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Tools for Ecommerce and Curbside
In this newsletter, we're going to go through a few new features of ThunderPOS 5.6, including a new ecommerce solution utilizing WooCommerce.
We also review special orders and preorders and how to use them to facilitate your curbside pick-up operations.
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WooCommerce Integration Available
If you have a WordPress-based website, you will now be able to use ThunderPOS and WooCommerce for an integrated e-commerce solution. You will need to switch to ThunderPOS Cloud with WooCommerce in order to enable the integration. With the features, you will be able to sync inventory and orders between the system and your WooCommerce/Wordpress site.
Check out more about the feature here. For a step by step guide to setting up WooCommerce with ThunderPOS, look here.
You'll need to have a Wordpress site with WooCommerce installed. There are many providers for this, and you can use any that will support current versions of the WooCommerce plugin. Wordpress.com is one provider and a good place to start if you don't know who to use.
If you're currently using the classic ThunderPOS solution (on-site database server) and are interested in possibly changing over to cloud with WooCommerce, please contact our sales to learn more. Besides being able to turn on WooCommerce integration, there are many other benefits to going to cloud including access to your ThunderPOS.net back office website to manage your store anywhere, anytime, and no longer needing to maintain your own database server.
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BRE and VGPC available with Cloud Server
With 5.6, BRE and VGPC are now functional with cloud services. These are the first 2 vendor databases we've ported to be available with ThunderPOS Cloud, we are looking into continuing to make more available. If you primarily use BRE or VGPC, you can now go to the cloud version and keep utilizing these databases for importing items and price changes. If you use one of the other vendor databases and are considering the move to cloud, the spreadsheet import tool DOES work with a cloud server if you have an import file you want to bring in from a vendor.
We are also examining implementing more tools for bringing in inventory for both cloud and local servers, including the Discogs service for record stores. Please stay tuned to this newsletter for further information, or let us know if there is a service you would want integration with for your store.
Additionally, as part of this update, we expect all users of these databases to see improved performance on updating VGPC or BRE.
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Special Orders and Preorders
Special Orders and Preorders, which are very closely related, allow you to take deposits from a customer for a particular item that they intend to pick up later. In both cases, you'll need to be using the customers feature to create the customer in advance - a default customer cannot be used for this. The main difference is that preorders are generally for items that have not yet been released, while special orders are for items that have been released and may even have been previously sold, but are either not currently in stock or the customer does not want the item right away.
To sell an item as a preorder, when setting it up in item management, check the box for 'Preorder Item'. You may set a minimum deposit they must put down in order to preorder. When setting up an item for preorder, the Preorder Date field is the first day you will accept deposits towards this item, where the Street Date field is the first day that these preorders may be picked up. The system will enforce these dates to prevent someone in your store from selling the item before it's allowed. Once the item has been set up, simply try to sell it as you normally would sell any item, and it will prompt you to create a preorder.
To sell an item as a special order, there are two methods. First, if you have the 'Stock Prompt' option turned on and attempt to sell an item that you are out of stock of, it will offer the option to create a special order. Second, you may use the button that is available for the register screen, by default marked "Special Order" next to the Gift Card button, and a search window will appear. Items you select through this will have special orders created for them.
In either case, after you've sold the special order or preorder, you can manage them by hitting the special orders button, which on the left on the default layout. This will cause the following screen to appear:
From here, you can complete and invoice to have the customer pay the remaining amount on the ordered item, cancel and refund deposit to get rid of that special order, or add to deposit to have the customer put additional money towards the item without actually picking it up.
Additionally, you can use the Text Messaging feature to notify customers when their special orders and preorders have come into stock.
In the case of curbside pickup, you can place a special order in the system when the customer calls in and finalize the transaction when the items are actually picked up.
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The current version of the software, available for supported users, is 5.6.0. To get back on support, or to upgrade to phone support from email support, contact sales at (919) 387-7597 x100. If you are not on phone support, and you call, a response will be sent to the email address on file. You can also buy a support incident from our website.
As a reminder to users of Windows 7, Microsoft's support of this version of Windows has ended as of January 14th, 2020. We highly recommend getting onto Windows 8.1 or 10 if you are on Windows 7. Versions of ExtremePOS, Musicware, Praiz, and ThunderPOS 4.0 and above should all be compatible with Windows 10; versions before 4.0 were sunset for support as of the end of 2019.
If you are on a version older than 4.0 that has been sunset, you can contact sales for information on purchasing an update.
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