Merchant onboarding guide
How to onboard as a Porterchain merchant: volume, service areas, CSV or API, and what to expect. Get live in days, not weeks.
Onboarding with Porterchain is designed to be fast. We focus on your volume, service areas, and workflow so we can confirm coverage, align capacity, and get you live with tracking and reporting. Most merchants are set up within days. This guide walks you through what we need and what happens next.
What we need from you
We need your typical volume (e.g. stops per week or per run), the areas you deliver to (cities, neighbourhoods, or zones), and any time windows or special requirements. You can start with a spreadsheet or CSV; we’ll confirm the format and required fields. If you have compliance or handling needs (e.g. pharmacy, temperature-sensitive), we’ll capture those during onboarding. No need for a full integration on day one — many merchants start with CSV or email and add API later.
Coverage and capacity
We confirm that we serve your delivery areas. We operate in the GTA (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, and surrounding), Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Niagara, Oshawa, and other Ontario regions. Once we’ve confirmed coverage, we align capacity to your schedule and agree on SLAs. You’ll know exactly where we deliver and what you can expect before you commit.
Going live
Once we’re aligned, you get access to the dashboard and can start submitting orders or stops. Recurring routes are set up so you can send the same run each week (or on your cadence). Same-day options are available where we operate. You’ll have tracking and ETAs from the first run. We’ll walk you through any steps specific to your workflow so you’re confident from day one.