TradeFlow Website Manual

Business Dashboard

The Business Dashboard is your operational home screen. You do not need to know TradeFlow's backend, database or technical implementation to use it.

Use the dashboard to see where work currently sits across:

• Buying — new customer requests and acquisition work.
• Inventory — items that have completed the buying process and are available for stock/sales operations.
• Selling — listings and sales activity.
• Orders — customer retail orders.
• Fulfilment — orders waiting to be completed and shipped.
• Returns — return activity requiring attention.

Use the dashboard cards to open the relevant area and process the next action. The technical backend, database tables, security policies and internal services are managed by TradeFlow and are not part of normal subscriber operation.

TradeFlow Assistant and customer assistant

The TradeFlow Assistant is the subscriber help assistant. It is designed to explain how to use your TradeFlow workspace using approved TradeFlow guidance. The subscriber does not need to understand the backend, database or AI provider technology.

The customer-facing assistant is separate from the subscriber assistant. A signed-in customer can ask about their own buying/selling journey, orders, shipping and returns. Customer information is restricted to that customer and this business.

If an AI provider is enabled for TradeFlow, provider credentials remain server-side. A subscriber-owned provider connection, where offered, uses the subscriber's own provider account rather than exposing credentials to customers.

How the website works

Your website has two different types of content:

• Website design and content — controlled in Website Builder. You can choose a template, colours, backgrounds, typography, page text, images and optional pages.
• Business data — connected automatically from TradeFlow. What We Buy comes from your Buying Catalogue. What We Sell comes from your published Selling listings. The Website Banner is a compact branding area used in the What We Sell title area; it is not a full-width page strip.

3. What We Buy — automatic connection

The What We Buy page is connected to your Buying Catalogue.

1. Open What We Buy / Buying Catalogue.
2. Choose Master Catalogue — Add Products.
3. Select a Category, Branch and Manufacturer, or search for a specific model/product.
4. Select the model or package configuration you want your business to buy.
5. Set the appropriate buying/valuation method and keep the product active.
6. Return to Website Builder and open What We Buy. The connected buying information is supplied automatically.

The Website Builder can control the page title, introductory wording, layout, images and tile presentation. It does not replace the underlying buying catalogue.

4. What We Sell — automatic connection

The customer-facing Sell to Us journey is submitted from the live website. If the customer is already signed in, the request is submitted immediately; otherwise the completed website form is carried into the customer account and submitted automatically after authentication. The customer is then taken to the account to view the request and follow its progress.

The What We Sell page is connected to your retail selling listings.

1. Make sure the product is in Inventory.
2. Open Selling and create a listing for the inventory item.
3. Choose the sales channel and enter the title, price and description.
4. Move the listing through the normal selling workflow until it is published/available to customers.
5. Return to the website. The What We Sell page uses the connected retail listings.

The Website Builder controls the page presentation, introduction, images and layout. Selling controls which products are actually offered.

7. Changing the design later

You can return to Website Builder at any time. Change the template, colours, background, typography, images or page wording, then save and publish again.

Branding is kept together in Website Builder. The logo is used in the website header and the banner is used in the homepage hero. Reset design keeps your uploaded branding and content.

7. Quick troubleshooting

• A product is missing from What We Buy: check that it is active/selected in the Buying Catalogue.
• A product is missing from What We Sell: check Inventory, then check that a Selling listing exists and is published/available.
• The logo or banner is wrong: open Website Builder → Branding. The banner status and current logo are shown there together.
• My design change is not live: save the draft and then publish the website.
• I cannot find a product in the catalogue: use the Category, Branch and Manufacturer filters or search the Master Catalogue.

8. Account and subscription

Your TradeFlow business account and subscription are separate from your customer accounts.

• Use Account in the dashboard header to view the signed-in business account details.
• Your TradeFlow subscription is linked to the business account that owns the subscriber workspace.
• At the bottom of the dashboard's left-hand navigation there is a small Cancel subscription link.
• Cancellation requires you to confirm your TradeFlow password before the request is accepted.
• Cancellation is scheduled for the end of the current trial or billing period, so access is not removed immediately.

9. Website Builder — practical workflow

Use this order when setting up or changing your website:

10. Keeping customer-facing information separate

The subscriber Website Manual is for operating your TradeFlow website. It should contain practical instructions for the subscriber, not development history, test accounts, internal build dates, deployment notes or platform-owner work.

Customer-facing information should be maintained separately in the Customer Documentation area. Do not place internal TradeFlow implementation details there.

11. Customer payment setup

Before you start selling online, choose the payment provider you want customers to pay through. Open Settings → Checkout & payments → Customer payment provider.

TradeFlow currently provides six setup guides: Stripe, PayPal Business, SumUp, Square, Mollie and Revolut Business. You only need to set up the provider you intend to use first; you can record another provider later.

1. Choose a provider.
2. Use Open provider signup to create or sign in to the provider's business account.
3. Use Open official instructions if you need help completing the provider's verification.
4. Complete the provider's own business and identity checks and add the bank/payout information it requires.
5. Return to TradeFlow and click Enter setup details.
6. Enter the provider account email and, if the provider gives you one, the non-secret account or merchant ID.
7. If you have created a payment link, you can record it in the Payment link box.
8. Check the business postcode shown by TradeFlow and make sure it matches your Business Settings.
9. Tick I have completed the provider setup and verification only after the provider says your account is ready.
10. Choose Use this as my primary customer payment provider if this is the provider you intend to use.
11. Click Save payment setup.

Stripe is currently the live provider used by the TradeFlow customer retail Checkout. The other provider guides are onboarding preparation until their specific TradeFlow checkout integrations are completed.

12. Using the TradeFlow Assistant

Use TradeFlow Assistant when you need help understanding a TradeFlow workflow, finding a setting or understanding how the business areas connect.

1. Open TradeFlow Assistant from your subscriber dashboard.
2. Ask one clear question at a time.
3. Include the page name, button name or workflow stage if you know it. For example: “Where do I set my customer payment provider?”
4. Follow the answer using the exact page path provided.
5. If the Assistant says that approved guidance does not cover something, do not assume that a feature exists. Ask the platform owner/support team or report the exact issue.

The Assistant uses approved TradeFlow guidance and your signed-in business context. It is not unrestricted database access and should not be used to request or store payment-provider passwords, secret API keys or bank logins.

Customer Questions

If a customer sends a question to the business, open TradeFlow Assistant → Customer Questions. Select the conversation, read the customer's message, reply in the chat box, and close the conversation when it is finished. The customer can see your reply through Customer Assistant.