Introduction of the Flow
Last updated by matthewkiata 4 years ago In this article, we will explain the flow in Pandacheckout. Since we are highly integrated with the Chatbot platform. So we would like to use something that our customer is already familiar with.
You can compare the Flow in Panda checkout with “Automation” in Manychat, and flow in “Chatrace”.
The flow is the core of our dynamic checkout. Because we need to create the checkout link on the fly, and also set up the important purchase information right to the chatbot user.
We will try to give you an overview of the flow in our platform. We will about:
We will try to give you an overview of the flow in our platform. We will about:
Now, we got a lot to cover, and now let’s get to it right now.
So, In this article, First I want to give you a brief overview of the flow.
Overview of the Flow
So once you login your panda checkout account, click to the flow, you should be able to see the flow overview screen:
If it’s empty, don’t worry, at the top right corner, you will be able to create a new flow. Once you click you will be able to see the screen below:
What’s need to be done
Before you set up your flow, there are a couple of things you need to make sure it’s set up properly.
You need to connect your Chatbot platform(Manychat instruction here , Chatrace instruction her e) with Panda Checkout, and also set up your default Stripe Payment account , and here is how you can choose the chatbot you want to integrate with.
Once you connect with your Stripe account and your chatbot. Now all the systems have been connected.
The logic of the Flow
Before we get down to the settings, I would love to share with you how the data flows between your chatbot and our platform.
So it would be easier for you to understand and debug the problem when it’s not working.
So it would be easier for you to understand and debug the problem when it’s not working.
So, since our platform integrates with chatbot, and builds a smooth checkout experience, the first step will be to send a request within the chatbot.
So you need to provide:
All the above 4 information are more important.
For the Chatbot platform, since we are currently integrating with Manychat and Chatrace already, and we might add more chatbot platforms in the future. So we need to know which chatbot platform you are initiating the checkout from.
For the Chatbot userID , every platform, they will have the userID which is unique to each user, we need this information because we need to set the custom field, add tag or send the user to the flow after the purchase. Without the userID, we can’t build the smooth checkout experience by sending purchase confirmation right back to the user.
For the Flow ID , we need to provide the flow ID when we are sending the checkout request, and then all the hooks/triggers in that flow ID will be triggered.
For the payment information, obviously we need the total amount, payment gateway(stripe are supported currently), payment type(one time payment or subscription) to generate dynamic checkout.
So in a quick summary, here is how is the data flows:
Connect Stripe account with flow, connect Chatbot platform with the flow, so that they can talk and understand each other
Send a checkout request from your chatbot, with the userID, platform, flow ID, payment details, and we will generate a checkout link as response.
Your customer clicks the checkout link, and will be redirected to Stripe hosted checkout page, and proceed to the payment.
After the purchase, the checkout hooks/triggers in that particular flow ID got triggered, and since we already know the userID and Chatbot platforms, and also got purchase confirmation from payment gateway, then it’s time to set up the custom field, add tags, and send the user right back to Chatbot.
That’s the gist of how it works.
Connect flow with Chatbot platform
The very first thing you want to do before you set anything in the flow is to connect the flow with the Chatbot platform you are using(We currently support Manychat and Chatrace)
Make sure you select the Chatbot you want to connect as the screenshot below:
Please note that, you can only connect with 1 Chatbot per Flow.
Connect only 1 Chatbot Per Flow
What parameters are available to user
After you connect the flow ID with Chatbot, now you can see below 5 categories of data you can use to set up for the Chatbot user.
Depending on which hooks/trigger you are using, maybe some of the parameters are not available for that hook.
For example, you won’t have much order information in the “Checkout created” hook.
So, we have total below categories:
You can easily put them into 3 categories:
So you can use an independent channel to send out messages to 3rd parties. Also we have our own Zapier/integromat apps, you can connect 3rd party through Zapier or Integromat too.
Incoming message are mainly the information we get from Payment Gateway, it’s like the customer information, order details, and some important parameters like transaction ID or payment ID(which can help you locate the purchase for support issues)
And you need to connect or set up these incoming messages to your Chatbot integrations, and that’s when the Chatbot Integration comes in.
You can easily:
So, I hope you understand all the “parameters” available to you by now.
Hooks(Triggers) in the flow
So hooks mean triggers in panda checkout. It covers the important checkpoint of the checkout process.
Currently we have below Hooks/Triggers:
We will add more triggers as our software’s development moves ahead..
You can create your hook by following the video below:
So after you choose your hook/Trigger, now we can move onto the next step.
In the next article, we will show you how to generate dynamic checkout links in different Chatbot Platforms.
