--- title: "Getting started with STOQ" description: "What you see when you first open STOQ, and how to finish the Set up STOQ checklist to go live." url: https://help.stoqapp.com/general/getting-started-with-stoq/ product: "General" section: "Get started" last_updated: 2026-11-04 --- # Getting started with STOQ > What you see when you first open STOQ, and how to finish the Set up STOQ checklist to go live. STOQ does two jobs for your store: **sell products before they're in stock** with preorders, and **win back lost sales** with back in stock alerts. When you install STOQ and open it for the first time, a **welcome screen** helps you set your language and choose what to set up, then shows a **Set up STOQ** checklist on Home to get you live. This guide walks through both. ## Finding the STOQ menu STOQ's main sections, **Reports**, **Preorders**, **Back in stock alerts**, **Plans**, and **Support**, are part of Shopify's app navigation, so where they appear depends on your screen: - **On a computer**, they show as a menu down the left side, inside the Shopify admin. Our guides call this the "left menu." - **On a phone**, that menu is collapsed. You can open STOQ inside the **Shopify mobile app** or a mobile browser; either way, tap **STOQ** (the logo and app name at the top of the screen, next to the small arrow) to open the menu, then pick a section. There's no hamburger icon, and don't mistake it for Shopify's own menu at the bottom of the screen. So wherever a guide says "in the left menu, click Preorders," it means this same menu, opened whichever way fits your screen. ### Saving on a phone When you edit an offer in the **Shopify mobile app**, there's no labelled **Save changes** bar like on desktop. Tap the **+** icon in the top-right of the editor's title bar, next to the **⋯** menu, to save. So wherever a guide says to click **Save changes** at the top of the editor and you don't see it on your phone, that **+** is your save button. Nothing you changed in the editor is saved until you tap it. ## The welcome screen The first screen reads **"Increasing sales is easy with STOQ."** Here you choose your language and which features to use. 1. **Set your language** At the top of the welcome screen, click the **language** button (it shows **English** by default), then pick your language from the list. STOQ reloads in that language. This sets the language of your STOQ dashboard. [Image: The STOQ Welcome screen with Preorders and Back in stock alerts feature checkboxes and marker 1 on the English language button at the top right](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-1.png) 2. **Select the features you want** Under **"Select the features you're interested in to get started"**, check **Preorders**, **Back in stock alerts**, or both. You can change this later. [Image: The STOQ Welcome screen with Preorders checked under Select the features, and marker 1 on the Get started button](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-2.png) 3. **Click Get started** Click **Get started** to continue. STOQ shows the **Plans** page, where you choose a plan. After that, Home shows the **Set up STOQ** card for the features you selected. ## The Set up STOQ card After you choose a plan, Home shows a **Set up STOQ** card. It's one checklist for the features you chose: - **Turn on the app embed** comes first, because preorders and the Notify me button both need it to show on your store. - **Set up preorders** has three steps: create your first offer, add products to your offer, and get your first preorder. - **Set up Notify me** has three steps: customize the Notify me button, test a sign-up, and send your first alert. The top of the card shows how many steps you've finished, for example 2 of 7 if you picked both features, and the card opens the next unfinished step for you. Finished steps are ticked. Each step has a button that takes you where you need to go. If you finish a step in another tab, such as the theme editor or Shopify admin, come back to the STOQ tab and the card checks again. ### The same checklist in Quinn The checklist is also on the **Setup** tab in the Quinn panel, so a step you finish in one place is ticked in both. To open it: 1. **Open the chat menu** Click the purple chat icon in the bottom-right corner of any STOQ page. 2. **Choose Finish setup** In the menu that opens above the icon, click **Finish setup**. The Quinn panel opens on the **Setup** tab. If the panel is already open, click **Setup** at the top of the panel, next to **Search**. The **Setup** tab and **Finish setup** go away once you skip or close the checklist, or a day after you finish it. For more on the panel, see [Ask Quinn, your AI assistant](https://help.stoqapp.com/general/ask-quinn/). ## Turn on the app embed 1. **Open the app embed guide** On the **Set up STOQ** card, click **Turn on the app embed** if it isn't open yet, then click **Open theme editor**. The **Turn on the app embed** dialog opens. [Image: The Turn on the app embed dialog with step-by-step instructions and marker 1 on the Open theme editor button](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-15.png) 2. **Turn on STOQ in the theme editor** 1. In the dialog, click **Open theme editor**. The theme editor opens in a new tab. 2. In **App embeds**, turn on the STOQ toggle. 3. Click **Save** in the top right corner of the theme editor. [Image: The Shopify theme editor App embeds panel with the STOQ embed and marker 1 on the Save button](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-16.png) 3. **Come back to STOQ** Go back to the STOQ tab. STOQ checks for you, and when it finds the embed the dialog shows **App embed is on** and closes by itself. If it still says it's waiting for you to save, click **Check now** (or **Check again**). ## Set up preorders 1. **Create your first offer** On the **Set up STOQ** card, click **Set up preorders** to open it, then click **Create offer**. STOQ creates a new offer and opens it. See [Set up preorders](https://help.stoqapp.com/preorders/set-up-preorders/). 