Helping a Handmade Business Sell Online Without Managing Two Inventories

The goal

Cindie already runs her sales and her product list through Square. Most online shops mean setting every product up a second time in a new system, then keeping prices, photos and “sold out” in step between the two.

We set out to avoid that. The goal was one place to manage products, the Square account she already knows, with the website simply following it.

What we built

• Square is the single source of products. Item names, prices, photos and categories (Bags, Blankets, Bandanas) come from Square. Cindie adds or changes a product in the Square app, and the shop shows it within about five minutes. She does not edit products on the website.
• Sold-out items are labelled honestly. When Square reports an item at zero stock, or marks it sold out, the shop shows it as Sold Out. Because each piece is handmade, the page explains that it can still be ordered, with a typical wait of four to eight weeks.
• Checkout happens on Square. The Buy Now button opens Square's own checkout page, where the customer pays and gets a receipt. The shop never handles card details.
• A small page for the few things Square does not hold. Cindie can choose the featured product on the homepage, pick the photos for each collection, switch a sale banner on or off, and set a flat shipping fee.
• A custom-order request form. Someone who wants a particular colour or size describes it in a short form. Every request is saved in a simple list where Cindie marks it new, contacted, in progress, done or archived. No payment is taken at that stage; it starts a conversation.

How a day looks for Cindie

1. She adds or edits an item in the Square app, the same way she would for any sale.
2. Within about five minutes the shop shows the change.
3. A customer taps Buy Now and pays on Square's checkout page.
4. The order arrives in her Square account like any other order.

Good to know

• Sold Out labels follow what Square reports, and the shop refreshes from Square about every five minutes. They are only as accurate as the stock counts kept in Square.
• If Square cannot be reached for a moment, the shop keeps showing the last product information it had rather than going blank.
• We wrote Cindie a plain-language guide to managing the shop, so she does not need us for the everyday tasks.