How to Automate Business Workflows

1. 1. In CLI, run: bin/magento cron:install

   Adobe Commerce on cloud: Do not run cron:install. Cron is managed via your .magento.app.yaml. See Adobe Commerce on cloud > Configure cron.

2. 2. Verify the crontab: crontab -l (should include Magento cron entries)
3. 3. Manually trigger to test:

   bin/magento cron:run --group=default && bin/magento cron:run --group=index

   If you use Adobe Commerce with Content Staging, also run: bin/magento cron:run --group=staging

4. 4. Check var/log/system.log and var/log/cron.log for successful execution

1. 1. Set sender identities first: Go to Stores > Configuration > General > Store Email Addresses and set names/emails for General Contact and Sales Representative (and others you use)
2. 2. Ensure mail is enabled: Go to Stores > Configuration > Advanced > System > Mail Sending Settings and confirm Disable Email Communications = No
3. 3. Go to Admin > Stores > Configuration > Sales > Sales Emails
4. 4. Enable Order, Invoice, Shipment, and Credit Memo emails; select appropriate email templates and sender identities
5. 5. For customer emails, go to Customers > Customer Configuration > Create New Account Options and set the Welcome email template; verify Forgot Password template under Password Options
6. 6. Save config and clear cache if prompted. Send test orders to verify

1. 1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods
2. 2. For each online gateway that supports capture on authorization, set Payment Action to Authorize and Capture
3. 3. For offline methods (e.g., Check/Money Order), leave as Authorize or manual to keep control
4. 4. Save and test a checkout with a capture-enabled method

1. 1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Inventory
2. 2. Under Stock Options and Product Stock Options, set Display Out of Stock Products (per your merchandising plan), Backorders policy, and Notify for Quantity Below (global threshold; override per product when needed)

   Merchant tip: Displaying OOS products with an "Email me when available" option can capture demand and preserve SEO value. Allow backorders only when you have reliable lead times to avoid cancellations and refunds.

3. 3. Ensure cron is enabled so Product Alerts (stock/price) emails send. The Reports > Products > Low Stock report pulls current data when you view it
4. 4. If your edition doesn't email low stock alerts, plan to add either: (a) an extension that emails the report, or (b) a small custom cron job to notify your team (see next steps)
5. 5. MSI note (2.4.x): With Multi-Source Inventory enabled, "Low Stock" evaluates Salable Quantity. Per-product thresholds can be set under Catalog > Products > [Product] > Sources and Advanced Inventory. The global "Notify for Quantity Below" remains under Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Inventory > Product Stock Options

1. 1. Configure a reliable SMTP/transactional email service using a trusted SMTP extension
   • After installation, go to Stores > Configuration > Advanced > System > SMTP (or the extension's config) and enter your provider settings (host, port, authentication, TLS/SSL)
   • Send a test order and verify delivery in your provider dashboard
2. 2. Set proper SPF/DKIM/DMARC for your sender domain to improve inbox placement
3. 3. Monitor impact: Track bounce rate and open/click rates for transactional emails. Improving deliverability increases reach and can lift repeat purchase revenue and LTV

In your development environment:

1. Create module skeleton: app/code/Vendor/AutoCancel/

<?php
use Magento\Framework\Component\ComponentRegistrar;
ComponentRegistrar::register(ComponentRegistrar::MODULE, 'Vendor_AutoCancel', __DIR__);

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:Module/etc/module.xsd">
    <module name="Vendor_AutoCancel" setup_version="1.0.0"/>
</config>

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:config/etc/crontab.xsd">
    <group id="default">
        <job name="vendor_autocancel_pending" instance="Vendor\AutoCancel\Cron\CancelPending"
             method="execute" schedule="*/10 * * * *"/>
    </group>
</config>

