This article outlines how to create a custom shopping cart, or proforma invoice, which can be sent to customers directly.
Custom invoices allow a marketplace administrator to create a custom shopping cart item, which can be based on an existing advert or from an inquiry. This invoice lets you take advantage of previously lost opportunities.
Below are steps on how to maximize the full functionality of this feature. You can create an invoice from an advert inquiry or an existing advert. The Custom Invoices feature is only available for marketplaces that use Marketplacer's front end. Go to Operator portal > Configuration > Account setting > "Use Marketplacer Front End"
Create a custom invoice from an Advert Enquiry
Advert Inquiries Report
In the Operator portal, select INQUIRIES > Advert inquiries. This report is a collection of the inquiries you received that are associated with adverts, which is a subset of the existing email inquiry report.
From this page, you can view all inquiries or filter them by seller, advert ID, inquiry type, customer details, and date. To see the details of an inquiry, click on the status link. In the example below, the status link is NEW.
Upon clicking the status, you can view all the details of the inquiry similar to that of the email inquiry. The marketplace administrator can issue a custom invoice if there is a product or service that can be offered. To do so, select Convert to Invoice at the bottom of the page.
Creating a custom invoice
After selecting Convert to invoice, the invoice creation screen is displayed where the advert ID, retailer name and advert title, and customer comments are also copied across along with the advert's hero image.
Afterwards, you can choose which variant from which you can create an invoice. This is only applicable for products as services that do not have variants. When the variant is selected, the Variant name field will be prefilled accordingly.
When you confirm that a product or service is available from the listed retailer, you can then set a price (inc. GST) and update the details with any specifics regarding the offer, such as service cost, shipping, and the like.
When a custom invoice is created from an existing advert, the shipping weight and dimensions are inherited from the original advert. This allows an applicable shipping fulfillment software such as Shippit to calculate a shipping price.
With the expiry date setting feature, the offer or invoice being sent to the customers is only processed at a particular time. When the expiry date passes, the link expires. Once you completed filling in the details, you can click Save as Draft or Continue.
Once you have all your details completed, you can checkout on behalf of the customer by clicking Checkout. To do this, you must complete the payment on the customer's behalf as well.
Alternatively, you can send the invoice to the customer through email by clicking Send to Customer. The customer then receives a link including the details of the invoice, which takes them to the checkout page of your site to process payment.
The retailer also receives a copy of the order confirmation and it appears in your orders report.
Creating a custom invoice from a variant
In the Operator portal, select Orders > Custom Invoices > Create a New Invoice. Enter a valid advert ID, choose a variant, and select create from existing. This populates the retailer name, advert title, and variant Name. Other fields are pre-filled with the variant information: Variant name, Weight, Dimensions, Delivery type, and total price.
The rest of the steps are the same as those to create a custom invoice from an advert inquiry. You can save the invoice as a draft to come back to later, checkout the invoice for the customer, or send the invoice to the customer to pay themselves.
You can view drafts and completed (paid) custom invoices by going to Orders > Custom Invoices within the Operator portal admin.
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