eCommerce Platform Updates

8/28/2024		Two-Factor Authentication - Add an additional layer of security to the login process of your Order Management System
7/25/2024		Express Order Exports - Export larges amounts of data much faster then ever before
1/16/2024		Product Level Surcharges - Wineries in California can easily comply with the California Bottle Bill
7/18/2023		Nexternal Dashboard - Your Order Management System now provides a Dashboard that will allow you to see and analyze your online store's performance
5/18/2023		Activity Detection Security Feature - A new activity detection security feature has been added to the OMS to provide an additional layer of protection against bad actors who may attempt to utilize your online store for credit card testing or other unwelcome activity.
4/11/2023		CAPTCHA for New Customer Registration - A simple checkbox CAPTCHA has been added to the customer creation process, to require that new customers placing orders in your online store identify themselves as human. While this feature is optional, we recommend that all merchants whose online stores are visible to the public and not password protected, activate this feature for increased protection.
2/14/2023		Enhanced Filter Functionality - Five major enhancements to our Product Filter functionality make shopping your online store easier than ever.
2/14/2023		Dedicated UOM Field - Now merchants can specify a unit of measure in a dedicated field on the product level.
2/14/2023		Surcharge Threshold - Now merchants can automatically limit a surcharge application only to orders that don't meet a specified order minimum amount.
2/14/2023		Updated Customer Password Policy & Reset Process - Now it's simple for your customers to create more secure passwords and reset forgotten passwords on their own.
10/25/2022		Available Shipping Days at Ship-From Address Level - Now merchants who are using either the Expected Shipping Time feature or the Preferred Delivery Date feature can set Available Shipping Days at the Ship-From Address level to accommodate products that ship separately on different schedules.
9/22/2022		Surcharges - Now merchants can automatically add handling fees, fuel surcharges, credit card usage charges, State-mandated fees (such as the CO Retail Delivery Fee) and other add-on charges to orders, calculated in a number of different ways.
9/22/2022		OMS Line Item Percentage Discounts - Now users can choose to discount line items by a percentage as well as to a specified amount, while placing orders in the Nexternal Order Management System.
6/22/2022		Loyalty Points as Credit Memos - We've enhanced our premium Loyalty Points feature to allow merchants to use it for a Loyalty Points program, a Credit Memo system, or both, by customer type.
6/15/2022		Quick Order Pad - With this premium feature, merchants and their customers can more quickly and efficiently place orders in the Order Management System and storefront, if they order by SKU. This is especially useful for BtoB merchants and their business customers, whether using the password-protected store, the publicly available store, or both.
6/8/2022		Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Integration - As recommended by Google, and in preparation for Google's sunsetting of Universal Analytics, now merchants can track data in both GA4 and Universal Analytics simultaneously. IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MERCHANTS.
4/12/2022		Display SKU in Cart - Now you can display the product SKU number in the cart with a simple click of a button.
3/15/2022		Simplify Attribute Import/Export Spreadsheets - Now it's easier than ever to set up and manage product catalogs containing products with attributes and options.
3/8/2022		Shipping Methods by Customer Type - Now merchants have more control over which shipping methods are available to various customer types in their Nexternal stores, making each customer's ordering experience even more customized than before.
3/8/2022		Address Book Search in OMS - We've added a search function in the OMS additional address section of the customer record to make it easier for merchants to manage large address books for their customers.
2/15/2022		Expanded View Filters on the OMS Order List page - Now you can filter your orders on the OMS order list page in one of seventeen ways, making fulfillment faster and more efficient.
2/15/2022		Expected In-Stock Date in Item Hover on OMS order list page - Now you can view the expected in-stock date of any line item in the hover state on the order list page of the OMS, making it easier to anticipate upcoming fulfillment requirements.
2/15/2022		Expanded Amazon Carrier List - For merchants using the Nexternal integration with Amazon, we've expanded the list of recognized carriers.
2/8/2022		COG Column on Price Import - Now with a single import you can update both Price and COG simultaneously at either the product or the SKU level.
9/28/2021		Hover State on Account Page Order List - To see historical order contents, now customers, purchasing group masters and purchasing group members with group order visibility, need only hover over each order in the order lists on their account pages, instead of clicking through to each order summary.
9/28/2021		SMS In-Stock Notifications - Now in addition to email notifications, merchants may send SMS In-Stock notifications which effectively generate increased revenue on sales of back-in-stock items.
9/28/2021		Customer Shipper Accounts - The new Customer Shipper Accounts feature allows merchants to collect their customers' UPS and FedEx shipper account numbers so that their customers may pay for shipping directly rather than being charged for shipping within the order. This often provides benefits for B2B customers including lower shipping prices and consolidated shipment tracking and reporting.
9/28/2021		Address Autocomplete - Checkout and account creation are now smarter and faster experiences! When a customer begins typing their address into a storefront address field, address suggestions appear and when selected, auto-fill the address entirely. This is particularly effective in mobile, where small screens can make typing difficult. Further, address autocomplete improves the quality of address data, especially when used in conjunction with carrier address validation, thereby reducing a merchant's time spent on incorrect deliveries and returned shipments.
9/28/2021		Billing Methods by Customer Type - Now merchants may assign billing methods by customer type, in lieu of by rank. This means that the relationship between each billing method and each customer type is one-to-one, and is no longer necessarily cumulative. This feature affords yet another way to customize user experience in the storefront, allowing the merchant to treat different customer types differently.
8/3/2021		Option to Segment Per Backordered Item - When Split Order Processing is in use, merchants now have the option to choose to segment each backordered item into its own segment, instead of grouping all backordered items into a single segment.
6/16/2021		Convert an Order from Ship to Pickup - Now in addition to converting an order from Pickup to Ship, you may also convert an order from Ship to Pickup.
6/16/2021		Temporary Timed Discounts on Product Level - Now you can set automated beginning and end dates for discounted pricing on the product level (vs using a coupon).
5/4/2021		Shipping Override Applications - Shipping Override Minimum calculations, previously based only on shipment level totals), may now be calculated based on ship-to address, shipment, or order level totals.
4/27/2021		Purchasing Groups - Enhanced Approvers Increased Order Visibility - The Enhanced Approver option gives Purchasing Group Subcustomers (Group Members) with the Role of Approver, the same visibility into Group Orders, Group Pending Orders, and Group Subscriptions as the Master Customer.
3/31/2021		ACH Payments - ACH (Automated Clearing House) or "e-check" is now an optional payment method in addition to credit card, invoice, COD and any custom method a merchant may have set. ACH is a method whereby customers pay via direct debit from a bank account.
2/18/2021		Purchasing Groups - Subcustomer Payment Option - Customer Purchasing Groups can now be configured to require Subcustomers (Group Members) to pay for the orders they place instead of having the Group Master pay for them. If this option is in use as Payment for a Customer Group, the Subcustomer must provide his/her own Payment Method and Bill-To Address when placing an order. This solution serves groups who want order visibility by multiple people, but not Master Customer payments.
1/12/2021		Favorites - Now you can provide the ability to create a wishlist or favorites list to allow shoppers to browse now and buy later with ease.
11/10/2020		Buy Now - When a shopper clicks the Buy Now button for a product, the shopper is immediately taken to a fast checkout experience to complete the purchase of that product.
11/10/2020		User Screen Exclusions - By configuring the 'Excluded Screens' for a user, a merchant may restrict the user from accessing sections of the Order Management System.
11/10/2020		Coupon Enhancement: Limit Shipping Coupon Application to Select Products - Using our new coupon settings, merchants may now limit the products to which a free or discounted shipping coupon can be applied in their online stores (e.g., Free Shipping on the Logo Merchandise category).