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <section id="vendor_autocancel" translate="label" sortOrder="900" showInDefault="1"
                 showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
            <label>Auto Cancel Settings</label>
            <tab>sales</tab>
            <resource>Vendor_AutoCancel::config</resource>
            <group id="general" translate="label" sortOrder="10" showInDefault="1"
                   showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                <label>General</label>
                <field id="hours" translate="label" type="text" sortOrder="10"
                       showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                    <label>Cancel after (hours)</label>
                    <comment>Orders in pending_payment state older than this will be canceled by cron.</comment>
                    <validate>validate-number validate-greater-than-zero</validate>
                    <config_path>vendor_autocancel/general/hours</config_path>
                </field>
            </group>
        </section>
    </system>
</config>

<?php
namespace Vendor\AutoCancel\Cron;

use Magento\Sales\Model\Order;
use Magento\Sales\Model\ResourceModel\Order\CollectionFactory as OrderCollectionFactory;
use Magento\Sales\Api\OrderRepositoryInterface;
use Magento\Framework\Stdlib\DateTime\DateTime;
use Magento\Framework\App\Config\ScopeConfigInterface;
use Magento\Store\Model\ScopeInterface;
use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;

class CancelPending
{
    private OrderCollectionFactory $orders;
    private OrderRepositoryInterface $orderRepository;
    private DateTime $date;
    private ScopeConfigInterface $scopeConfig;
    private LoggerInterface $logger;

    public function __construct(
        OrderCollectionFactory $orders,
        OrderRepositoryInterface $orderRepository,
        DateTime $date,
        ScopeConfigInterface $scopeConfig,
        LoggerInterface $logger
    ) {
        $this->orders = $orders;
        $this->orderRepository = $orderRepository;
        $this->date = $date;
        $this->scopeConfig = $scopeConfig;
        $this->logger = $logger;
    }

    public function execute(): bool
    {
        try {
            $hours = (int)($this->scopeConfig->getValue(
                'vendor_autocancel/general/hours',
                ScopeInterface::SCOPE_STORE
            ) ?? 48);
            if ($hours <= 0) {
                $hours = 48;
            }
            $cutoffTs = strtotime("-{$hours} hours", $this->date->gmtTimestamp());
            $cutoff = gmdate('Y-m-d H:i:s', $cutoffTs);

            $collection = $this->orders->create()
                ->addFieldToFilter('state', Order::STATE_PENDING_PAYMENT)
                ->addFieldToFilter('created_at', ['lt' => $cutoff]);

            foreach ($collection as $order) {
                try {
                    if ($order->canCancel()) {
                        $order->cancel();
                        $order->addCommentToStatusHistory('Auto-canceled after timeout.');
                        $this->orderRepository->save($order);
                    }
                } catch (\Throwable $e) {
                    $this->logger->error('Auto-cancel failed', [
                        'order_id' => $order->getId(),
                        'message' => $e->getMessage(),
                    ]);
                }
            }
        } catch (\Throwable $e) {
            $this->logger->error('Auto-cancel cron error: ' . $e->getMessage());
        }
        return true;
    }
}

2. Enable and deploy

bin/magento module:enable Vendor_AutoCancel && bin/magento setup:upgrade && bin/magento cache:flush

If in production mode, also run: bin/magento setup:di:compile

3. Verify cron runs and observe orders transitioning to Canceled after the threshold (test in staging)

1. Add etc/events.xml in your module

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:Event/etc/events.xsd">
    <event name="sales_order_save_after">
        <observer name="vendor_order_webhook" instance="Vendor\AutoCancel\Observer\OrderWebhook"/>
    </event>
</config>

2. Add admin configuration for the webhook (extend etc/adminhtml/system.xml)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Magento_Config:etc/system_file.xsd">
    <system>
        <section id="vendor_autocancel">
            <group id="webhook" translate="label" sortOrder="20" showInDefault="1"
                   showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                <label>Webhook</label>
                <field id="endpoint" translate="label" type="text" sortOrder="10"
                       showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                    <label>Endpoint URL</label>
                    <config_path>vendor_autocancel/webhook/endpoint</config_path>
                </field>
                <field id="secret" translate="label" type="obscure" sortOrder="20"
                       showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                    <label>Shared Secret</label>
                    <config_path>vendor_autocancel/webhook/secret</config_path>
                </field>
                <field id="timeout" translate="label" type="text" sortOrder="30"
                       showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1">
                    <label>Timeout (seconds)</label>
                    <config_path>vendor_autocancel/webhook/timeout</config_path>
                    <validate>validate-number validate-greater-than-zero</validate>
                </field>
            </group>
        </section>
    </system>
</config>

