Setting up a Cart

Setting up a Cart is a multi-step process — picking the product datastore, configuring the checkout flow, and connecting a payment provider. Each piece is independently configurable, so once you have one working Cart, additional ones (for different product lines, different audiences, different regions) are quick to create.

1. Pick the product datastore

Every Cart needs a backing datastore for its products. Either use an existing one (if you've already modelled your products elsewhere) or create a new datastore with the fields the cart will need.

Typical product datastore fields:

Name (Text Box).
SKU (Text Box, Unique).
Description (Text Area or WYSIWYG Editor).
Price (Number, with appropriate decimals).
Currency (Dropdown Manual with valid options — though most carts run a single currency platform-wide).
Stock Level (Number).
Image (File Upload).
Categories / Tags (Dropdown DB or Tickbox Multiple DB).
Active (Toggle Switch — only Active products appear in the catalogue).

For B2B catalogues where prices vary per customer, add additional fields like list_price, contract_price, discount_percent and compute the displayed price at render time.

2. Configure the cart settings

From the Architect Panel → Commercial → Carts, create a new Cart configuration:

Name — internal name ("Main Storefront", "B2B Order Portal", "Subscription Sales").
Product Datastore — pick the one you just set up.
Currency — the cart's primary currency. Multi-currency requires more work (covered separately).
Tax Handling — single rate, per-product rate, or zero (when prices include tax already).
Shipping Options — fixed, calculated, free, or no shipping. Configure shipping zones if applicable.
Allowed Payment Methods — pick from the configured Payment Methods list.
Approval required? — for B2B carts, sometimes orders need admin approval before being processed. Configure this here.

3. Connect Stripe

Carts and Stripe go together — almost every cart needs payment processing, and Stripe is the platform's primary provider.

Add your Stripe API keys (public + secret) under Site Settings → Stripe. Test mode keys first; live mode keys after you've verified the full flow.

4. Test the checkout flow

Use Stripe's test mode to run a full purchase before going live:

Browse the catalogue, add a product to cart.
Proceed to checkout, fill in details.
Use Stripe's test card 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiry, any CVC.
Submit payment. Stripe should accept and the order should complete.
Verify the confirmation email arrives.
Verify the order appears in the orders datastore with the correct details and status.
Verify Stripe's dashboard shows the test transaction.

Once that works, switch Stripe keys to live mode and run one more end-to-end test with a small real transaction. Refund yourself after.

Three real-world cart configurations

Example 1: Single-currency consumer storefront

Currency: GBP. Tax: 20% VAT on all products. Shipping: £4.99 fixed, free over £50. Payment methods: Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Approval: not required.

Example 2: B2B trade portal

Currency: GBP. Tax: 20% VAT, with per-customer tax exemption flag honoured. Shipping: tiered by weight. Payment methods: Card, BACS Direct Debit, Bank Transfer (invoice). Approval: required for orders over £5,000.

Example 3: Subscription-only product

Currency: USD. No physical shipping. Payment methods: Card. Initial purchase ties to a Subscription Package; renewals process automatically. Approval: not required.

Screenshot of the Cart configuration form showing the Name, Product Datastore, Currency, Tax Handling, Shipping, Payment Methods, and Approval settings

Tip: Configure your Cart in Stripe test mode and run at least 5-10 dummy purchases before going live. Each iteration reveals different gotchas — a typo in a tax calculation, a missing confirmation email, a broken thank-you page. It's much cheaper to find these in test than in production.