11/10/2020		QuickShop - The QuickShop feature allows browsing shoppers to obtain more detailed information about a product, select a product variant, and add the product to cart from the list view via a popup window, without needing to navigate to a product detail page and away from their browsing.
9/16/2020		Inventory Transaction Report Usability Enhancements - We have added two usability enhancements for clients using the Enhanced Inventory feature: a new Inventory Transaction Report Excel Export, and the ability to limit the report to a single product variant.
9/14/2020		Minimums by Customer Type - Now merchants have more control over minimum item purchase quantities and minimum order totals in their Nexternal stores, with the ability to set these minimums separately for each customer type. When these minimums are set, customers may not complete the checkout process until they have satisfied the minimum requirements for their customer type.
8/25/2020		Preferred Delivery Date & Preferred Pickup Date Enhancements - The Preferred Delivery Date and Preferred Pickup Date features have been enhanced to offer merchants increased flexibility and control over the checkout experience by requiring customers to actively select a date before checkout.
6/23/2020		FedEx Sunday Delivery Supported - Merchants who ship via FedEx and either display Expected Delivery Dates to customers, or allow customers to select Preferred Delivery Dates at checkout, may now offer customers the added convenience of selecting a Sunday Delivery.
6/1/2020		Customer Purchasing Groups - Merchants who enable Purchasing Groups in their Nexternal online store give their customers complete control of the B2B purchasing and approval process. Group Masters pay for all orders placed by Group Members, control the order approval process, and may access consolidated order reporting for the Group.
5/5/2020		Added Support for Lot Numbers, Serial Numbers, and Expiration Dates - Businesses who need to keep records which allow them to track the Lot Numbers, Serial Numbers, and Expiration Dates of the merchandise shipped to customers will now find additional support for this data in their Nexternal system.
5/5/2020		Customer Type XML Query - Clients using the XML Tools API may now query for a list of Customer Types.
5/5/2020		Shipping Method Sort - Clients may optionally display available shipping methods in the storefront automatically sorted by rate (from lowest to highest) or transit time (fastest to slowest).
5/5/2020		Buy Again - When a logged in shopper clicks on a 'Buy Again' link in the online store, the shopper is presented with a list of products they have purchased from the merchant in the past.
2/25/2020		Purchase Set Quantity - This feature allows you to specify that a given product (or SKU-level sub-product) must be purchased in multiples of a given quantity.
2/18/2020		Recently Viewed Products - The Recently Viewed Products feature displays a running list of products on the product detail pages that the shopper has recently clicked on, making it easier for casual shoppers to find and purchase items in which they have shown interest in the past or during the current shopping trip.
11/21/2019		Credit Card Report Enhancements - New options are now available on the Credit Card Report which complement our new Pay Invoices feature.
11/21/2019		Pay Invoices Online - Merchants may now offer customers the option to pay their Invoices via credit card in the "My Account" section of the merchant's store.
11/21/2019		Customer Type Import - Clients may now add new customer types to their system by using our new Customer Type Import.
11/21/2019		Amazon Handling Time Override - Customers synchronizing available product inventory to Amazon are required to communicate a Handling Time to Amazon. We are now offering an override on the product level for products whose handling time differs from the global setting.
11/21/2019		Google Shopping Feed Update - A new "Shipping Label" option has been added to the Google Shopping feed.
11/21/2019		Vendor Code - A new Vendor Code field is now available on each vendor record.
11/21/2019		Override Order Lock - When an order is locked, a new unlock option is available to OMS users which allows the Purchase Order number to be edited on orders paid via Invoice billing.
7/30/2019		OpenEdge Payment Gateway - Nexternal is now integrated with the OpenEdge Payment Gateway.
7/22/2019		Quick Reorder in Engage - This simple feature allows an Engage user to open a customer's previous order, click the Reorder button, and the Engage cart instantly reloads with the contents of the previous order.
7/22/2019		Capture Customer Images in Engage - Engage users now have the ability to capture images of customers and save them to the customers' profiles.
7/16/2019		TrueCommerce Connect - Pickup Triggers - Clients passing orders to third party business systems via TrueCommerce Connect may now rely on the same triggers to send both pickup and ship orders to Transaction Manager.
7/9/2019		New Order History Search Option - A new search option was added which allows clients to identify and quantify customers who have ordered a product in a specific category with a specified price rage.
7/9/2019		Batch Processing Usability Enhancements - Several enhancements were made to the Batch Processing section of the Order Management System for increased efficiency, including the ability to skip past the results preview and the ability to save user-specific batch processing settings.
7/9/2019		Forgotten Password Feature Added to Direct Checkout Pages - A Forgotten Password Link was added to our Direct Checkout pages, offering a path to order completion to customers who are experiencing difficulty with passwords.
7/9/2019		Age Gate - Clients may set a minimum age required for customers to be able to purchase products in the online store. If the customer's stated date of birth does not meet the minimum age requirement for purchase, he/she is blocked from proceeding with the order.
7/9/2019		Coupon Application to Normal Status Products Only - New coupon option offers the ability to apply discounts to products with normal status only.
5/30/2019		Option to Import Shipped Merchant Fulfilled Orders from Amazon - The Import Fulfilled by Merchant Orders option allows you to import Amazon merchant fulfilled orders whose status is "Shipped".
5/1/2019		Engage Product Display Order Control - Clients using the Engage application may set the display order for products within a category, now allowing for a display order within the app which differs from the client's storefront display.
4/17/2019		Guided Tutorials - This new menu option offers step-by-step instructions for common tasks and guided tours of the OMS.
4/17/2019		Campaign Tracking - When customers originate an order from a URL that uses standard Google Analytics utm tracking variables or Mailchimp campaign links clients can look at the order and see which marketing campaign generated the order.
4/17/2019		Mailchimp Product Recommendations - We have modified our integration with Mailchimp such that clients using this integration now may take advantage of Mailchimp's Product Recommendations feature.
4/17/2019		Customer Notes Hover Display - Clients using the Order Notes Flag to draw attention to orders containing Customer Comments may now view the entire Customer Order Comments in the OMS by hovering over the Order Notes Flag.
4/17/2019		New Amazon Standard Shipping Mapping - Clients using the Amazon marketplace integration may now map Amazon orders using Standard Shipping to separate shipping services for Residential and Business shipments.
4/17/2019		Enhanced Inventory Report by Location & Shelf Import - Clients using our Enhanced Inventory module may now benefit from these two new enhancements which allow them to manage inventory more efficiently.
4/17/2019		Disable Fulfillment E-mails Option - When this option is activated for a product, fulfillment e-mails will not be sent when orders containing such products are marked fulfilled.
4/17/2019		New FedEx Packaging Options - Clients may now specify separate packaging for FedEx Ground (including Home Delivery) versus FedEx Express shipments.
1/21/2019		Automatic Order Splitting and Split Order Processing - The Split Order Processing option automatically separates order line items into different numbered segments, allowing the segments to be processed separately. This option is particularly useful if you regularly take orders that contain a mixture of in-stock and out-of-stock products and which to process and fulfill them on an as-available basis; or if you regularly take orders with multiple Ship-To Addresses, Ship-From Addresses, or Pickup Locations, and which to process and fulfill them separately.
1/21/2019		Captchas Added to Multiple Storefront Features - CAPTCHAs have been added to several features visible in desktop and mobile stores.
1/21/2019		Reviews Export - Clients now have the option to export reviews of their products to Excel or Access.
1/21/2019		Integration Lock Override for XML Tools and TC Connect - We now offer a checkbox that allows the OMS user to unlock the customer record and modify the locked fields.
1/21/2019		Master Images Added to Product Import - On the primary Product Import (Products / Import / Product Import) we have added an option to use Nexternal's new Master Image functionality.
11/1/2018		Engage Customer Notes - Users of our Engage i0s application may now easily view, edit, and add new Customer Notes through the app.
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8/28/2024 -- Two-Factor Authentication

