Testing your Zest Storefront before going live ensures that orders flow correctly to your fulfillment system, gift messages format properly, tax calculations are accurate, and payment processing works as expected.
Test orders allow you to validate the entire workflow — from checkout through payment to fulfillment — without affecting real customers or creating confusion in your warehouse.
For Zest Storefronts, test orders are placed through your Main Storefront and flow into Shopify, similar to an ecommerce order. This article covers the complete testing process, including how to verify order data reaches your fulfillment systems correctly, how to verify the data from Shopify to Zest flows correctly, the transactional messages provided to the customer, and how to minimize costs using discounts.
Why Test Orders Matter
Test orders help you validate:
Order data flow: Gift messages, shipping methods, tax amounts, and order tags flow correctly to Shopify and downstream systems (ShipStation, PDQ, Shipper HQ).
Payment processing: Stripe captures payment correctly and funds flow to your merchant account.
Customer experience: The storefront checkout flow, product selection, and dashboard view work smoothly.
Fulfillment integration: Your warehouse or 3PL receives orders with correctly formatted data.
Email notifications: Customers receive transactional emails.
Tax calculations: Sales tax calculates correctly for states where your brand collects tax.
Refund and cancellation workflows: Understand how to refund and cancel orders within Zest, Shopify, and downstream platforms.
Involving your fulfillment, finance, and customer service teams in test order review helps catch issues before launch.
Prerequisites for Your First Test Order
Before placing your first test order, verify you have completed the following setup steps:
Shopify connected to Zest: Your myshopify.com URL must be connected.
Stripe connected to Zest: Payment processing must be configured. Navigate to Settings > Payments in your Zest dashboard to verify Stripe is connected. Stripe must be connected before you can place any test orders.
At least one product imported: Import products from Shopify to your Zest catalog. Test with physical products (not digital items or subscriptions).
Shipping profile configured: Set up at least one shipping method. The exact value (including capitalization) must match what your fulfillment system expects.
Tax nexus states configured: If you need to verify tax calculations, configure your tax nexus states in Shopify.
Branding basics set up: Company information and basic storefront settings should be configured.
If Stripe is not connected, you'll be blocked from completing checkout during testing. If you're stuck on this step, email Zest support with "blocked on connecting Stripe" in the subject line for immediate priority assistance.
How to Avoid Real Charges When Testing
To minimize costs during testing, you can discount the storefront’s products and shipping.
Step 1: Create discounts in your storefront
Log in to your Zest Partners portal.
Navigate to your Main Storefront settings.
Click Pricing.
For Products and Shipping, set the discount for 95% off.
Click Save.
Important: Avoid using 100%-off discounts. If the product price is too low, the order may not meet pricing requirements to place the order, and if you go too low, you may not see a tax fee applied.
Step 2: Use a company credit card
Use a company credit card to pay the small remaining amount (typically a few cents to a few dollars). Real payment methods are required to replicate actual transaction behavior — Zest does not support fake or test credit card numbers in production environments.
Note: Zest does not currently support Stripe sandbox or test mode accounts for Storefronts (though Adyen sandbox is supported). All test orders must use live Stripe and real payment methods with heavy discounts.
Step 3: Refund after testing
After verifying the order flow:
Cancel the test order in Shopify.
Process a refund through the Zest Orders dashboard.
Cancel or notify your fulfillment team to not ship the order.
How to Place a Test Order in Your Storefront
Step 1: Navigate to your storefront URL
Log in to your Zest Partners portal.
Click into the Main Storefront.
Click on the storefront URL for the customer view..
Step 2: Add products and proceed to checkout
Add a product to your cart.
Click Continue to next step.
Select to send directly to recipient.
Select Send as soon as it's ready.
Add required information.
Add a Gift message and From field.
Click Add Recipient and input Recipient information, i.e., address.
Complete checkout.
Step 3: Verify the order in Zest, Shopify, Stripe, and Fulfillment Systems
In Zest:
Return to your Zest Partners portal.
Navigate to Orders to view the Parent order.
Verify the order details are present, e.g., Shopify order number and tracking URL are present for the Child Orders (a tracking number must be added to display).
In the Order summary section, view the Stripe button.
In the individual Child Orders, see the Shopify order number that, when clicked, will bring you to the order in your Shopify account.
In Shopify:
Go to Orders in your Shopify admin.
Find the Child order that was created by Zest (one order per recipient).
You can search for the orders by using the tag zest-gift or by using the Parent order number.
Verify the following information appears correctly:
Gift message fields (To, From, Message).
Shipping method and cost of shipping.
Tax dollar amount and the percentages applied.
Order tags include "zest-gift" and "zest-order-number."
Any custom metafields your ERP requires.
The order is marked as "paid."
In Stripe:
Click the payment link in the Zest parent order to go directly to the Stripe transaction.
If you do not have access to Stripe, ask a member of your team to review.
Fulfillment Systems:
Don't cancel the test order immediately. Let it flow through your complete fulfillment pipeline so you can verify:
The order reaches your fulfillment system (ShipStation, 3PL warehouse, etc.).
Gift message fields format correctly for warehouse printing.
Shipping methods are recognized by your downstream tools.
Tax amounts are calculated correctly.
Order tags and metafields populate as expected.
Your ERP system (QuickBooks, SAP, NetSuite) receives accurate data.
How to Review Tax Calculations
To verify that sales tax calculates correctly:
Step 1: Add multiple tax jurisdictions
Place test orders to addresses in each state where your brand collects sales tax. Use real addresses to ensure accurate tax calculations.
Step 2: Keep orders taxable
Use a discount that still allows a taxable amount to remain — for example, 95% off rather than 99% or 100% off — so tax calculations are visible in the order.
Step 3: Verify tax amounts in Shopify
In each test order, verify the percentage shown — against what your tax engine (for example, Avalara or TaxJar) expects.
If tax amounts are incorrect, check:
Your tax nexus states are configured correctly in Shopify.
Product tax codes are assigned correctly.
The shipping address is in a state where you collect tax.
Common Testing Issues and Troubleshooting
Stripe connection error during checkout
Cause: Stripe must be connected before you can complete any test orders in Storefronts.
Solution: Navigate to Settings > Payments in your Zest dashboard and verify Stripe is connected. If not connected, follow the Stripe connection article to complete setup.
Minimum purchase requirement blocking test orders
Cause: If your storefront has a minimum purchase or charge amount configured (for example, 50 cents), you must select enough products to meet that minimum even during testing.
Solution: Add sufficient products to meet the minimum, or temporarily adjust the minimum purchase requirement in your storefront settings.