Admin Simple Create Order [Support Thread]

[DML73]

Thanks, maybe I didn’t explain clearly. My main problem is how I practically can send the order to my fulfillment company.

Take the example with the T-shirts. The original order was for two T-shirts, then the customer returns one T-shirt, this means that I need to send an order to my fulfillment company for only one T-shirt. How can I do this when the original order was for two T-shirts? I can't split the order since the shirts has same part number.

Keep in mind all the time that I have to be able to send an order to my fulfillment company for only what is returned from the customer.

I really don't understand how this can be done with the method you mention above. Could you possibly give me a practical example of the exact steps?

[DML73]

Another thing I was thinking about assuming I could use the method you described earlier, how can I "process a credit against the order to show the shirt coming back and a transaction for the shirt going out"? You help is much appreciated.

[DivaVocals]

I suggest using the following add-ons as a part of your manual order process:

• COWOA (Checkout without Account)
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=1655
• Admin Login As Customer
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=829
• Super Orders
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=257

With these three modules I think you can work out a very streamlined manual order process without all the problems this add-on has.. It will allow you to take advantage of the built in order management features of Zen Cart, while providing you a functional way to process manual orders..

With COWOA, you can create an order on behalf of your customers who do not have an account with your store without having to create an account for them. You can either use the customers own e-mail address or you can use a store e-mail address for ALL your manual orders. You can then manage the order in your store admin as you would manage any other order received.. If you use the customer e-mail address, the customer will receive an order confirmation and an order number which they can then track online (with the right settings in COWOA) using NORMAL Zen Cart features. You will also be able to send out order updates, print invoices, packingslips, etc all from the comfort of your Zen Cart admin. (If you use a "store" e-mail account for your manual orders, the customer would not get any order messages nor would they be able to login to track their order)

With Admin Login as Customer, you will be able to login on behalf of customers who already have an account in your store and create orders for them. Again you can then manage the order in your store admin as you would manage any other order received.. The customer will receive an order confirmation and an order number which they can then track online using NORMAL Zen Cart features. You will also be able to send out order updates, print invoices, packingslips, etc all from the comfort of your Zen Cart admin.

With Super Orders you can enter payment information for your manual orders (using the credit card transaction number as the payment number or the check/money order received). This will allow you to SEE which manual orders are paid or not. This payment entry feature also allows you to send the customer payment confirmations for manually processed credit card transactions and/or check/money orders received, etc..

Additionally I also suggest the following add-ons to fully round out your manual order process:

• Ty Package Tracker (http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=167) as a means to enter the shipper tracking information to send out to your customers. This allows your customers to track their order shipment online as well.
• Edit Orders (http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=1818) as a means to edit your manual orders if needed.
• Add Customers from Admin (http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=454) as a means to add customers to your store should the customer want/need a store account for future orders.

BTW, Edit Orders v3.0 and Super Orders v3.0 (pending submission/activation) now offers easy integration with Ty Package Tracker v3.0 (also pending submission and approval)

NEXT...

You'll need to of course work out details on what payment module will work best with your manual order process.. You could clone the check/money order module and call it something like "Online Orders" so that you have a payment module which will allows you to complete your manual order.. (there are TONS of threads in the forum which discuss how to clone a payment module)

If you want a "manual orders only" payment method (keep your regular online customers from using it), instructions on how to go about doing this can be found here: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?p=950145

Now EVEN BETTER, I found FOUR (and there may be others) payment modules already AVAILABLE in the Zen Cart downloads which seem VERY suitable for implementing a manual order process.

• Credit Card by Phone or Fax
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=592
  This payment module provides a payment method for customers who despite SSL pages and privacy policies still don't like submitting credit card details over the internet, but who wish to pay by credit card for their convenience or so that they don't have to wait for check clearance etc before the goods ship.
• Account Holders
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=511
  "This is a simple rework of the existing CHECK/MONEYORDER Module, and it behaves in exactly the same way as CHECK/MONEYORDER. The fundamental difference is that it creates a Payment Option (at STAGE 2 of CHECKOUT) titled "Account Holders Only". Shoppers who select this option will be able to complete checkout and will be informed that if they are legitimate account holders, their order will be shipped and they will be "billed" or "invoiced" at a later date."
• Direct Bank Deposit
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=151
  "This is a payment module that allow you customer deposite money to up bank account option. This module basicly it display all your bank information during the checkout."
• Ceon Manual Card
  http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=1277
  "This Payment Module allows the shop owner to accept Credit/Debit Card payments for inputting into a Manual/Offline Card Processing System."
  Note: PCI compliance issues may prevent you from using this add-on, but I know there are folks who still use this, so I listed it here anyway..

