After Setup, your shop has a starter catalog. Use this order to go live.
1. Confirm shop identity
Settings → Shop profile
Display name and contact details used on invoices / emails
Shop URL slug (editing the slug is a Custom plan option)
Optional: Settings → Product modes — add PrintShop or Portfolio if you only picked one at first.
2. Regional & Orders
Tab | What to set |
|---|---|
Regional | Time zone, date format, week start, currency shortcut |
Orders | Tax, currency, order/design ID conventions, order detail layout |
Do this early so money and dates on jobs match expectations.
3. Invite the team
Open Users (and User groups if you use groups).
Create users for real roles (admin, sales, production, …)
New users without a password get an activation email
Stay within plan user limits (Free: 3, Starter: 10, Pro/Custom: unlimited on the default plans)
Roles in the platform menu are mainly for MadeLab administrators — shop admins focus on Users and Settings → Team permissions.
Details: Invite your team and create the first order.
4. Decoration & production floor
Where | What |
|---|---|
Decoration methods | Enable/disable methods your floor actually uses |
Settings → Shop floor stations | Labels, order, and which stations are on |
Settings → Team permissions | Which roles can view/edit order field groups (deeper editing on Pro+) |
The wizard installs a starter set — you do not have to keep every method.
5. Shipping
Where | What | Plan |
|---|---|---|
Ship types, Box types | Review ship / box catalogs | Available on core catalogs; buying carrier labels needs Starter+ |
Settings → Shipping | Ship-from address, default service, carrier accounts | Shipping labels on Starter+ |
Free: you still get ship/box structure; buying postage labels starts at Starter.
6. Order payments vs SaaS billing
Two different places:
Purpose | Where |
|---|---|
Customers pay order invoices | Settings → Payment processor (connect Stripe / your processor) |
Your shop pays MadeLab / upgrades | Billing, Settings → Billing & Plan, or Pricing |
If using Stripe Connect: finish Connect with Stripe until onboarding is complete.
7. Real customers & jobs
Customers — add real customers (portal invite optional)
Orders or Quotes — create the first draft / quote
Keep sample rows (
@example.comemails, demo-style order numbers) separate from live work
Volume limits by plan: Free about 50 orders/month and 20 quotes/month on the default plans.
8. Inventory (when needed)
Categories, units, and locations already come from Setup
The Inventory area needs Pro or Custom
Blank apparel suppliers: Pro+
On Free/Starter the sidebar may hide Inventory or show an upgrade panel.
9. Portfolio & Marketplace (if you selected the mode)
Task | Where |
|---|---|
Company profile | Portfolio → Company |
Listings & seller tools | Marketplace |
Connect / talent | Talent, Messages |
Free includes Portfolio and Marketplace on the plan; you still need product mode Portfolio so those menus appear.
10. Notifications, email appearance, automations
Where | When |
|---|---|
Settings → Notifications | After real order traffic starts |
Settings → Email Appearance | Logo/colors on outbound shop email |
Settings → Automations | Starter+ — overdue invoice / proof / ship reminders |
11. Advanced options (by plan)
Feature | Typical plan | Where |
|---|---|---|
Reports | Starter+ | Reports |
Backup | Starter+ | Backup |
Quote pipeline | Starter+ | Quotes → Pipeline |
Pricing matrix | Pro+ | Settings → Pricing matrix |
Customer order status lookup | Pro+ | Settings → Customer order status |
Custom domain | Custom | Settings → Custom domain + DNS |
App branding | Custom | Settings → App branding |
API | Custom | Ask sales / platform team |
Minimum path to “open the doors”
Shop profile + Regional + Orders
Invite 1–2 real users
Review Decoration methods / stations
Payment processor (if you charge online)
Create a real customer + one order/quote
Upgrade when you hit limits or need Inventory / labels
Finish Setup before inviting buyers. You can always refine shop settings later under Settings.