Carrying out initial settings

In this part of the quick start, you find explanations about general settings such as saving company data and bank details as well as explanations about setting up the email despatch and email templates. Furthermore, we explain on this page how you order a domain and an SSL certificate for your online shop.

You can carry out some of the above mentioned settings with our virtual assistants. They will help you set up your system step by step.

1. Adjusting the user account and saving the company, contact and bank details

Go to Setup » Assistants and open the Basic setup area. Complete the Basics assistant to carry out the following settings:

  • Customise your own user account

  • Save company details

  • Save contact details

  • Save bank details

Changing contract information

Making changes to this master data will not have any effect on the customer information that is saved in your contract with PlentyONE. e.g. for billing purposes. Contract information has to be changed in the PlentyONE logo (Start) » My account menu in the Contracts area.

Your bank details can be replaced with the corresponding text via variables in email templates. This means that PlentyONE replaces the variables with the corresponding content in the emails. The variable Account holder (master data) will be replaced with the name of the account holder and Bank name (master data) inserts the name of the bank. IBAN (master data) will be replaced with the IBAN and BIC (master data) with the BIC. Go to the EmailBuilder to create email templates quickly and easily with drag-and-drop.

For further information about variables, refer to the chapters Example: Customising the email template and Inserting variables in the template further down on this page.

2. Setting up locations

Go to Setup » Assistants and open the Basic setup area. Complete the Locations assistant to carry out the following settings:

  • Create a location and save the VAT number

  • Determine the gross or net order sums on your invoices when shipped to EU member states and non-EU states

  • Save the rounding behaviour of the order sums

  • Save the VAT rates for the location

Changing the default location

You can change the default location in the Setup » plentyShop » (Select client) » Client Settings menu. The default location will be used in other areas, e.g. during the order process in the online shop. As such, it affects how VAT is displayed.
Note: Whenever you carry out changes in this menu, other users are logged out automatically and have to log in again. This ensures that the changes also apply to the other user profiles.

For further information about the settings in this menu, refer to the Setting up clients page.

Note also that you have to activate the country of delivery for the location in the Setup » Orders » Shipping » Settings » Tab: Countries of delivery menu so that it is shown as new default location in the Setup » plentyShop » (Select client) » Client Settings menu.

3. Creating a customer class

Use customer classes to categorise your customer base according to specific criteria. You can determine the minimum order quantities, grant discounts and decide whether the prices in your online shop are displayed as gross or net prices.

For the beginning, we recommend creating 2 customer classes:

  • B2C for your end customers

  • B2B for sellers

You may need the customer classes for further settings that you carry out in your PlentyONE system such as saving sales prices.

Creating a customer class:

  1. Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes.

  2. Click on the New customer class tab.

  3. Carry out the desired settings. Note Table 1.

  4. Save () the settings.

Table 1. Creating a customer class
Setting Explanation

Name

Enter the name for the customer class, e.g. standard customer or B2C.

Discount type

If required, select a discount type. For further information about the discount types, refer to the Using the discount system chapter on the Carrying out the preparatory settings page.

Allowed payment methods

Select which methods of payment are permitted for the customer class. These methods of payment will later be available in your online shop. By default, all available methods of payment are allowed.

Display of the prices in the online store

Select whether the prices are displayed as gross or net prices in the online shop.

For more information about customer classes, head over to the to the Carrying out the preparatory settings page.

4. Setting up the email despatch

Go to Setup » Assistants and open the Basic setup area. Complete the Email accounts assistant to carry out the following settings:

  • To authorise PlentyONE to send emails via your email account, you have to enter the login details of your email program in PlentyONE. Note that it might be necessary to obtain an approval from your email provider so that PlentyONE is allowed to send emails.

  • Activating the test mode

  • Saving the signature for your outgoing emails

  • Activating the information service to receive a blind copy of all outgoing emails

  • Linking email template with certain events to ensure that these templates will be sent to your customers once the event occurs.

Test mode sends emails only to your email address

There is a test mode which is activated by default. When the test mode is activated, emails are only sent to the email address you saved. This allows you to check all settings of the email despatch and the content before you switch to the live mode.