In the Users section of the Order Management System, you can now edit any user profile and enable email-based two-factor authentication. This provides an additional layer of security; a username and password alone are no longer sufficiently protective for login access, so two-factor authentication is highly recommended. Note - Amazon requires that two-factor authentication is enabled for any merchant who is receiving MFN (FBM) Amazon Seller Central orders in their Nexternal OMS.

7/25/2024 -- Express Order Exports

Excel Express Exports allow merchants to export large amounts of data out of their Nexternal Order Management System much faster than before. This new option is particularly useful for exports that contains thousands of records.

Excel Express Exports are located in the Export area of Orders, Customers, and Products (with the Product Excel Express and Price Excel Express option).

1/16/2024 -- Product Level Surcharges

Product Level Surcharges are now available in the Surcharges area of the Settings section. This enhancement makes is very simple for merchants to add specific product level surchages for the appropriate customers automatically during their shopping process. A perfect example is the CRV charge that California Wineries need to collect on wine shipments to California, or if wine in picked up at a tasting room in the state.

Once the product level surchages are created, merchants can edit a product and specify which surcharge applies to it so that only the appropriate products trigger the charge.

7/18/2023 -- Nexternal Dashboard

Included in your Nexternal Dashboard are charts and analysis of your sales, customers, and products. You can now easily see your sales progress, sales charts, order and customer status, activity statistics, and search statistics in your store.

5/18/2023 -- Activity Detection Security Feature

A new activity detection security feature has been added to your Order Management System (OMS) to provide an additional layer of protection against bad actors who may attempt to utilize your online store for credit card testing or other unwelcome activity. Located in your OMS in Settings/Anti-Fraud and Security, you will see the new feature just beneath the CAPTCHA settings. To learn more and to activate, click the ? icon next to the feature to read the related About text. While this feature is optional, we strongly recommend that all merchants whose online stores are visible to the public and not password protected, activate this feature for increased protection.

4/11/2023 -- CAPTCHA for New Customer Registration

In Settings, Anti-Fraud and Security, the new Use CAPTCHA for New Customer Registration feature adds a simple checkbox CAPTCHA for each new customer placing an order in your online store. This feature is designed to keep bad actors out of your store and limit your potential for fraudulent charges, and can be activated with a single click. Learn More.

2/14/2023 -- Enhanced Filter Functionality

We've significantly enhanced our product filtering functionality in five ways:
1. Now a user can select multiple items within a filter category. This enhancement is automatic and no settings need to be changed or activated.
2. Merchants can now set optional section height settings, so that sections with lots of options can be compacted and scrolled instead of taking up vertical space.
3. Merchants can now optionally provide search capability within each filter category, which is particularly important when section heights limit visibility of all options within the filter category.
4. For price filtering, merchants can now set their own price ranges if the default ranges don't suit their product catalogs.
5. Merchants with only top navigation and no side navigation in their stores can now utilize product filtering, with a selection of display options.
Learn More.

2/14/2023 -- Dedicated UOM Field

With this enhancement, merchants can select from ten most commonly used options to specify a unit of measure (UOM) in a dedicated field on the product level. If TrueCommerce Connect is in use, the UOM will flow through TrueCommerce Connect on an EDI 850 to land in Transaction Manager. Further, merchants can XML the UOM in and out of the TrueCommerce Nexternal Order Management System, and import and export it as well, as a part of the Product import and export. (See: Products / New [or any existing product] / Unit of Measure). Learn More.

2/14/2023 -- Surcharge Threshold

We've enhanced our surcharge functionality to include the ability for a merchant to set an "exempt minimum" - an order amount threshold over which an otherwise applicable surcharge will not apply. Learn More.

2/14/2023 -- Updated Customer Password Policy & Reset Process

To save you time spent on customer service and administration, we've simplified the customer self-serve password reset process. When your customer forgets the password to their account in your online store, they can reset their password on their own in 3 simple steps. Plus, we've implemented stricter password requirements for newly-created passwords to ensure the creation of more secure passwords. Learn More.

10/25/2022 -- Available Shipping Days at Ship-From Address Level

Now merchants who are using either the Expected Shipping Time feature or the Preferred Delivery Date feature can set Available Shipping Days at the Ship-From Address level to accommodate products that ship separately on different schedules. For Expected Shipping Time the Available Shipping Days are used to determine when an order (or order segment) is expected to ship. For Preferred Delivery Date they determine which delivery dates are available for customer selection. Learn More.

9/22/2022 -- Surcharges

Benefitting both BtoB and BtoC merchants alike, now merchants can automatically add one or more surcharges to any order, including handling fees, fuel surcharges, credit card usage charges*, State-mandated fees such as the Colorado Retail Delivery Fee, etc. Surcharges can be calculated and applied in a number of different ways. Additionally, several surcharges can be active at the same time, with different application rules. Set up surcharges quickly and easily in Settings / Surcharges. Surcharges are not taxable and will appear in the cart and on the invoice page below the order subtotal. Learn More. *Note that State law and credit card company regulations apply to credit card surcharges, with steep penalties for non-adherence.

9/22/2022 -- OMS Line Item Percentage Discounts

This small update packs a powerful punch - now field reps and other users can discount line items by a percentage while placing an order in the Order Management System (OMS) without first doing the math. No setup is required, users will simply see this functionality, along with the opportunity to discount to a specified amount, on the final invoice page in the OMS when placing an order.

6/22/2022 -- Loyalty Points as Credit Memos

Now merchants can use our premium Loyalty Points feature to implement a Loyalty Points program, a Credit Memo system, or both. We've added the ability to change labeling and displays to accommodate both uses, and manage both feature applications by customer type. A single fee applies for this premium feature, regardless of how the feature is used, adding value without increasing price for the new credit memo functionality. Learn More.

