John Frazar, Author at Stone Edge Technologies

Speed Up Order Imports

The Stone Edge Order Manager (SEOM) is a powerful automation tool for online retailers. It can take processing of orders from a very manual and tedious process, to a fully automated process, or somewhere in between. Why can order imports be slow? Many users like to automate routine tasks during the order import. This might include running a MaxMind fraud check, validating address during import, charging credit cards, or using approval rules to revise or manipulate orders. Unfortunately, the more things that you have the software doing during the import, the longer the import will take. This is especially true when that "thing" involves a post to the Internet, such as fraud checks, address validation on both billing and shipping addresses, and credit card processing. If each API call takes one second to post, wait for a response, then process the response, you can see how doing a fraud check, address validation, and credit card pre-authorization can add several seconds to the import of each orders! Multiply that times hundreds or thousands of orders and you're in for a long wait. The other bottleneck when import orders has to do with the limitations of reliably importing data between two distinct [...]

By John Frazar|2020-05-18T23:39:41+00:00May 18th, 2020|Tips & Tricks|0 Comments

2020 Sales Tax Changes

Sales taxes are an important topic for business of all shapes and sizes. It’s also a topic that can quickly become very overwhelming. There are frequent changes, specifics can vary by state, and they can even change just when you think you’ve got it all down. 2019 was no different. There were many changes (see below). It’s still early in the year though, and this FREE webinar from our partners at Avalara can put you on the right path. Scott Peterson, Vice President of U.S. Tax Policy and Government Relations covers all the new tax rules for 2020. The webinar itself is here. Avalara’s tools and resources are game changers. They will ensure you are compliant with all the required sales taxes in your region, which is why Stone Edge chooses to partner with them. Avalara automates and simplifies governmental compliance processes, including tax determination, exemption certificate management, and tax return preparation, filing, and remittance within Stone Edge Technologies. On-demand webinar: 2020 sales tax changes What you need to know about new tax rules in the new year 2019 brought dramatic changes in sales and use tax rules: 43 states adopted economic nexus laws, requiring out-of-state sellers to collect [...]

By John Frazar|2020-02-18T18:07:19+00:00February 14th, 2020|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Commercial Invoice – An Overview

Some of you have been inquiring about Commercial Invoice recently. Why is it so important? Well, it is the primary document used by most foreign customs agencies for shipping all non-documents internationally. That importance is why we have decided to compile a list of resources – a cheat sheet, if you will – that can answer questions and provide further resources. It’s not the only required document for sending an international shipment, however. The other documents include, Export Declaration (B13A), Certificate of Origin, and the Toxic Substances Control Act form. (Note: When printing from within Stone Edge, you will have everything you need to ship internationally, but if their are ever any concerns or questions, feel free to contact us. We are more than happy to help). But for now, let’s dive into the details about Commercial Invoice. Here’s what the experts have to say: Sources: FedEx UPS USPS Overview It is important to ensure that information on all your documents is consistent and accurate, starting with the Commercial Invoice. It is the foundation of all other documents and is the first international shipping document that should be completed. The information provided on other international shipping documents, including the air [...]

By John Frazar|2020-02-19T20:04:00+00:00February 13th, 2020|Support|0 Comments

Small Business, Big Sales: Order Management/Point of Sale Software Helps Small Retailer Cope with Mass Orders

They came, they saw, they purchased … Thousands of customers, without a hitch. In April, Pilotmall.com took part in The SUN ’n FUN International Fly-In, in Lakeland, Florida—one of the largest airshows in the U.S. with over 150,000 attendees. They brought a truckload of pilot paraphernalia to sell in their Aviation Superstore in three locations at the event—at the main tent and in two remote locations. They were used to handling dozens of transactions a day in their normal business, but this would be different. Now they needed to be able to handle more than a thousand transactions a day. Fortunately, they had a plan. Pilot Mall processed more than 8,500 sales using the Stone Edge Order Manager at Sun 'n Fun Airshow in Lakeland, FL. Pilotmall.com Aviation Superstore sells more than 4,000 products for pilots, including aircraft manuals, supplies, apparel, bags, books, charts, headsets, logbooks, software, oxygen systems, safety accessories, and more. In business for more than 11 years, they sell primarily through online and mail order channels although they have a warehouse store in St. Petersburg, Florida that handles a small amount of walk-in traffic. This year they decided to have a significant presence at several [...]

By John Frazar|2020-01-10T17:11:26+00:00November 12th, 2019|Case Studies|0 Comments

Critical Stone Edge Update for Yahoo Store Owners

Overview Due to recent security enhancements made by Yahoo, there is a mandatory code change needed in Stone Edge in order to continue to process payments via the Yahoo Payment API. For Yahoo users who do not use the Payment API, there is no further action required. This change is discussed in detail here: https://help.smallbusiness.yahoo.net/s/article/SLN19413 Who is Effected All Yahoo Stores who use the Yahoo Payment API to process payments in the Stone Edge Order Manager. The Fix For Merchants Using The Stone Edge Order Manager Version 5.9x to 7.048 There are multiple options to obtain the fix: Option 1 (preferred): Upgrade to version 7.049 or higher, including the current beta release (but not 7.1x or 7.5x) Option 2: For merchants who may have difficulty upgrading to do heavy customizations you can manually apply the code change below. The code change must be made on ALL PC's running Stone Edge Order Manager. Steps for Updating the Code Manually With Stone Edge open hit Control-G to open the VBA code. Then click anywhere in the code. Hit Control-F to open the Find window Copy and paste the following text into the Find What text box: payment.store.yahooapis.com/V1/order Select "Current Project" under Search and [...]

