Method:Classic General Q&A

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

Method_Paul — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:54:47 GMT

"how is the shipping software obtaining the order information? By directly accessing the QB database or method database?"

-The Method database - which should be a near mirror of the QB database.

"Since not all of the order we entered in method needed to be shipped how will we seperate them out if all new orders are dumped into the shipping database?"

-You'll need *something* to determine whether this should be exported or not. A "send to shipping" checkbox will suffice, but it could simply be that the balance owing is $0. That way, if that criteria is met, it calls your remote server, otherwise it doesn't call the remote server.

My version:

1. An order is entered as an invoice in Method.

2. The customer pays for the order using the customer portal or a sales person mark the order is paid in method.

3. Once the order is paid, or if it meets predefined criteria, the payment button automatically triggers a web service call to your remote server. Make it happen 24-7 without any interaction by you. Automate it fully!

4. On your remote server, you have a web service setup. If it's a windows server, it can be a .net web service (which Mark knows how to do and can quote you on it).

5. The web service then calls Method data, using the MethodAPI can extracts all the data necessary to build a .csv file.

6. The web service creates the .csv file and dumps it into the right folder.

7. The web service cleans up and tells Method "I'm done, don't resend it" by setting a field like "HasBeenExportedToShipping" to true. At the same time, it sends you and email letting you know what it did.

8. The shipping software looks for new order in the "Method export" folder and pull the order into the shipping program.

9. Your warehouse sees the order and ships it!

10. You and your staff concentrate on selling more orders, and less on manually exporting and importing :).

In terms of development costs, I'll let you work with the Method Solutions Providers (like Mark), and they'll provide quotes. Method Solution Partners are Method certified, but are 3rd party companies - so your custom work is directly with their company, not Method.

Paul

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

chowrentoys.com — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:20:58 GMT

Paul,

Can you clearfiy a few thing for me. In your step 3. how is the shipping software obtaining the order information? By directly accessing the QB database or method database? Since not all of the order we entered in method needed to be shipped how will we seperate them out if all new orders are dumped into the shipping database? I don't believe the shipping software has any build in API but it can import .cvs file. It can also periocially look into a folder and see anything new in it then import the file. So is it possible to use the method API to do th following?

1. An order is entered as invoice in method.

2. The customer pay for the order using the customer portal or a sales person mark the order is paid in method.

3. Once the order is paid, we will click a button on mehtod, the order is automatically exporeted into .cvs file and deposit on oure remote server.

4. Our shipping software look for new order in the "Method export" folder and pull the order into the shipping program.

5. Warehouse see the orders and ship the order!

Can you please let me know if something like what we wanted is possible? We would happy to pay for the developement cost. Thank you.

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

Method_Paul — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:56:03 GMT

Mark - for API work we certainly encoruage Method users to reach out to Method Solution Providers, like yourself, who take this work on, and have a proven track record of integrations involving the API.

Mark, meet Jason.

Jason, meet Mark.

Paul

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

LaCrews — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:10:37 GMT

Paul

This is certainly something that we've started to offer as part of our practice. However, I'm curious to know if method is providing any developer services that can get this done?

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

Method_Paul — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:21:39 GMT

@Jason - it would be much slicker if you used APIs and web services.

Does your shipping sofware have a developer API? Are they web based?

In an ideal world, you would:

1. Press a button on Method.

2. It would call a remote web service.

3. The remote web service would call the API of the shipping software and put the order directly in there.

4. You'd be done.

We have the capability on this end. Just a matter if they have it on the shipping software end.

It would cost money to get someone to develop it, but the efficiency it woudl give you would probably be more than worth it.

Paul

Re: Automate Invoice Exporting

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:42:50 GMT

Hi chowrentoys.com

We can generate reports in a .XLS format, but we won't be able to automatically place that report in your remotely hosted shipping server.

Ronen

Automate Invoice Exporting

chowrentoys.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:41:07 GMT

We are running a web store that is linked to a shipping software. Sometimes we have bulk order that are manually entered into the shipping software. We were wondering if the following can be automated on Method's end.

1. We will enter the bulk order into Method as a sales invoice.

2. Customer pay using the method customer portal.

3. The paid invoice automaticall export as .cvs to our remotely hosted shipping server.

4. The shipping software import the .cvs file and our warehouse fulfill the order.

The part I need help is for the invoice to be automatically export (if we can export the only the fields that we need would be even better).

Thank you for your help.