Estateflow guide
Everything you need to turn your Shopify store into a complete real estate portal. From managing properties and agent diaries to deal pipelines, leases, and lister submissions.
Overview
Estateflow empowers real estate agencies, brokerages, and property managers to operate a modern, branded real estate portal directly on Shopify. It bridges storefront discovery with back-office operations across sales, long-term rentals, and short stays.
All property listings are powered by native Shopify metaobjects with structured JSON-LD schema for optimal search visibility, while the administration dashboard provides unified tools for agent schedules, viewing appointments, sales pipeline, and tenancy leases.
| Capability | How it works |
|---|---|
| Properties for sale | List residential and commercial properties with asking price, reservation deposit, specifications, and assigned broker. |
| Long-term rentals | Manage monthly leases, security deposits, payment schedules, and rent instalment tracking. |
| Short stays | Accept nightly bookings with live availability checks and native checkout. |
| Agent roster & diary | Manage broker profiles, working hours, viewing slots, and two-way Google/Outlook calendar sync. |
| CRM & deal pipeline | Capture customer leads, schedule viewing tours, track offer negotiations, and manage closing stages. |
| Lister portal | Self-service portal for property owners and partner brokers with moderation queue Business. |
| Saved search alerts | Allow visitors to subscribe to property search criteria with double opt-in and automated email alerts. |
Core concepts
A few key concepts form the backbone of Estateflow:
Property (Listing)
The real estate asset (Apartment, House, Villa, Townhouse, Land, Commercial) with listing type (Sale, Long-term rent, Short stay), pricing, specifications, and media gallery.
Unit
A physical instance or unit number (e.g. Apartment 402, Suite B) within a multi-unit property or development. Units can be independently scheduled or leased.
Location / Project
A physical address, residential community, or building development shared across multiple listings, complete with geocoding coordinates for interactive maps.
Agent
A licensed real estate broker or agent on your roster. Has contact information, assigned properties, working schedule, and viewing diary.
Lead
A customer enquiry received from your storefront for buying or renting a property, recording contact details, budget, and consent evidence.
Viewing
A scheduled in-person or virtual property tour booked by a buyer or tenant with an assigned agent, with automated conflict checking.
Deal
A sales pipeline transaction tracking buyer negotiations through distinct stages: Offer, Reservation, Contract, Closed, or Lost.
Lease
A tenancy contract tracking tenant information, term dates, security deposit, and monthly rent instalment payment statuses.
Lister
An external landlord, property owner, or co-broke agent who submits listings through the self-service Lister Portal.
Saved Search
A search query saved by a storefront visitor with double opt-in verification to receive automated email notifications when matching properties are published.
Quick start
Six steps from installation to running your live real estate portal:
- Install from the Shopify App Store. Seamless one-click install. Configure your agency contact details and timezone under Settings.
- Add your agents. Go to Agents → Add agent. Enter your agents' profiles, phone numbers, license IDs, and set their weekly working hours.
- Create your first property listing. Go to Properties → Add property. Choose the listing type (Sale, Long-term rent, or Short stay), add specifications, photos, and assign an agent.
- Publish to Shopify metaobjects. Save and activate your listing to generate native storefront pages with SEO-friendly RealEstateListing schema.
- Insert storefront blocks. Open the Shopify Theme Editor. Add Property facts, Agent contact & viewing booking, Photo gallery, and Properties grid blocks to your theme.
- Test a viewing booking. Visit your storefront, open the listing, and submit a viewing request. Watch it appear instantly in your admin Viewing Diary!
Plans & limits
Estateflow is billed through Shopify billing. Each tier scales your agency capacity. Features marked Standard, Premium or Business below are unlocked on those plans and higher.
| Free | Agent | Team | Brokerage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent seats | 1 | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Properties | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Units / property | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storefront blocks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Leases & rent collection | No | Yes Standard | Yes | Yes |
| Sales pipeline (offer → contract → closed) | No | No | Yes Premium | Yes |
| Calendar sync | No | No | Yes Premium | Yes |
| Lister portal — invite outside agents to submit listings you moderate | No | No | No | Yes Business |
When you reach a plan limit (such as adding more properties or agent seats), the admin provides clear inline guidance. Upgrading or downgrading takes effect immediately without affecting existing property or booking records.
