Getting started with your store

Start with a controlled test store

Agovena is an early-stage, self-hosted commerce platform. You operate the server, backups, email delivery, and provider accounts. A working installation is not a certification of payment, tax, or hosting-provider compatibility. Keep the store restricted while you configure it and complete sandbox checkout.

If Agovena is not installed, follow server requirements, installation, and queue and scheduler setup first. The installer creates the owner and minimum store configuration. It does not provision a Linux server.

Sign in and secure the owner account

1. Open /login on your store and sign in with the owner account created during installation.
2. Open /account/security and enroll an authenticator when prompted. Privileged two-factor authentication is enabled by default. Keep recovery information outside the server and do not share the owner account.
3. Open /admin. Admin access is permission-based, not granted to every registered customer.
4. Use individual staff accounts and roles for daily work. Grant product, order, payment, and package-management permissions only to people who need them. A missing Admin action may indicate missing permission rather than broken installation.

These entry points and controls are defined in the routes and security configuration.

Choose what you sell

Open Admin → Modules. Presets bundle capabilities; they do not permanently turn the installation into one store type. You can combine selling models.

The distinction between Downloads and Digital Delivery matters: a downloadable file is not a license key. Installing a preset does not configure every product or connect a payment provider. See package operations and the preset definitions.

Configure the merchant essentials

In Admin → Settings, review the store name, language, timezone, base currency, branding, seller details, and customer-registration policy. Configure email transport on the server as described in configuration. The mail settings in Admin describe the sender; they do not replace SMTP credentials.

Review taxes with your accountant before issuing invoices. Automatic tax data is not a determination of your legal obligations. Create your delivery, privacy, refund, and contact information and check it in the storefront. Do not assume that enabling a theme supplies your business policies.

Complete the first sale in sandbox

1. Create a draft product, add its price and delivery capabilities, then activate it when ready.
2. Configure a payment extension using provider test credentials.
3. Checkout as a customer, complete the hosted test payment, and return to the store.
4. Inspect the order, payment, invoice, and fulfillment state separately. Check the actual delivered email and the customer account, not only an Admin success notice.
5. Test cancellation or failed payment as well as success. Confirm that a duplicate provider notification does not cause a second delivery.
6. Create a backup and rehearse restoration.

Before opening the store, resolve required doctor checks, inspect warnings, confirm that workers survive a service restart, and document who responds to failed payments or deliveries. Keep provider-specific limits visible in your own operating procedures.