Dear Systems: Powering the Future of Your Complete Business. The world is changing, and so are the systems that support it. What used to be an organization’s most valuable asset, their ERP system, can now easily be [READ ON]
Continue readingCin7 allows for partial payments on individual sales orders. To clarify, with this new Cin7 integration enhancement, they no longer require you to enter invoice payment details manually. The process eliminates manual steps and saves you even more time.
If you use the Accounting Dashboard, nothing. You’ll see all reconciled invoice payments in the “Payments” section of your sales order. On the other hand, if you’re not currently using the Accounting Dashboard, get it from Cin7 App Store.
Until now, the payments from Xero or QuickBooks Online invoices would only appear in the main Sales Order section of the Sales module. As shown below.
Further, with this new Cin7 integration enhancement the payment details are automatically recorded under “Payment Type” in the corresponding order.
The Cin7 integration enhancement allocates payments to the sales orders. This eliminates the need for you to manually enter payment information in the Payments section of every order. We could all agree that Cin7 made a really good choice.
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about Cin7, data migration, system implementation, expert consulting, operational support, design work, or integration with other add-ons.
Almost all Australians are shopping online in 2021. In the e-commerce world, online shopping is called B2C (Business-to-Consumer). Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, B2C rocketed itself into relevancy in 2020 because people did not want to go shopping. Rather than physically going to shops for fear of catching Covid, everyone embraced shopping online through Woolworths.com.au and Coles.com.au. In this article, Cin7 and Dear Systems, along with Trade Gecko (aka Quickbooks Commerce) and their respective B2B and B2C e-commerce offerings, are compared.
Since 2010, but particularly from 2020, we finally had the ability to shop on our computers. This was a huge step forward in B2C transactions because it solved many of the problems that come with this kind of shopping like long lines and crowded stores.
Innovation in the retail industry has been steadily increasing over the last decade. Ten years ago, e-commerce was mostly unheard of and people did not take much notice. However, despite this innovation’s growth before 2020 most people still found no real reason to buy everyday groceries online. Ten years ago software for business solutions like Trade Gecko, Shopify, WooCommerce, Cin7 and Dear Systems did not even exist.
Although the 20s were a decade of futuristic visions, it was not until 2021 that we saw advancements in B2C. This shift is forcing inventory-keeping businesses to implement e-commerce sooner than they might have anticipated.
B2C businesses shouldn’t just be limited to e-commerce for customers, they should also be able to purchase goods online. Take a moment to think about how you buy from your suppliers? In the vast majority of cases, if it is still done over the phone, by email, or by spreadsheet you need to change. Can you survive long-term if you do not?
Business-to-business is the transactions between businesses. B2B ecommerce refers to all of the information exchange that occurs in order for these trades to take place. It may not be as popular or well known, but if you’re a small business owner who hasn’t heard about Business To Business (or B2B), now’s your chance!
Business-to-Business refers to the transactions between businesses like manufacturers and wholesalers, and retailers. B2B e-commerce refers to all the information exchange to conduct transactions over a computer network.
These transactions come in a variety of ways, including electronic file or database communication, API calls, and enabling stock visibility. But as I said before we are not discussing IBM’s Watson computer here so let’s keep it simple!
B2B for SME’s is merely offering your business clients an online platform like a website page with a username and password login. This way, they can easily place their orders online, view previous invoices and statements and communicate with you.
Below are a few screenshots of the B2B Backend and Front solutions we support namely (Trade Gecko, Cin7 and Dear Systems). Let’s start with Trade Gecko:
What is the difference between B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce? Well, the answer is not that much, but the small differences are significant and logical.
The similarities between B2B and B2C has an ingenious design allowing a B2B solution to function as a B2C, but it cannot be the other way around. They were both built from the same base.
Have you ever phoned a wholesaler only to hear you cannot buy from them directly? The sales rep might say you need a formal account and point you to a retailer. If you did, then you will understand this.
The same principle is true for B2B e-commerce sites. Buyers can only purchase products once log unto the online store with appropriate login and password. You cannot buy as a guest or as a visitor.
These accounts are activated manually for some companies, and your application has to go through vetting to get approved.
Unlike B2C or standard online shopping, B2B can offer specific pricing for each business customer (or group of customers). Additionally, discounts that apply to the one group may not apply to another group. Price management usually is more complex to manage for B2B and trying to do this on multiple places, or Excel sheets are begging for trouble.
Having the ability to change customer-specific prices and then let that feedthrough to your B2B is magic. But in the case, of Cin7 and Dear Systems (and Trade Gecko aka Quickbooks Commerce), this is indeed what happens.