5. Setting up email templates

PlentyONE generates all emails based on templates. For the beginning, we recommend setting up the email templates listed in Table 2. Email templates are created in the CRM » EmailBuilder menu.

You can adapt all email templates to your individual needs. Go to the chapter Example: Customising the email template further down on this page of the manual to find an example about how to customise the email template Shop: Order confirmation.

Table 2. Email templates that are already set up in your system
Email template Explanation

Order: Invoice

Sends the invoice to the customer as an attachment.
Important: An invoice template for the location Germany is already pre-configured. If an invoice already exists for the order and you set up an event procedure, the invoice will be sent to your customer automatically because the PDF attachment Invoice is selected by default in the template Order: Invoice as PDF attachment.
For further information refer to the quick start page Automating processes.

Order: Shipping confirmation

Is sent when the items are shipped.
Tip: Create an event procedure with the event Package number and add filters and procedures so that the package number that is saved in the order will be displayed via the variable Tracking URL. For further information refer to the quick start page Automating processes.

Shop: Order confirmation

Informs the customer that their order has been received.
Important: For legal reasons, you should insert the cancellation rights as well as the terms and conditions in this email template. Also, pay close attention to any wording in the email template that relates to the contract between you and your customer. It is therefore recommended that you have your texts checked by a specialist lawyer.
Save the texts for the cancellation rights and the terms and conditions in the Setup » Shop » (Select client) » Legal menu. The variables Cancellation rights in HTML format and General terms and conditions in HTML format are automatically replaced with the cancellation rights and the terms and conditions in the email.

There are many other default templates that are already available in your PlentyONE system. Adjust these email templates, if required, and link them with an event in the Setup » Client » Global » Email accounts menu in the Automatic despatch step of the Email accounts assistant or set up an event procedure. For further information refer to the quick start page Automating processes.

5.1. Saving legal information

It is important that you save the legal information for your online shop in advance. Legal information include terms and conditions, cancellation rights, privacy policy, legal disclosure and cancellation form. Insert variables in the email template. The variables will be replaced with the text in the email templates.

We recommend having the texts checked by a specialist lawyer before you use them.

Saving legal information:

  1. Go to Setup » Shop » (Select client) » Legal.

  2. Expand the language English ().

  3. Insert the texts in the corresponding tabs Terms and conditions, Cancellation right, Privacy policy, Legal disclosure and Cancellation form in the HTML tab.
    Tip: Have the texts about the legal information checked by a specialist lawyer.

  4. Save () the settings.

5.2. Example: Customising the email template

In this chapter, we explain how you customise an email template based on the email template Shop: Order confirmation.

Customising the email template:

  1. Go to CRM » EmailBuilder.

  2. Expand the folder (chevron_right) that contains the template you want to edit.

  3. Click on the template.

  4. Click on edit (Edit).

  5. If required, change the text.

  6. For example, insert the variables Cancellation rights in HTML format and General terms and conditions in HTML format to ensure that the texts for the general terms and conditions and the cancellation right are automatically replaced with the correct content in the email template that you send.
    Note 1: You have saved these texts in the system in advance as described in the Saving legal information chapter.
    Note 2: You can search for the available variables on the left side of the opened template.

  7. Further information about the variables for legal information can be found in Table 3 at the end of this chapter.

  8. Replace the sample contact data at the end of the template with your own contact data.
    Tip: You can use the variable Signature in HTML format for this.

  9. Save (save) the settings.

5.3. Linking the order confirmation template with an event procedure

You have adjusted the email template Shop: Order confirmation according to your needs and saved it? Great! Now set up an event procedure to ensure that the email template Shop: Order confirmation will be sent automatically to your customers once they place an order in your online shop.

