Flowhub Open Ecommerce is a headless commerce API that lets you build a custom storefront while Flowhub powers the commerce engine behind it, including inventory, customer records, orders, payments, and compliance. In this article, we'll guide you through how Open Ecommerce works and what to configure in Flowhub before your storefront goes live.

Flowhub offers two ecommerce options. Flowhub Ecommerce (native) is an out-of-the-box solution where Flowhub owns both the storefront and the commerce engine, and the entire experience is managed for you. Open Ecommerce (headless) is for dispensaries that want full control of their brand and shopping experience. You or your web agency build and own the storefront, and Flowhub powers the backend through an API and handles checkout. Open Ecommerce is the right fit when you want a fully custom online presence without migrating your POS or compliance system. Flowhub stays your system of record.

The most important concept in Open Ecommerce is that the storefront and the commerce engine are two separate layers, each owned by a different party.

Storefront (frontend), owned by you or your builder:

Commerce engine (backend), owned by Flowhub:

In short, your builder owns how the store looks and feels. Flowhub owns the data, the transaction, and compliance. If a question comes up about who handles a change, the test is whether the change lives on the storefront (builder) or in the commerce engine (Flowhub).

💡 Tip: Open Ecommerce does not include delivery or an analytics/reporting API. Delivery is a separate capability in development, and reporting stays inside the Flowhub core product.

Even though your builder owns the storefront, several settings are configured on the Flowhub side in Maui. These settings feed the API and the hosted checkout, so they need to be in place before launch.

Inventory only appears in Open Ecommerce if it livesm in a room marked for ecommerce.

Any room can be enabled for ecommerce, or you can create a dedicated online room. Only inventory in an enabled room is exposed to the API and available to shop.

Ordering hours control when customers can place online orders and are configured separately from your physical store hours.

Customers can still place orders outside store hours (during ordering hours). Those orders appear for fulfillment the next business day. For full steps, see Manage Store & Ordering Hours.

Deals are created in Flowhub and promoted to ecommerce, then exposed through the API so your storefront and the hosted checkout apply them correctly.

💡 Tip: Deal date ranges set in Flowhub and on the ecommerce Deals Page are managed separately. Keep them aligned to avoid promotions ending at the wrong time.

For full steps, see Manage Deals in Flowhub Ecommerce.

Your builder controls the look of the storefront, but checkout is hosted by Flowhub. Theme the hosted checkout page with your logo and colors so it stays consistent with your brand when customers move from your storefront to complete their purchase.

For full steps, see Customize Kiosk and Ecommerce Colors.

By default, the hosted checkout lives on a Flowhub-provided domain. If you want it to appear under your own brand (for example, shop.yourdispensary.com), you can point a vanity domain at it using a CNAME record.

This is optional and only affects the hosted checkout URL. Your storefront domain is owned and configured by you or your builder. For more on domain options, see Host an Ecommerce Menu with the Right Domain Option.

Before Flowhub issues API keys, your builder or agency must either be an official Flowhub partner or have a signed Data Protection Agreement (DPA) in place, plus a completed API integration request form.

💡 Tip: API keys are store-specific. A multi-location operator needs a separate key per location. Your builder can review the full Open Ecommerce API documentation at any time while the agreement process is underway.

When a shopper is ready to buy, your storefront hands them off to Flowhub's hosted checkout. This is deliberate: Flowhub, not your builder, handles the compliance-sensitive parts of the transaction like purchase limits and state-specific rules. Your builder does not have to build or maintain any of that, and you inherit compliance that is already proven.

Hosted login works the same way. It gives customers a secure, Flowhub-managed account experience that ties back to their customer profile.

The API documentation is public. You can share it with any prospect, agency, or developer. No agreement is required to view the docs.

Signing the DPA and requesting keys is only required to build against live data, not to read the documentation.

Use this quick reference to route common questions to the right party.

Flowhub handles:

Your builder handles:

What is the difference between Flowhub Ecommerce and Open Ecommerce?

Does Open Ecommerce support delivery?

Can I use Open Ecommerce for reporting or analytics?

Does my builder need an agreement with Flowhub before they can start building?

Are API keys shared across locations?

Who do I contact for questions about partner status, the DPA, or API keys?

Great work! 🥳

You now have a clear picture of how Open Ecommerce works and what to configure in Flowhub before your custom storefront goes live. With rooms, ordering hours, deals, checkout theming, and API access in place, your builder can connect to Flowhub's commerce engine and deliver a fully branded shopping experience.