By John Frazar|2020-01-10T16:50:33+00:00June 19th, 2019|Updates|0 Comments

Setting up Google Express with Stone Edge

Google Express uses OAuth authentication which requires the customer to login to the integration server to allow Google Express to authorize our access to your account. The instructions below will show you how to authorize us to access your Google Express account setup the integration. Google Express Authentication Authorization Instructions Provide your Google Express Account Information: An account will be created on our server to start the process of connecting to Google Express, please provide the following information. Email address of account owner Phone number Primary web site Contact name Google Express Merchant ID Create a Password: We will configure an account for you on the integration server and send you a username and password to access your account. Once received, open a browser and navigate to the URL provided. Click the "Forgot Password" link. Enter the username provided, and follow the on screen prompts to create a new password. Link your Google Account via oAuth: After you've created a password, log into the integration server, scroll to the Channel List and click the “Update Channel” Link for Google Express. Click the link labeled “Authorize Google Express Access” Select the Google Account that is related to your Google Express Store [...]

By John Frazar|2019-06-19T17:26:21+00:00January 27th, 2019|Support|0 Comments

Setting up Shopify with Stone Edge

To allow Stone Edge to get and manage order feeds from Shopify you will have to create a Private App to allow access to your data. The instructions below will show you how to create the Private app with the correct permissions and show you what information you need to send to Stone Edge to enable the integration. Generating a Private App within Shopify Login to the Shopify administrative section of your website. Click on the Apps section on the side menu. Select the “Manage Private apps” Select “Generate API Credentials” Provide a Private app name. You can name it whatever you like. We recommend "StoneEdge" so that it's recognizable. Give the Private App permissions. Set each of the following to "Read and Write": Customer Details and Customer Groups Orders, Transactions and Fulfillments Products, Variants and Collections Theme Templates and Theme Assets Shipping Rates, Countries and Provinces Gift Cards Fulfillment Services Click "Save" The authentication credentials will be created and available for viewing. Copy the following values from the authentication box along with your stores URL, and send that information to Stone Edge so the integration can be added. Store URL API key Password Shared secret

By John Frazar|2019-06-19T14:50:43+00:00October 31st, 2018|Support|0 Comments

Setting up Amazon with Stone Edge

To allow Stone Edge to get and manage order feeds from Amazon you will have to give access to your feeds. This is done by giving our account access to your feeds in the Seller Management website. The final step is to provide us with your MarketId which we use to connect to your data Amazon feeds. We are able to grab full order data from Amazon, and push inventory stock levels and order status to Amazon. Log on to your Seller Central Management console in Amazon. Note: You must be logged in with your main Administrator account. Go To Settings > User Permissions Go to the bottom of the page and select the Authorized a Developer button Select Authorize a Developer radio button and enter in the information about us provided below: Developer’s Name: “Esperanto Commerce” Developer’s Account Number: “0743-9922-8709” Click “Next” Select the authorized check box. Click “Next” The next page shows the information needed to setup access on our part. Please send us the information listed below so that we can setup your account on our side. After this step we will enter in the information on our side and we will handle the process from there. Depending on the [...]

By John Frazar|2019-06-19T15:08:38+00:00June 13th, 2018|Support|0 Comments

How to Check for TLS 1.0 Traffic

Use the instructions below to install "Fiddler" and check your PC for TLS 1.0 traffic to PayPal. Go to https://www.telerik.com/fiddler and click the "Download Now" button On the next screen select Security Testing, and then enter your email, country and state/province. Lastly accept the Fiddler End Use Licence Agreement and then click Download for Windows. Once the download is complete browse to the location of the downloaded file and right click on it and select Run As Admin. During the install keep all of the default settings. Once the install has completed click the Close button. Under the Start Menu in Windows look for Fiddler 4 and select it to open the application. Once Fiddler is open go to Tools>Options. In the Options window select HTTPS. Click the checkbox for Decrypt HTTPS traffic. You will receive two popups. On both popups select Yes. Open Stone Edge perform a credit card transaction. Once complete switch back to Fiddler. In Fiddler look in the Session List on the left hand side of the screen for an entry related to PayPal. In my test I used Paypal Payflow Pro as my gateway. Double click on the entry and then look to the right [...]

By John Frazar|2019-06-19T17:36:45+00:00June 11th, 2018|Support|0 Comments

john@stoneedge.com

About John Frazar

Speed Up Order Imports

2020 Sales Tax Changes

Commercial Invoice – An Overview

Small Business, Big Sales: Order Management/Point of Sale Software Helps Small Retailer Cope with Mass Orders

Critical Stone Edge Update for Yahoo Store Owners

Setting up Google Express with Stone Edge

Setting up Shopify with Stone Edge

Setting up Amazon with Stone Edge

How to Check for TLS 1.0 Traffic