Getting started with STOQ

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.

   

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.

   

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.

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.

   

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.

   

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.

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.

   

   

   

   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.

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 and Design the 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.

   

   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.

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.
• 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 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 alertsTurn on the widget and configure your first restock alert.

Set up preordersCreate your first preorder offer and add products.

Back in stock alerts overviewHow the whole back in stock flow fits together.

Preorders overviewHow the whole preorder flow fits together.