Checkout API enabled vs. disabled – Which should you choose?

Process flow determines how the base products and extra product options are processed on your checkout. Optionally, there are two methods of processing checkouts:

• Checkout API enabled: Via Checkout API (provided by Shopify)
• Checkout API disabled: Creation of new product variants (New variation flow)

Where to find the process flow settings:

1. Visit Settings tab in EXPO app.
2. In the Process flow section, enable it to activate Checkout API mode, and disable it to activate the New Variation flow.

Checkout API & New variation flow – What’s the difference?

It can be summarised in the following table:

Features	Checkout API	New Variation flow
Checkout process	Use Shopify’s Checkout API to create items and complete checkouts	Create product variant of the form #EXPO
Product options in admin	No new variants created	New variants created with unique ID (eg. #EXPO12345)
Order history in admin	Your order shows “from EXPO ‑ Extra Product Options (via import)” as sales channel	Your order shows “from Online Store” as sales channel
Line items	Line items with extra fees showing on cart, checkout, and email templates	Line items not showing. Extra fees are included in the product item’s price
Adding to cart	Normal	It has a minor delay while adding item(s) to cart
Compatibility	Limited integrations with third party apps that interfere in the checkout process	Works with third party apps like bulk discounts, bundles, and tiered pricing apps
Price formula	Unavailable	Supported
Stock/Inventory	Unavailable	Supported

Line items

If you select Checkout API as your checkout process flow, the product add-ons/fees will show as separate line items.

Please refer to the images below:

Add-on product is “Simple Upgrade” option, which costs $88

Base product is a t-shirt, which costs $90

Below you will some other differences between the New Variation flow & Checkout API:

1. In Checkout API, it uses Shopify’s API to create abandoned checkout so the checkout page is not the same as the default in some places, and New Variation flow will create product variant of the form #EXPO.
2. When you enable Checkout API mode, the checkbox ‘Use as price’ of option type Number is disabled so you can’t use the value as price. But in New Variation flow mode, you can check ‘Use as price’ and use the value of option type number as price and you can customize Price formula.
3. In checkout, Checkout API mode will show the text: ’Selections will add … to the product single price’ when the client selects the options to add to the cart and show all decrease prices as discount fees and increase prices or additional cost as extra fees. But New Variation flow is not, it only shows the text: ’Selections will add … to the product single price’ and don’t display specific items in check out.