My suggestion to those interested in this add-on is that unless this add-on is re-written in a more solid fashion, instead of banging your head against the wall trying to find a QUICK solution that doesn't work very well, why not shoot for a GOOD workable solution instead.. This WILL make things better for you in the LONG TERM..

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! I am REALLY tapping out of this add-on now..

Thanks, maybe I didn’t explain clearly. My main problem is how I practically can send the order to my fulfillment company.

Take the example with the T-shirts. The original order was for two T-shirts, then the customer returns one T-shirt, this means that I need to send an order to my fulfillment company for only one T-shirt. How can I do this when the original order was for two T-shirts? I can't split the order since the shirts has same part number.

Keep in mind all the time that I have to be able to send an order to my fulfillment company for only what is returned from the customer.

I really don't understand how this can be done with the method you mention above. Could you possibly give me a practical example of the exact steps?

Another thing I was thinking about assuming I could use the method you described earlier, how can I "process a credit against the order to show the shirt coming back and a transaction for the shirt going out"? You help is much appreciated.

Sorry it would be a fair bit of work to write out a whole step by step "sample manual order".. Please go back to my long post (I quoted it again for you) on how I would implement a manual order process and the modules I would install to aid in this. Edit Orders and Super Orders might have features you need to edit orders, split orders and to manually record credits/payments. Page one of the support thread for Edit Orders and Super Orders summarizes the features of these modules. Download them both and review the the readme documents which will provide you with in depth insight on the features both modules offer.

[DML73]

Ok, I understand. I am already using Edit Orders and Super Orders. I guess the main problem is that I want to place an order without using a payment method, or at least without charging the customer's credit card/PayPal again, (since the customer already paid long time ago). I don't see how that is possible with this method. You mention that I can "process a credit against the order". How can that be done?? I guess that's exactly what I need to do.

[gilby]

Ok, I understand. I am already using Edit Orders and Super Orders. I guess the main problem is that I want to place an order without using a payment method, or at least without charging the customer's credit card/PayPal again, (since the customer already paid long time ago). I don't see how that is possible with this method.

Easy...
Take the Credit Card by Phone or Fax module.
Clone it.
Rename it to "Pre-Paid" or"Exchange" or"Anything you like"
Make it ONLY visible to the Admin
Edit any text to suit your needs.
Select this method when creating orders from the admin
It will show the payment method as "Pre-Paid" or "Exchange", etc on the email to the customer and in the admin.

btw: There is nothing to collect or pay using any of the 4 previously suggested payment methods.

[DML73]

Easy...
Take the Credit Card by Phone or Fax module.
Clone it.
Rename it to "Pre-Paid" or"Exchange" or"Anything you like"
Make it ONLY visible to the Admin
Edit any text to suit your needs.
Select this method when creating orders from the admin
It will show the payment method as "Pre-Paid" or "Exchange", etc on the email to the customer and in the admin.

btw: There is nothing to collect or pay using any of the 4 previously suggested payment methods.

Great, thanks, that sounds like it could work for me. Two questions:
1. You mention: "Make it ONLY visible to the Admin", how can I do that?
2. You also mention: "Select this method when creating orders from the admin", do you mean from the store-front? since one of the problems is that orders can't be created from the admin.

Regarding the previously suggested payment methods, the reason Im reluctant to install these is because I don't want to offer these to my customers; but if they can be visible only to the Admin then it could work.

[gilby]

Great, thanks, that sounds like it could work for me. Two questions:
1. You mention: "Make it ONLY visible to the Admin", how can I do that?
2. You also mention: "Select this method when creating orders from the admin", do you mean from the store-front? since one of the problems is that orders can't be created from the admin.

