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StoreTempo — Pilot Launch Checklist

One store map. Two ways to shop. Twelve steps from first conversation to a door that is ready for shoppers.

For independents and chains · storetempo.com

Built for owners and store managers

Answer what you know in everyday language. You do not need to be the IT person. The goal is a clean pilot: finished trips in the aisle or at pickup, on your brand—not a marketplace skin.

  • Written for brand owners and store managers first.
  • Tap What’s this? for a short explanation. Open More detail only if you want the technical version.
  • Skip tech notes for now—your IT contact or StoreTempo can fill those later.
  • Start with one door. Expand when the path pays for itself.

1 Your brand & business

What’s this?

Basic facts about your brand, website name, and whether all stores share one StoreTempo system or each store stands alone.

More detail

Product terms: “shared system” = Chain Starter (one server/database). “Separate system per store” = Store Isolation. DutySeal is optional staff scheduling/checklists.

What brand name should shoppers see?

Preferred short web name for your store finder (letters/numbers, no spaces)

What’s this?

This becomes the public link shoppers use to find your stores, like /g/your-brand/.

How many stores at launch? How many in about 12 months?

Should all stores share one system, or should each store have its own?

What’s this?

Share one system — easiest for comparing stores at head office. Separate per store — each door is more independent (weaker head-office compare).

More detail

A = Chain Starter (one VPS / shared database). B = Store Isolation (per-store accounts/databases). Pick “Not sure” if StoreTempo should recommend.

Which public website address(es) will shoppers use?

Email for the first brand-owner admin invite

Do you also need staff shift checklists / schedules / clock-in?

What’s this?

That’s DutySeal (staff shifts, daily checklists, schedules). StoreTempo is the shopper + store map product. Many chains use both together (Grocery Ops Bundle).

See what DutySeal is →

Who on your side handles website domain settings and server access?

What’s this?

Usually your IT person, agency, or “we need StoreTempo to guide us.” Name a contact if you have one.

More detail

DNS/TLS certificates and VPS login ownership — IT can fill this later.

Should this install be private to your brand only (not shared with other brands)?

What’s this?

Most chains say yes — your server is locked to your brand.

More detail

Product term: org_lock / single-brand VPS.

What would “success” look like after the first month?

2 Your stores & day-to-day

What’s this?

Which doors launch first, who runs each store day to day, and whether new stores copy a template store.

List launch stores (name, address, phone, email)

For store #2 and beyond: start blank, or copy from a template store?

What’s this?

Copy from a template can reuse map layout, look-and-feel, and where products sit — but weekly flyers are not copied (you publish those per store).

How should each store’s web address look?

What’s this?

Path style: brand.com/stores/1042. Subdomain style: 1042.brand.com. Mix is fine if some doors differ.

Where do store hours come from, and who keeps them up to date?

Who runs the app day to day — head office, store managers, or both?

Email that should get “something needs attention” alerts for each store

At first: staff picking orders for shoppers, or shoppers walking their own list with a map?

Any remodel or new floor plan in the next 90 days?

Who owns store time zone and holiday hours?

3 Products on the floor

What’s this?

How product names, prices, and aisle locations get into StoreTempo — usually from a spreadsheet or your cash register system.

At go-live, where will the product list come from?

What’s this?

Spreadsheet is fine to start. Longer term, most chains send products from the cash register (POS) system so prices and stock stay correct.

Does every sellable item have a stable barcode?

Do you already track aisle / side / shelf, or only names and prices today?

Which popular items should we pin first? (mark “product pin here” on the simple markup map — or aisle text only for now)

What’s this?

You mark locations on a blank map with simple icons. StoreTempo places the real pins and builds the live map — you do not edit paths or pins in the product.

Product photos plan, and about how many products at the first store?

Same product list for all stores, or each store sells different items?

Who may mark an item “out of stock” by hand vs trusting the register quantity?

4 Store map & shopping paths

What’s this?

You mark. We build. StoreTempo keeps map editing, path nodes, and live pins in-house for quality and consistency. You get a blank map with simple icons (entrance, checkout, pickup, product pin, etc.) so you can show us where things are. First map is included in setup; a major layout change is a small change fee (typically 1–3 hours to produce).

Do you have a usable floor-plan picture for each launch store?

Who will mark landmarks on the simple markup map? (usually the store manager — not a map-editor login)

Confirm landmarks to mark for us: entrance, checkout, pickup / service counter, plus must-pin products or zones

What’s this?

Place the simple icons on the blank map we send you. StoreTempo turns those marks into the live walking paths and pins shoppers and Concierges use.

Map build & change fee — understood?

What’s this?

First map is built into setup. Remodels or big moves = small change fee (typically 1–3 hours). You do not learn a map editor; quality stays our job.

Do stores share the same layout (we can reuse the build), or is each map unique?

Launch priority: shopper self-guided paths, staff pick paths, or both?

Any remodel that would need a new map? Restricted areas or multi-floor notes?

5 Register, stock & sync

What’s this?

How product prices and stock get from your cash register (POS) into StoreTempo — and whether paid pick-up orders go back to the register.

More detail

Inbound = product list / qty into StoreTempo. Outbound = paid staff-pick sales to POS (file outbox or HTTPS webhook). IT usually owns the bridge.