6/15/2022 -- Quick Order Pad

The Quick Order Pad feature allows customers (or merchant employees entering orders from the Order Management System [OMS]) to build their orders quickly and easily if they know the exact SKUs of the products they wish to purchase. Set up is super simple (Layout / Main Layout / Quick Order Pad), and once the feature is activated from within the OMS, those given access (employees and/or customers) will be able to enter manually or via .csv file upload, up to 100 SKU/Quantity combinations at a time, and add all the items to their cart with a single click. This premium feature (fees apply) is a game changer in the BtoB world and may be useful as well to BtoC merchants who place multiple-item orders for customers from the OMS. Learn More.

6/8/2022 -- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Integration

As of July 1, 2023, merchants will no longer be able to collect data in Google's Universal Analytics, which Google is sunsetting. Several months later, at a date that Google has not yet announced, merchants will lose access to all of their historical data collected in Universal Analytics. Therefore, Google and TrueCommerce Nexternal both strongly recommend that all merchants who utilize Google Analytics immediately begin to collect data in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which will replace Universal Analytics, as well as continue to collect data in Universal Analytics until Google discontinues that service, so that when the cut off dates come around, each merchant has adequate historical data with which to work in GA4. The Nexternal platform has been updated to allow this simultaneous data collection beginning immediately. Set it up in Settings / Policies Addenda & Disclaimers / Google Analytics. IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS FEATURE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MERCHANTS. Learn More.

4/12/2022 -- Display SKU in Cart

A new Boolean Option has been added which enables a merchant to display the item SKU number along with the product name in the cart once a shopper has added the item to the cart. This may be especially helpful to B2B merchants whose customers shop by SKU number and want to verify the SKU in the cart prior to checkout. Turn on this boolean option at Settings/Boolean Options/Cart SKUs.

3/15/2022 -- Simplify Attribute Import/Export Spreadsheets

Making it substantially easier and more intuitive for merchants to set up and manage catalogs containing products with attributes and options, we've eliminated the preference requirements for product attribute exports and imports (Products / Import / Attribute Import) (Products / Export/Traffic Tools / Attribute Excel). Note that the spreadsheet format has changed, so be sure to download a fresh sheet before importing.

3/8/2022 -- Shipping Methods by Customer Type

For merchants who service multiple customer types via a single Nexternal account, it's now even easier to customize the user experience by assigning different shipping method options to different customer types. Merchants may now assign shipping methods by rank or more granularly by customer type. Simply check the "Restrict Shipping Methods by Customer Type" box on page two of the shipping setup in the OMS, to reveal your options for setting shipping methods by rank or by customer type. Learn More.

3/8/2022 -- Address Book Search in OMS

Now merchants who have customers that maintain large address books will be better able to manage those address books for their customers with a quick search function in the OMS additional addresses section of the customer record summary page.

2/15/2022 -- Expanded View Filters on the OMS Order List page

Making fulfillment easier than ever, now you can filter your orders in one of seventeen combinations of order and billing statuses, obviating the need to filter with an advanced search. The related tooltip explains the result of each list-page filter, and the last filter "Shipped but not Paid" is there especially to assist merchants to ensure each day that funds have been captured on all shipped orders.

2/15/2022 -- Expected In-Stock Date in Item Hover on OMS order list page

Making it easier than ever to fulfill orders in this age of eternal preorders and backorders, we've added the expected in-stock date to the hover state on the OMS order list page. Simply place your mouse over the order number and you will see relevant order data, now including any expected in-stock date that a merchant has entered into the OMS on the product setup page.

2/15/2022 -- Expanded Amazon Carrier List

We added over 400 new carriers to the Amazon carrier Name/Code list, so your orders transfer smoothly regardless of carrier.

2/8/2022 -- COG Column on Price Import

In Products/Price Imports, we've added a column for Cost of Goods (COG) so merchants can update both price and cost of goods with a single import. This is an excellent feature for merchants who need to raise their prices when their COG increases and they track both COG and price in the Nexternal platform.

9/28/2021 -- Hover State on Account Page Order List

Hover State on Account Page Order Lists makes it easy for customers to review their order histories without clicking into each order to see the contents. Further, the same ease of use is afforded Purchasing Group Masters, Approvers and Enhanced Approvers when looking at the lists of Group Member Orders on their account pages. There's nothing to set up here, nothing to activate - it just works!

9/28/2021 -- SMS In-Stock Notifications

More and more shoppers today prefer text over email In-Stock notifications, and now merchants have the opportunity to automatically send SMS messages when a product's status changes back to in stock. Activation requires accessing Nexternal through the current version of the TrueCommerce Foundry platform, which adds reporting and other benefits as well as SMS capabilities, for each Nexternal merchant. To enable SMS in-stock notifications, each merchant will need to activate an account with third-party CDYNE (low fees apply). Setup occurs first in the CDYNE account where an SMS Gateway License number is produced. Then setup continues in both the Nexternal OMS and the Foundry platform, per the instructions in this Help Article.

9/28/2021 -- Customer Shipper Accounts

The Customer Shipper Accounts feature allows the merchant to collect the customer's UPS and FedEx shipper account number for use in producing labels outside of the Nexternal platform. Set up this feature in Settings / Shipping / Customer Shipping Accounts. Applicability may be assigned by customer type, enhancing the merchant's ability to customize the user experience. Merchants have clear visibility into which orders contain customer shipper account numbers, and these orders can be easily excluded from batch processing. Further, orders with customer shipper accounts can be segmented in a number of ways through Advanced Search, for detailed reporting. Learn More.

9/28/2021 -- Address Autocomplete

Applying to customers, orders, vendors, reviews, and affiliates, this feature makes address entry easier, quicker and more accurate throughout the storefront. Activation requires a Google account set up with billing, in which an API key can be created (fees may apply depending upon volume). Enter the API key into the Nexternal Order Management System at Settings / Compatible Software / Google Address AutoComplete / API Key, and you're all set. Learn More.

9/28/2021 -- Billing Methods by Customer Type

For merchants who service multiple customer types via a single Nexternal account, it's now even easier to customize the user experience by assigning different billing options to different customer types. Now merchants may assign billing methods by customer type, in lieu of by rank. This means that the relationship between each billing method and each customer type is one-to-one, and is no longer necessarily cumulative. Simply set up overrides on each billing option to allow or deny applicability at Settings / Billing Options. Learn More.

8/3/2021 -- Option to Segment Per Backordered Item

When Split Order Processing is in use (Settings / Edit Site Options/ Split Order Processing), merchants now have the option to choose to segment each backordered item into its own segment, instead of grouping all backordered items into a single segment. This will facilitate merchants' ability to track partial payments and remaining balances, as well as fulfillment. Learn More.

6/16/2021 -- Convert an Order from Ship to Pickup

Just in time for brick and mortar storefront reopenings, now in addition to converting an order from Pickup to Ship, you may also convert an order from Ship to Pickup. This functionality is useful when an order is placed for shipment but then a customer decides to pick it up instead. Learn More.

