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MyPorch is a storefront platform built for cottage food bakers — people selling home-baked goods under their state's cottage food law. You get a public order page (myporch.app/your-bakery), batch-based pickup scheduling, compliant printable labels, and payments that go straight to your own Stripe account.

If you bake from home and take orders for pickup, MyPorch is built for you.

When you create an account, a short 4-step wizard collects your first name, your bakery's name, the state you bake in, and your most popular item. The state and product steps are optional — you can skip them and fill things in later. Your bakery name becomes your storefront address (like myporch.app/sunflower-bakes), and the product you name is saved as a draft listing so your menu has a head start.

Your dashboard shows a launch checklist that takes you from zero to selling: set up your bakery profile, add products, connect Stripe, schedule your first pickup batch, then publish your storefront. Do them in that order — publishing requires Stripe to be connected first. The optional last step, your first paid order, happens once you share your storefront link.

Hiding the checklist is per-browser: it stays hidden on the device where you dismissed it, but every step is still reachable from the sidebar (Settings, Products, Batches, Storefront). If you open your dashboard in a different browser or device, the checklist appears again until your remaining steps are complete.

Cottage food laws — what you can sell, where you can sell it, and what your labels must say — are set state by state. Knowing your state lets MyPorch apply the right label rules to your printable labels, surface compliance notices that apply to you, and point you to your state's cottage food law guide.

Check Settings for your bakery's timezone — everything downstream reads from it. Your storefront's order-window countdowns, pickup times, and any email that mentions a time all display in whatever timezone you've set there, not the visitor's local time or the server's. If you've moved, or the wrong timezone got picked up during setup, update it in Settings and every batch will show correctly from then on.

Stripe is how your customers pay you. When you connect Stripe, payments for your orders are processed directly on your own Stripe account — the money goes to you, not through MyPorch. Stripe also handles the banking side: identity verification, card processing, and payouts to your bank account. You can't publish your storefront until Stripe is connected.

No. MyPorch charges no per-order platform fee — order payments go straight to your Stripe account. MyPorch makes money from optional subscription plans (Baker and Bakehouse), not from your sales. The only per-transaction cost is Stripe's own card processing fee.

Stripe's signup asks for the standard details any payment processor needs: your legal name, date of birth, address, the last four of your SSN (for identity verification in the US), and the bank account where payouts should go. Selling as an individual or sole proprietor is fine — you don't need an LLC or EIN to get started, though you can use one if you have it.

This usually means the Stripe window was closed before finishing, or Stripe returned an error during authorization. Go to Settings → Payment Processing and click Connect with Stripe to try again — reconnecting is always safe and won't create duplicate charges. Complete every Stripe screen until you're redirected back to MyPorch. If it fails repeatedly, email us at hello@myporch.app and we'll dig in.

Stripe sometimes accepts the connection but still needs more from you — usually identity verification or bank details — before it enables charges on your account. Log in at dashboard.stripe.com and look for a "complete your profile" or "information needed" banner. Once Stripe finishes verifying, online payments switch on automatically.

Payouts come from Stripe, not MyPorch. By default Stripe pays out on a rolling schedule (typically 2 business days after each payment in the US; your first payout can take 7–14 days while Stripe verifies your account). You can view and change your payout schedule in your Stripe dashboard under Settings → Payouts.

Stripe's standard US processing fee is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge (Stripe's current published rate — see stripe.com/pricing). That fee is deducted before the payout reaches your bank. MyPorch adds nothing on top.

Yes. In Settings → Payment Processing, click Disconnect account and type DISCONNECT to confirm. This removes MyPorch's access to that Stripe account and unpublishes your storefront until you connect another one — your existing orders stay in your dashboard. Once disconnected, click Connect with Stripe to link a different account.

It depends on whether the order was paid. A pending order (the customer started checkout but never finished, or it got stuck) can be cancelled from the order's page — this expires the Stripe checkout session and no money moves. A paid order can be refunded — MyPorch issues a full refund through Stripe back to the customer's original payment method and marks the order cancelled. You'll need to type REFUND to confirm, since it can't be undone. Refunds are full amount only, and the money typically lands back on the customer's card in 5–10 business days, per Stripe's timing.

A few things stop orders from going through, and they're quick to check in order: is the batch actually open right now (not scheduled, not closed, and past its "orders open at" time)? Is Stripe still fully connected with charges enabled (Settings → Payment Processing)? And if you're on the Free plan, have you already hit 10 paid orders this calendar month — the storefront just tells customers "Orders are closed for this round" without mentioning the limit. If all three check out, the checkout session may have simply expired because the customer stepped away too long; ask them to reload your storefront and try again. A declined card is between the customer and their bank — MyPorch and Stripe don't see why a card was declined, so a different card or another attempt is the usual fix.

The onboarding wizard only asks for your product's name, so it saves the listing as an inactive draft. Open Products, click the draft, set a price (and a photo if you have one), then activate it. Draft products never appear on your storefront — your dashboard shows a reminder banner until it's activated.

