Before going live, you should test your entire checkout process to make sure everything works—products add to cart correctly, shipping calculates properly, tax applies as expected, and payments process without errors. Here's how to place test orders safely.
Why test orders matter
A broken checkout means lost sales. Test orders let you experience your store exactly as a customer would, catching issues before real customers encounter them. You'll verify that emails send correctly, inventory updates, and orders appear properly in your admin.
Even after launch, test orders are useful when you change settings, add payment methods, or update shipping rates.
Testing methods
There are two ways to test: using test mode with fake card numbers, or placing a real transaction that you immediately refund.
Option 1: Stripe test mode
If you use Stripe, test mode lets you simulate transactions without moving real money.
Enabling test mode
- Go to Settings › Payments
- Find Stripe and click Manage
- Toggle Test Mode on
- Save your changes
When test mode is active, a banner appears in your admin reminding you that payments aren't real. Your storefront looks normal to you, but Stripe will accept test card numbers instead of real ones.
Test card numbers
Use these Stripe test card numbers at checkout:
- Successful payment:
4242 4242 4242 4242 - Declined card:
4000 0000 0000 0002 - Requires authentication:
4000 0025 0000 3155 - Insufficient funds:
4000 0000 0000 9995
For expiration date, use any future date. For CVC, use any 3 digits. For postal code, use any valid format.
Testing different scenarios
Use the different test cards to verify your store handles various situations:
- Successful purchase – Does the order confirmation appear? Does the email send?
- Declined card – Does the customer see a clear error message?
- 3D Secure authentication – Does the authentication popup work?
Disabling test mode
When you're done testing, go back to Settings › Payments and toggle test mode off. Double-check this before launch—test mode orders don't collect real payments.
Option 2: PayPal sandbox
PayPal has its own sandbox environment for testing.
Setting up sandbox
- Log in to the PayPal Developer Dashboard
- Create sandbox test accounts (a buyer account and optionally a seller account)
- In CartOS, go to Settings › Payments › PayPal
- Enter your sandbox API credentials instead of live credentials
When checking out, use your sandbox buyer account credentials to complete the PayPal flow. No real money moves.
Remember to switch to live credentials before launching.
Option 3: Real transaction with refund
Sometimes you want to test with a real card to verify everything works exactly as it will for customers. This is especially useful for testing Apple Pay, Google Pay, or if you want to verify your actual payment processing.
How to do it
- Make sure your payment provider is in live mode
- Place an order using your own credit card
- Complete the checkout process
- Immediately refund the order in your admin
Costs
You'll briefly have the charge on your card, but refunds typically process within a few days. Note that payment processors usually keep their transaction fee even on refunds—Stripe keeps about $0.30 per refund. Consider this the cost of a thorough test.
To minimize costs, test with a low-priced product or temporarily set a product to a low price for testing.
What to test
Run through the complete customer journey:
Browsing and cart
- Add products to cart from product pages
- Add products with variants (select size, color, etc.)
- Update quantities in cart
- Remove items from cart
- Verify prices and totals are correct
Checkout flow
- Enter shipping information
- Verify shipping rates appear and calculate correctly
- Verify tax calculates based on shipping address
- Apply a discount code (if you use them)
- Select different shipping options and verify totals update
Payment
- Complete payment with test or real card
- Test express checkout (Apple Pay, Google Pay) if configured
- Test PayPal if configured
- Verify order confirmation page appears with correct details
Post-purchase
- Check that order confirmation email arrives
- Verify email contains correct order details
- Confirm order appears in your admin with correct status
- Verify inventory decremented (if tracking inventory)
- Test the order status page customers can access
Fulfillment
- Process the order in your admin
- Create a shipping label (even if you void it after)
- Mark as fulfilled
- Verify shipping confirmation email sends with tracking
Testing on mobile
Don't just test on desktop. Pull up your store on your phone and go through the entire checkout process. Mobile checkout is where many issues hide—forms that are hard to fill out, buttons that are too small, or steps that don't flow well on a small screen.
Test on both iOS and Android if possible, using Safari and Chrome.
Testing as a guest vs. logged in
Test both scenarios:
- Guest checkout – Most customers checkout as guests. Make sure this flow is smooth.
- Logged in customer – Create an account and checkout while logged in. Verify saved addresses work and order history updates.
Testing discount codes
If you plan to use discount codes, test them:
- Create a test discount code in Discounts
- Apply it at checkout
- Verify the discount calculates correctly
- Test minimum requirements (if any) work correctly
- Test that expired or invalid codes show proper error messages
Delete or disable test codes before launch so they can't be used by real customers.
Testing different addresses
Test orders to different locations to verify:
- Shipping rates vary correctly by zone
- Tax rates change based on destination
- International addresses work (if you ship internationally)
- Address validation catches obvious errors
Handling test orders
After testing, you'll have orders in your system. You can:
- Archive them – Move to archived so they don't clutter your active orders
- Cancel and refund – If you used a real card, process the refund
- Delete them – Test mode orders can be deleted entirely if you want a clean slate before launch
Test orders from Stripe test mode don't affect your real sales data, but they will show in reports filtered to include test transactions.
Testing automations
If you've set up automations with the Automation Bolt, test orders trigger those workflows:
- Order confirmation emails
- Shipping confirmation emails
- Review request emails (after delivery)
- Any custom workflows you've created
Verify emails look correct and send to the right addresses. Use your own email for test orders so you receive everything.
Ongoing testing
Test orders aren't just for launch. Place a test order whenever you:
- Add a new payment method
- Change shipping rates or zones
- Update tax settings
- Modify checkout settings
- Change email templates
- Update your theme (especially checkout-related templates)
A quick test after changes catches issues before customers do.
Checklist
Before considering your store ready:
- ☐ Placed test order with successful payment
- ☐ Tested declined card scenario
- ☐ Verified order confirmation email received and correct
- ☐ Tested on mobile device
- ☐ Tested guest checkout
- ☐ Verified shipping rates calculate correctly
- ☐ Verified tax calculates correctly
- ☐ Tested discount code (if applicable)
- ☐ Processed fulfillment and verified shipping email
- ☐ Confirmed payment provider is in LIVE mode