Choose an Integration

What It Is

After entering your company details (step 2 of onboarding), step 3 — Choose your path — asks
you to pick one of two ways to manage your inventory data:

• Manual — you upload a sample stock file and Stokkd identifies your system automatically, or
  walks you through confirming a few columns if anything needs a closer look.
• API — you pick a system from a list of available API integrations and connect it directly,
  so locations, users, and stock sync automatically.

This choice is mandatory — there's no "skip for now" option, and you can't reach your
dashboard until it's made. You'll also need to add at least one site before onboarding can finish.

Making your choice takes you to a dedicated setup page — API Setup or Manual Setup — each
with its own step indicator tracking only what's left for that path. This replaces the three-step
indicator you saw on the previous two pages (Account Setup, Company Details, Choose your path);
once a path is chosen, that indicator's job is done and the new page's indicator takes over.

Why It Matters

Your integration choice determines how your locations (sites) and stock data are managed for as
long as your company uses Stokkd:

• Manual companies add and edit sites themselves, upload stock files before a stocktake, and
  download results afterwards to update their own system.
• API companies have their locations synced automatically from the connected system. Sites
  can't be created manually once an API integration with location sync is active — they're
  managed in the connected system and pulled into Stokkd.

Choosing up front — rather than defaulting or skipping — avoids a company reaching an inconsistent
state where stocktakes, users, or sites exist with no clear source of truth behind them. It's the
same reason the Sites step can't be skipped either: a stocktake needs at least one location to
count, so Stokkd asks for one before letting you start using the app.

How It Works

Every onboarding page shows a step indicator at the top, but it's scoped to the page you're on —
it doesn't follow you across the whole journey. Account Setup → Company Details → Choose your
path tracks only the first three pages; once you pick Manual or API, you land on that path's own
setup page with its own indicator for the steps still ahead.

If you choose Manual — Manual Setup:

1. Upload a sample stock/inventory file (CSV, TXT, or XLSX).
2. Stokkd tries to automatically recognise your system from the file's columns. What happens next
   depends on the result:
   • Exact match — confirm it and continue.
   • Match found, but a few columns don't line up — map just those extra columns before
     continuing.
   • No match found — AI proposes a full column mapping for you to review, in two short steps
     (confirm how each column should be read, then confirm how results export back out).
3. Add at least one site (a physical location you'll count stock at).
4. Finish setup.

Manual Setup's step indicator reflects whichever of these you actually hit — shorter for a
straightforward match, longer only when extra mapping is genuinely needed — so it's normal to see
a different number of steps than someone else who uploaded a different file.

If you choose API — API Setup:

1. Pick your system from the list of available API integrations. Shopify is the only one live
   today, but this list is built to grow — new systems appear here as they're added.
2. Connect it — see Connecting an API Integration for the
   store-URL and sign-in steps.
3. Your locations sync in automatically — review them before finishing.
4. Finish setup.

API Setup's step indicator always shows the same three steps: Select Integration → Connect →
Review Locations.

Signing up with Shopify? If you used the "Sign up with Shopify" option, your company
details, integration, and locations are all imported automatically — you'll land straight on
the location review step with nothing else to set up.

Key Settings

• Have your file ready (Manual): a sample export of your current stock/inventory list, with
  clear column headers, gives the best automatic match and the shortest path through Manual Setup.
• Have your connection details ready (API): see
  Connecting an API Integration for what's needed to connect.
• More integrations will appear over time: the API selection list isn't limited to Shopify —
  new options show up automatically as they're added, each with its own connect steps.
• At least one site is required either way — Manual users add sites directly; API users get
  them from the sync.
• Your progress is saved as you go: if you close the browser partway through API Setup or
  Manual Setup, coming back to onboarding resumes you on the same path — usually at the same step.

Best Practices

• Pick the path that matches how your business actually manages inventory today — don't choose
  API "to try it out" if you don't have an account with a supported system ready to connect.
• For Manual, use a real (even if small) export from your current system rather than a blank
  template — it gives Stokkd's automatic detection the best chance of matching your setup exactly
  and skipping the extra mapping steps.
• If the system you use isn't in the API list yet, check with your team before starting onboarding
  — switching integrations later is possible from Company Settings → Integration, but it's
  easier to get it right the first time.