Building a Retool CMS for Educational Program Marketplaces

CutTime needed a CMS that worked for two groups:

1. Vendors: They needed a straightforward way to add and manage products, handle shipping and taxes, and keep inventory organized.
2. Program Directors: They needed a user-friendly system to browse products, filter options, and set up storefronts that worked for their schools.

On top of that, the CMS had to connect with CutTime’s Next Gen system to keep everything running smoothly and ensure data was always accurate.

When CutTime reached out to us in 2023, they were looking for a way to simplify how their vendors and program directors managed their tasks. Vendors needed a straightforward way to add and edit products, while program directors wanted tools to create and manage storefronts for their schools. On top of that, the system had to work seamlessly with their existing Next Gen platform to keep everything organized and consistent.

We kicked things off with a prototype. Retool helped us build a functional demo quickly, giving CutTime the chance to test and share feedback right away. This early collaboration helped us shape the system to fit their needs. What started as a one-developer project grew over time as we added more features like bulk uploads, inventory tools, and flexible shipping options. Over the year, we worked closely with CutTime to deliver a system that worked for them — and we’ve continued supporting and refining it ever since.

To see how Retool has been applied across various business domains, you can explore additional use cases in our blog article, ‘Retool Use Cases: How Low-Code Transforms Industries’

Scope of work

Our goal was to create a CMS that was simple to use and solved real problems for both vendors and program directors. Here’s how we approached it:

1. Vendor Product Management

• Designed a clean interface where vendors could update details like prices, descriptions, photos, and variations without any confusion.
• Added a tool for bulk uploads using CSV files, making it much faster to add or update products.
• Built features for tracking inventory, setting tax rates, and configuring shipping options.
• Made it easy to activate or deactivate products with a simple toggle.

2. Program Director Storefronts

• Developed a secure login system using school program pins, so access was straightforward and reliable.
• Created a dashboard where program directors could browse products, filter by category, and customize storefronts for their schools.
• Allowed program directors to make changes directly without needing technical support.

3. Integration with Next Gen

• Built APIs to sync product data — like IDs, descriptions, and updates — between the CMS and the Next Gen platform.
• Simplified the login process to make it easy for program directors to get started quickly and securely.

4. Shopping and Order Management

• Added a guest checkout option so families and students could shop without extra steps.
• Created unique links for each school program’s storefront, making it easy to share and access customized shops.
• Developed an order management system where vendors could track and update orders, view order history, and get notifications about changes.