Setting up your store is exciting.
Making sure every order actually flows through your systems the way it’s supposed to? That’s the part that deserves a little extra attention.
Before you launch a new store, connect a new sales channel, or switch up your fulfillment process, it’s worth taking a step back and testing everything from start to finish.
The goal is simple: every order comes in correctly, gets processed correctly, and ships without any surprises.
Here’s a checklist to help you get there.
1. Are your integrations actually talking to each other?
This is the best place to start because everything else depends on it.
Take a few minutes to confirm that:
- Every sales channel you’re selling on is connected and pulling in orders.
- Product information matches everywhere, including SKUs, names, and variants.
- Inventory updates across all connected channels when a sale happens.
- Your shipping carriers and fulfillment partners are connected and ready to go.
- Any custom integrations are pulling through the data you actually need.
Something as small as a mismatched SKU can create hours of unnecessary troubleshooting later. Catch it before your first wave of orders.
2. Does your order routing work the way you think it does?
Place a few test orders and see where they end up.
Try different products, shipping methods, warehouses, or fulfillment partners if you use more than one.
Check that:
- Orders go to the right warehouse or fulfillment partner.
- Split orders get split properly.
- Orders that don’t match a rule don’t disappear into some random queue.
- You can still move an order manually if you need to.
This is the moment you’ll find out whether your rules are doing what you thought they were doing.
3. Will your inventory stay accurate once orders are moving?
Nothing’s worse than selling something you don’t actually have.
Place a few test orders and make sure your stock updates everywhere it’s supposed to.
While you’re at it, check that:
- Backorders and out-of-stock products behave the way you want.
- Bundles and kits deduct the right inventory.
- Any manual stock changes sync across all your connected channels.
Spend a few minutes testing now, and you’ll save yourself a lot of customer emails later.
4. Does fulfillment happen automatically?
Now for the fun part! Place a test order and follow it from start to finish.
Check that:
- The order shows up where it’s supposed to.
- The right shipping label gets created.
- Packing slips and pick lists look right.
- The order updates automatically once it’s shipped.
If you have to jump in and do something by hand that you thought would happen automatically, now’s the time to fix it.
5. Are customers getting the right updates?
Your customers don’t care what happens behind the scenes. They just want to know where their order is.
Run a test order and check every email along the way.
Make sure:
- Order confirmations arrive straight away.
- Shipping emails include a working tracking link.
- Delayed or split orders have their own updates.
- Return and refund emails are sent when they should be.
If customers don’t hear anything, they’ll usually assume something’s gone horribly wrong.
6. Have you tested the less-than-perfect scenarios?
It’s easy to test a perfect order.
The real question is: what happens when things don’t go to plan?
Try things like:
- Cancelling one item from an order.
- Returning part of an order.
- Changing the shipping address after the order has been sent for fulfillment.
- Creating a duplicate order to see if it’s caught before it ships.
7. Is everything else getting the right data?
Your order management system doesn’t work on its own. A quick check now can save a lot of head-scratching later.
Make sure your test orders are reaching the rest of your tools, like:
- Your accounting software.
- Your CRM or email platform.
- Your reporting tools.
- Any custom exports or webhooks you’ve set up.
8. Have you tested orders that look like your real ones?
A few simple test orders are a good start, but don’t stop there.
Try the kinds of orders you actually get every day, like:
- Your best-selling product.
- A bundle or kit.
- Your slowest shipping option.
- Orders from your busiest sales channel.
The more your test orders look like real customer orders, the fewer surprises you’ll have after launch.
9. Has someone else given it a go?
Once you’ve tested everything yourself, ask someone else to have a turn.
Get them to place a few test orders or work through a couple of scenarios without your help.
Fresh eyes usually spot the things you’ve looked at so many times that you’ve stopped noticing them.
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A little testing now means fewer surprises, happier customers, and a much smoother launch.
And if you’re looking for an order management system that makes all of this easier, sign up for Order Desk and see how it can simplify your workflow.
