Before You Begin: Setup Checklist

A few things need to be in place in your Shopify store before you install Orca. Confirming them first makes setup faster and prevents the most common issues.

1. You have more than one active location

Orca routes orders between locations, so your store should have at least two set up in Shopify: for example, a warehouse and a retail store. You can review your locations in Shopify under Settings, then Locations.

2. Inventory tracking is turned on

Orca makes routing decisions based on stock levels, so it needs Shopify to track quantities for your products. Confirm that your products have inventory tracking enabled and that the quantities at each location are accurate. Untracked products cannot be routed by stock availability.

3. Each location has a complete address

Rules such as "ship from the location closest to the customer" depend on knowing where your locations are. Check that every location has a full, correct address in Shopify, including postal code.

4. You know who will manage Orca

Setup involves choices about billing, location roles, and routing rules. It is worth deciding in advance who on your team will own the configuration, and which staff at your stores will handle transfers on the POS devices.

5. You have reviewed your fulfillment preferences

Orca applies the rules you give it, so having a clear idea of how you want orders handled makes rule creation straightforward. Useful questions to settle beforehand: Which locations should fulfill online orders? Should orders ship complete from one location, or in parts from several? Are there locations that should never fulfill, such as an outlet or a partner facility?

Once these are in place, you are ready to install. See Installing Orca on Your Shopify Store for the step-by-step guide.