The SimpleUpdates Store is powered by a robust commercial store product called Snipcart. This offers an enterprise level, fully-functional shopping cart and checkout experience. Snipcart charges a small fee for their services, but they also provide non-profit and educational discounts.

To get started, complete the following steps:

1. Create an account at Snipcart. They do not charge a fee while the account is in "Test" mode, so you can take your time creating products and configuring your store.
    
2. Return to your sites dashboard and click on Store in the left admin bar.
    
3. You will see a form requesting the Public and Secret API keys. To acquire these, go to the API Keys section of the Snipcart dashboard. The Public key will already be visible, but to get your secret key you'll need to click "Add New API Key." Enter an application name, such as the name of your website, and click on the blank field to the right to reveal your new secret API key. Enter both keys into the form on your SimpleUpdates dashboard that you reached on step 2.
    
4. On the left admin bar you should now see Products and Categories options. We recommend creating several categories before creating products. Customers can use the categories to filter the product list. For example, you might create categories called Books, Clothing, etc.
    
5. After you've created your categories, click "Products" and begin entering your products. Note that all products and categories are stored on SimpleUpdates. The only way Snipcart knows about your products is if a customer purchases them, or you manually fetch from the Snipcart dashboard (See FAQ section below on managing inventory). 
    
6. If you have not done so already, go back to your Snipcart dashboard to setup your payment gateway, shipping, tax, discount coupons, order notifications, etc. We also recommend entering your business information, including the "sender email."
    
7. When you're ready to start accepting real, live orders, be sure to toggle the Live option in your Snipcart dashboard and create new API keys like you did in step 3. Go to Settings -> Integrations on your SimpleUpdates site dashboard to update the Snipcart API keys.
    

FAQ

Can I manage inventory?

Yes, all products are stored inside your SimpleUpdates dashboard, but we also send a copy to Snipcart every time you add or update a product. This allows you to update the inventory from the product list of your Snipcart dashboard. Be sure to enable inventory management in your Snipcart dashboard for this to work.

Can I manage inventory for each of my product variations?

Yes, each variation is sent to Snipcart as its own product, allowing you to set the stock on a per variation item basis. Follow instructions above to get started.

How will I know when a customer places an order?

Make sure "Notify me when a new order occurs" is enabled in the Checkout and Cart settings of your Snipcart dashboard.

Can I use other currencies besides USD?

Yes, you can change the currency in your Snipcart dashboard, but if you want to format the prices using currency logo other than the dollar ($) sign, you'll need to reach out to our support team. We can manually change the currency on your site for you. Note that although Snipcart supports different prices for each currency, SimpleUpdates currently only supports setting prices in one currency.
 

How do I charge tax?

Taxes are managed in your Snipcart dashboard.

How do I setup shipping reates?

Shipping rates can be setup in your Snipcart dashboard.
 

Can I create discounts or sales?

Yes, these are also setup in your Snipcart dashboard, though keep in mind the discount price will show once the item is added to the cart. When creating discounts you may need your product or category IDs. These are listed in their respective lists on your SimpleUpdates dashboard.

Adding a Product to the Store