--- title: "Getting started with Shoppy Connect" description: "Learn how Shoppy Connect works, find your way around the dashboard, and set up your organisation, stores, channels, and team." product: "ShoppyConnect" section: "Getting started" url: https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/getting-started/getting-started markdown_url: https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/getting-started/getting-started.md last_updated: 2026-11-05 tags: ["getting started", "dashboard", "setup", "users", "profile", "organisation"] --- # Getting started with Shoppy Connect > Learn how Shoppy Connect works, find your way around the dashboard, and set up your organisation, stores, channels, and team. Shoppy Connect is the one place where you manage everything about your physical stores: addresses, phone numbers, opening hours, photos, and more. You keep those details up to date in Shoppy Connect, and it shares them with the places your customers look, such as Google Search and Maps, your Shopify website, your store locator, and your email marketing. This guide covers: 1. [How Shoppy Connect works](#how-shoppy-connect-works): the main ideas behind the product. 2. [A tour of the dashboard](#a-tour-of-the-dashboard): the sidebar, the top bar, and what each button does. 3. [First-time setup](#first-time-setup): a checklist to get your organisation ready. ## How Shoppy Connect works A few ideas come up across the whole dashboard: | Term | What it means | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Organisation** | Your business. Your stores, team, channels, and settings all belong to it. If you work with more than one business, you can belong to several organisations and switch between them. | | **Store** | One physical location, with its own address, contact details, trading hours, and photos. | | **Channel** | A place your store details are shared with, such as Google, Shopify, or Apple Maps. You connect a channel once, then choose which stores appear on it. | | **Website** | A website that shows your Shoppy Connect widgets and forms, such as the store locator. Analytics can be filtered by website. | | **User** | A member of your team who can sign in to the dashboard. Each user has a role and can be limited to certain stores. | The usual flow is: 1. Add your stores. 2. Connect your channels. 3. Keep your store details up to date in Shoppy Connect. Changes are sent to every channel the store is published to. 4. Use analytics to see how customers find and interact with your stores. ## A tour of the dashboard When you sign in, you land on the **Home** dashboard. ![The Home dashboard, with the sidebar on the left, the top bar across the top, and the AI insights report card, Date filter, and Searches by Suburb map in the middle](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/01-dashboard.B2JS-2B6_Z29LrR9.webp) The dashboard has three parts: - The **sidebar** on the left, to move between the main areas. - The **top bar**, with shortcuts that are available on every page. - The **page** in the middle. ### The sidebar ![The sidebar, with Home, Stores, Channels, Posts, and Analytics at the top, Profile and Users under Management, and Settings, Reviews, and Messages under Settings](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/02-sidebar.BfOHccAN_Zugmsg.webp) | Item | What you do there | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Home** | See how your stores are performing: your latest AI insights report, plus location, store, and product insights for the dates you choose. | | **Stores** | Add, import, and edit your stores, their trading hours, and their store pages. See [Managing stores, trading hours, and store pages](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md). | | **Channels** | Connect the platforms your store details are shared with. See [Channel sync](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/channels/channel-sync.md). | | **Posts** | Write news, announcements, and blog posts that appear on your store pages. | | **Analytics** | Charts and detailed reports on searches, views, calls, directions, and products. See [Insights, analytics, and Shoppy AI](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/insights/insights-analytics-and-shoppy-ai.md). | | **Profile** | Your own details and sign-in security. See [Secure your account](#2-secure-your-account). | | **Users** | Invite your team and choose what they can access. See [Invite your team](#5-invite-your-team). | | **Settings** | Settings for your whole organisation, such as websites, emails, tags, forms, and the Google sync. | **Reviews** and **Messages** show **Not Active** when they aren't part of your plan. They can't be opened until they are turned on for your organisation. ### The top bar The buttons on the right of the top bar are available on every page. ![The top bar, with the Shoppy AI, My tasks, Alerts, and + buttons, the store switcher showing Crowsnest Store, and the account menu](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/03-top-bar.DRKctLPk_Z2aue2R.webp) From left to right: | Button | What it does | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Shoppy AI** (sparkles) | Opens the AI assistant, which can look up and update store details for you. | | **My tasks** (clipboard) | Shows the tasks assigned to you. The red number is how many are still to do. | | **Alerts** (bell) | Shows your notifications. The red number is how many are unread. | | **+** | Shortcuts to create things. | | **Store