On a side note, in addition to managing and uploading relevant and appropriate pictures for each product, managing pricing can take a long time and a bit of effort, so getting around this problem fast and quickly should be a no brainer.
Luckily Cin7 and Dear Systems allow for this functionality.
B2B stores typically offer an additional payment option over and above B2C namely “Account” or “Credit”. King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 6:9 wisely said: “The bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, and while Accountants say cash is king selling on a Credit is a risky reality but needed.
Being able to sell to your customers online, and putting the invoice due on credit will help you sell more, and manage your cash flow while planning day to day operations. Buying on account means the customer’s order will automatically skip through to generate a warehouse picking slip, and then once packed and shipped, an invoice will be printed and emailed.
The invoice can then fully reflect on your inventory system (like Cin7 or Dear Systems) and your Accounting solution (like Xero or Quickbooks).
These days, similar to your council invoice, business owners can easily show payment options like BPay, PayPal, Stripe, Bank Transfer or Credit Card on invoices and statements. Once paid, the payment is allocated to the invoice either through Xero or Cin7 and Dear Systems and reflects on paid invoices.
B2C customers rarely need to go back to previous purchases unless they become a recurring supplier like Vet food or medicine. Online giants like Amazon and eBay have become giants due to their ability to offer this feature, but generally, B2C does not provide this.
However, for B2B customers, due to the higher number of transactions, they must track each order individually and collectively.
Most B2B platforms, including Cin7 and Dear Systems, offer the end-client the ability to view historical invoices and outstanding balances due. Administrators can use their accounting system like Xero for sending out account statements at the end of the month.
Yes, flying cars would have been excellent in 2020, and having no Coronavirus in 2021 would be fantastic. But let’s face it, things are going to take a while to settle down. Let’s address where we are, and work through what we have, making the most of what is currently available. Cin7 and Dear Systems.
Fortunately for us, there is a lot we can do to improve business systems and to automate processes while bringing SME businesses into the future of e-commerce.
With the evolution of the internet, we all were witnesses to colossal speed and functional improvements. Software and business features previously only available to larger corporations are now available for all.
As little as a few years back, this was not possible, but now SMEs can enjoy having access to all their systems with just a simple internet connection.
The purpose of this article is not to tell you how all of the ecosystems building blocks fit together, for that you can read more on this website, but rather which e-commerce options you can use with Cin7 and Dear Systems or a little bit on Trade Gecko as well.
Cin7 offers quite a several integration options (550 in total 1 being their B2B and 4 for B2C) to link into your favourite e-commerce platform while allowing you to grow your online sales without increasing operating expenses rapidly.
The Cin7 B2B and B2C solution offer inventory management, stock locations and e-commerce into one automated solution while updating stock figures in real-time.
With Cin7, you can say goodbye to employees manually entering data, manipulating spreadsheets, and welcoming accurate inventory and visibility.
Thankfully, Cin7‘s B2B solution is a native platform that seamlessly works with background data and pricing synchronisation. Very little has to be done to enable and use the B2B solution.
Enabling and inviting customers to use it, it also very easy, and can be accomplished within a few minutes. In short, Cin7‘s B2B platform’s smart thing is its “no-fuss let’s get going” attribute.
Within a few clicks, your B2B site can be ready for taking orders. Additionally, the B2B backend allows for necessary theme modifications like choosing colours and branding.
It is also entirely possible for the more technical to have your website domain (name) or sub-domain and point your B2B portal URL to it. That way, a client can easily navigate to your website and not get confused.
Although some clients find the Cin7 B2B platform lacks street appeal, it boasts some powerful features, which most B2C big players cannot offer. We have a few clients that use Cin7‘s B2B platform as a B2C.
When moving on to the B2C platforms that you can link up to Cin, your options are quite exceptional. Cin7 is the platform of choice, offering the most optimistic and complete integration with top suppliers.
I suspect most people reading this are already familiar with at least one or two of these platforms. They are:
For complex industries that do not sell straight forward products, I would recommend WooCommerce, or if not successful use Magento. These are suppliers selling custom products.
Shopify and BigCommerce are both very stable, and although Shopify is the world-leading e-commerce supplier, our analysis showed that BigCommerce would give you more bang for your bucks in the long run.
That being said, Shopify does have more integration partners, and links with more inventory systems than BigCommerce does, so thoroughly plot out your business software and distribution plan before making your final decision.
If you were going to choose Cin7, my B2C platform suggestion would be BigCommerce, even though we are experts in Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce.