6/16/2021 -- Temporary Timed Discounts on Product Level

Now you can set automated beginning and end dates for discounted pricing on the product level (vs using a coupon). This feature is especially supportive of flash sales, daily and monthly specials set in advance, and other scenarios where coupons are not or cannot be used. Timed Discounts can be set up in the Product Pricing section on page one of each product setup. Learn More.

5/4/2021 -- Shipping Override Applications

Shipping Override Minimum calculations, previously based only on shipment level totals, may now be calculated based on ship-to address, shipment, or order level totals. This enhancement offers more options for customers using Multiple Ship-To and Split Order Processing. Shipping Overrides are set up in Settings / Shipping / Shipping Overrides. The Minimum column now contains a pulldown for this new basis selection in addition to the legacy selection among price, quantity, weight or none.

4/27/2021 -- Purchasing Groups - Enhanced Approvers Increased Order Visibility

The Enhanced Approver option gives Purchasing Group Subcustomers (Group Members) with the Role of Approver, the same visibility into Group Orders, Group Pending Orders, and Group Subscriptions as the Master Customer. To select the Enhanced Approver option, navigate to Customers / Preferences / Customer Group Preferences. When this option is selected, the Approver Subcustomer may see all Group Orders, Group Pending Orders and Group Subscriptions placed by customers in the same Group, even if the Approver is not on the order's list of Approvers and even if no approvals are required. If the Universal Approvers option is also on, visibility extends to all orders and subscriptions in all of the Master Customer's Groups. Learn More.

3/31/2021 -- ACH Payments

ACH (Automated Clearing House) or "e-check" is now an optional payment method. ACH is a method whereby customers pay via direct debit from a bank account. While ACH can be made available to both consumers and business customers, it is most commonly used in the B2B context. If a customer chooses to pay via ACH when placing an order, he/she must provide an Account Type (Checking or Savings), Account Number, and Routing Number. If the Allow Saved Payments option (Settings/Boolean Options) is on, the bank account information may also be saved to the customer's account for future use. ACH can be used for bulk orders, is available on the New Order Import, is available in order search, and is also available via XML tools. In addition, batch processing applies to ACH payments. There is an available ACH report which reflects daily ACH transactions (Orders / Reports). Also, ACH has been added to the payment method dropdown for segmentation purposes (Orders / Advanced Search/Sort / Order Search). To set up ACH payments, navigate to Settings / Billing Options. Learn More.

2/18/2021 -- Purchasing Groups - Subcustomer Payment Option

Customer Purchasing Groups can now be configured to require Subcustomers (Group Members) to pay for the orders they place instead of having the Group Master pay for them. This option is now offered in addition to the option for the Group Masters to pay for orders placed by Group Members. If the Subcustomer payment option is in use as Payment for a Customer Purchasing Group, the Subcustomer must provide his/her own Payment Method and Bill-To Address when placing an order. This solution now extends the use of the Purchasing Groups capability to groups who want order visibility by multiple people, but not Master Customer payments. Subcustomer payments is a Group-level setting. Group payment settings are found in the Customer Group section of the Master Customer's Customer Record. Order approvals are optional and can be required or omitted. Learn More.

1/12/2021 -- Favorites

Browse now and buy later is simplified for your customers with a favorites list to which they can save their selections for future purchase. When the Favorite Products feature is activated, customers browsing the store can add products to their personal saved list by clicking on an icon on the product image (product list view) or by clicking an "Add to Favorites" button (product detail view), and return to that list later on. To activate the feature, select the "Use Favorite Products" box (Layout / Products / Product List / Use Favorite Products). Select the icon you wish you use as your Favorite Products icon. Each icon has an active and inactive state, so the shopper may easily discern which items are currently in their Favorite Products List from items that are not. When active, this functionality will apply to every product in the store. Learn More.

11/10/2020 -- Buy Now

When a shopper clicks the Buy Now button for a product, rather than adding the product to cart and staying on the same shopping page, the shopper is immediately taken to a fast checkout experience to complete the purchase of that product. On desktop, the shopper is taken to a one-page checkout. If the shopper is logged in, they just need to confirm their saved shipping and billing details and click submit. If they are new, they can quickly enter their details and check out on one page. Buy Now Buttons not only provides a smoother and faster checkout experience, but also allow the shopper to anticipate a fast checkout up front during the shopping process, which may influence their conversion. The presence of certain elements on the page is dictated by the account's configuration (e.g., Email Retype, Password Requirement, How did you hear about us, Customer Custom Fields, etc.). Note that if the shopper has additional items in the cart when they click a Buy Now button, the rest of the cart contents will be deleted from the cart, and only the product for which the shopper clicked Buy Now will remain in the cart. Activate this feature for both desktop and mobile in Layout / Layout / General Layout / Visibility Rules / Buy Now. You may modify the "Buy Now" label text in Layout / General Layout / Labels. Finally, you may also select a button style in Layout / Edit Buttons. We recommend activating it in a Staging Layout prior to activating this feature in your live store.

11/10/2020 -- User Screen Exclusions

While a user's Access Level determines the read, write and access permissions of each section of the OMS and various aspects of the platform, the Excluded Screens may further restrict the User's access to be less than otherwise permitted by their Access Level. When a screen is excluded, that exclusion encompasses, as applicable, the list and detail screens; any new/edit screens; reports; imports and exports; and any other functions otherwise available on the excluded screen. These granular controls allow businesses to increase their security by granting only those permissions to their employees which correlate with their role in the business. Note, you may not change the Excluded screens for yourself, even if you are an Administrator. Configure Excluded Screens in Users / Excluded Screens.

11/10/2020 -- Coupon Enhancement: Limit Shipping Coupon Application to Select Products

Using our new coupon settings, merchants may now limit the products to which a free or discounted shipping coupon can be applied in their online stores (e.g., Free Shipping on the Logo Merchandise category). While shipping discounts may be applied without a coupon (with shipping overrides and product overrides), clients may now apply the discount with a coupon, taking advantage of all the characteristics that coupons offer (e.g., quick setup, activation timeframes, marketing distribution of the coupon code, coupon reporting, etc.). Note that the Coupon Type must be "Discount To" for this promotion to apply. To activate, set up your coupon normally with the following three key settings: Coupon Type to "Discount To", Coupon Application to "Shipping", and Product Application to your chosen product(s) or category(ies).

11/10/2020 -- QuickShop

The QuickShop feature allows browsing shoppers to obtain more detailed information about a product and add the product to cart, without needing to navigate to a product detail page and away from their browsing. When a shopper hovers over a product image on a product list view (such as a category page), a "QuickShop" banner will display across the lower portion of the product image. Clicking on the banner loads a new window on the page, where important information about the product is displayed, such as variants and additional images (if applicable), as well as the Add to Cart button. Activation for the QuickShop feature is in Layout / Main Layout / Product List / Use Quick Shop. Nexternal strongly recommends activating and testing this feature in a Staging Layout prior to taking it live. If display adjustments are requested from the Nexternal design team, fees will apply. The QuickShop feature does not appear on mobile devices.