Linking the order confirmation template with an event procedure:

  1. Go to Setup » Orders » Events.

  2. Click on Add event procedure.
    → The Create new event procedure window opens.

  3. Enter a name, e.g. New order online shop.

  4. Select the event according to Table 4.

  5. Save () the settings.

  6. Carry out the settings as listed in Table 4.

  7. Select the option Active.

  8. Save () the settings.

Table 4. Event procedure to automatically send an order confirmation when an order has been placed in your online shop
Setting Option Selection

Event

Order generation: New order

Filter

Order > Referrer

Client (store)

Action

Customer > Send email

Add the adjusted template Shop: Order confirmation template and select Customer as recipient

5.4. Inserting variables in the template

You can insert as many variables as you like in your email templates. When PlentyONE sends emails, it automatically replaces the variables with the corresponding content. The variable Full name will therefore be replaced with the first name and last name of the customer and the variable Order ID insert the ID of the order.

Inserting variables in the template:

  1. Go to CRM » EmailBuilder.

  2. Open the email template into which you would like to insert the variables.

  3. Click on edit (Edit).
    → The editor with the template opens.

  4. Click again on edit (Edit).
    → On the left side next to the template, you can see the Variables area.

  5. In the Search field, enter the name of the variable or expand the different categories to search for the variables.

  6. By clicking on the variable, the variable is inserted in your template at the desired position.

  7. Save (save) the settings.

Insert variable URL to order confirmation

All emails that will be sent to your customers should contain the variable URL to order confirmation. This function replaces the link to the My account area of your online shop. Your customers can then click on the link to update their data, see the order history, add further items to the order or track the order status.

5.5. Attaching files to email templates

You can add 2 types of files to your email templates:

  • dynamic attachments

  • static attachments

We describe the difference of these 2 attachments in the following.

Possible types of a dynamic attachment, e.g. the invoice or delivery note, are order documents in your PlentyONE system. Go to Setup » Documents» DocumentBuilder to set up these documents.

A static attachment could be for example a product catalogue, instructions or a photo file. Go to Shop » Documents to upload these files.

5.5.1. Creating and attaching static attachments

All of the documents that you want to attach to an email template as static attachment have to be uploaded to the system first. An example of such a document are the terms and conditions. This document is often attached with the order confirmation – given that you did not directly insert the terms and conditions in the email template by using the variable General terms and conditions in HTML format.

It is set up in 2 steps. First, you upload the document in the Shop » Documents menu. Second, attach the document to an email template. To do so, proceed as described below.

Uploading a document:

  1. Go to Shop » Documents.

  2. Click on Browse…​ in the Upload tab.

  3. Select the file that you want to upload and click on Open.

  4. Select one of the options from the Right drop-down list.
    Note: The right specifies whether the document should be visible to Employees or Customers only or to all visitors of your online shop (Public).

  5. If required, enter a name for the folder.

  6. Save () the settings.

Linking a document with an email template:

  1. Go to CRM » EmailBuilder.

  2. Open the email template.

  3. In the top right, click on translate Language-dependent settings.

  4. Select the file that you want to send as attachment for the correct language from the drop-down list Static attachments.

  5. Save (save) the settings.
    → The file is attached to the email.

6. Ordering a domain

The word "domain" refers to an Internet address in the form of a name and an extension, i.e. the top level domain, e.g. .de. You can freely select the name. A domain is unique, i.e. the exact same domain may never be used twice. Therefore, when registering a desired domain, e.g. with a hosting service provider, it is necessary to check whether your desired domain has already been used.

For further information, refer to the Domains page of the manual.

7. Buying an SSL certificate

An SSL certificate is used to encrypt your website and provides a secure connection to your online shop. Your customers can see when you are using an SSL certificate as your website will be accessed via https. It is important that the domain for which you want to order the SSL certificate is set as main domain.

For further information, refer to the SSL certificates page of the manual.

8. Check list

Work through the check list in order to review your settings for the initial settings.

  • Did you complete the Basics assistant?

  • Did you complete the Locations assistant?

  • Did you complete the Email accounts assistant?

  • Did you insert the variable Signature in HTML format at the end of your email templates?

  • Did you replace the sample data with your own contact data in all email templates?

  • Do all email templates contain the variable URL to order confirmation?

  • Did you order a domain for your online shop?

  • Did you buy an SSL certificate?

  • Did you deactivate the test mode after having tested all the settings so that the emails are from now on sent to your customers and not to your email address any longer?

9. More about initial settings

Continue to Setting up a warehouse and supplier