switcher** | Chooses which store, or all stores, the dashboard is showing. | | **Account menu** | Your organisation, the help centre, your account, and signing out. | #### Shoppy AI Click the sparkles button to open Shoppy AI on the right of the screen. Ask it things like "What are the trading hours for Crowsnest Store?" or "Set Friday trading hours to 9am–9pm." See [Shoppy AI](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/insights/insights-analytics-and-shoppy-ai.md#shoppy-ai) for more. #### My tasks Tasks are things your team needs to do for a store, such as updating photos before a promotion. A task is usually created from a note on a store. ![The My tasks panel, with To do and Completed tabs, the Assigned to me filter, and one overdue task for Sydney Store](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/04-my-tasks.B11TVS3Z_5e1GP.webp) - **To do** and **Completed** switch between open and finished tasks. - The filter on the right switches between **Assigned to me** and **Assigned by me**, so you can also follow up on tasks you gave to others. - Overdue tasks are grouped at the top under **Overdue**. - Each task shows the store it belongs to, its due date, and who created it. Click the store name to open the store. - Tick the checkbox to mark a task as done. #### Alerts Alerts tell you when something needs your attention, for example when a task is assigned to you or someone mentions you in a note. ![The Alerts panel, showing one unread task alert for Sydney Store](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/05-alerts.CvWfmiwN_Z1OqOmq.webp) - Each alert shows who it's from, the store, the message, and the type, such as **Task** or **Mention**. - Click the tick next to an alert to mark it as read. - Click the tick at the top of the panel to mark every alert as read. - Click the filter icon to switch between **Unread** and **Read** alerts. #### The + menu The **+** button has shortcuts for the two things you'll do most: ![The + menu, with Create New Store and Bulk Update Hours](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/04-create-menu.pO4M3jGO_UnrjO.webp) - **Create New Store** opens the form to [add a single store](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md#add-a-single-store). - **Bulk Update Hours** lets you [set hours for many stores at once](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md#update-hours-for-many-stores-at-once), for example for a public holiday. #### The store switcher The store switcher shows which store the dashboard is focused on. Click it to choose a single store, or **All Stores** to see everything. ![The store switcher open, with All Stores, Crowsnest Store, Double Bay Store, and Sydney Store](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/05-store-switcher.D4p_3fPG_29hooz.webp) Pages such as **Home** and **Analytics** show data for the store you choose. Choose **All Stores** to compare stores or see totals across your business. #### The account menu Click your organisation name on the far right to open the account menu. ![The account menu, with your name and email, the current organisation Memiz, Help Center, Manage Account, and Logout](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/08-account-menu.CdfVbePv_cKtis.webp) - **Your name and email** show which account you're signed in with. - **Organisations**: the organisation with a tick is the one you're working in. If you belong to more than one, click another to switch. - **Help Center** opens the help centre. - **Manage Account** opens your [Profile](#2-secure-your-account). - **Logout** signs you out. ## First-time setup Work through these steps when you first start using Shoppy Connect. You can come back to any of them later. ### 1. Set up your organisation Go to **Settings** › **General**. ![General settings, with Organization Details, Websites, and Email Settings](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/01-general.C3qv8ok5_Z26pbfu.webp) **Organisation name and logo** Click the pencil icon on **Organization Details**. ![The Update Site Settings dialog, with Name, Organization Logo, and Use different logo for login page](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/11-organisation-details.CseteJ0z_1w1EG3.webp) 1. Check the **Name**. This is the name your team sees in the dashboard. 2. Click **Add image** to upload your logo. Logos must be an image file of up to **1 MB**. 3. Tick **Use different logo for login page** if you want a different logo on the sign-in page, then upload it. 4. Click **Save**. **Websites** Add every website that shows your Shoppy Connect widgets and forms, such as your store locator or contact form. Your main website is marked **Primary**. 1. Under **Websites**, click **Add website**. 2. Enter the **Domain**, for example `yourshop.com`, without `https://` or a slash at the end. 3. Enter a **Name** that your team will recognise, for example "Australian store". This name is shown in analytics filters. 