compulsory products

Still on my agricultural show site...

we have stables that we hire out. For each stable, there is a bond (refunded after use). Is there a way to automatically add 1 unit of bond for each stable hired? Obviously, i can't just inflate the hire cost by that amount for accounting reasons.

thanks
kathy

Kathy_:

Still on my agricultural show site...

we have stables that we hire out. For each stable, there is a bond (refunded after use). Is there a way to automatically add 1 unit of bond for each stable hired? Obviously, i can't just inflate the hire cost by that amount for accounting reasons.

thanks
kathy

I imagine that the "bond" applies only to FIRST-TIME renters. So if they want to RE-NEW an existing rent, then they do not have to pay the bond again... you just retain their bond from their first purchase.

NEW RENTALS are one "type" of product.
RENEWALS are another "type" of product.

But you must not confuse the actions of your zencart shop, with the procedures of accounting for what goes on inside it.

If I were to personally visit you, with my cheque book, with the intention of hiring stable space, I would not have to write out two separate cheques. I would ask you what the TOTAL amount is, then write out one cheque. In your accounting system, you would apportion that payment against the two book entries:

1. For the rental of the stables
2. For the bond.

A year later, I renew my stable rental, and write out another cheque. This time, the amount is only for the stable rental, and that is what you reflect in your books.

My bond has been paid (and I would hope you are holding it in an interest-bearing escrow account, as it is still technically my money and deserves a market rate of interest in addition to being ring-fenced - escrow account - against possible losses in your business).

My view is that you set up TWO separate products:

1. FIRST TIME STABLE RENTAL (where the price includes the rental fee AND the bond - and you describe in the product description text what portions of the price apply to which of these cost areas).
2. RENEW STABLE RENTAL (where the price is purely for a renewal of the rental fee.)

You make it clear in your PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS what each product is for.

You ACCOUNT for the payments in your accounting system. Zencart is not an accounts package... it is just your cash register.

thanks, schoolboy. sorry, i wasn't clear. The stables are hired for short term use only. So, someone books to enter an event and they also want a stable for the duration. They pay a bond when they arrive and are refunded two days later. Any subsequent hire by that same person is treated as an independent transaction. The problem with inflating the cost of hire to include the bond is that there is no tax on the bond, but there is on the hire.
I'd love for the bond to be automatically selected to remove the need to contact all of the people who do not actually read the instruction (that forms part of the stable hire description) to 'buy' a bond also. just trying to make it idiot proof.
thanks
kathy

Again... I think you need to do your "accounting" outside zencart. Use zencart just to get in the money. If there are components of a transaction that do not carry VAT, then simply price up the whole component to reflect a full total. You will know what portion of the charge is taxable, and what isn't.

So...

if the cost of hire is £100 (plus vat), the price the customer sees is £120 .

if the cost of the bond is £50 (no vat, as it's not a transaction - just a refundable deposit), then the price they see is £50.

The whole package is therefore £170, which is what they will pay over to you.

In your book-keeping, you will journalise this as:

Hire amount = £100
Vat on Hire = £20
Deposit Bond = £50

In the DESCRIPTION TEXT of that "product", you can verbally articulate how the price is determined. Just tell people what they are paying (per component), which components attract VAT, and which don't.

They don't have to be involved in your book-keeping - they just want to know how much they have to fork out, and when they leave the show, how much will they get back.

Don't configure ZC to calculate VAT. Set it to show all prices inclusive of VAT. The customer really does not need to do the VAT calculations, they just need to be told what they are expected to pay (total) and what they will get back.

Simple

thanks schoolboy.

the difficulty is that they could buy several nights' accommodation, but should only be charged one deposit - and having a separate product for subsequent - or multiples - nights is a little clunky. i'm in australia and the law is that GST must be listed separately on invoices.

i'm leaning towards having a deposit as a cross-sold product.

kathy

Kathy_:

the law is that GST must be listed separately on invoices.

Well... Zencart does not generate INVOICES. It generates ORDER CONFIRMATIONS - and these are purely electronic messges to the customer.

Here in the UK, we have similar laws, so I understand your issues.

I come back to the point about separating your PURCHASING TOOL (zencart) from your ACCOUNTING TOOL (QuickBooks, Sage, whatever).

Use zencart to get the sale, and bring in the cash. Invoices and receipts can be issued through your accounting system.

And that answers another question that I have been asking: can ZC produce and email the neat invoice automatically? It seems not, although it can be viewed through admin.

I dream of accounting tools. Our treasurer is 86 and uses ledger books for accounting and a typewriter for reports. Seriously.

thanks for your help.

k

Schoolboy has way more ZC knowledge than I do...so this may be a shot in the dark....

Schoolboy, what would be the advantages or disadvantages of Kathy setting up the number of days and and the required bond as product attributes?

For example...the product itself could be one day's stable rental with a price of say £170, with the following attributes:

Bond - £50 (This is a required attribute, so you set it up as pre-selected, required, and increasing the product price by £50)
2 Day Rental - £170 (This is an optional attribute, so you set it up as an available option which adds £170 on to the base product price)
3 Day Rental - £340 (This is an optional attribute, so you set it up as an available option which adds £340 on to the base product price)
4 Day Rental - £510 (This is an optional attribute, so you set it up as an available option which adds £510 on to the base product price)
and so on....

When it comes time to refund the bond, recommend using the Edit Orders addon. Note: The current version of Edit Orders is for ZC139. If you're running ZC150, you'll have to wait until the update is finished and there's no ETA on that.

Regarding the neat invoices....She could install the Super Orders addon which will allow her to print invoices in PDF (either individually or in batches) and email them to her customers. This is a manual process however. Note: The current version of Super Orders is for ZC139. If you're running ZC150, you'll have to wait until the update is finished and there's no ETA on that.

Kathy_:

And that answers another question that I have been asking: can ZC produce and email the neat invoice automatically? It seems not, although it can be viewed through admin.

I dream of accounting tools. Our treasurer is 86 and uses ledger books for accounting and a typewriter for reports. Seriously.

thanks for your help.

k