Product Workflow
See how product work moves through Research, Quotation, Testing, Products, Orders, and Returns in CapitalOS.
CapitalOS connects product discovery, sourcing, validation, sales, and post-purchase analysis through a shared SKU-based workflow. Each module has its own purpose, but the product identity and organization boundary remain consistent.
The lifecycle at a glance
The primary flow is:
Research → Quotation → Testing → Products and Orders → Returns analysis
This is a working model rather than a rule that every product must follow automatically. Your team decides when a product is ready for the next stage, and permissions determine who can perform each handoff.
1. Research
Research is the starting point for product discovery and validation. Teams can capture a proposed SKU, product information, categories, competitor references, sourcing links, creatives, notes, priority, and research status.
When a product is ready for sourcing and cost evaluation, an authorized user can move it into Quotation.
2. Quotation
Quotation stores sourcing and supplier information such as cost of goods, pricing tiers, minimum order quantities, variations, notes, assignments, comments, and quotation status.
Connected suppliers may contribute to quotation work, while organization users control assignment, review, approval, rejection, and the decision to continue the product workflow.
3. Testing
Testing brings together product test status, time periods, budgets, advertising spend, revenue, units, ROAS, break-even ROAS, campaign references, and performance observations.
Some values come from connected commerce or advertising services and some can be maintained by the team. Always check the metric source and date range before comparing products.
4. Products and Orders
Products provides the central SKU catalog and a cross-module view of product records, variations, lifecycle information, and available analytics.
Orders shows the commercial result: customers, line items, payments, margins, refunds, returns, tickets, and timeline information associated with synchronized orders.
5. Returns analysis
Returns connects return records to products, SKUs, orders, reasons, statuses, and support tickets. It helps teams identify product quality, expectation, sizing, fulfillment, or communication problems after purchase.
Shared SKU identity
The SKU registry is the common product identity across the workflow. Research, quotation, testing, and returns records reference that identity instead of creating unrelated copies of the same product.
Parent and child SKUs support product variations. A parent can represent the product family while child SKUs retain variation details and their own operational records.
Use consistent SKUs when importing or entering data. An unmatched or duplicate SKU can prevent CapitalOS from connecting information across modules.
Statuses and handoffs
Each module keeps statuses that fit its own work. A Research status is not the same as a Quotation or Testing status. Moving a product forward creates or connects the appropriate downstream record; it does not erase the earlier record.
Before a handoff, confirm:
- the correct organization and SKU;
- required information is complete;
- the user has access to the destination module;
- supplier or integration data is available where needed;
- variations are grouped correctly.
Connected operational data
Shopify can supply product and order context. Advertising integrations can supply campaign and spend data. Nylas supports communication data, and Slack can receive configured notifications. Availability depends on the connections and accounts selected by the organization.
CapitalOS does not treat every blank value as zero. Missing or incomplete source data should be investigated before making a product decision.