The Google Readiness tab

Readiness is a tab inside the Google app that lists, in one place, everything Brainerce could check about your Google setup right now: your Merchant Center account, your Google Ads account, your shipping data, and whether your storefront's return policy page can actually be reached. It replaces having to open Merchant Center, Ads, and the setup wizard separately to piece together what's missing.

Where to find it

Open Apps → Google, pick your sales channel, and open the Readiness tab (next to Connection, Merchant Center, Google Ads, Analytics, and YouTube). Each row shows one check: what it's about, a status, where the information came from, and when it was last checked. Click Refresh to re-run every check right now instead of waiting.

What each status means

Five statuses appear on this tab. Only one of them, Passed, means the check actually succeeded with a good result. The other four all mean something still needs your attention, even though two of them can look deceptively calm at a glance.

• Passed: the check ran and found no problem. Nothing to do.
• Action needed: the check ran and found something to fix, a missing setting, a Merchant Center issue, an unconfirmed checkbox. The row tells you what and gives you a button to fix it, either in Brainerce or on Google's own site.
• Unknown: Brainerce could not get an answer, one way or the other. This is not a softer version of "Passed." It usually means the connector could not reach Google for that particular check right now (a timeout, a Google Ads account not fully connected yet, an account still finishing setup on Google's side). A row stuck on "Unknown" is worth clicking Refresh on later; if it never resolves, something about that connection needs attention even though Brainerce can't yet say exactly what.
• Permission needed: Brainerce reached Google, but Google refused the request because the connected account doesn't currently have the access that specific check needs. This is different from "Unknown": Brainerce got a real, specific answer, and the answer was "not allowed." Reconnecting the channel, or granting the extra permission Google is asking for, usually clears it.
• Not set up: there's nothing to check yet because you haven't configured that piece. For example, the storefront reachability check shows "Not set up" until you type in a return policy page URL; it isn't judging your page, because it hasn't looked at one yet.

Do not treat "Unknown" or "Permission needed" as "probably fine." A brand-new Google Ads connection with no purchase history yet will show several rows as "Unknown" because Google genuinely has nothing to report back, and that's expected while the account is new. But an "Unknown" or "Permission needed" row on an account that's been running for a while means Brainerce is not actually able to confirm the thing that row is about, which is exactly the situation this tab exists to surface instead of hide.

What the checks cover

• Merchant Center: account-level issues Google has flagged, and whether a return policy is configured on your Google account.
• Google Ads: whether conversion tracking is set up correctly, and how many purchases Google Ads can actually see, from the one purchase action Brainerce treats as primary, not a raw count of every conversion action on the account.
• Shipping: whether your store has active shipping zones with countries and handling times, read from your own shipping settings.
• Your storefront: whether the return policy page URL you provide is actually reachable over HTTPS.
• Business details: your store name and logo, shown here as a preview of what's already set in Settings → Branding.
• Setup wizard confirmations: the two checkboxes from the Google setup wizard (refund policy & Terms of Service published, a contact method listed) now show up here too, and you can tick them directly on this tab instead of reopening the wizard.

What Brainerce does not do here

• The return policy check does not read or write your policy for you. Google is the source of truth for your return policy: this tab only reads what's already configured in your Merchant Center account and links you straight to the Google screen where you manage it. Brainerce does not keep its own copy.
• The storefront reachability check is an HTTP check only. It confirms your return policy page loads over HTTPS. It is not a legal review of what the page says, and it is not Google's own approval of your policy. A "Passed" here says the page is reachable, nothing more.
• A "Passed" checkmark on this tab is never manufactured. If Brainerce could not actually perform a check or confirm an action, the row says "Unknown" or "Permission needed," never "Passed." If you ever see an action described as done that clearly didn't happen, that's a bug: contact support.

What's next?

• Get found on Google: the Merchant Center connection most of these checks read from.
• Run Google Ads campaigns: the campaign wizard's own one-time conversion tracking checks, run before you turn a campaign on.
• Shipping zones and rates: where the shipping data on this tab comes from.