Regarding the previously suggested payment methods, the reason Im reluctant to install these is because I don't want to offer these to my customers; but if they can be visible only to the Admin then it could work.

1. I meant to say, visible only from your Admin IP address
A bit of coding is required to enable it, if its your own IP address.

2. Yes it is done from the storefront.
Only you would be able to see that payment method

[DivaVocals]

1. I meant to say, visible only from your Admin IP address
A bit of coding is required to enable it, if its your own IP address.

2. Yes it is done from the storefront.
Only you would be able to see that payment method

in my long post I provide a link to a method to display a payment method to only the store owner.. DrByte also provided a link to another way to do this too.. the information needed to do this is all posted in this thread..

[DivaVocals]

I guess the main problem is that I want to place an order without using a payment method, or at least without charging the customer's credit card/PayPal again, (since the customer already paid long time ago). I don't see how that is possible with this method.

You are getting hung up on something you need to stop getting hung up on. In the case of a manual you cannot of course use an active payment method (like PayPal or Authorize.net) you need a MANUAL payument method (hence the four manual payment methods that I suggest in my long post) the point is that you CANNOT create ANY order in Zen Cart without these three elements:

1. Product
2. Shipping method
3. Payment method

You simply CANNOT create an order that doesn't have some payment method. You are hung up on the fact that the order was already paid.. You are missing the point because you can't get past that.. A payment method is NOT about collecting a payment from your customer by processing a credit card. It is about recording a payment against the order so it shows as a PAID order. You wouldn't ship something to a customer that wasn't paid would you?? A payment method can indicate a payment to be collected from a customer (like check/money order or a manual credit processing), or to record a future payment that will be made by a customer (the P.O. payment module that comes with Super Orders is an example of this kind of payment method), or you can use a payment method to record a payment that was ALREADY RECEIVED.

Does this make sense now??

Ok, I understand. I am already using Edit Orders and Super Orders.

You mention that I can "process a credit against the order". How can that be done?? I guess that's exactly what I need to do.

You say you use Super Orders and Edit Orders.. But it doesn't sound like you've really used the features of these modules. Have you reviewed the readme for both of these modules?? They explain the features of these modules which will help you achieve what you want..

Hint:

• Split Orders
• Adding product to orders
• Super payments/credits

PLEASE read the readme documents for both modules. They do provide EXCELLENT details on the features of both modules. If after reading the readme files you have questions on how to use the features they offer, I will be happy to help explain.

Easy...
Take the Credit Card by Phone or Fax module.
Clone it.
Rename it to "Pre-Paid" or"Exchange" or"Anything you like"
Make it ONLY visible to the Admin
Edit any text to suit your needs.
Select this method when creating orders from the admin
It will show the payment method as "Pre-Paid" or "Exchange", etc on the email to the customer and in the admin.

btw: There is nothing to collect or pay using any of the 4 previously suggested payment methods.

And I need to add to this.. for a manual order process ANY MANUAL payment method will work..

[DML73]

Thanks for the explanation. I do understand what you mean, I do need to record the order in Zencart as a paid order regardless of if I collect payment or not. I do now understand that I can use any of the payment modules you mention for this. I think the problem was that I didn’t understand how to do that through the storefront without offering one of the payment methods to my customers.
I do not wish to have any of these payment methods available for customers to use. So as suggested earlier I can hide the payment method by IP address. It might not be the perfect solution but indeed it will get the job done. When I travel and use other IP’s I will need to also change the hardcoded IP address before I can place a manual order.

Regarding shipping something to a customer that wasn’t paid; yes I do actually send free product samples/gifts to my customers sometimes. I guess I will have to charge $0.00 for these orders to be able to record them.

Super Orders and Edit orders are definitely great and very useful modules, I do see now that I can add Payment and Refund charges, I guess that is what you call processing a credit against the order.
One thing about Super Orders: I can’t split an order that consists of only one part number, for example I can’t split one order of 4 green T-shirts into two orders of 2 green shirts each. Not a big deal, I will just have to place a new order through the store-front instead of splitting it.

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate your help. I can’t say that this is the perfect way of creating manual orders but I guess currently it is the best and only way to do it.