A batch is one round of baking with one order window, one menu, and one shared inventory pool. It can have one pickup choice or — when multiple pickup choices are enabled for your bakery — several location-and-time choices. Scheduled means it's created but not accepting orders yet; Open means customers can order; Closed means ordering has ended and you're baking; Completed means the final pickup option has ended. Customers can only place orders against an open batch.

Want a batch that doesn't show up on your storefront page? Tick Link-only batch when you create it, or use Make link-only on the batch later. Only people with the batch's own link can find it — use Copy link on the batch to share that link, and List on storefront to bring it back to your page. It's a way to keep a batch off your main page, not a lock: anyone who has the link can order.

You can also run more than one batch at the same time — for example a seasonal pre-order alongside your weekly one. If two order windows overlap, we'll ask you to confirm when you create (or list) the second batch. Customers then choose between the batches on your storefront page, unless you mark one link-only to keep it off the page and share its link instead.

When one batch is open and another is scheduled to open later, your storefront page shows a "Coming up" note at the top with the opening time and a link, so customers can look ahead before it opens. (If two batches are open, the second appears as a "Coming soon" card under them.) Only the next upcoming batch is shown, and a link-only batch is never shown. Keep a batch link-only until you're ready for customers to see it.

Yes — if Offer package sizes appears on your product form, keep one product for each flavor and add exact package choices beneath its Single price. For example, a Chocolate Chip Cookie can be $4 as a Single, $23 for a Half dozen (6), and $45 for a Dozen (12). Customers choose the package they want, and MyPorch uses that package's exact price; it does not automatically reprice an arbitrary quantity such as 7 or 10.

Package choices stay within one product and flavor: a Half dozen or Dozen contains only that product's flavor. Mix-and-match packs across flavors and discount or coupon codes are separate features and are not included in package pricing.

Set a batch quantity cap in individual items, not packages. If Chocolate Chip Cookies have 60 available, every Single uses 1, every Half dozen uses 6, and every Dozen uses 12 from the same 60-cookie total. One purchased package prints one product label. Add a package-specific net weight when the full pack weighs more than the Single item; MyPorch will not copy a Single item's weight onto a larger package label.

Each batch has an order window and one or more pickup choices. Before orders open, customers see an opening-soon notice with a countdown instead of a checkout button. Once Orders close at passes, ordering stops automatically; you can also close a batch manually at any time. Customers see the available public pickup labels and times on your storefront, select one at checkout when there is a choice, and receive only their selected option in their paid confirmation and reminder. All times display in your bakery's timezone, which you set in Settings.

Yes — if Pickup options appears when you create a batch, you can add from 1 to 10 location-and-time choices to the same batch. For example, one batch can offer Friday evening at your house, Saturday morning at your house, and Tuesday soccer practice. The menu, prices, order window, and inventory stay shared; each customer chooses one pickup option at checkout.

Give each option a short public label such as Friday porch pickup or Tuesday soccer practice. Customers can see that label and its time before ordering. The saved address and detailed instructions stay private until a paid order's confirmation and reminder, where MyPorch shows only the option that customer selected.

In this first version, you cannot edit or remove pickup options after a batch has orders. If the schedule must change, contact affected customers and create a new batch rather than silently changing the instructions stored on existing orders.

A batch that has received orders can't be deleted — the order history (and your customers' receipts) depend on it. Mark it Completed instead and it moves out of your active view. Batches with no orders can be deleted safely.

The bake list on your Dashboard totals the individual items needed for paid and fulfilled orders in your current batch — for example, two Half dozen cookie packages appear as 12 Chocolate Chip Cookies — so you know exactly what to bake without tallying package sizes by hand. Pending, cancelled, and fully refunded orders are excluded, and the list updates as confirmed orders come in.

When a batch closes, completes, or is archived, its bake list stays available. Open View orders & bake list from the Batches page to see that batch's permanent production summary, confirmed order and individual-item totals, and individual orders. Use Download CSV at the top of that page to save the same production rows for a spreadsheet. The CSV contains the batch name, product, and base units to bake; it never includes customer details.

Yes. When you're building a batch, each product has an optional Qty field — set it to however many individual items you can make, or leave it blank for unlimited. Package sizes share that same total: two Half dozen packages consume 12 individual items. Your storefront shows low-stock and sold-out states, and checkout enforces the same limit across Singles and every package choice. You can still close the whole batch any time you need ordering to stop immediately across every item.

Yes. MyPorch automatically emails customers with paid orders before their selected pickup option begins. The reminder uses the exact public label, time window, address, and instructions saved on that order, so customers who chose different pickup times in the same batch receive the correct details. You don't need to trigger reminders manually.

On the Baker and Bakehouse plans, you can send an announcement email when you open a new batch — it goes to every customer who's opted in, plus anyone who joined your waitlist through the Notify me form. The email lists every public pickup choice and time but never includes private addresses or detailed pickup instructions. It's meant to go out once per batch, so if you need to resend it, MyPorch asks for an extra confirmation first to keep you from accidentally emailing your whole list twice. This feature isn't available on the Free plan.

