Member Assembler 2012 Will Include Ecommerce Tools

There is a lot of ecommerce news lately! We've talked about the new features we've added and the pros and cons of Authorize.net.

Next up, all Member Assembler accounts in 2012 will include access to the ecommerce tools to sell items to their members at no cost beyond the normal service fees for Member Assembler. We are trying to make it as easy as possible to service your customers and drive sales, so it was a no-brainer to package these services together and remove another barrier to your entry into the world of online sales.

If you are already delivering CSA boxes to your customers, selling "extra" items like honey, flour, or soaps is an obvious way to get great products into the hands of your customers that do not make sense for a CSA box. It is also a way to drive a little extra income for your CSA! Our ecommerce tool takes all of the burden of the ordering aspect of this off your shoulders -- so it is just up to you to print the report and figure out the logistics of actually getting the product into your customer's hands.

It's not just "extras" sales, the ecommerce tool could be used as full CSA box customization if you want to allow your customers to do this! Box customization is another logistical hurdle but I know many CSAs are moving in this direction as competition for CSA customers increases.

I just wrote up an extensive "how-to" on setting up your online store for sales to your Member Assembler customers. Read it here:
http://www.smallfarmcentral.com/help/csa-sales-how-to

We're looking forward to another great year of Member Assembler -- our industry leading CSA member management tool -- let us know if you have any questions on the service generally or the changes we are making for 2012.

Thinking about Authorize.net for credit card processing?

We've had a lot of inquiries over the past few days about using Authorize.net for credit card processing on Small Farm Central sites. It's great to hear the interest, but we need to put a little bit more information out there about the advantages and disadvantages of using this advanced checkout option.

Some items to consider:

• This is a full-blown credit card processor that requires a merchant account with a bank.
• There are monthly fees that authorize.net charges (in the range of $40/month).
• You may get rates as low as 1.7% for some credit cards (such as a standard VISA card), but it is not as simple as that. Each card will have a different rate; it can be as high as 3.5% in some cases (such as American Express). These rates are negotiated with your bank and we cannot guarantee any rates.
• You can use the same authorize.net account for ecommerce payment processing as for Member Assembler.
• As a rule of thumb, if you are doing less than $50K per year of credit card processing, Paypal is still a better option as far as your rate per transaction.
• Customers will never leave your site to make a payment when using Authorize.net; all credit card numbers are sent securely through SSL encryption.
• It takes time to set up an Authorize.net account and get a merchant processing account with your bank. Be prepared for a little bit of education on credit card processing as you are evaluating your options -- of course we are there to help when you have questions. Expect a minimum of 7-10 days to get everything set up.
• Once you have a merchant account and an authorize.net account, you can easily take payments through an online terminal or even get set up to have a swipe machine at your farm stand.

For the right farm, Authorize.net is a great option, but it is important to remember that there are some extra costs and extra set-up time. Contact us to get started with authorize.net. For more info read the following help docs:

Further documentation:
-Paypal vs. Authorize.net price comparison
-Authorize.net for Member Assembler
-Checkout options explained

Member Assembler FAQ No. 1: How do I collect balances from a subscriber that owes me money?

Does one of your customers have a remaining balance that you'd like to remind them about (and receive?!) It's easy to send payment requests through Member Assembler. Here's how:

1. Head to Member Assembler in your Control Panel and click on Accounting / Payment Request.

2. Click on Add New Payment Request in the yellow bar.


3. Walk through the questions.
- What Type of Payment Request is this? Is this a set amount? (do you need a customer to pay set amount such as $100?) or is this a percentage? (would you like your customer to pay a percentage of their remaining balance such as 50%). If you want them to pay all of their remaining balance, use 100%.
- User Must Have Type: Did you want this payment request to go out to everyone? (No Member Type Narrowing); or just to your ½ shares? The pull down menu will populate all the member types you offer.
- Payment Request Email Subject: Enter in the subject title for the email (For example: Remaining Balance info for your CSA
Now it's time to draft what the email will say. You’ll see some crazy looking variables (like this: %%primary-member-name%%) Don't delete these. These will populate for each of your members.
For this example, your member's name will be populated between the %%)) There a number of different variables you can add:
%%primary-member-name%% - The name of the primary user in the membership.
%%payment-request-amount%% - The amount of the payment request.
%%current-balance%% - The balance of the membership before any payment has been made.
%%cc-payment-url%% - A unique link to your website for the member to pay online with Paypal or Member Assembler payments (Authorize.net). Remember to delete this variable if you are not using credit card processing.
%%member-id%% - The unique number that identifies a particular member.

When you're asking for a request for payment, you could enter this into the body of your email:
%%primary-member-name%%, We are requesting a payment of %%payment-request-amount%%. Your current balance is %%current-balance%%. Click the following link to pay online with your credit card: %%cc-payment-url%%
Sincerely,

Your Farm Name here.

4. Click on Save and Select Users


This next screen, you'll get to see a preview of what your message is going to look like. If you see anything you'd like to change, click on "edit this payment request" in the yellow box. The final step is to select the members that should receive the payment request. This list should be populated from your “User Must Have Type:” section, from the previous screen. Simply click on the box to 'check' it, next to any of the names you'd like the email to go to.

Click on Send Email to send the email.

Still need help? We're happy to answer questions. Give us a call at 412.567.3864 or email us at support@smallfarmcentral.com.

We're Sponsoring a Screening of the Greenhorns October 6th

I know not too many of you are in Pittsburgh, but we're putting together a screening of the new documentary about young farmers called 'The Greenhorns' on October 6th at the Melwood Screening Room. I've met Severine (the creator of the movie) at various farm conferences over the years -- I think everyone at these conferences meets Severine. She has the kind of personality that meets everyone.

"The Greenhorns documentary film, completed after almost 3 years in production, explores the lives of America's young farming community - its spirit, practices, and needs. It is the filmmaker's hope that by broadcasting the stories and voices of these young farmers, we can build the case for those considering a career in agriculture - to embolden them, to entice them, and to recruit them into farming." -- from the Greenhorns website.

The screening will include a happy hour featuring local food & brews and proceeds will benefit Grow Pittsburgh.

Here are details about our screening.

Here is the trailer:

For more information on the Greenhorns, visit http://www.thegreenhorns.net/. There are screenings going on around the country this fall, so maybe there is one in your area.