[snorocket]

This thread is for posting your ideas and thoughts on the next mod to have cs code for us, so I'll start with my idea...

Quote/Invoicing Manager
I'd like a quote manager where through the customer front-end a customer can submit a ticket for a quote on a custom product, something that has to be custom ordered or custom made. Then through the admin backend-end we can use the Quote manager to put together a very detailed and specific quote and then submit the quote to the customer. The customer will then be able to accept the quote and view the quote online where they can add the quote to cart and place the order online just as if it were a product...it will be alot more detailed then I explained but I'm keeping it short for right now...post your ideas and thoughts ect...

I just realized after placing the order for the Dynamic Tabs mods through the CS helpdesk that it works in similar fashion to what I would like to see in a Quote/Invoicing mod, so CS already has something similar coded which means they may just have to make a few simple improvements for us and it's done...do you know how professional it would look if you did work for a customer and you have the ability to create an invoice to be paid online...

[MikeK]

I'll second the motion for the quote manager. Half of what I sell I can't publish the price. Or, they would get special 'one-time' pricing on a package, etc.

Some thoughts about the QM:

Tie it into the group membership function.

Come up with a way to page to display the cumulative quote. (Sort of a wish list on steroids).

Be sure we can set a time limit on the quote.

Have a field where default T&C's can be entered by the admin, or at least included on the page.

That's it for now.
Thanks to everyone for your contributions.

Mike

[brandonvd]

I'd like to see a mod that would allow me to decide what items can be shipped together or shipped seperately.

Brandon

[snorocket]

shipped together or shipped seperately.Brandon

yea alot of people have been wanting something like http://www.shippingk...ship-xcart.html
what I would like to have is
http://www.shippingk...ates-xcart.html

[EagleRose]

I ran into this the other day. In some cases I take phone orders. In this case, I can set the payment type to Phone order, check order whatever, but I cannot input the payment once I get it.
There should be an Awaiting payment (I can create this I know), but have the ability to input the payment once it has arrived. Right now the cart "assumes" that the payment has been made and closes out the order. There is no where to put in Check info or an amount.

This would be a great mod.


EagleRose

[SWS]

I would like to see a streamlined checkout process, as previously mentioned with the ability for customers to "Register" after they have completed the order.. i.e

Thank you for you order, if you would like online tracking etc choose a username and password..

Along with this, I think its related.. the "membership level" should be definable such as "by spending over 200 auto set a new membership" or something along those lines.

[Zyles]

I'd rather see the ability to register WHEN they checkout. It's just a matter of placing a simple checkbox on the contact info page, that pops up two password boxes.

I really think CS-Cart needs a better checkout process more than any mod. But it seems to be neglected by most carts and users who don't understand the importance of it.

[snorocket]

these are good ideas but there also more along the lines of what I call feature improvement because these features already exist but need a little refining...maybe what you are looking for is the ability to specify registration before or after checkout would be nice...I would also like to have the ability to have an account automatically created even if a customer chooses not to register...that way thay can come back at a later date and login, this option could be turned on/off...

[Frozen Tundra]

I second the motion for the Quote/Invoicing Manager, Shipping Separate Items and the Quick Checkout implementations. I wish CS-Cart supported Peachtree Accounting exports, but then again...switching to Quickbooks Pro would solve this problem among other compatibility issues.

I really prefer the ideas that makes store web pages physically smaller (dynamic tabs) and the utilities to make running the store easier. Like implementing a basic cash register screen to allow physical store owners to checkout customers in person and have the online inventory database adjusted accordingly.

[snorocket]

Profit Loss Manager
From the begining I've seen nothing but problems with exporting data to quickbooks and yea there are the ones who have peachtree and others...I myself have always done my accounting the old fashioned way. A mod I have been working on and would be nice to have CS professionally code the more advanced features is a Profit Loss Manager (PLM) where you would input the cost of goods sold for each product, the PLM would have the capabilities to run daily, weekly, monthly, yearly reports that would be printed and/or saved/exported into cvs format. The benefit of a PLM system is that you could very quickly run reports on how much profit, loss you have in a given period and this data could be quickly entered manually into an accountant application like quickbooks or peachtree. The importantce of such a PLM system is that it leaves footprints and the IRS loves to see footprints on anything and everything you do...you would have the ability to attach orders and invoices to the PLM system and leave a detailed report on why there was a loss on an order or invoice. Everyone has a nasty customer and if you have a nasty customer that causes you to lose $100 then you should have detailed documentation about this event and that's where the PLM come into play. Other simple events is if you did'nt charge enough for shipping and you eat the extra shipping costs this can be documented into the PLM system which would automatically deduct the loss from profit during report generation. If you report $2000 in losses on your business taxes and you are questioned about the losses imagine how easy it would be to run a report and you'd have a list of 60+ orders/invoices that recorded a loss that totaled $2000 in a very detailed report. It's a little more advanced then this but this is the basic concept of a PLM system, your thoughts...

[SWS]

Accounting functions I dont think should play a part in the back end of the cart, Maybe a few "goodies" for reporting but certainly not too complex..