Publishing requires a connected Stripe account with charges enabled — otherwise customers could reach a checkout that can't take payment. If the Publish button is disabled, go to Settings → Payment Processing and finish connecting Stripe (including any verification Stripe still needs). Once charges are enabled, the Publish button unlocks.

Your storefront lives at myporch.app/your-slug — the slug is generated from your bakery name during onboarding. You can edit it in Settings → Basic Information. Keep in mind that changing it breaks any links or QR codes you've already shared, so settle on it before printing anything.

The Storefront page generates a QR code that points at your storefront URL. Download it and put it on packaging, market-stand signage, or business cards — customers scan it and land straight on your menu. If you change your storefront slug, regenerate and reprint the QR code.

Your logo, hero image, tagline, and about text live in Settings; the overall look is controlled by the template picker on the Storefront page. Changes save instantly and show on your public page on the next load — you can preview your storefront any time, even in draft mode (only you can see it while unpublished).

No — orders are always placed against an open batch, so when nothing is open your storefront still shows your bakery and menu but ordering is paused. In that gap, customers see a "Notify me" email form instead of a checkout button — anyone who signs up is added to your opted-in email list and gets an email as soon as you announce your next batch. Scheduling your next batch (and sharing when orders open) is the rhythm most bakers settle into. One exception: if your only open batch is set to link-only, your storefront page doesn't list it (it shows the paused state, or your next listed batch as opening soon) — but anyone with that batch's link can still order. Use Copy link on the Batches page to share it.

Three spots: your logo and a hero image, both in Settings → Storefront, and a photo for each product on its product form. The logo and hero shape the top of your storefront page; product photos show up on your menu and in batches. If you skip a product photo, MyPorch fills in a template placeholder so your menu still looks finished — you can always come back and add real photos later.

The Labels page builds print-ready product labels for every paid order in a batch, using your state's cottage food label rules. MyPorch prints one label per purchased package: two Half dozen packages produce two labels, not 12. Package labels keep the base product name for compliance and use the package-specific net weight you entered; MyPorch never substitutes the Single item's weight for a larger pack.

A label shows as not ready when required information is missing — most often a product ingredient list, a package net weight, your label address, or a registration number your state requires. The issues list on each order tells you exactly what to fix; after fixing, refresh the label snapshot.

MyPorch keeps a per-state registry of cottage food label requirements — required disclaimers (including exact statutory wording where the law fixes it), name/address rules, and formatting. Your labels use the rules for the state on your bakery profile. For the full picture of your state's law, read your state guide.

In Settings, under your bakery's compliance details. If your state issues a registration, permit, or license number for cottage food operations, enter it there and MyPorch includes it on your printed labels where your state requires it.

Every bakery starts on the Free plan, which includes your storefront, batches, orders, and labels. The paid plans — Baker and Bakehouse — add growth features like batch email announcements to your customer list. Current pricing and the full feature comparison live on the pricing page; per-order payments are never charged a MyPorch fee on any plan.

Go to Dashboard → Billing. Upgrading opens a Stripe checkout; managing an existing subscription (switching plans, updating your card, or canceling) opens Stripe's billing portal, where changes take effect per Stripe's proration rules. Canceling a paid plan drops you back to Free — your storefront and data stay intact.

On the login page, use the password reset link and we'll email you a secure link to set a new password. If you're already logged in, you can change your password from the update-password page. If the reset email doesn't arrive, check spam, then email hello@myporch.app.

Every marketing email MyPorch sends on your behalf (like batch announcements) includes a one-click unsubscribe link unique to that customer. Unsubscribed customers stop receiving announcements but still get transactional emails about orders they place — receipts and pickup reminders always go through.

Yes — the Free plan allows 10 paid orders per calendar month. Your dashboard shows a usage banner that turns amber once you hit 8, so you can see it coming. If you reach 10, customers see "Orders are closed for this round. Please check back soon." on your storefront — it doesn't mention the limit or your plan. The count resets at the start of the next month, and the Baker ($12/mo) and Bakehouse ($24/mo) plans remove the cap entirely.

Yes. From Dashboard → Customers, the "Export CSV" button downloads your customer list — built from paid orders — as a spreadsheet with names, contact info, order counts, and total spend. It's a plain download you can open in Excel, Sheets, or import elsewhere; there's nothing to configure first.

Go to Dashboard → Settings and scroll to Delete Account. Confirming schedules your account for deletion in 48 hours — you can cancel any time before then by logging back in and returning to that page. If you're on a paid plan, deleting immediately cancels your subscription with no refund for unused time.

If you have open batches or unfulfilled orders when you delete, customers won't be notified automatically, so let them know before you go. Once the 48 hours are up, your storefront comes down and your personal information is removed; order records are kept for our standard 3-year retention period to support tax and compliance requirements.

Prefer we handle it for you instead? Email hello@myporch.app.