What cash register system do you use (name / version)?

How will you send the product list into StoreTempo?

What’s this?

Think: drop a file on a schedule, secure file transfer, automatic push from the register, or upload by hand for now.

After a shopper pays for a staff-picked order, should that sale go back to the cash register?

What’s this?

Optional at launch. “Later” is fine if you only need maps and lists first.

More detail

A = file outbox. B = HTTPS webhook. C = not needed yet.

Who builds/owns the register link? How often should it update?

OK if the register’s regular price wins, and flyer sale prices sit on top?

Can your register export on-hand quantity / in-stock flags?

OK to start with a test feed, then native Square/Clover links later if needed?

6 Shopper experience

What’s this?

Website vs phone app, which journeys matter first, and whether the store finder is open to everyone or invite-only.

At launch, shoppers use…

Which journeys matter most first? (browse → list → map path, flyer → list, and/or staff pick)

Who sends shopper texts/emails (order ready, etc.)?

Brand store finder on? Soft launch (invite-only) or open signup?

If stores use separate web addresses: IT has checked login/cookies across them?

What’s this?

Skip if you’re not sure — this is an IT check so shoppers stay signed in across store sites.

More detail

Cookie / CORS settings for store subdomains.

7 Store loyalty (passthrough)

What’s this?

StoreTempo does not offer a rewards program. If your store already has loyalty, we can let shoppers use it when they check out through StoreTempo. If you do not have one, there is nothing for shoppers to use. Wanting a brand-new program is a future conversation.

Does this store already have a loyalty / rewards program?

If yes: which program, and how do shoppers identify themselves? (phone / card / account)

Loyalty only when checkout is through StoreTempo? (required for passthrough)

What’s this?

Shoppers use your rewards when they pay in StoreTempo (for example Concierge pickup). There is no separate StoreTempo rewards club.

Notes for the pilot call (vendor contacts, card formats, anything we should know)

8 Weekly flyer / promos

What’s this?

How your weekly circular gets into StoreTempo, who publishes it, and whether every store shares the same flyer.

How do you create the weekly circular today?

Use StoreTempo’s weekly flyer tools? Cover image or PDF on the store home page?

Who publishes each week? Same flyer for all stores, or different per store?

Understood: copying a template store does not copy flyers — OK?

Will the first flyer be ready before public launch?

9 Checkout, Concierge & pickup

What’s this?

Whether shoppers walk their own list, staff pick for them, how they pay, and pickup timing. Delivery is not supported.

At launch, shoppers will…

For staff-picked orders, how do shoppers pay?

What’s this?

If card systems fail, Pay at store still queues the order for staff pick. Enterprise buyers often require both.

If the card processor is down, will you still accept Pay at store so pickups continue?

Card payments: one account for the whole chain, or per store? Currency / minimum charge OK?

Pickup timing message OK? Unpaid card orders must not enter the pick queue — agreed?

After pickup: send sale to register? Process for substitutes / not-found items?

Delivery? (not supported — contact info is for pickup only)

10 People & access

What’s this?

Who gets which login: brand owner, store manager, or Concierge/floor staff — and how you remove access when someone leaves. Map editing stays with StoreTempo (no customer map-editor login).

Who should have which role? (owner · manager · Concierge / staff)

Who holds the main system admin access — StoreTempo/host, or your IT?

How many pickers per store at peak? Who handles “needs attention” tickets?

Who may Mark a product temporarily out of stock (manager override) when the register feed is wrong or late?

What’s this?

Mark OOS is a short override — it does not invent register quantities. It is audited. POS sync can still update price/qty when the feed returns (unless OOS is forced on).

If using DutySeal too: separate logins OK? Need single sign-on? (email + password today)

How do you remove access when a store manager leaves?

11 Results that matter

What’s this?

What head office and store managers want to see weekly — searches that failed, routes used, flyer engagement, pick sales, store-to-store compare.

Top numbers for head office (failed searches, routes, flyer, pick sales, store compare)

Who uses head-office reports vs the per-store dashboard?

Need to export data to Excel/BI soon? Advanced heatmaps can wait (roadmap) — OK?

If each store has its own system: OK that head-office store compare is weaker?

What’s this?

Only applies if you chose “each store has its own separate system” in step 1. Shared system = stronger compare.

Weekly business review cadence? Any alerts beyond the ops email?

12 Ready for shoppers

What’s this?

Final go-live gate. Managers confirm dates and walk-through sign-off; IT can tick technical boxes. Soft-launch one store first.

Target go-live date and which store soft-launches first

Setup steps applied as needed (register link, accounts, domains, loyalty passthrough if any, DutySeal if any)

What’s this?

Usually StoreTempo or IT confirms. Managers can note “done / pending.”

Automatic product sync and sales-file jobs scheduled? (IT)

Card payments live + a test payment completed?

Map live with entrance, checkout, and pickup counter checked?

Walk-through signed off: search → shopping list → map path → optional staff pick?

Register product feed + (if used) sales back to register signed off?

First flyer published; brand owner + managers invited?

Website addresses and login across store sites verified? (IT)

Support contacts for shoppers vs staff for the first 30 days

StoreTempo pilot launch checklist · Fill digitally or print · https://storetempo.com/onboarding · One store map. Two ways to shop.