Not all of our sales are from our CS store, so however it is in the backend, we manually input it into sage..

I dont think I would even use an export facility, theres always something bound to go wrong when importing, and the chances are.. if you import, you will never check what was imported until its too late.

I like the sound of the "quote system" probably not something I would use, or maybe I could think of a way...

-----------------------

I would also like to see "automated related products" using some kind of search function based on the product being viewed, this is a pain to add especially if you have thousands of items..

Randomised featured products per catgeory - probably easily achievable but still linked to above

And keeping along the same lines, this has been mentioned before... before completing checkout some kind of "have you got everything you need" showing a few more "custom set related products"

------------------------

[Frozen Tundra]

PLM: I talked to a real store owner and she said that tracking the cost per product was very important to her business operation. She actually will only sell items if they can make at least 100% profit which really goes towards the business expenses. Any item that sells less than that amount is dropped from future ordering. She also said that she would like to track how many of the same product was purchased from different vendors and to be able to document notes about the product per vender....getting complex. This would allow her to document qty ordered, price, damage issues, backorder issues, and so on. She currently does this on a note pad for the best selling products (has over 1k different items). This sounds like snorocket's PLM business approach.

Quote System: It would be nice for the quote system to automatically create a locked PDF file. A buddy of mine was burnt when a customer modified an email quote amount and paid the accountant directly.

[MikeK]

An automated related products function would be awesome. That would go right up there with my vote for the quote.

As far as outputting to a PDF, I crack open pdf files every day and edit them. The only way to beat someone from changing the numbers would be to output to an image? I dunno about that though. Might be impractical.

Whatever the case, I just want to emphasize that whatever we decide to have CS-C develop, it has to be included in future versions of the cart. Working up a couple zillion related products and having them all go away in an upgrade would really suck.

Mike

[Brandito]

I agree with Zyles & SWS,

CS definately needs a better chechout system. The one now is about 4 pages or so? Something along the lines of Volusion.com, which features a 1 page checkout, would be awesome. I also agree that when people enter all there information at checkout when they do not have an account that they should have the option of having it saved into a profile. Taking out the account level option, and making it an automatic feature, would be good also.

I would also like to see an "Accessories" tab, which could go along with the Dynamic Tabs Mod. The tab would be similar to related products, but you would have the ability to add the accessories right on the product page. For example, if you are selling a bike you could have Fix-a-Flat in the accessories and the customer(s) could add both the Bike and Fix-a-flat right there on 1 page. Without having to chase anything down. To see a live example of what I am reffering too, go to PlasmaConcepts.com. They have a accessories tab on al of there products.

Theres my 2 cents,

Brandon

[MikeK]

Yabbut, streamlining the checkout process would be in CS-C's best interest to do on their own. I'd be less inclined to pay for something they're gonna do anyway. The only question then is, when?

Cheers,
Mike

[SWS]

A streamlined checkout could mean more sales, especially with impulse buyers... this is also where the accessories as you say or "have you got everything you ordered" comes into place

Anything that could increase sales is definatly top on my list and should be on anybody elses..

as with plasmaconcepts, look at their checkout

On the cart page, they have the "do you have everything"
On the checkout page they have a summary of the order along with customer details on the same page, where you could also put the selection for payment method... I see no problem with this being done.. infact it could even be quite easy to modify

[snorocket]

yea I would'nt want to pay for something that cs should or needs to do, I've heard alot of people complain about the checkout process which is weird to me as I hav'nt had any problems with it, maybe all I would like to change is to put all information on 1 page, alot of stuff like showing a summary can be hacked up and added now...

[snorocket]

Come up with a way to page to display the cumulative quote.

Mike do you mean have a detailed breakdown of the associated costs like simple example:

Material: $50
Labor: $100
Shipping: $25
--------------
Total: $175

[Brandito]

A streamlined checkout could mean more sales, especially with impulse buyers... this is also where the accessories as you say or "have you got everything you ordered" comes into place

Anything that could increase sales is definatly top on my list and should be on anybody elses..

as with plasmaconcepts, look at their checkout

On the cart page, they have the "do you have everything"
On the checkout page they have a summary of the order along with customer details on the same page, where you could also put the selection for payment method... I see no problem with this being done.. infact it could even be quite easy to modify

Yeah, that feature would be nice also. But the way crutchfield.com has the "Make sure you get everything you need" page should also be considered.

See an example here: http://www.crutchfie...05242HP66&wm=cl

Snorocket:

You have a point about not paying CS to do something they should have already done. But I think if they were going to change the checkout they would have done something about it by now. And we're not just talking about making the checkout one page, but also adding things like "Be sure you get everything you need" to the checkout.

Your suggestion about the quote/inventory manager would be cool also, but I think the checkout mod would prove more usefull to more people since - correct me if I'm wrong - most people sell stock items rather than custom made products.

Regards,

Brandon

[Zyles]

Theres so many reasons why the checkout flow needs to be reworked. Some may not understand the importance of it. But really, it's the most vital part of ecommerce.