Cin7 stand out above smaller players is its well established EDI connections to big distributors and retailers like Amart, Kmart, Big W, Coles Bunnings, Amazon, Walmart, eBay and Etsy to name a few.
New Cin7 users might find it challenging to use and understand the workflows. The user interface has been described as clunky, and sometimes monthly pricing is complex. For those looking for support, that is why we exist.
We are delighted to see that Cin7 has simplified its pricing model recently. After the recent acquisition from an American based company, things are being tidied up. The website has a new look-and-feel, and branding has been updated. It would be great to see Cin7 using more local suppliers and providing better training/help information.
As experts, we would suggest Cin7 for larger businesses looking to tap into large corporates to enlarge their supply chain and distribution business. Our business has a few clients who stand by Cin7‘s outstanding features and who are happy about the fair price point, especially compared to much more extensive and expensive ERPs.
After some investigation, we found that Dear Systems offers around 50 integrations in total, with 1 being their B2B and 3 for B2C.
Like Cin7, Dear Systems also offers B2B and B2C solutions for easy inventory, locations and e-commerce management.
Even though Dear Systems has fewer integration points than Cin7, in conjunction with Xero, for example, and including all its capabilities, you will have a pretty decent solution.
Similarly to Cin7, Dear Systems also has a native B2B solution with seamless background data and pricing synchronisation. It is super easy to enable and use the B2B solution and compared to Cin7; it is arguable more powerful, comfortable and better looking.
Using the B2B system is intuitive, and enabling products to sell on the platform, changing prices and inviting customers cannot have been made easier.
When we first set up the B2B portal, the surprising thing was its flexibility, menu customisation, and professional look. You can point your website to the B2B platform or feel free to ask us for help.
If you are considering moving to a B2C platform that integrates with Dear Systems, this section is for you. You will be glad to know that Dear Systems offers the same options as Cin7, except for BigCommerce. So three major players can work as your preferred B2C provider.
The Dear Systems B2C integration partners are:
In our opinion, Dear Systems stand out above other players because it is easy to use. The user interface (UI) works great, and it has fairly low monthly fees. Besides, the help documentation and videos are excellent help.
What makes Dear Systems less desirable, but only because we compare it other more mature systems, is the lack of integration partners. We are fairly sure that Dear Systems will add more modules over time. Just because I feel it would be fair to include something negative here, Dear has fewer retailer API connections than some competitors.
We think Dear Systems is a great solution that offers enough functionality to enable advanced business operations. Yet, the design is keeping it simple to allow new users to understand their next step.
As Dear Systems resellers and implementation partners, we are happy to partner with such a great system and can confidently recommend it to our customers.
The fact that it links up with Xero makes it a real contender for systems like Netsuite and Sage Intacct and other cloud-based ERPs, not to mention their drive to expand their Warehouse and Manufacturing modules.
Shopify offers a quick start with a few easy add-on modules. Due to the lack of customisation and completeness, it is not our first choice. Our assessment score for Shopify is 80%.
BigCommerce is a rather smart solution and compares closely with Shopify. Its offer focuses on the actual online store with a few cosmetic options. Their advantage above Shopify, in our opinion, is openness and WYSIWYG, and it is complete. It allows for customisation, complex pricing and robust settings. It might be worth noting that Big Commerce has a smaller marketplace than Shopify, but well worth investigating. We score them 85%.
WooCommerce, although a bit more tricky to get started, offers the client the most flexibility with code customisation and add-on modules. It is more technical, and not recommended for beginners, so we give them 75%.
Magento used to be the industry leader in e-commerce platforms, but due to its early success and higher technical skills required to main the code, we only give them 65%. If possible, try and avoid Magento, it will work our more expensive.
Diagram
For more complex industries that do not sell straight forward products, I would recommend WooCommerce, or if not successful use Magento. These are suppliers selling custom products.
Shopify and BigCommerce are both very stable, and although Shopify is the world-leading e-commerce supplier, our analysis showed that BigCommerce would give you more bang for your bucks in the long run.
That being said, Shopify does have more integration partners, and links with more inventory systems than BigCommerce does, so thoroughly plot out your business software and distribution plan before making your final decision.
If you are going to choose Cin7, our B2C platform suggestion is BigCommerce. Even though we are experts and partners with Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce for Cin7 we saw some good stuff from them. Our recommendation is either WooCommerce or for simpler stores, Shopify, for those who want to use Dear Systems.
The Cin7 Core-Xero Integration sync works both ways. If you would like to start setting this up, click on the Xero logo in the top right corner of the integration page and select the ‘Sync Now’ button.