9/16/2020 -- Inventory Transaction Report Usability Enhancements

We have created a new Inventory Transaction Excel Export for clients using the Enhanced Inventory feature. This export will facilitate troubleshooting, analysis, and information sharing and may be included when an Inventory Transaction Report is generated by checking the "Include Excel Export" box (Products / Report / Inventory Transaction Report). The Inventory Transaction Report and export may also be limited to include only a single SKU variant.

9/14/2020 -- Minimums by Customer Type

In addition to the existing capability to set minimum item quantity and minimum total order value requirements for the entire store, merchants may now define these settings more granularly for their Nexternal stores, by customer type. Select the checkbox in Customers / Types / Define Minimum Order Price/Quantity by Customer Type. On the following screen, you will see a list of Customer Types, and a field next to each where you may enter minimum order price or minimum order quantity values. Customers may not complete the checkout process until they have satisfied the minimum requirements for their customer type. This new setting is ideal for merchants supporting different types of B2B and B2C buyers through their online stores.

8/25/2020 -- Preferred Delivery Date & Preferred Pickup Date Enhancements

Both the Preferred Delivery Date and Preferred Pickup Date features have been enhanced to offer merchants increased flexibility and control over the checkout experience. Merchants now have the ability to require customers to actively select a date from the Preferred Delivery Date and Preferred Pickup Date dropdowns before they can check out (Settings / Expected Shipping Time / Preference Requirement and Settings / Expected Pickup Date / Preference Requirement). Merchants may also customize the default text displayed to shoppers before the shopper selects a Preferred Delivery or Preferred Pickup Date (e.g., As Soon as Possible, No Preference, etc.).

6/23/2020 -- FedEx Sunday Delivery Supported

Merchants who ship via FedEx and either display Expected Delivery Dates to customers, or allow customers to select Preferred Delivery Dates at checkout, may now offer customers the added convenience of selecting a Sunday Delivery. Sunday Delivery is available only for FedEx Home Delivery and is not available to all destinations. In contrast to Saturday Delivery, which is a special service with associated fees, note that Sunday is a regular delivery day for FedEx, and therefore there is no activation of this option in your Order Management System and there are no special fees. When either Expected Delivery Date or Preferred Delivery Date functionality is active, the Sunday option will now simply show up to all customers who select FedEx Home delivery and who live in destinations where Sunday delivery is available.

6/1/2020 -- Customer Purchasing Groups

Purchasing Groups provide buying and approval controls for B2B customers to self-manage purchases within their organization at a Merchant's online store. The feature works by allowing Group Masters to create Purchasing Groups comprised of sub-customer Members. The Group Master pays for all orders placed by Group Members, controls the approval role assigned to each Group Member, approves appropriate orders, has visibility to all of the orders placed by their Group Members, and has access to consolidated order reporting for each of their groups. An overview of Purchasing Groups functionality can be downloaded here. When ready to implement this functionality, please reference the Guided Tutorials called Activate Purchasing Groups, Parts 1, 2 and 3.

5/5/2020 -- Added Support for Lot Numbers, Serial Numbers, and Expiration Dates

Businesses who need to keep records tracking the Lot Numbers, Serial Numbers, and Expiration Dates of the merchandise shipped to customers will now find additional support for this data in their Nexternal system. Activate the new fields in Orders / Preferences / Serial and Lot Numbers / Use Serial and Lot Numbers. When this option is active, a "Serial/Lot Numbers" link will appear beneath each line item in the Order on the Order Detail View. This link leads to a popup window, where the user may populate the Serial Numbers, Lot Numbers, and Expiration Dates for the corresponding number of units of the line item selected. This data is typically added during the fulfillment process. The new fields may be exported via the Order Export (Orders / Export / Order Export), imported via the new Serial and Lot Numbers Import (Orders / Import / Serial and Lot Numbers Import), and may be used as criteria for customer order searches (Orders / Advanced Search/Sort / Line Item Search). This data is also available to merchants using the XML tools.

5/5/2020 -- Customer Type XML Query

Clients using the XML Tools API may now query for a list of Customer Types. The XML response will include the name of the Customer Type, unique ID number, and Club flag, which indicates whether or not the Customer Type is classified as a Club Type. Please see the updated XML tools document for details https://www.nexternal.com/documentation/xmltools.pdf

5/5/2020 -- Shipping Method Sort

Shipping Method Sorting controls the order in which Shipping Methods are displayed in the Online Store. The Shipping Rate criterion displays methods by rate, from low to high. The Time in Transit criterion likewise displays by Time in Transit, when available, from low to high. The Display Order criterion uses the value entered in the Order column in the tables on this screen. Criteria lower on the list only apply when criteria higher on the list cannot distinguish between two or more Shipping Methods (i.e. the applicable values are equal or unavailable). Configure this setting in the OMS (Settings / Shipping Methods / Page 3 / Online Store Sorting). Clients may reorder the criteria via drag and drop.

5/5/2020 -- Buy Again

When this option is in use, an active customer who logs into the storefront may visit a Buy Again page, which displays all of the products the customer has ordered previously. This feature is ideal for clients selling consumable products. It offers a more convenient navigation, Increased Satisfaction & Conversion because it helps shoppers find what they have already purchased and allows them to convert faster. If product sorting is activated (in Settings/Site Options / Sort by Options / Product List Sort) the customer may further customize the display of the listed products to their liking.

If you are using the Persistent Category Template (Layout / General Layout / Template), you may choose for the Buy Again category link to appear at either the top or bottom of the category list. You may also customize the name of the Buy Again Category. For more details, and to activate, visit Layout / Main Layout / Categories / Buy Again.

2/25/2020 -- Purchase Set Quantity

Clients who must sell products in pre-set quantities (e.g., 12-pack or pallet) now have a new, faster option to configure these products, using our new Purchase Set Quantity feature. This feature allows you to specify that a given product (or SKU-level sub-product) must be purchased in multiples of a given quantity. To activate, edit the product, select "Define at Product Level" or "Define at SKU Level", and populate the desired quantity. Support for this feature has been added to the Product Import (Products / Import) and XML Tools. Additional guidance can be found in the Guided Tutorials and Training Center sections of the OMS.

2/18/2020 -- Recently Viewed Products

The Recently Viewed Products feature displays a running list of products on the product detail pages that the shopper has recently clicked on, making it easier for casual shoppers to find and purchase items in which they have shown interest in the past or during the current shopping trip. To activate, navigate to Layout / Main Layout / Products / Use Recently Viewed Products. Configure maximum number of Recently Viewed products that you wish to display on the page and the number of days the system will maintain the list of recently viewed products (maximum 30 days). The display label may also be customized. Note: This feature does not display in the Mobile Store. Additional guidance can be found in the Guided Tutorials section of the OMS.

11/21/2019 -- Credit Card Report Enhancements

New options are now available on the Credit Card Report (Orders / Report / Credit Card Report) which complement our new Pay Invoices feature. These options help track credit card transactions from an accounting perspective. Clients may choose to include transactions associated with orders paid by Credit Card, orders paid by Invoice, or both. Extra columns of data have also been added to these reports for accounting convenience. PO Number column is present when the report criteria is Invoice Only. Payment column is present when the report criteria is Credit Card and Invoice, indicating if the transactions relate to an order with the payment method Invoice (INV) or Credit Card (CC). Note that these new options are only displayed if the Pay Invoices feature is active (Settings / Billing Options / Invoice / Allow Customers to Pay Invoices in My Account).

