Workflow: Running an online store-

Setting up and running an online store is easy and flexible with VeggieCropper. All orders placed immediately update your harvest and pack lists so you have real-time information in the field and pack shed. Online order forms rely on the most direct and effective marketing strategy available, email. You can email directly from VeggieCropper to groups of customers. You can also create orders for customers with auto-order and allow the customers to update or cancel their order before the order window closes.

Workflow for running an online store with VeggieCropper


A) Configure your online order form

B) Setting up your shares for your No-Choice CSA

C) Email your customers directly with a link to your form

D) Pre-ordering for your customers

E) Harvesting for your Orders

F) Packing your Online Orders

G) Completing an order

H) Accepting payment

FAQ


A) Configure your online order form

  1. From the 'Harvests' page, click on the Online Order Form icon beside '+ Harvest'
  2. Click on '+Online Order Form' to see the form setup page (learn more about this page here)
  3. Consider whether you want to 'Allow customer to edit their order before the order window closes', the default setting for this toggle is checked.
  4. Select 'Auto-pay with customer credit' to have their order totals automatically deducted from their credit totals. Customers will see their credit totals in their order confirmation. You can see customer credit purchases and credit remaining on the Customers page.
  5. Select an email to receive order confirmations and updates. These emails must be added as crew accounts. Click here to learn more about adding crew members to your account; you can create a crew account just to list a particular email.
  6. When ready click 'Save' and you will go to the Online Order Form setup page.

B) Setting up your shares for your No-Choice CSA

Once you save your form settings page, you will end up on the form setup page. This page allows you to build the shares by clicking + Unit to add a new unit or select an existing unit. Click the pencil icon to return to the form setup page if needed.

To add a unit:

  1. Click + Unit to add a new unit or select an existing unit.
    1. You can combine crop units and credit units for members to top up their accounts when needed.
  2. You must add an 'Available' amount for each unit.
    1. 'Max order' will set a maximum number of a specific unit for this order.
    2. Toggling 'Harvest' will create a harvest and a pack for this unit for each order. If this box is unchecked, and only a pack will be created and can be useful for selling off farm products or products in storage (roots, garlic, etc.)
    3. Toggling 'Required' will ensure that a minimum of 1 of these units is required before the order can be placed. Required units appear prepopulated with a 1 for the customer. A maximum unit number of 2 allows customers to order 2 of a required unit.
  3. Click 'Save' after adding a few units.
  4. Click on the eye icon to see how the form will appear to the customer.

You can reorder units after clicking save by dragging and dropping the eight-dot icon beside each unit. Save the form again after adding a few units.

Try a few test orders to ensure everything works as it should.


Click the envelope icon beside the pencil icon on the Online Order Form product page.

  1. Select the customer groups to send this form to.
  2. Type an email subject, this is how the subject will appear to the customer.
  3. Add e-mail text, including order opening and closing times.
  4. Customize the link text the customer will see to something like: 'Click here to customize your share'.

Nice work! Skip to step E, unless you want to can set up the Auto Order, which will place the editable orders for each of your members and create the unique links they will receive in the email you just drafted.

D) Pre-ordering for your customers

You can pre-order items for your customers and create orders they can customize before the order window closes. Pre-ordering items create an order for a group of customers right away.

To create auto-orders for your customers:

  1. Click on 'Auto Order'

  2. Determine the amounts of each unit to order for each member.

    *Your choices will have to fall within the minimum or maximum unit numbers and minimum order value as well as the units that were marked as required on the Online Order Form Setup Page.

  3. Click Next to see a confirmation page where you will see the e-mail the customer will receive, including the link they need to use to edit their order.
  4. Click 'Order & Send' to send create customizable shares for each of the members in your customer group.

E) Harvesting for your Orders

As soon as an order is placed the items on each order will appear in the harvest and pack lists.


There are a few ways to use VeggieCropper here; select the scenario that makes the most sense for you:

1) Harvesting for online orders only

2) Harvesting for more than one market at the same time


1) I am harvesting for my Online Orders only:

  1. Click 'Harvests' at the top of the page.
  2. Click the 'Harvests' tab.
  3. Once your harvest is complete for a crop you can click the checkmark on the right.
    1. This will mark the harvest for this crop as complete for all of your current orders.
    2. New orders that come in will be listed and the amount to harvest will be added as soon as that crop unit is ordered.

