Getting Started with Forthcast

Install Forthcast from the Shopify App Store

Visit the Shopify App Store and search for Forthcast. Click Add app and follow the installation prompts. You'll be asked to grant the permissions Forthcast needs to read your products, inventory, and order history.

Connect Your Store & Let Forthcast Sync

After installation, Forthcast will immediately begin syncing your products, inventory levels, and order history from Shopify. For most stores this takes 1–5 minutes. You can watch progress on the dashboard — a loading indicator will show you how many products and orders have been imported so far.

If you have a large catalog (thousands of SKUs) or years of order history, the initial sync may take up to 15 minutes. You'll receive a notification in the app when it's complete.

Review Your Demand Forecasts

Navigate to the Forecasts section to see projected demand for each product variant over the next 30, 60, and 90 days. Forthcast calculates these forecasts from your sales history, automatically detecting trends and seasonality patterns.

Browse your product list and look for variants where the forecast looks higher or lower than expected. You can also check the Forecast Performance page to see accuracy scores for products with enough history — this helps you understand how reliable each forecast is.

Set Reorder Points & Safety Stock

Go to the Replenishment section. Forthcast automatically recommends a reorder point and safety stock quantity for each product, based on your demand forecast and supplier lead times. You can accept these recommendations or adjust them manually.

To configure your suppliers, go to Settings → Suppliers and add the suppliers you order from. Set an average lead time for each supplier. Forthcast uses this to calculate how much buffer stock you need and when to trigger a reorder alert.

Create Your First Purchase Order

In the Replenishment section, you'll see a list of products that are at or below their reorder point. Select the products you want to reorder and click Create Purchase Order. Forthcast pre-fills order quantities based on your settings — review and adjust as needed, then save the PO.

The PO starts in Draft status. When you've placed the order with your supplier, mark it Sent. When the goods arrive, mark it Received and Forthcast will automatically update your Shopify inventory.

Set Up Low Stock Alerts

Go to Settings → Alerts to configure email notifications for low stock. You can receive a daily digest of all products below their reorder point, or get notified immediately when a specific product drops below its threshold. Alerts are sent to the email address registered with your Shopify store by default, but you can change this in settings.

Explore the AI Chat Assistant

The Forthcast AI Chat is available in the bottom-right corner of every page. Ask it anything about your inventory — "What's my most overstocked product?", "Which supplier has the best delivery track record?", or "Show me products that ran out of stock last month." The assistant understands your store's data and responds with specific, actionable answers.