3. Create Observer/OrderWebhook.php that posts JSON to your automation platform

With status-change guard, timeout, and HMAC signature:

<?php
namespace Vendor\AutoCancel\Observer;

use Magento\Framework\Event\Observer;
use Magento\Framework\Event\ObserverInterface;
use Magento\Framework\HTTP\Client\Curl;
use Magento\Framework\App\Config\ScopeConfigInterface;
use Magento\Store\Model\ScopeInterface;
use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;

class OrderWebhook implements ObserverInterface
{
    private Curl $curl;
    private ScopeConfigInterface $scopeConfig;
    private LoggerInterface $logger;

    public function __construct(Curl $curl, ScopeConfigInterface $scopeConfig, LoggerInterface $logger)
    {
        $this->curl = $curl;
        $this->scopeConfig = $scopeConfig;
        $this->logger = $logger;
    }

    public function execute(Observer $observer)
    {
        $order = $observer->getEvent()->getOrder();

        // Avoid duplicate calls: only act when status changes to complete
        if (!$order->dataHasChangedFor('status') || $order->getStatus() !== 'complete') {
            return;
        }

        $endpoint = (string)($this->scopeConfig->getValue(
            'vendor_autocancel/webhook/endpoint',
            ScopeInterface::SCOPE_STORE
        ) ?? '');
        $secret = (string)($this->scopeConfig->getValue(
            'vendor_autocancel/webhook/secret',
            ScopeInterface::SCOPE_STORE
        ) ?? '');
        $timeout = (int)($this->scopeConfig->getValue(
            'vendor_autocancel/webhook/timeout',
            ScopeInterface::SCOPE_STORE
        ) ?? 5);
        if (!$endpoint) {
            return;
        }

        $payload = json_encode([
            'increment_id' => $order->getIncrementId(),
            'grand_total' => $order->getGrandTotal(),
            'customer_email' => $order->getCustomerEmail(),
            'status' => $order->getStatus(),
        ]);

        try {
            $this->curl->addHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
            if ($secret !== '') {
                $sig = hash_hmac('sha256', (string)$payload, $secret);
                $this->curl->addHeader('X-Signature', $sig);
            }
            $this->curl->setTimeout($timeout > 0 ? $timeout : 5);
            $this->curl->post($endpoint, (string)$payload);

            $status = (int)$this->curl->getStatus();
            if ($status < 200 || $status >= 300) {
                $this->logger->error('Order webhook non-2xx response', [
                    'order_id' => $order->getId(),
                    'status' => $status,
                    'body' => $this->curl->getBody(),
                ]);
            }
        } catch (\Throwable $e) {
            $this->logger->error('Order webhook error: ' . $e->getMessage(), [
                'order_id' => $order->getId(),
            ]);
        }
    }
}

4. Verification

Deploy, then complete an order; confirm the external system receives a single POST with the expected JSON and signature.

1. 1. Deploy to staging; run functional tests (place test orders, simulate low stock)
2. 2. Deploy to production during low traffic; monitor logs and email deliverability for 24–48 hours
3. 3. Track KPIs: average time-to-fulfill, cancellation rate, low-stock incidents, email delivery rate and open rate. Iterate thresholds and schedules as needed
4. 4. Rollback plan: If issues arise, disable the custom module (bin/magento module:disable Vendor_AutoCancel && bin/magento setup:upgrade), revert code via VCS, revert configuration changes under Stores > Configuration, clear cache, and retest