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The Connections page

See every outside service you can switch on with your own account, what each one still needs, and how to test that it answers.

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Checked against Pop Dispatch 0.1.0

Settings, Connections shows one card for each outside service. Every connection uses only your own account with that service. You switch a card on when its setup is done, and "Test connection" checks that the service answers.

Before you start #

  • Only the owner can switch connections on or off or test them. Managers can see their status.
  • You need your own account with each service you want to use.

The four cards #

  • Card payments (Stripe): live card payments on invoices. Its setup is the Stripe key from Settings, Online payments. See "Connect your own Stripe account for card payments".
  • Card readers (Stripe Terminal): take cards in person on a reader. It needs the Stripe key and at least one card reader. See "Connect Stripe Terminal card readers".
  • QuickBooks Online: send customers, invoices and payments to your own QuickBooks company. It needs the details from your Intuit developer app and a sign-in. See "Connect your own QuickBooks Online company".
  • Text messages: read-only on this page. It reads as on when you have connected your own Twilio or Telnyx account in the messaging connections. The card says: "Text messages are connected in the messaging connections with your own Twilio or Telnyx account."

Steps #

  1. Open Settings and choose Connections.
  2. Read each card. The status word and symbol say where it stands: Off, Needs setup, Ready or Error.
  3. When a card shows "Still needed:", do each item listed. The "Set up" link opens the article for that service.
  4. When nothing is still needed, tick "Switch on" followed by the card's name. A message confirms, for example "Card readers (Stripe Terminal) is on."
  5. Choose "Test connection". A message says whether the test passed or failed, and the card keeps the result under "Last test". A card never tested says "Never tested."

What the status words mean #

  • Off: the connection is switched off.
  • Needs setup: it is switched on, and something it needs is missing. The "Still needed:" list names it.
  • Ready: it is on and has what it needs. A failed test turns it to Error.
  • Error: the last test failed. Read the message under "Last test", fix it and test again.
Technical details
  • Routes: GET /connections (owner and manager), PATCH /connections/:key with enabled (owner), POST /connections/:key/test (owner). The keys are stripe, stripe_terminal, quickbooks and sms.
  • A card cannot be switched on while its needs list has an item. The answer lists what is missing.
  • A Stripe key saved before the card existed keeps working until the owner switches the card off.
  • Secrets (the Stripe key, the Intuit client secret and tokens) are sealed and never sent back to the page. A test calls only your own account.
  • The Stripe card shows the mode and the last four characters of the key, for example "Live mode, key ending 1234".

If something goes wrong #

  • "Before ... can be turned on": the message lists what is missing. Do those steps first.
  • "Text messages are switched on where you connect your Twilio or Telnyx account. Open the messaging connections.": the Text messages card follows the messaging connections.
  • "Only the owner can change connections.": ask the owner.
  • A test fails with a message from the service: follow the message, then choose "Test connection" again.