Setting up your online store is the first step to selling online and organizing your business all in one place.
Local Line is not only your online storefront, but also helps you manage your inventory, customers, delivery routes, and orders, invoices, and payments. This post shares all the info you need to set up and launch your Local Line store.
If this is your first time setting up an online store, you might be overwhelmed by the blank canvas that sits before you. No worries! We’re here to guide you through every step of the way—only 5 steps to be exact, taking no more than 90 minutes to complete!
The 5 steps to setting up your account are:
After you've set up your storefront with your name, profile picture and cover photo, your first step is to upload your products for inventory.
The platform allows you to upload in two ways:
If you are just starting with selling direct to customers and currently only offer a few products, you could consider uploading your products individually.
This is very simple. All you have to do is:
Be sure to also:
If you sell a wide range of products, uploading individually may be a bit cumbersome. You can also upload your products in bulk using a spreadsheet template. The template is available for download.
After you have filled in the spreadsheet, you:
Note: Any upload issues will be explained in a window, in this case, you would make changes to the template file from desktop, save and re-upload.
Upload Product Photos
Not interested in adding product photos?
Note: Adding a picture and description is proven to influence decisions when purchasing online.
After you have uploaded products, you need to assign them to a catalog. Catalogs enable you to organize products and privately set product prices, pack sizes, and availability to the unique needs of your customers.
The feature was created to organize products throughout the platform and maintain streamlined inventory. You are able to have the same inventory list but update prices and availability dependent on customer type. To add existing products to a catalog, you:
Click on My Store on the navigation menu. Then click the CATALOGS tab.
Save time and remind customers to place orders by creating automated catalog schedules!
Pro tip: Local Line users with a catalog schedule enabled see 3x as many orders in their store, and their average order size is 53.1% greater!
Here’s how to set up an automated catalog schedule:
Make the most of your catalog schedule:
Delivery plans dictate which customers will be offered delivery. A customer with a set city matching one of your delivery locations will automatically be offered delivery. A customer with a non-matching city will not be offered delivery. Pickup locations are always offered to customers no matter their city.
To add a delivery plan:Example: The order time for the Toronto delivery plan below is 48 hours, and they deliver Monday to Friday. If the customer orders Monday, they will not be able to select Tuesday as their delivery day. Wednesday is the first day they can expect the delivery because of the 48-hour lead time. (Lead times work backwards from 11:59pm on the day of the selected Delivery day.)
Availability
Custom Checkout Message
After customers place their order, the Custom Checkout Message will appear with the automated confirmation that the order was placed successfully and the date of delivery.
This is a good place to include any of the following information:
Note: To edit a delivery plan, click the Edit button to the right of the plan. Click the x to delete a delivery plan.
Adding pickup locations allows purchasers to order your products even if they aren't in one of your delivery zones. Once an order is placed, you'll be given the name of the location associated with that order and you can drop off the goods for the purchaser(s).
Note: To edit a pickup location, click the Edit button to the right of the location. Click the x to delete a pickup location.
Remember, if delivery is not feasible for your business, adding pickup locations is a great way to continue to serve your customers without the added costs of home delivery. You could even consider using the market as a pickup location as an alternative. This way you can serve multiple sales channels simultaneously!
The final step before launching your new online store is to set up payment options. The payment options feature allows you to customize allowed payment. You can choose between the 3 predefined options—Cash, Check, E-transfer—or define your own.
The payment option your customer selects at checkout is logged in the following places:
You can also set up online payments by connecting your online store to a Square or Stripe account.
Once Online Payment is set up, a Pay Now button will appear on invoices you send out. If online payment is not set up, customers will not see the button.
You have successfully finished all of the required steps to set up your new Local Line store. The last step is to launch your store to your customers!
Now that you've added products, created your catalog(s), added and assigned customers to your catalog(s), inputted your delivery/pickup info etc., you're ready to launch your new online store!
On your home page/dashboard, click the Launch button on the left side of your screen. This allows your customers to view your store.
Used by all types of local food suppliers, Local Line helps you accept online orders, communicate with customers, and organize your fulfillment.