Pre-Launch Checklist¶

Everything that must happen before research-relay.com can accept its first order, organized by dependency and phase.

Current Status

LLC is approved, EIN received (41-4676725), and Mercury bank account approved 3/10/2026. E-commerce platform is running in production.

Phase 2: Banking -- Mercury approved ✓. Fund account + set up Zoho Books and Koinly remaining.
Phase 3: Communications -- Zoho Workplace and email done. 1Password, OpenPhone, DNS cleanup remaining.
Phase 4: Legal & Compliance -- attorney review can begin
Phase 5: BTC Payments -- unblocked (Mercury is open)
Phase 6: E-Commerce Platform -- MedusaJS + Next.js storefront deployed. 4 custom modules, 6 email templates. Payments and shipping/tax remaining.

After 3 months banking (June 2026): Phase 7 (ACH) is unblocked.

Phase 1: Entity Formation (Nearly Complete)¶

LLC was filed via Northwest Registered Agent and approved by CA SOS on February 27, 2026. Entity No. B20260101990. Statement of Information filed March 4, 2026 (File No. BA20260509109). EIN 41-4676725 received March 5, 2026. Formation documents and CP 575 stored in Zoho Workplace team drive.

Receive entity number from CA SOS — B20260101990, approved 2/27/2026
File Statement of Information (Form LLC-12, $20) at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov — Filed 3/4/2026, File No. BA20260509109
Apply for EIN online — 41-4676725, received 3/5/2026
Save EIN confirmation letter (CP 575) — stored in Zoho Workplace
Sign Operating Agreement — Certification of Member (p.5), date and sign. Use address: 1009 Martina Ct, San Marcos, CA 92078 (cross out pre-filled Northwest address). (Physical task — needs wet signature.)
Fill in Exhibit 1: Capital Contributions (p.6) — $0 initial contribution, settle later once Mercury is open. Sign and date.
FinCEN BOI report — Not required. US-created entities exempted as of 3/26/2025.

Phase 2: Banking & Accounts (In Progress)¶

Fill in and sign Bank Account Resolution (Operating Agreement pp.7-8) — completed for Mercury application
Open Mercury bank account at mercury.com — Approved 3/10/2026
- Applied with: Articles of Organization, EIN letter, photo ID
- Used home address as business address (not Northwest address)
- Described business as: "E-commerce retail -- laboratory research supplies and reagents"
- Used personal carrier phone for 2FA (not VoIP)
Fund initial operating account
Set up Zoho Books Free at zoho.com/books
- Configure chart of accounts per docs/accounting/accounting-stack.md
- Upgrade to Standard ($15/mo) when bank feeds are needed
Set up Koinly ($49/yr) at koinly.io for crypto accounting

Phase 3: Communications (In Progress)¶

See: docs/ops/comms-setup-runbook.md, docs/privacy/comms-stack.md

Phase 4: Legal & Compliance (Needs entity, can prep now)¶

All 27 business decisions are made (26 defaults accepted, 1 deviation: D25). Five compliance documents are drafted with 18 attorney review flags. Attorney review package is ready.

Phase 5: Payment Infrastructure -- Bitcoin (Needs bank account)¶

Can proceed in parallel with other phases after Mercury account is open.

Purchase hardware wallet (Coldcard or Trezor)
Generate seed phrase, stamp on metal plate backup
Configure BTCPay Server on nix-bitcoin (shops-btc-01 server)
Create DNS A record in Cloudflare: btcpay.research-relay.com
Fund Lightning node (~2M sats)
Open 3 initial Lightning channels
Test BTC checkout flow end-to-end

See: docs/payments/btcpay-architecture.md, docs/payments/lightning-setup.md, docs/payments/btcpay-runbook.md

Phase 6: E-Commerce Platform (In Progress)¶

MedusaJS v2 platform is running in production on Hetzner NixOS server with CI/CD via GitHub Actions. Four custom modules are built and deployed (product-compliance, compliance-checkout, procurement, resend). Next.js storefront deployed with 8 pages, product filtering, checkout flow, and compliance components.