Properties & units
Manage your inventory under Properties. Each property record includes:
| Section | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Listing type & pricing | SALE (asking price, price qualifier, deposit), RENT_LONG (monthly rent, deposit months, minimum lease), or RENT_SHORT (nightly rate). |
| Property kind | Apartment, House, Villa, Townhouse, Studio, Room, Land, Office, Retail, or Warehouse. |
| Key specifications | Bedrooms, bathrooms, interior area (sqm/sqft), lot size, floor number, orientation/facing, furnishing status, legal status, and year built. |
| Location & development | Link to a shared Location or project development with map pin coordinates. |
| Assigned agent | The primary broker responsible for customer enquiries and viewing tours for this listing. |
| Media & floor plans | Property photo gallery, video tour link, and downloadable floor plans. |
| Units | Physical unit instances (e.g. Unit 301, Unit 302) with individual statuses for multi-unit developments. |
Listing status
A property can be Draft, Active (published to storefront), Inactive, Under Offer, Sold, Rented, or Archived. Only Active listings appear in storefront search grids.
Listing sources
Properties can be marked as OWN (represented directly by your agency) or SYNDICATED (originating from a partner brokerage or developer network) to display appropriate accreditation on the storefront.
Locations & projects
Manage residential complexes, commercial towers, and neighborhoods under Locations. Create a location once and attach it to multiple property listings.
Each location includes the full postal address (street, district, city, state/province, postal code, country) and exact latitude / longitude coordinates. These coordinates enable the interactive storefront map block to drop an accurate pin.
Amenities & attributes
Showcase property highlights with standardized catalogs:
Amenities
Visual facility badges such as Swimming Pool, Gym, 24/7 Security, Elevator, Covered Parking, Balcony, Private Garden, or Ocean View. Select applicable amenities on each listing.
Specification attributes
Detailed criteria like HOA/management fees, pet policy, energy efficiency rating, and heating/cooling systems. These appear in the property facts block and search filters.
Agent roster & diary
Manage your agency team under Agents. Each agent profile includes contact details (email, direct phone, WhatsApp number), bio, headshot photo, and professional license number.
Working hours & schedule
Configure weekly working hours per agent (e.g. Monday–Friday 09:00 to 18:00, Saturday 10:00 to 15:00). Estateflow supports split shifts and lunch breaks to ensure viewings are only booked during active working windows.
Time off & holidays
Agents can record scheduled time off, vacations, or sick leave in their profile. Estateflow automatically blocks viewing appointments on the storefront during these periods.
Leads & viewings
Manage client inquiries and viewing appointments seamlessly:
Lead management
Enquiries submitted through storefront contact forms are automatically captured under Leads with customer name, email, phone, interest (BUY, RENT_LONG, RENT_SHORT), budget, and GDPR/privacy consent records.
Viewing scheduling
Visitors can book viewing appointments directly from the property page:
- The visitor selects an available date and time slot from the assigned agent's schedule.
- Estateflow validates availability in real time, preventing conflicts with other viewings, time off, or advance notice constraints.
- Upon submission, the appointment is set to REQUESTED or CONFIRMED, and email confirmations are sent to both the client and the agent.
- Agents can update appointment statuses to COMPLETED, CANCELLED, or NO_SHOW with internal follow-up notes.
Calendar sync (Google/Outlook)
Calendar sync Premium connects agent diaries with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook over OAuth.
Two-way synchronization
- Outbound sync: Confirmed viewing appointments in Estateflow are automatically pushed to the agent's Google or Outlook calendar with client contact details and property address.
- Inbound busy sync: Personal or business events created in the agent's external calendar automatically block viewing slots in Estateflow to avoid double-booking.
Sale pipeline & deals
Track buyer transactions from first offer to closing under Deals Premium:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| OFFER | An initial purchase bid is submitted by the buyer and logged in the pipeline. |
| RESERVATION | The seller accepts the offer, a reservation deposit is collected, and the property status updates to Under Offer. |
| CONTRACT | Formal sale & purchase agreements (SPA) and legal conveyancing documents are drafted and signed. |
| CLOSED | Purchase funds are transferred, ownership deeds are registered, and the property status updates to Sold. |
| LOST | The buyer withdrew or negotiations concluded without an agreement. |
Each deal tracks the buyer, assigned agent, offer amount, agreed purchase price, reservation deposit, and estimated closing date.
Leases & rent tracking
Manage long-term tenancy agreements under Leases Premium:
- Tenancy details: Links tenant contact details, leased property/unit, lease start and end dates, and renewal terms.
- Security deposit: Records security deposit amount, escrow status, and move-in inspection notes.
- Rent schedule: Automatically generates monthly rent instalment records (DUE, PAID, OVERDUE, WAIVED).
- Late payment monitoring: Tracks overdue days and applies configured late payment fees automatically.
