Welcome to your ECStores Admin Panel. This is where you manage everything about your online store — products, orders, appearance, and payment settings. Your customers never see this panel; they only see your store at your-store.ecstores.ca.

What's in the sidebar?

✅ First-Time Setup Checklist

Work through these in order to get your store ready to sell:

@foreach([ ['💳 Connect Stripe', 'In your ECW client portal → Merchant Payments, connect your Stripe account so you can receive payment. Status shows here under Settings → Payments.'], ['⚙️ Configure your store', 'Go to Site Settings — set your store name, currency, and tax rate.'], ['🎨 Set up your branding', 'Go to Branding Studio — upload your logo, set brand colours and font.'], ['📁 Create categories', 'Go to Categories — add groupings for your products (e.g., "Shirts", "Accessories").'], ['📬 Set up shipping', 'Go to Shipping Methods — add at least one shipping option with a price.'], ['📦 Add your products', 'Go to Products — add your items with images, prices, and descriptions.'], ['🛒 Test your store', 'Visit your store URL, add a product to the cart, and test the full checkout flow.'], ] as $i => [$title, $desc])
1. {{ $i + 1 }} {{ $title }} — {!! $desc !!}
@endforeach

Products are the items you sell. Each product can have images, a price, description, inventory count, and variants (like sizes or colours).

Viewing Your Products

Click Products in the sidebar to see a table of all your products. From here you can:

• 🔍Search by typing a product name into the search bar.
• 🔽Filter by category or status using the Filters button.
• ✏️Edit by clicking the row or the pencil icon.
• 🗑️Delete a single product from its row actions or its Edit page, or several at once by ticking checkboxes and choosing Delete from bulk actions.

Restoring a Deleted Product

Deleting a product moves it to the Trash — it disappears from your storefront and product list, but its details (name, price, images, variants) are kept so you can bring it back.

• 1️⃣On the Products page, click Filters and set Deleted records (the Trashed filter) to With deleted or Only deleted.
• 2️⃣Find the product, then click Restore (the row action, or the Restore button on its Edit page). It immediately returns to your active products and storefront with all original data intact.
• ♻️To bulk-restore, tick several deleted products and choose Restore from bulk actions.

Adding a New Product

Click New Product (top right). Fill in the form sections from top to bottom:

Pricing & Sale Prices

Inventory Tracking

📬 Per-Product Shipping Settings

Each product has three shipping options in the Shipping section of the product form (scroll down past Inventory):

Product Variants (Sizes, Colours, etc.)

Variants let a single product be offered in multiple options (e.g., a T-shirt in Small/Medium/Large). The Variants section in the product form is collapsed by default — click to expand.

1. 1Open the Variants section. Click "Add variant group".
2. 2Type the group name (e.g., Size).
3. 3Click "Add option" and type each option (e.g., Small, Medium, Large).
4. 4To add a second group (e.g., Colour), click "Add variant group" again and repeat.
5. 5Save the product. The system auto-generates all combinations (e.g., Small/Red, Medium/Blue).
6. 6Re-open the product after saving. Scroll to the Combinations table to set per-variant stock counts if needed.

Featured & Discontinued

Categories are groupings for your products. Customers can click a category name on your storefront to filter the product grid — e.g., "Candles", "Jewellery", "Home Decor".

Creating a Category

1. 1Click Categories in the sidebar → New Category.
2. 2Enter the Name. The Slug is auto-generated — no need to change it.
3. 3Optionally add a Description and a Sort Order number (lower = appears first in the filter).
4. 4Click Create Category. Then assign products to it from each product's form.

Deleting a Category

Open the category and click Delete (confirm when prompted). Any products in that category are not deleted — they simply become uncategorised (their Category field is cleared) and stay visible on your storefront. Re-assign them to another category from each product's form when you're ready.

Suppliers are the companies or people you purchase products from. This is for your own reference only — customers never see supplier information. You can link a supplier to a product to always know at a glance where it comes from.

Adding a Supplier

1. 1Click Suppliers → New Supplier.
2. 2Enter the supplier's Name (required). All other fields are optional.
3. 3Fill in Contact Email, Phone, Contact Person, and Payment Terms as needed.
4. 4Click Create Supplier. You can now assign it to products in the product form.

Deleting a Supplier

Deleting a supplier does not delete its products. Any products linked to it simply have their Supplier field cleared and remain in your catalogue.