Core Platform¶

Initialize MedusaJS v2 project — MedusaJS v2.13.1, fully initialized and running
Set up development environment — PostgreSQL 16, Redis 7, Node.js 22 via devenv
Configure PostgreSQL database
CI/CD with GitHub Actions — build, test, deploy pipeline
Production deployment on Hetzner NixOS server — server/worker split, Caddy reverse proxy
E2E browser testing framework

Custom Modules¶

Build productComplianceModule — Lot, COA, PurityRecord, RuoDisclaimer models
Build complianceCheckoutModule — CheckoutAttestation model (clickwrap RUO disclosure)
Build procurementModule — Suppliers, POs, Shipments, QC Inspections
Admin UI pages for compliance and procurement
Store APIs for COA lookup and lot lookup
Seed scripts — seed-compliance.ts, seed-full.ts
COA file upload pipeline (R2 storage) — implemented with admin UI
Implement BTC payment provider (BTCPay Server integration)
Build ACH payment provider stub (for Paycron integration)

Storefront¶

Build Next.js storefront — 8 pages, checkout flow, product filtering, compliance components
Connect storefront to Medusa APIs — products, cart, checkout, COAs, attestation all connected
Build CCPA privacy request web form (Decision D25)

Shipping & Tax¶

Configure Avalara or TaxJar for automated sales tax (Decision D4)
Set up shipping calculator -- USPS Priority + UPS/FedEx, real-time rates (Decision D10)
Implement $200+ free standard shipping threshold (Decision D11)
Configure signature requirement for $150+ orders (Decision D8)
Add cold-chain shipping flag + $15 surcharge logic (Decision D12)
Implement P.O. Box delivery support for USPS shipments (Decision D9)
Enforce US-only shipping -- 50 states + DC (Decisions D6, D7)

Notifications¶

See: docs/dev/medusa-project-plan.md, docs/dev/medusa-dev-setup.md

Phase 7: ACH Processing (Needs 3 months bank history)¶

Mercury account must be open for at least 3 months before applying.

See: docs/payments/ach-provider-options.md, docs/payments/ach-risk-matrix.md

Phase 8: Product Catalog (Needs compliance review done)¶

Must be completed before the site goes live. Depends on attorney review (Phase 4) for final compliance language.

Complete product-by-product regulatory review (state-level restrictions per Decision D8)
Complete hazmat classification per DOT 49 CFR for each product (Decision D13)
Identify all cold-chain products (Decision D12)
Source Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for each product
Set up product pages with all required fields (CAS #, purity, SDS link, storage class)
Configure state-level shipping restrictions per product
Verify each product is not on any state scheduling lists

Phase 9: Pre-Launch Testing¶

Phase 10: Card Processing (After 3+ months ACH history)¶

This is a post-launch phase. The site can accept orders with BTC + ACH before card processing is available.

Apply to Easy Pay Direct and Durango simultaneously
Request Authorize.net as gateway
Consider LegitScript certification ($950 + per-transaction fees)
Budget $12,000 for rolling reserve lockup
Build MedusaJS payment provider for Authorize.net
Test card checkout flow end-to-end

See: docs/payments/iso-options.md, docs/payments/underwriting-packet.md, docs/payments/reserve-negotiation.md

Launch¶

Phase Dependencies¶

Phase 1: Entity ──────────┐
                          ▼
Phase 2: Banking ────────┐│
                         ▼▼
Phase 3: Comms ◄── Can start now
                         │
Phase 4: Legal ◄── Can prep now, needs entity for final sign-off
                         │
Phase 5: BTC ◄────────── Needs bank account
                         │
Phase 6: E-Commerce ◄── Can start now
                         │
Phase 7: ACH ◄────────── Needs 3 months bank history
                         │
Phase 8: Catalog ◄────── Needs compliance review done
                         │
Phase 9: Testing ◄────── Needs platform + catalog + payments
                         │
Launch ◄───────────────── All above complete
                         │
Phase 10: Cards ◄──────── Post-launch, needs 3+ months ACH history