Storefront blocks
Customize your storefront in the Shopify Theme Editor using Estateflow's modular app blocks:
| Block | Where to use | What it displays |
|---|---|---|
| Property facts | Property page | Price, badge (For Sale/Rent), bedrooms, bathrooms, area, floor, facing, and furnishing. |
| Agent contact & viewing | Property page | Agent photo, phone, WhatsApp contact buttons, and interactive viewing appointment scheduler. |
| Photo gallery | Property page | High-resolution photo carousel, video walk-through, and architectural floor plans. |
| Mortgage calculator | Property page | Interactive financing estimator (price, down payment, interest rate, term, monthly payment). |
| Location map | Property page | Interactive OpenStreetMap or Google Maps pin showing exact property location. |
| Properties grid | Home / Search page | Filterable catalogue with search by keyword, listing type, bedrooms, price range, and city. |
Lister portal & moderation
Scale your inventory with the Lister Portal Business, a dedicated self-service portal accessible at /lister/login.
External property owners, landlords, and co-broke partner agents can sign in via passwordless magic links to create listings, submit property specifications, and upload photos.
Moderation workflow
- Third-party submissions enter your admin Lister moderation queue in a PENDING review state.
- Agency administrators review the listing details, photos, and legal documentation.
- Admins can Approve (which instantly generates the Shopify metaobject and publishes to your storefront) or Reject with feedback notes sent back to the lister.
Saved search alerts
Engage prospective buyers and renters with automated search alerts:
- Subscription form: Storefront visitors can save their current search criteria directly from search and catalog pages.
- Double opt-in verification: Subscribers receive a verification email with a secure token to confirm their email address before alerts are activated.
- Automated matching: When a new property matching the saved criteria is approved and published, Estateflow dispatches an email alert to all confirmed subscribers.
- One-click unsubscribe: Every notification email includes a secure one-click unsubscribe link ensuring anti-spam compliance.
Settings reference
Configure agency-wide settings under Settings:
| Category | Settings |
|---|---|
| Agency profile | Agency name, timezone, business currency, phone number, and support email. |
| Viewing configuration | Viewing slot duration (15, 30, 45, 60 min), turnaround buffer between viewings, and minimum advance notice window. |
| Lease defaults | Default security deposit multiplier, rent payment due day, grace period, and late fee percentage. |
| Maps & geocoding | Map provider selection (OpenStreetMap or Google Maps) and Google Maps API key. |
| Notifications | Email sender configuration, client viewing confirmations, agent reminders, and saved search alert triggers. |
FAQ
Do I need to write any code?
No. Everything is configured in the Estateflow admin and added to your storefront through native Shopify Theme Editor app blocks. No liquid or JavaScript editing is required.
What listing types does Estateflow support?
Estateflow supports all three core real estate listing models concurrently: properties for sale (SALE), long-term leases (RENT_LONG), and short stays (RENT_SHORT).
How do viewing appointments work?
Prospective buyers or tenants choose an available slot on the property page. Estateflow checks the assigned agent's working hours, prevents double-booking, and sends confirmation emails to both attendee and agent.
How does the Lister Portal work?
External property owners and partner brokers can sign in to your dedicated portal at /lister/login. Their property submissions enter your moderation queue for review before appearing on the storefront.
How do saved search email alerts work?
Storefront visitors subscribe to specific search criteria (e.g. 2-bed apartment for sale) with double opt-in verification. When a matching property is published, subscribers automatically receive an alert email.
Can agents sync viewing appointments with their external calendars?
Yes, on Premium and Business plans. Estateflow connects directly to Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook over OAuth for two-way availability and appointment synchronization.
Are property pages SEO optimized?
Yes. Estateflow creates native Shopify metaobjects with structured JSON-LD RealEstateListing schema, giving your listings rich search results and rapid page load speeds.
Troubleshooting
Property blocks don't appear on my storefront
Confirm three things: the property Status is Active, the property has been published, and the Estateflow app blocks (such as Property facts or Agent contact) have been added to the template in the Shopify Theme Editor.
Viewing slots show as unavailable when they should be open
A slot is unavailable if the assigned agent has another viewing booked, has logged personal time off or a holiday, falls outside their weekly working schedule, or violates the minimum advance notice rule. Check the agent's schedule and diary.
Buyer alert emails are not being delivered
Verify that Email notifications are enabled in Settings, that the subscriber confirmed their subscription link (double opt-in), and that the newly listed property matches the exact query parameters of the saved search.
I can't add more agents or properties
Each plan tier has seat and listing limits. Free includes 1 agent and 1 property; Standard includes 5 properties and 2 agents; Premium includes 25 properties and 5 agents; Business is unlimited. Open Plans & billing to upgrade.
401 or session expired errors in the admin
Re-authenticate by refreshing the Shopify Admin page or opening Estateflow from your Shopify Apps menu. The embedded session refreshes automatically once reconnected.