Shipping Methods are the delivery options customers choose at checkout. All plans support flat-rate methods. Growth and Pro plans also support weight-based pricing, a free-shipping threshold, and per-product separate shipment costs.

Flat Rate Shipping

Available on all plans. A single fixed price is charged regardless of cart contents.

1. 1Click Shipping Methods → New Shipping Method.
2. 2Enter a Name — what the customer sees (e.g., "Standard Shipping", "Local Pickup").
3. 3Enter a Description — optional but helpful (e.g., "Arrives in 5–7 business days").
4. 4Leave Pricing Type as Flat Rate. Enter the Price — use 0 for free.
5. 5Click Create Shipping Method.

Weight-Based Shipping Growth+

Charge different rates depending on the total weight of items in the cart. Define weight tiers — each tier has a minimum weight, an optional maximum weight, and a price.

1. 1Click New Shipping Method → set Pricing Type to Weight-Based.
2. 2The flat rate price field is hidden. Click Add Weight Tier.
3. 3Set Min Weight (kg), Max Weight (kg), and Price. Leave Max Weight blank on the last tier to catch all heavier carts.
4. 4Add as many tiers as you need. Tiers are inclusive of Min and exclusive of Max (e.g., 0–5 kg = $8, 5–10 kg = $13, 10+ kg = $20).
5. 5Save. The system automatically selects the correct tier at checkout based on cart weight.

Free Shipping Threshold Growth+

Set a minimum order amount that, once reached, waives the base shipping charge automatically. Configure this in Site Settings → Free Shipping.

Coupons let you offer customers a discount code they enter at checkout. You control the amount, whether it is a flat dollar discount or a percentage, and when it expires.

Creating a Coupon

1. 1Click Coupons in the sidebar → New Coupon.
2. 2Enter a Code — what customers type at checkout (e.g., SUMMER20). Codes are stored in uppercase automatically.
3. 3Choose the Discount Type: Fixed Amount (e.g., $10 off) or Percentage (e.g., 15% off).
4. 4Enter the Discount Value — the dollar amount or the percentage number.
5. 5Optionally set: Minimum Order Amount, Expiry Date, and Max Uses.
6. 6Make sure the Active toggle is On. Save the coupon.

Coupon Fields Explained

How Customers Use Coupons

At checkout, Step 3 (Order Review) shows a coupon code field. Customers type their code and click Apply. The discount appears immediately in the order summary. Only one coupon can be applied per order.

When a customer completes checkout, an order is created here. This is where you manage fulfillment, update statuses, and communicate with customers.

Reading the Order List

• 🔢Order ID — unique number for this order.
• 👤Customer Name — name entered at checkout.
• 🏷️Status — colour-coded badge showing where the order is.
• 💰Total — full amount paid including shipping and tax.
• 📅Order Date — when the order was placed.

Order Statuses Explained

Opening and Updating an Order

1. 1Click on any order row to open the order detail page.
2. 2Review the customer's contact info, billing/shipping address, and item list.
3. 3Change the Status dropdown to the new status (e.g., Processing once payment confirmed).
4. 4Click Save changes.

📦 Marking an Order Shipped (with Tracking)

Instead of changing the status by hand, use the Mark as shipped button (on the order page and in the orders list; it appears while an order is Pending or Processing). It does three things at once:

1. 1Click Mark as shipped.
2. 2Optionally choose a Carrier (Canada Post, Purolator, UPS, FedEx, Canpar, DHL, USPS) and enter a Tracking number. Both are optional.
3. 3Click Submit. The order becomes Shipped with today's date, and the customer is emailed a shipping notification.

Notes to Customers

The Note to Buyer field on the order edit page shows the customer a message when they check their order history — useful for delivery estimates or anything the automatic emails don't cover.

💸 Issuing a Refund Pro

To issue a refund, open the order and click the Refund button at the top right of the page. A panel opens with these options:

Enter the Refund Amount (up to the unpaid balance), choose a Reason, and optionally turn on Notify customer by email to send them a refund confirmation. Click Issue Refund to confirm.