2. **Add products to your offer** Click **Add products**. STOQ opens your newest offer, where you pick the products customers can preorder and turn the offer on. See [Add products to an offer](https://help.stoqapp.com/preorders/add-products-to-an-offer/). [Image: A new preorder offer's Overview tab with marker 1 on the Add products button in the Products section](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-8.png) [Image: The Add products picker with a product checkbox ticked and marker 1 on the Add button](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-9.png) [Image: The Confirm inventory setting dialog with Show Preorder when product is out of stock selected and marker 1 on Continue](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-10.png) If you've accepted Quinn's disclaimer and an offer set to **Specific products** still has no products after a minute on its page, Quinn offers to help. Click **Add products** in Quinn's message to have Quinn find and add them, or **Not now** to close it. 3. **Get your first preorder** Click **Visit store** to place a test order, or wait for your first customer. On Home, the step can also list up to three products under **Or open checkout with the offer applied**: click **Test** next to one to open checkout with the offer already applied. For the full test, click **Learn more** or see [Test your preorder offer](https://help.stoqapp.com/preorders/test-your-preorder-offer/). ## Set up Notify me 1. **Customize the Notify me button** On the **Set up STOQ** card, click **Set up Notify me** to open it, then click **Customize**. Match the button and sign-up form to your brand colors and wording. See [Design the Notify me button](https://help.stoqapp.com/back-in-stock/design-notify-me-button/) and [Design the signup form](https://help.stoqapp.com/back-in-stock/design-signup-form/). 2. **Test a sign-up** Enter an email address in the **Email** box and click **Sign up**. STOQ signs that email up for an alert on one of your out-of-stock products and shows **Sign-up saved**. You can also sign up on an out-of-stock product on your store instead. [Image: A storefront product page for The Out of Stock Snowboard with the Notify me popup open, an email entered, and the Notify me when available button](https://help.stoqapp.com/images/general/getting-started-with-stoq-18.png) If the step says no out-of-stock products were found, click **Create a product** to open your Shopify products, add a product with zero quantity, then come back to this step. 3. **Send your first alert** Click **Send alert** to send the back in stock alert to your test sign-up. Or click **Restock in admin** to restock the product in your Shopify admin instead. For the full walkthrough, see [Set up back in stock alerts](https://help.stoqapp.com/back-in-stock/set-up-back-in-stock-alerts/). ## When you're live When every step is ticked, the card turns into a **You're live** card with two next steps: - **Connect Claude or ChatGPT** opens the integrations page, where you connect STOQ to Claude or ChatGPT. See [Connect Claude or ChatGPT to STOQ](https://help.stoqapp.com/general/ai-connectors/). - **View reports** opens **Reports**. Click the **X** at the top right of the card to close it. ## Skip setup If you'd rather set things up on your own, you can skip the checklist. Nothing is set up or changed when you skip. 1. **Click the X on the card** On the **Set up STOQ** card, click the **X** at the top right, next to the progress bar. 2. **Confirm** In the **Skip setup?** dialog, click **Skip setup**. The card is hidden for good, on Home and in Quinn, and this can't be undone. ## FAQ ### Do I have to set up both preorders and Notify me? No. The checklist only shows the features you picked on the welcome screen. If you picked one, you only see that feature's steps after the app embed. ### Is the Setup tab in Quinn a different checklist? No. It's the same checklist as the **Set up STOQ** card on Home. Finish a step in either place and it's ticked in both. ### I finished a step but it isn't ticked. What do I do? If you finished it in another tab, such as the theme editor or Shopify admin, switch back to the STOQ tab so the card checks again. For the app embed, make sure you clicked **Save** in the theme editor, then click **Check now** in the **Turn on the app embed** dialog. ### Why did Quinn open the Setup tab by itself? While you still have setup steps left, Quinn opens on the **Setup** tab once per session when you visit a STOQ page other than Home or Plans. Close the panel if you don't need it. It won't open again in that session. ### Why isn't the Preorder button or 'Notify me' button showing on my store? Almost always because the app embed is off. Finish the **Turn on the app embed** step, and always check on your live storefront rather than the theme editor preview. ### What happens if I skip setup? The checklist is hidden for good, on Home and in Quinn, but nothing is set up or changed by skipping. You can still set everything up from the setup guides. ### Where did the setup card go after I finished? Once every step is done, the card turns into **You're live**. Click its **X** to close it. It's also hidden automatically a day after you finish. ### Is STOQ free to start? Yes, you can start on the free plan. Some features require a paid plan. See [Preorder plans and billing](https://help.stoqapp.com/account/preorder-plans-and-billing/) for how billing works. ### Can I get help setting up? Yes. Reach STOQ support from the chat in the app at any time. ## Related guides - [Set up back in stock alerts](https://help.stoqapp.com/back-in-stock/set-up-back-in-stock-alerts/): Turn on the widget and configure your first restock alert. - [Set up preorders](https://help.stoqapp.com/preorders/set-up-preorders/): Create your first preorder offer and add products. - [Back in stock alerts overview](https://help.stoqapp.com/back-in-stock/): How the whole back in stock flow fits together. - [Preorders overview](https://help.stoqapp.com/preorders/): How the whole preorder flow fits together.