2) I am harvesting more than one markets

To see your current harvests summarized by crop unit, click on 'Harvests' in the navbar, then click the 'Harvests' tab. To see a list of how much of each crop is going to a particular market, click on a crop unit name. This will take you to a filtered view of the Current tab.

To print a harvest list for your Online Order only with multiple markets:

  1. Click 'Harvests' at the top of the page
  2. Click the 'Current' tab
  3. Click the down arrow beside the magnifying glass to show more filters
  4. Click on the 'Import Source' filter and select 'Online Order Form. This will display all harvests for the orders placed to date.
  5. Click on the small rectangular group icon next to the calculator
  6. Press command or control P to print this page to paper

To update your harvests once complete:

  1. Click 'Harvests' at the top of the page
  2. Click the Harvests tab
  3. Get it all? If you harvested everything needed for all current markets and orders, check the crop off on the far right to complete all of the harvests for each of those orders in one click
  4. Partial harvest? If you harvested some of the crop but not all of what you needed, click the crop name on the Harvests page and then select the markets or orders until you have allocated your harvest.
    1. To record a partial harvest for a market, you can click the chat icon and add a field note explaining where things are at.

F) Packing your Online Orders

Packing orders uses the same workflow as harvests.

To see your current packs summarized by crop unit, click on 'Harvests' in the navbar, then click the 'Packs' tab. To see a list of how much of each crop is going to a particular market, click on a crop unit name. This will take you to a filtered view of the Current tab.

To print a pack list for your Online Order only with multiple markets:

  1. Click 'Harvests' at the top of the page
  2. Click the 'Current' tab
  3. Click the down arrow beside the magnifying glass to show more filters
  4. Click on the 'Import Source' filter and select 'Online Order Form. This will display all harvests and packs for the orders placed to date.
  5. Click on the small rectangular group icon next to the calculator
  6. Press command or control P to print this page to paper

Update your packlist as you go or all at once:

  1. Click 'Harvests' at the top of the page
  2. Click the Packs tab
  3. Get it all? If you were able to pack everything needed for all current markets and orders, check the crop off on the far right to complete all of the packs for each of those orders in one click
  4. Partial harvest? If you harvested some of the crop but not all of what you needed, click the crop name on the Packs page and then select the markets or orders until you have allocated your harvest.
    1. To record a partial harvest for a market, you can click the chat icon and add a field note explaining where things are at.

G) Completing an order

To mark an order complete:

  1. Click on 'Harvests' in the navbar
  2. Find the order you are looking for and note the status of the order on the right, has everything been Harvested &Packed?
  3. Click the circle to the left of the order to mark it complete
    1. Marking an order complete will complete the harvests and packs automatically

To complete orders in bulk:

  1. Click 'Harvests' in the nav bar.
  2. Click the down arrow beside the magnifying glass to show more filters to select the forms to bulk compelte.
  3. Select the bulk edit box beside the pencil icon to select up to 25 members at a time.
    1. You can indivdiually unselect certain orders if needed.
  4. Select the pencil icon.
  5. In the 'Completed' field, select yes.
  6. Click 'Save'.

H) Accepting payment

As payments come in, you can add them to your orders.

  1. Click on 'Harvests' in the nav bar.
  2. Click on the order total.
  3. Add the payment amount, type, and date.
    1. Include partial payments, an order will not appear as paid until it is fully paid.
  4. Click 'Save'.

FAQ


Different CSA groups? Pickups? Options?

Generally, use duplicate or create new online order forms for different pickup locations. If you are changing the availability of different crop units or the amount of choice (any setting above), you will need to create a separate online order form, as any changes you make to the setup of this form will instantly apply to the customers you just received the links to their share.

Harvesting & Packing Orders for your CSA

Customers will be able to cancel and change their orders up until the order window closes. Any changes to members' shares will change the numbers you see on the Harvest, Pack, Current, and All pages.

Most growers harvest the bulk amounts on the Harvests tab and then pack the orders using the harvest lists page. You can also print off orders individually by opening the order and using the system print dialogue.

Cancelling Shares

If orders are able to be edited before the order cutoff time, members will see a 'Cancel Order' link at the bottom of their order. Cancelling an order changes its status to 'Cancelled', these orders still show on the Harvest list page and appear greyed out.

Making changes to member shares/orders when there is a shortage

Logged in as an account manager or owner, you can open existing online order form orders and adjust them even if the order window is closed.

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