credentials they need. > **⚠️ Owner access only** — Only the store owner can view or create API credentials. Team members with Manager, Staff, or Check-in Only roles do not have access to this page. ## Open API credentials In the sidebar, click Store, then API Credentials. You will see a list of the keys and clients you have created, and a button to create new ones. ## Create an API key 1. **Pick your credential type** — The API credentials page has two sections — API keys for simple tools and scripts, and OAuth clients for apps that connect to your store on your behalf, such as an AI shopping assistant. Click Create API key or Create OAuth client in the relevant section. 2. **Give it a descriptive name** — Name it after what it is for — "Reporting dashboard", "Mobile app", "Zapier integration". This makes it easy to find and revoke later if something changes. 3. **Copy the key straight away** — Your key or secret is only shown once — right after you create it. Copy it now and save it somewhere safe. Once it disappears from the page, you cannot see the full secret again, only a short prefix that helps you recognise it. 4. **Give the key to your developer** — Share the credential with whoever is building the integration. They use it in the API request headers to authenticate as your store. ## Keep your keys safe - Treat API keys like passwords — never post them on social media or in public code repositories - Create one key per integration so you can revoke one without breaking the others - Revoke any key you no longer use — fewer active keys means less to worry about if one ever leaks - If you suspect a key has been leaked, revoke it immediately and create a fresh one ## Read the API documentation The API credentials page has an Open API docs button in the top right. The docs explain how to connect, what store data is available, and how to make requests — everything a developer needs. Share the link with whoever is building your integration. > **Tip: Not a developer? Ask for help.** — API credentials are aimed at developers building custom tools. If you want to connect your store to a specific app and are not sure how, check if the app has a pre-built Shopstar integration first — you may not need to touch the API at all. **What can the API access?** API credentials give access to your store data — products, orders, customers, and other resources. The exact access depends on what you grant when you create the credential. Your developer can read the API docs to understand what is available. **How do I revoke a key?** Open Store > API Credentials, find the key you want to remove, and click Revoke. The key stops working immediately. Any integration using that key will need a new one. **Is there a limit on how many keys I can create?** There is no hard limit. Create as many as you need — one per integration is the cleanest approach so you have independent control over each one. **Can a team member use the API?** Only the store owner can manage the API credentials. However, a developer can use a key the owner created without needing access to the dashboard themselves. ## Related - [Keep your account safe](/help/account/keep-your-account-safe.md) - [Invite team members and set roles](/help/account/invite-team-members.md) --- # Update your profile > Change your name, add a phone number, and sign out of other devices. _Canonical: https://www.shopstar.io/help/account/update-your-profile · Updated 2026-06-15 · ~3 min read_ Your profile stores your personal details — the name and contact info attached to your dashboard login. You can update these at any time from your account settings. ## Open your account settings Click your name or avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, then Account. You will see three sections: Account Overview, Account Security, and Profile Information. ## What you can update - Full name — the name shown in your dashboard and in emails to your team - Phone number — add a number to receive sign-in codes by text message; verify it with a code we send. Once a number is added, you can choose whether codes arrive by text message or WhatsApp - Email address — read-only; to change your login email, contact support ## Sign out other sessions The Account Security section shows a Sign out other sessions button. Click it to immediately end any active sessions on other browsers or devices — useful if you forgot to sign out on a shared computer or if you suspect someone else has access. > **Tip: Account Overview shows your activity** — The Account Overview section shows when your account was created and when you last signed in. If the last login date looks unfamiliar, use Sign out other sessions and contact support. **How do I change my email address?** Email changes are handled by our support team. Contact support with your current email and the new one you want to use — we will verify both and make the change. **Why should I add a phone number?** A verified phone number lets us send you a sign-in code by text message — or WhatsApp, if you prefer — as an alternative to email. Handy if you cannot get to your email inbox at that moment. It is optional but recommended for extra convenience. **Does signing out other sessions affect my team?** No. It only signs out other sessions for your own login, not your team members. Each person manages their own sessions. ## Related - [Keep your account safe](/help/account/keep-your-account-safe.md) - [Control your notifications](/help/account/control-your-notifications.md)