Going live with Shopify POS

After you've set up Shopify POS and trained your staff, the next stage is opening day and the first weeks of running your store. This page covers the checks to run on opening day, daily monitoring for the first week after launch, and how to roll out Shopify POS to additional retail locations. If you haven't completed setup yet, then refer to the Shopify POS launch checklist first.

Before opening

Work through these checks on opening day before your first customers arrive. Each item helps confirm that devices, payments, and staff access are ready for live transactions.

Power on all devices and verify that each device is connected to Wi-Fi.

Confirm that the correct location is selected on each device and the product catalog has loaded.

Confirm that your payment gateway is set to live mode, not test mode.

Start cash tracking and enter the opening float for each register.

Confirm that each staff member is logged in with the correct permissions.

During the day

During open hours, watch for hardware and order issues that need attention before they affect more transactions.

Monitor for hardware disconnections, such as card readers or receipt printers losing pairing.

Verify that orders are appearing in your Shopify admin under the correct location.

Note any issues for follow-up after closing.

At closing

At the end of the day, reconcile each register and capture any issues or training gaps to address before the next shift.

Close cash tracking and reconcile each register.

Review the day's sales for discrepancies using retail sales reports in your Shopify admin.

Note any staff training gaps that surfaced during the day.

After launching on Shopify POS

After you launch on Shopify POS, make sure you understand order management and how to analyze your store's performance with reports.

Manage your orders

After you start processing sales, you can manage retail orders from both Shopify POS and your Shopify admin. When you process an order on Shopify POS, the order displays on the Orders page of your Shopify admin alongside online orders, so you can fulfill, refund, and report across channels in one place.

Manage POS orders in Shopify POS

Manage POS orders in your admin

Analyze data with reports

After you launch your store, analytics and reports help you understand your store’s performance and provide insights into your customers and transactions. The Point of Sale overview in the admin displays a high-level view of how your retail business is performing. You can view more detailed analytics within Shopify POS itself and from within the admin Reports section.

Review the Shopify POS analytics

Review the Shopify admin analytics

Monitor your first week

During the first week after launch, review the items in this checklist daily to surface issues before they compound:

Review sales reports for accuracy against your point of sale totals.

Check for inventory discrepancies between Shopify POS and your Shopify admin.

Confirm that bank deposits from Shopify Payments arrive in your business bank account. Deposit timing depends on your payout schedule and your bank.

Note any hardware or connectivity issues for follow-up with your IT team or vendor.

Collect staff feedback on workflows that aren't working as expected.

After the first week, you can refine your smart grid layout based on actual usage, adjust inventory allocation based on early sales velocity, and schedule your first physical inventory count within the first month.

Roll out to additional locations

If you're launching Shopify POS at multiple locations, then roll out in waves rather than launching every location simultaneously. Group remaining locations into waves of 2 to 5 stores, scheduled at least 1 week apart. Standardize on one device type, such as iPad or Android, and one card reader model across all locations to simplify support and staff training.

If you have 5 or more locations, then consider using mobile device management (MDM) to manage your Shopify POS devices centrally.