📥 Returning Items to Inventory

The Refund panel has a Return items to inventory switch. Turn it on to add the refunded items back to your stock counts:

• ✅Each line is prefilled with how many units can still be returned. Leave them as-is to restock a full return, or edit the Qty to restock down for a partial return (e.g. the customer kept one of three).
• 🚫Leave the switch off for a goodwill refund or an item the customer keeps — no stock is returned.
• 🔁Stock is never returned twice: if you restock a partial refund and later refund the rest, only the remaining units are added back.

↩️ Requesting a Return (RMA) Pro

When a customer needs to return items, open their order and click Request Return (visible on Processing, Shipped, and Partially Refunded orders). This creates an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization). See the ↩️ Returns (RMA) section below for full details.

An RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) is a tracked return request. When a customer needs to send something back, you create an RMA on their order. The system assigns a unique RMA number (e.g., RMA-AB12CD), tracks the items coming back, and links to the refund once it is processed.

Return Workflow — Step by Step

Step 1 — Creating a Return Request

1. 1Open the order (must be in Processing, Shipped, or Partially Refunded status).
2. 2Click Request Return in the header buttons (top right of the order page).
3. 3Choose a Return Reason: Defective Product, Wrong Item Shipped, Customer Request, or Other.
4. 4In the Items to Return list, enter the Return Qty for each item being returned. Set to 0 for items staying with the customer.
5. 5Optionally enter a Return Tracking Number (if you provided the customer with a return label) and any Internal Notes (not visible to customer).
6. 6Turn on Notify customer by email to send them an acknowledgement email with the RMA number. You can include a custom message (e.g., return shipping instructions).
7. 7Click Create Return. The order status changes to Return Requested and the RMA is assigned a number.

Step 2 — Marking Items as Received

1. 1When the returned items arrive, open the order (must be in Return Requested status).
2. 2Click Mark Return Received. The panel shows the expected items with pre-filled quantities.
3. 3Adjust the Received Qty for each item if anything is missing or damaged.
4. 4Turn on Notify customer by email if you want to let them know their return arrived.
5. 5Click Confirm Receipt. The order status changes to Return Received.

Returns (RMA) List Page

Click Returns (RMA) in the sidebar to see all return requests across all orders in one place. You can filter by status:

Each row links to the original order where you can take action.

Go to Settings → Site Settings. After making changes, always click Save Settings at the bottom.

Go to Settings → Branding Studio. After changes, click Save and visit your store to see the result.

📐 Image Guidelines (Logo, Favicon, Banner & Products)

For fast page loads and crisp display, follow these recommendations. Uploads must be image files — JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF (PDFs, SVGs and other file types are rejected).

When a customer pays, their money goes directly into your own connected Stripe account — EastCoast WebCraft never touches your funds. It's a full Stripe account that belongs to you (it goes with you if you ever leave). Stripe is free to sign up for. {{ $feeCountText }} (see the breakdown below), so there is nothing for you to pay separately or invoice for.

💰 The fees on each sale

Because the payment is charged straight to your own Stripe account, this is what is deducted from every sale:

Example on a $100.00 order: {!! $feeExample !!}

Connecting Your Stripe Account

You connect Stripe in your EastCoast WebCraft client portal — not in this admin panel.

1. 1Log into your ECW client portal and open Merchant Payments.
2. 2Click "Connect your Stripe account" — you'll be taken to Stripe's secure website.
3. 3Log into your existing Stripe account, or create one. You'll need your business name, address, bank account, and government ID.
4. 4Follow Stripe's onboarding steps. Usually takes 5–10 minutes.
5. 5You're done. Your store picks up the connection automatically — check Settings → Payments here to see the green Connected status once Stripe enables charges.

Understanding Your Stripe Status

The Settings → Payments page in this panel is read-only — it shows your status and links back to your ECW portal. It does not onboard or change anything.

Your Stripe Dashboard

Once connected, the Open Stripe Dashboard link on the Payments page takes you to your own full Stripe dashboard (dashboard.stripe.com) where you can view payment history, see payout amounts, look up transactions by Payment Intent ID, issue refunds, and respond to disputes.

Your storefront is the public-facing website at your-store.ecstores.ca. Here's what customers experience:

The Staff page (under Store in the sidebar) is where you add and manage the people who can sign in to your admin panel. Everyone you add gets full admin access for now.

Inviting a Staff Member

1. 1Click Staff → Invite staff member.
2. 2Enter their Name and Email. You do not set a password — for security you never see or choose it.
3. 3Click Create. They receive an email with a secure link to set their own password and sign in.
4. 4If the link expires, click Send password reset on their row to email a fresh one.