11/21/2019 -- Pay Invoices Online

Merchants may now offer customers the option to pay their Invoices via credit card in the "My Account" section of the merchant's store. When this feature is active, a Pay Invoice button will appear on each eligible order in the My Account section. A text link will also appear in the My Account section next to each eligible order's order status. These links lead to a new page where the eligible orders are shown in a table, along with dates, amounts, and PO numbers (if used). The customer may select one or more invoices they wish to pay, and the total amount of all selected Invoices is tallied at the bottom of the page. The customer may choose to use a new or saved credit card to pay the Invoice(s).

If the payment is submitted successfully, a confirmation message will be displayed and the order status will switch to Paid. The customer may wish to print a fresh copy of their Invoice, showing the amount paid, date, and type of credit card used.

Although the customer may pay multiple invoices with a single click, each invoice payment will be processed as a unique transaction with its own transaction ID number.

This feature may be activated in Settings / Billing Options / Invoice / Allow Customers to Pay Invoices in My Account. Also, merchants may control which invoice orders are eligible for payment based on their billing status: Billed and Unbilled, or Billed.

In order to offer the customer the ability to print their invoices, the OMS must also be configured with the following three options activated: Invoice Show Payment and Expose Invoice to Customer (both in the Settings / Site Options / Invoices & Packing Slips), and Share Payments with Customers (in Settings / Payment Gateways / Preferences).

To implement this feature, please see the guided tutorial available in your OMS.

Note that new options have been added to the Credit Card Report, which complement this new feature.

11/21/2019 -- Customer Type Import

Clients may now add new customer types to their system by using our new Customer Type Import (in Customers / Import / Customer Type Import). This is a time-saving and convenient new option for clients who have a large number of customer types and prefer working offline in a spreadsheet format. The import does NOT delete, update, or replace any customer types.

11/21/2019 -- Amazon Handling Time Override

Customers synchronizing available product inventory to Amazon are required to communicate a Handling Time to Amazon, which is the number of business days between the date the order is placed on Amazon, and the date upon which the order is expected to be shipped. We are now offering an override on the product level for products whose handling time differs from the global setting in Settings / Compatible Software / Amazon Marketplace.

11/21/2019 -- Google Shopping Feed Update

A new option has been added to the Google Shopping feed (Products / Export/Traffic Tools / Marketplace Exports / Preferences ). Selecting the new "Include Shipping Label" checkbox will populate the Internal Name of the product's primary Ship From Address as the Shipping Label. The Shipping_Label attribute allows Google Merchant Center users to configure specific shipping rates to products sharing the same Shipping_Label in Merchant Center. More information is available in the Google Merchant Center. https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324504?hl=en

11/21/2019 -- Vendor Code

A new Vendor Code field is now available on each vendor record. This field may be convenient to facilitate integrations with third party vendors and is critical to clients working with ecUtopia for dropshipping. Vendor codes have also been added to our XML API in the ProductQuery and OrderQuery Reply schemas.

11/21/2019 -- Override Order Lock

When an order is locked (via the XML tools Integration Lock option), a new unlock option is available to OMS users which allows the Purchase Order number to be edited on orders paid via Invoice billing. When the user unchecks the box, the PO number field is unlocked, and a warning message displays on the screen. The warning indicates the potential impact of the action on third party integrations, but allows the user to proceed with the edit.

7/30/2019 -- OpenEdge Payment Gateway

Nexternal is now integrated with the OpenEdge Payment Gateway. Some benefits of using OpenEdge include:

Decline Minimizer - This service automatically updates lost, stolen and expired credit cards on a nightly basis, ensuring saved card transactions process successfully.
Tokenization - Full Credit Card numbers are replaced by digital "tokens" and cardholder data is stored securely by OpenEdge.
Shared Gateway for Engage with EMV certification - Clients using TrueCommerce Engage for POS transactions may connect OpenEdge gateway to both products, simplifying setup and consolidating your accounting. EMV-capable card readers allow you to take advantage of the EMV "chip" technology and protect your business and customers from losses due to fraud.
Real-Time Reporting - Access OpenEdge's customizable reports anywhere, anytime.

For more information or to sign up, visit https://openedgepayments.com/nexternal/

Once you have been approved for an OpenEdge account, you will be contacted by an OpenEdge implementation representative, who will work with you to enter your OpenEdge credentials into the Nexternal platform in Settings / Compatible Software / Payment Gateways / OpenEdge. For more information, please read the About Text.

7/22/2019 -- Quick Reorder in Engage

This simple feature allows an Engage user to open a customer's previous order, click the Reorder button, and the Engage cart instantly reloads with the contents of the previous order. It is a great option for speeding up the checkout process when a customer wishes to re-place an identical or nearly identical large or intricate order.

7/22/2019 -- Capture Customer Images in Engage

Engage users now have the ability to capture images of customers and save them to the customers' profiles. Simply search for the customer and click on the person icon. Select Photo Library and choose from saved images on your iPad, or select Camera and snap a shot!

By default, if the customer has set up a Globally Recognized Avatar picture using Gravatar.com, this image will be used. If a fresh snapshot is desired, simply click on the image to replace it.

7/16/2019 -- TrueCommerce Connect - Pickup Triggers

Clients passing orders to third party business systems via TrueCommerce Connect may now rely on the same triggers to send both pickup and ship orders to Transaction Manager. To activate this option, check the "Use same trigger for pickup orders" checkbox in Settings / TrueCommerce Connect. If this box is unchecked, Pickup orders will continue to be sent through the TrueCommerce Connect integration only when the order status is Picked Up.

7/9/2019 -- New Order History Search Option

A new search option was added which allows clients to identify and quantify customers who have ordered a product in a specific category with a specified price rage. Visit Customer Advanced Search / Order History Search to try it.

7/9/2019 -- Batch Processing Usability Enhancements

Several enhancements were made to the Batch Processing section of the Order Management System for increased efficiency, including the ability to skip past the results preview and the ability to save user-specific batch processing settings.

The Preview Batch checkbox at the bottom of Page 1 provides one or more preview screens (when the Next button is clicked) that allow you to select and deselect individual orders (or segments of orders) for each type of batch processing selected. You may also provide data that would otherwise be missing, such as Tracking Numbers, and, potentially, Shipping and Sale Tax Rates. If the Preview Batch option is off, Page 2 shows only the number of eligible orders, with options to proceed with the batch, go back to Page 1, or cancel. When batch processing large quantities of orders, this is a faster option.

The Save Settings button at the bottom of Page 1 saves the current configuration of the settings on that screen such that those settings become your defaults for Batch Processing. Saved settings are specific to your user profile and do not affect any other user.

7/9/2019 -- Forgotten Password Feature Added to Direct Checkout Pages

A Forgotten Password Link was added to our Direct Checkout pages, offering a path to order completion to customers who are experiencing difficulty with passwords.

