Create a Shopify account
Before you can use the Shopify connector, you'll need to have a Shopify account. Companies that already have one or more Shopify stores can install the Shopify app in Business Central and then start setting up the app.
Whether you're considering Shopify as your e-commerce solution or wanting to explore the Shopify connector in Business Central, you can start with creating a Shopify account.
The two options for creating a Shopify account are:
Get the trial version - This option is the starting point for most users.
Create development stores - This option is for partners who are planning to provide demos, training, and support services on the Shopify connector.
Get the Shopify trial version
If you're a user, or if you want to explore the features of the Shopify integration in Business Central, you can create a Shopify trial version by following these steps:
Open your web browser and go to the Shopify website: https://www.shopify.com.
In the upper-right corner, select Start free trial.
Follow the steps of the registration process.
After creating the trial, you can sign in to Shopify as an administrator with the email account that you used to create the trial.
Next, you can create and personalize your Shopify online store. To create a new store, go to the Shopify Help Center.
When the Shopify store has been created, you'll need to apply several settings in the Shopify Admin section of the created store. To apply the settings, follow these steps:
Sign in to your Shopify store.
In the lower-left corner, select Settings.
In the navigation pane on the left, select Checkout and accounts.
Scroll down to the Customer information section and select Optional for the Company name setting.
If you want to test the tipping features, scroll down to the Tipping section and activate the Show tipping options at checkout setting. In the Preset fields, you can enter the percentages that you want to use as tips, such as 10, 15, and 20.
Scroll down to the Order processing section and deactivate the Automatically archive the order field. This setting is necessary because only unarchived orders can be synched to Business Central.
In the left navigation pane, select Plan and then select a plan to test the checkout process.
To select a plan, you might need to choose a payment method. How to set up payment methods is explained in a subsequent unit of this module. If your Shopify online store is a development store (created by using your partner account), the plan has been selected already. How to create a development store is explained in the following section.
Important
To avoid your free Shopify trial going into a paying trial, remember to cancel your Shopify trial on time.
Create a development store
If you're a Business Central partner, and you're considering any of the following activities in the Business Central Shopify integration, it's better to create a development store instead of getting the trial version:
Demonstrating
Training
Providing support services
Before you can create a development store, you'll need to join the Shopify Partner Program first. The Shopify Partner Program is a diverse group of designers, developers, marketeers, and affiliates who use the Shopify platform to build e-commerce websites, themes, and apps. The Shopify Partner Program is free to join and lets you experiment with the Shopify platform through unlimited test stores.
For more information, see About the Shopify Partner Program ยท Shopify Help Center.
After you've become a member of the Shopify Partner Program, you can create your first development store. As a Shopify partner, you can create an unlimited number of development stores. A development store is a free Shopify account that comes with a few limitations. You can use a development store to test any themes or apps that you create or to set up a Shopify account for a client.
The two development store types are:
A development store to test an app or a theme that's still in development.
A development store to build a Shopify store on behalf of a client.
For this course, we recommend that you create a development store to test an app or theme by using the latest build.
For more information, see Create a development store for testing apps or themes.
After you've created your development store, you can apply the same settings as previously described:
Select Optional for the Company name setting.
Activate the Show tipping options at checkout setting.
Deactivate the Automatically archive the order field.
Activate the Allow customers to log in from online store and checkout setting.
A development store automatically contains a custom plan. If you want to test the payment functionality, you'll need to choose a payment method by going to Settings > Plan. Creating payment methods is explained in the following unit.