Continue readingAs you know, Xero and Quickbooks are comprehensive online accounting solutions. Cin7, on the other hand, is an all-inclusive inventory management solution that helps businesses to stay focused on selling their stock.
Firstly, in today’s modern business world, if you do not reduce your administration time, you will eventually be outperformed and suffer huge losses. Secondly, if you are not selling your stock on the internet using user-friendly websites like WooCommerce and Shopify, and channels like B2B, Amazon and eBay, to name a few, you too will lose sales.
What makes Cin7 a genuinely unique and beautiful system is the fact that it automatically updates your accounting solution with your latest purchases, sales, and inventory values so that you can see landed costs and gross profit reports. All the information in your accounting solution is mostly transactional summaries, as there is no need to see detail where they do not matter.
Further, Cin7 accurately track stock values when selling items. These values are loads into your accounting system to maintain an overall stock value and ensure ATO compliance.
Besides, Cin7 also track landed costs. For Example, Cin7 factors in exchange rates, duty, and freight when items are in stock. Tracking landed costs makes for the exact cost of goods and gross profit figures when reporting resulting in better purchasing and sales decisions and eventual profits.
In the same vein, it reduces data entry requirements and eliminates input errors. Cin7 exports sales orders, purchase orders, credit notes, stock adjustments, COGS and contacts to your accounting system. Having automatically synchronising data saves you time entering data and eliminates human error.
Likewise, Cin7 can also produce current and historical sales reports by branch. The reporting is interactive and allows filtering and drill down. Cin7 provides you with detailed inventory, manufacturing, purchasing and sales reports that are not available in your accounting solution.
Subsequently, Cin7 make use of batching daily POS payments and eCommerce sales. Cin7 batches payments together when closing POS registers at the end of the day. One entry means only one invoice per payment is importing into your Xero or Quickbooks, making reconciliation super easy.
Lastly, the multi-currency feature allows for flexible selling and purchasing. Cin7 supports all major currencies for selling and purchasing. If you buy an item in a foreign currency, Cin7 will enable you to maintain the exchange rate to meet your requirements.
Quickbooks (QB) online is a great accounting system for small to medium-size businesses. QB has many add-on modules we support and integrate with.
Quickbooks is fast becoming one of the most popular online accounting systems in Australia and America with an increasing amount of additional online modules like e-commerce, MRP, mobile, job costing etc…which makes it a strong contender for any small to medium size business looking for an effective business solution.
Because Quickbooks is available online, there is no need to install anything. You can use this link to evaluate Quickbooks Online.
You’ve been looking for a new cloud-based solution for your business and need a Cloud Inventory Partner. You probably know that there are many options available and have researched some of them already. You may be wondering which one to go with? There are so many different solutions out there it can be hard to make a decision, but the good news is you’re in the right place at the right time because we will help you answer this question and get your new system up and running fast! Say hello to your new cloud inventory partner – Software4Business.
Our cloud-first approach put emphasis on your software implementation strategy that focuses on using cloud computing as the model for all new IT solutions. The most important benefit of your cloud-first approach is that it allows organisations to use technology more efficiently while reducing costs.
Working on projects that are so many steps ahead of the current solutions is very challenging and researching the right solution, implementing it and then integrating them with other new solutions can be a difficult task. Often times, this process goes smoothly if you know what you are doing, and the company benefits from the new investment. Sometimes, however, as with all things new do not go according to plan. Different factors come into play, and we have seen them all. That is why you need specialists like Software4Business who are Cloud Inventory Partners. We come alongside you to help you make the project a success. We have the know-how to help you succeed with your project.
The process of change, especially when it’s a new solution or technology can be difficult. Your company may not understand the needs and backend APIs and consequently invest in something that doesn’t work at all. But with Software4Business’ help, we guarantee success. We are your Cloud Inventory Partners!
Implementing a new software system is an involved process. It involves many tasks, people and activities. If you are considering moving your systems to the cloud, it’s important that you find a trusted partner who can manage everything from start to finish on time and within budget. As part of our process for implementing any new solution, we take care of all the required business information such as employee details or logo files before starting so there are no surprises later down the line.
We also do data conversion if necessary while ensuring accuracy and completeness with clean data ready-to-roll when due – because being next level geniuses with data is what we do! Have you considered outsourcing this project to us?
We are always looking to find out the needs of our clients, and we adapt accordingly.
Our software implementation team has been in business for over twenty years.
Let us help you start off the right way.
It’s increasingly common for businesses to depend on cloud-based services. Why not learn how you can get your new solution in place within weeks instead of months?
Contact us if you want to implement Cin7 or Dear Inventory or any of our other solutions in a successful manner.