Deactivate vs. Delete

The Reviews page (under Store in the sidebar) is your moderation queue for customer product reviews. Reviews are available on every plan. Only customers who have purchased a product can review it, and nothing appears on your storefront until you approve it.

Approving or Rejecting a Review

Each row shows the product, the customer, their star rating, whether it's a Verified purchase (linked to a real order), the review text, and its status.

1. 1Open Store → Reviews. New reviews have the status pending.
2. 2Click Approve to publish it — it now shows on the product page and counts toward that product's average star rating (and its Google rich-result rating).
3. 3Click Reject (you'll be asked to confirm) to hide it from your storefront. You can re-approve it later from the list.
4. 4To handle several at once, tick the checkboxes and use Approve selected or Reject selected.

You can connect Google Analytics 4 and/or a Meta (Facebook) Pixel to see how visitors find and use your store. This is available on every plan. Both are optional — leave a field blank and nothing is added to your storefront.

Connecting your accounts

1. 1Go to Settings → Site Settings and open the Analytics & Marketing section.
2. 2Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID — paste your ID (it starts with G-, e.g. G-ABC1234567). Find it in Google Analytics under Admin → Data Streams → your web stream (shown top-right).
3. 3Meta (Facebook) Pixel ID — paste your numeric Pixel ID. Find it in Meta Events Manager → your pixel → Settings.
4. 4Click Save Settings. The tracking snippet is added to every storefront page immediately — there's nothing to paste into your theme.

To turn tracking off, clear the field and save. If you enter something that isn't a valid ID, the form tells you and won't save it.

The REST API lets you read your store's products and orders from your own tools and scripts. It's a Pro plan feature — the API page (under Settings in the sidebar) shows an upgrade prompt on Starter and Growth.

1. Create an API key

1. 1Open Settings → API and click Create API key.
2. 2Give it a name (e.g. "Zapier" or "Warehouse sync") so you can tell your keys apart, and click Create.
3. 3Copy the key right away. The full key is shown only once — we store only a fingerprint of it, so we can never show it again. If you lose it, revoke it and create a new one.

2. Make a request

Send your key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The base URL is your store address followed by /api/v1:

curl https://your-store.ecstores.ca/api/v1/products \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer ecs_xxxxxxxx_your_key_here" \
     -H "Accept: application/json"

3. What you can read

The API is read-only for now — it never changes your data. Order responses include what you need to fulfil (contact, shipping address, totals, items) but never raw card or Stripe payment identifiers.

4. Pagination

List endpoints return 25 records per page. Add ?per_page=50 (max 100) to change the page size and ?page=2 to move through pages. Each response includes a meta block (total, per_page, current_page) and links (first/last/prev/next).

5. Rate limit & errors

• 60 requests per minute per key. Going over returns 429 Too Many Requests — wait a moment and retry.
• 401 Unauthorized — missing, mistyped, or revoked key.
• 403 Forbidden — your plan doesn't include the API (upgrade to Pro), or your store is temporarily unavailable.

6. Order webhooks

Rather than polling for new orders, have your store push you a signed message the instant an order is placed. Open Settings → Webhooks and add the URL on your server that should receive it. Webhooks are part of the same Pro plan feature as the API.

• The endpoint URL must be https:// — order notifications carry customer names and addresses, so we never send them over an insecure connection (this is checked when you save and again right before every send).
• When you add an endpoint we show a signing secret once — copy it. You can register up to 3 endpoints, and pause, rotate the secret, or delete any of them.

Each delivery is a POST with a JSON body { "event": "order.created", "created_at": …, "data": { …the order… } } (the same order shape as GET /orders/{id} — no payment identifiers) and these headers:

Verify every message before trusting it, then return a 2xx to acknowledge:

$payload   = file_get_contents('php://input');
$timestamp = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_ECSTORES_TIMESTAMP'] ?? '';
$signature = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_ECSTORES_SIGNATURE'] ?? '';

$expected = hash_hmac('sha256', $timestamp . '|' . $payload, 'YOUR_SIGNING_SECRET');
if (! hash_equals($expected, $signature)) {
    http_response_code(400);   // reject: bad signature
    exit;
}
http_response_code(200);       // 2xx = delivered