Channel — Build on top
What this is
A platform for VARs, integrators, and developers to build vertical extensions on. The architecture is the spine; specialized verticals — firearms compliance, regulated goods, hospitality, agricultural retail, regional grocery — extend it.
Who it's for
- Value-Added Resellers (VARs) running their own retailer book — Counterpoint VARs, Lightspeed VARs, vertical specialists.
- Consultancies productizing repeatable engagement methodologies — diagnostic firms, transformation specialists, compliance practices.
- Developers building category-specific applications that need a verified retail data substrate — loss prevention specialists, vertical analytics builders, compliance reporting tools.
What changes
You build on a platform whose accountability rails are already enforced. Your vertical extension inherits:
- The audit chain (every event hash-anchored)
- The Lightning settlement substrate (when enabled by the merchant)
- The agent topology (Operations / Business / Finance / Technical agents you can extend, not rewrite)
- The multi-POS adapter substrate (Square, Counterpoint, future POS platforms — adapters extend, not replace)
- The Canonical Retail Data Model (write your vertical extension against the same data model every other partner builds against)
You do not rebuild the integrity layer.
What stays the same
Your relationships with your retailers. Your domain expertise. Your delivery model. Your commercial agreements with the merchants you serve.
Starting move
The Apache 2.0 protocol layer is open. Start with a working integration on a non-production merchant. Reference the EDS (Enterprise Document Services) specifications and the multi-POS adapter substrate. A Contributor License Agreement is required before any external code touches the production platform.
Integration patterns
| Pattern | Use case | What you implement |
|---|---|---|
| POS adapter | New POS platform integration | Adapter satisfying the substrate contract; events normalized to the canonical event schema |
| Vertical agent | Domain-specific intelligence (firearms compliance, OTC pharma, etc.) | Agent that subscribes to platform events; emits domain alerts and case candidates |
| Channel adapter | New ecommerce / marketplace integration | Adapter satisfying the ecom-channel contract; orders flow into the same RaaS event chain as POS transactions |
| Reporting extension | Industry-specific reporting (regulator filings, trade association benchmarks) | Read-only extension over the analytics schema |
What you do NOT have to build
- The multi-tenant isolation model (schema-per-tenant, platform-managed)
- The receipt chain (RaaS service, platform-managed)
- The identity service (platform-managed; merchant federation handled by the platform)
- The encryption / cryptographic erasure pattern (platform-managed)
- The KPI rollup engine (analytics service, platform-managed)
- The agent runtime (orchestration platform-managed; you write agents, not infrastructure)
Commercial structure (placeholder — under negotiation)
The channel commercial structure is under development. The intent: platform takes a metered cut of transactions or revenue running through the channel partner's extension; partner retains the relationship and direct revenue from their merchant. Specifics are negotiated per partner.
Related
- Operating system mode — the platform deployment your extension runs on
- Modules — the 13-module spine your extension integrates with
- Engineering — the technical posture of the platform