4. Click **Save**. ![The Add website dialog, with Domain and Name fields](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/12-add-website.BKgF9vVk_Z2shJ08.webp) Analytics start counting a website as soon as it's added, so add your websites before you look at your reports. **Email settings** Under **Email Settings**, choose how emails to your customers are sent, for example replies to the **Contact Store** form: - **Send Customer Emails**: switch on to send emails to customers. - **From Email** and **From Name**: who the emails come from. - **BCC Emails**: addresses that get a copy of every customer email, for example your customer service inbox. Click **Save** when you're done. ### 2. Secure your account Click **Profile** in the sidebar, or **Manage Account** in the account menu. ![The Profile page, with Account security progress, Personal details, and Sign-in & security](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/09-profile.HxLnbS7S_1vKU3u.webp) The **Account security** bar at the top shows how many of the four security steps are done. Complete all four: 1. **Email verified**: confirm your email address. 2. **Mobile number verified**: click **Add and verify** (or **Add number**) and enter your mobile number. It's used for sign-in codes and SMS alerts. 3. **Two-factor authentication**: click **Set up** and follow the steps to connect an authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator, 1Password, or Authy. After that, you enter a code from the app each time you sign in. 4. **Password**: click **Send reset email** to get a secure link to set a new password. Further down the page: - **Personal details**: change your **Full name** and **Email**. Your name is shown to your teammates. - **Where you're signed in**: every device signed in to your account. If you see one you don't recognise, sign it out, then change your password. - **Organisations**: every organisation you belong to and your role in each. Roles are changed by an owner or administrator. Two-factor authentication protects every store and channel connected to your organisations, so we recommend switching it on for everyone on your team. ### 3. Add your stores Add your stores in whichever way is quickest for you: - **One at a time**: click **+** › **Create New Store**. - **From a spreadsheet**: on the **Stores** page, click **Import from CSV**. - **From Shopify or Google**: on the **Stores** page, use the **Shopify** or **Google** menu to bring in locations you already have. See [Managing stores, trading hours, and store pages](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md) for step-by-step instructions. For each store, check the address, phone number, and [trading hours](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md#trading-hours-and-special-dates). These are the details customers rely on most. ### 4. Connect your channels Go to **Channels** and click **Connect** on each platform you use, such as **Google My Business** and **Shopify**. Then choose which stores appear on each channel. See [Channel sync](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/channels/channel-sync.md) and [Google Business Profile](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/channels/google-business-profile.md). ### 5. Invite your team Go to **Users** in the sidebar to see everyone in your organisation. ![The Users list, with each user's name, email, role, date added, and email and phone verification status](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/01-users.DP4d5MnI_Z2s96ll.webp) The list shows each person's role and whether they have verified their email and phone number. Use **All**, **Active**, and **Banned** to filter the list, and the **⋯** menu on a row to manage that user. To add someone, click **Invite user**: ![The Invite user form, with Email, Role, Phone number, and Stores](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/_astro/05-invite-user.BhOLmrrE_Z22UjS9.webp) 1. Enter their **Email**. 2. Choose a **Role**: **Store Manager**, **Franchise**, **Analyst**, **Store Owner**, or **Administrator**. The role controls what they can see and change. 3. Optionally, enter their **Phone number**. 4. Under **Stores**, tick the stores they should have access to. Use the search box if you have many stores. 5. Click **Send invitation**. They receive an email inviting them to join. Go to **Users** › **Invited** to see your invitations, when each one expires, and whether it has been accepted. **Add user** creates the account straight away instead, with a name, email, and password you choose. Use **Invite user** where you can, so each person sets their own password. Give each person only the stores and role they need. For example, a store manager usually only needs access to their own store. ### 6. Check your insights Once your stores are live on your channels, customer activity starts to appear on the **Home** dashboard and in **Analytics**. Set up a weekly AI insights report so your team gets a summary by email. See [Insights, analytics, and Shoppy AI](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/insights/insights-analytics-and-shoppy-ai.md). ## Tips - Set up one store completely first, check how it looks on Google and on your website, then add the rest. - Switch on two-factor authentication for every user, not just administrators. - Use the store switcher to focus on one store when you're checking its details or performance, and switch back to **All Stores** when you're done. - Keep an eye on the red numbers on **My tasks** and **Alerts**. They show what needs your attention. ## Related - [Managing stores, trading hours, and store pages](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/stores/managing-stores.md) - [Channel sync](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/channels/channel-sync.md) - [Google Business Profile](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/channels/google-business-profile.md) - [Insights, analytics, and Shoppy AI](https://help.shoppyconnect.com/shoppyconnect/insights/insights-analytics-and-shoppy-ai.md)