Initial Configuration: To Set Up a BigCommerce Store

This activity will guide you through the process of signing up for a BigCommerce trial account and performing the minimum configuration of a BigCommerce store so that it can be connected with the MYOB Advanced instance.

Story

The SweetLife company is planning on opening an online store built on the BigCommerce platform. The store's warehouse, from which the goods sold online will be shipped, is based in New York. The company maintains the prices of its products in U.S. dollars and delivers products across New York by using the company's own vehicles. For orders in the amount of $100 and more, the company offers free shipping.

As an implementation consultant helping SweetLife to implement the integration between BigCommerce and MYOB Advanced, you want to set up a new store and perform the minimum required configuration of the BigCommerce store that will be sufficient to proceed with the configuration of the integration.

Note: This activity covers the creation and basic configuration of a new BigCommerce store. The results of performing the instructions presented below are used in subsequent activities. We recommend that you sign up for a new trial account and create a new store for testing purposes. If you have an existing test store and do not want to set up another one, make sure that in the subsequent activities, you make the necessary adjustments where the results of the current activity are used.

Process Overview

In this activity, you will perform the following steps in BigCommerce:

Signing up for a BigCommerce trial account
Completing the store profile
Specifying the default currency
Configuring the shipping rules
Turning off notifications about changes to customer accounts

Step 1: Signing Up for a BigCommerce Trial Account

Create a BigCommerce trial account by following the instructions in the BigCommerce documentation. Make a note of the login and password that you have created, because you will use them to sign in to the control panel of your store as the store owner.

Step 2: Completing the Store Profile

To complete the profile of the BigCommerce store, do the following:

Sign in to the BigCommerce store as the store owner by using the username and password you have created in the previous step.
You are now viewing the BigCommerce control panel, which you will use for setup and management of the store.
In the left pane, click Settings.
On the Settings page, in the Setup section, click Store profile.
On the Store profile page, in the Contact information section, specify the following details:
- Store display name: SweetStore - BC
- Address: 3950 Hoffman Avenue, Elmont, New York
- Address type: Retail
In the Locale section, make sure that the following values are selected:
- Default country: United States
- Default language: English (en)
Important: Make sure that you have selected the correct country because it affects the range of payment, shipping, and tax options available for your store.
In the lower right, click Save to save your changes.

Step 3: Specifying the Default Currency

To specify the default currency in which prices will be displayed to customers and in which transactions will be made, do the following:

While you are still signed in to the control panel of your BigCommerce store, in the left pane, click Settings.
On the Settings page, in the Setup section, click Currencies.
On the Currencies page, which opens, in the Default Currency section, make sure that the default currency (which is determined by BigCommerce automatically) is US Dollar - USD.

Tip: If the default currency is anything other than US Dollar - USD, do the following:

In the Allow shoppers to purchase in their currency section, click Add new currency.
In the Add Currency dialog box, which opens, in the Currency code box, select USD - US Dollar and click Next.
On the USD - US Dollar page, leave the default settings, and click Save.
On the Currencies page, in the Additional Currencies section, click the button in the rightmost column in the row for the US Dollar - USD currency, and in the menu that opens, select Set as default.
In the Set USD as your default currency dialog box, click Set as default again.
In the Additional Currencies section, click the button in the rightmost column in the row for an additional currency, and in the menu that opens, select Delete.
In the Delete <additional currency> dialog box, which opens, click Delete.

Because SweetLife wants to display prices and sell products only in United States dollars, the configuration of other currencies is not needed.

For the purposes of the initial configuration and first synchronization, which you will perform in Data Synchronization: To Perform the First Synchronization, you do not need to set up any payment methods at this time.

Step 4: Configuring the Shipping Rules

To configure the shipping rules for your online store, do the following:

While you are signed in to the BigCommerce store, in the left pane of the control panel, click Settings,
On the Settings page, in the Setup section, click Shipping.
On the Shipping Manager page, which opens, in the Shipping Origin section, review the location from which products are going to be shipped. If the address is not displayed, add it as follows:
1. In the Shipping Origin section, click Add shipping address.
2. In the Configure Shipping Address dialog box, which opens, specify the following details:
  - Address Line 1: 3950 Hoffman Avenue
  - City: New York
  - Postcode: 11003
  - Country: United States (default)
  - State: New York
3. In the lower right, click Submit.
In the Checkout Shipping Options section, do the following:
1. In the Checkout Shipping Options section, click Add shipping zone > Add a custom zone.
2. In the Add custom zone dialog box, which opens, on the Zone tab, specify the following settings:
  - Name: New York State
  - Type: Selection of states or provinces
  - Country: United States
  - State: New York
3. Click Submit to save the changes and close the dialog box.
  In the Default shipping rules subsection, notice that the New York State rule is now active (the toggle is switched on for it).
4. Delete any other shipping rules by clicking the Delete button in the row with this shipping rule.
In the row of New York State, click Configure.
On the New York State page, in the Static shipping quotes section, switch on the toggle to enable the Free Shipping rule.
In the Free Shipping Options dialog box, which opens, specify the following settings:
- Limit to order over: Selected
- Amount (USD): 100.00
- Use discounted order subtotal (Recommended): Selected
- Make products with a Fixed Shipping Cost ineligible for Free Shipping: Selected
With these settings, the orders in the amount of $100 or more will be eligible for free shipping.
In the lower right, click Submit to save your changes.
For simplicity, you do not need to specify any other shipping rules at this time. In a production environment, you are most likely to configure the shipping options on a more granular level.

Step 5: Turning Off Notifications About Changes to Customer Accounts

For testing purposes we recommend that you turn off sending email notifications to customers every time their details are changed. To do this, do the following:

While you are signed in to the control panel of the BigCommerce store, in the left pane, click Marketing > Transactional Emails.
On the Transactional emails page, in the row of the Account Settings Edited template, click the button in the rightmost column, and on the menu that opens, click Disable.
The status of the template id changed to Disabled.

You have specified the minimum set of store settings that you will need for the basic configuration of the BigCommerce integration.

Now you should proceed to review the configuration of your MYOB Advanced instance, as described in Initial Configuration: To Prepare the MYOB Advanced Instance.