7/9/2019 -- Age Gate

Clients may set a minimum age required for customers to be able to purchase products in the online store. If the customer's stated date of birth does not meet the minimum age requirement for purchase, he/she is blocked from proceeding with the order.

To activate this option, a Customer Custom Field must be used (Customers / Custom Fields), where each customer's date of birth will be stored. In Settings / Compatible Software / Alcoholic Beverage Tools / Preferences, map the "Date of Birth" field with the Customer Custom field used. In the "Age to Verify" field, enter the minimum age required to purchase products. The "Product Filtering" box allows you to limit the scope of the age restriction to Restricted Products, Alcoholic Products, or All Products. "Location Filtering" also allows you to limit the location to which the restriction will be applied. If a customer does not meet the minimum age requirement you have indicated, you may customize the "Denial Text" which would be displayed to the customer. Finally, you may optionally "Automatically deactivate denied customers" by clicking the checkbox.

7/9/2019 -- Coupon Application to Normal Status Products Only

This new coupon option offers the ability to apply discounts to products with normal status (i.e. in stock) only. This option makes it easier than ever to run promotions on your available inventory. To activate, check the "Only Normal status products qualify" box under Coupon Application. There is a related additional option which requires that only products with a status of normal are counted toward meeting the Coupon Threshold. To activate this option, click the "Threshold Only Normal Status" checkbox in the Coupon Threshold section.

5/30/2019 -- Option to Import Shipped Merchant Fulfilled Orders from Amazon

The Import Shipped Fulfilled By Merchant Orders option allows you to import Amazon merchant fulfilled (also known as FBM/MFN orders) whose status is "Shipped". Ordinarily, such orders are not imported into the Nexternal system, since they have been fulfilled externally through Amazon Seller Central. The optional Sync Start field is the oldest (i.e., furthest-back) date that the Amazon import facility will look in order to input shipped FBM/MFN orders. The maximum number of look-back days is 30. Both options may be configured in Settings / Compatible Software / Amazon Marketplace.

If you are using the TrueCommerce Connect (EDI X12) facility, please note that shipped Amazon MFN orders are likely to be processed by the EDI connector into X12 850 documents, depending on the trigger selected in that configuration (Settings / Compatible Software / TrueCommerce Connect / Trigger), so use this option with caution.

5/1/2019 -- Engage Product Display Order Control

Clients using the Engage application may set the display order for products within a category, now allowing for a display order within the app which differs from the client's storefront display.

The display order may be configured by logging into the OMS, selecting a category, scrolling down to the Products in Category section, and selecting the Change Engage Order button.

4/17/2019 -- Guided Tutorials

Click on the new Guided Tutorials menu item in your OMS for step-by-step instructions for common tasks and guided tours of the OMS. This update includes just our first set of tutorials, but additional tutorials will be added over time.

4/17/2019 -- Campaign Tracking

Now when customers originate an order from a URL that uses standard Google Analytics utm tracking variables (https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/), clients can see which marketing campaign generated the order, as it is displayed on the order detail view and has been added to the order export. A new report has also been added to the OMS to further aid in tracking the success of campaigns (Orders / Campaign Report). We have also integrated this campaign tracking capability with the MailChimp Campaign Link Tracking tool. Note that the MailChimp integration must be activated in the OMS, and link tracking must be properly configured from within MailChimp.

4/17/2019 -- Mailchimp Product Recommendations

We have modified our integration with MailChimp such that clients using this integration now may take advantage of Mailchimp's Product Recommendations feature. Mailchimp's Product Recommendations feature uses individual subscriber purchase data to prioritize and promote the store's relevant products. Please visit Mailchimp's website for instructions for how to add this feature to your upcoming email campaigns.

4/17/2019 -- Customer Notes Hover Display

Clients using the Order Notes Flag to draw attention to orders containing Customer Comments may now view the entire Customer Order Comments in the OMS by hovering over the Order Notes Flag. This eliminates the need to click into the order detail page in the OMS in order to review a customer comment, making order management more user-friendly.

4/17/2019 -- New Amazon Standard Shipping Mapping

Clients using the Amazon marketplace integration may now map Amazon orders using Standard Shipping to separate shipping services for Residential and Business shipments. This enhancement allows FedEx Ground & FedEx Home Delivery users to properly specify these methods.

4/17/2019 -- Enhanced Inventory Report by Location & Shelf Import

Clients using our Enhanced Inventory module may now view their inventory levels for all Enhanced Inventory products of a single location via a new report now available in the OMS. To create this report, navigate to Products / Report / Selective SKU Report and select a location from the dropdown. The "Consolidated" option shows an aggregate count for all locations and maintains our legacy functionality. Note that products using regular non-enhanced inventory will only appear in the Consolidated option. When inventory is shared between locations (Pickup and Ship), a "Shares inventory" note is displayed at the top of the report. The values and products in the report are the same when either location is selected. For added convenience, the "Shelf" value for each SKU may also be modified via a new column available in the Product Inventory Import (Products / Import).

4/17/2019 -- Disable Fulfillment E-mails Option

The Disable Fulfillment E-mails option is specifically designed for clients selling non-tangible products, such as club memberships and events, via their Nexternal platform. When this option is activated for a product, fulfillment e-mails (i.e., Shipped or Ready emails) will not be sent when orders containing such products are marked fulfilled, regardless of the Boolean configuration for Shipped E-mails. This behavior will only occur if all of the product(s) in the order have this option activated. If an order is placed for a product with this option activated and at least one other product that does not have this option activated, fulfillment e-mails will continue to be sent in accordance with the account setting (Settings / Boolean Options / Shipped E-mail). This enhancement eliminates a confusing communication experience for customers while facilitating a more user-friendly order processing experience for clients. This new option may be activated in the overrides section for each product.

4/17/2019 -- New FedEx Packaging Options

Clients may now specify separate packaging for FedEx Ground (including Home Delivery) versus FedEx Express shipments. This will allow for increased rate accuracy and further facilitate the adoption of FedEx One Rate. These new box configuration options are available in the OMS on a global scale (Settings / Online Shipping Tools / Preferences) and for individual products (Product Override), and may be specified via our XML tools API.

1/21/2019 -- Automatic Order Splitting and Split Order Processing

The Split Order Processing option automatically separates order line items into different numbered segments, allowing the segments to be processed separately. This option is particularly useful if you regularly take orders that contain a mixture of in-stock and out-of-stock products and which to process and fulfill them on an as-available basis; or if you regularly take orders with multiple Ship-To Addresses, Ship-From Addresses, or Pickup Locations, and which to process and fulfill them separately.

If this option is on, new orders are automatically given Segment Numbers when they contain multiple line item statuses per the Automatic Order Status option (Settings/Boolean Options); or when they encompass multiple Ship-To Addresses, Ship-From Addresses, or Pickup Locations. Segment Numbers are integers, and are sequential, starting with 1, when automatically assigned. You may also assign (or delete) Segment Numbers when editing an order in the Order Management System.

On the Order Detail screen, line items are organized by segment, with options to view the apportioned totals for each; and to change status and process payment (when a credit card is used for payment, and a Payment Gateway is in use at Settings/Compatible Software/Payment Gateways).

Orders are also organized by segment in Fulfillment View (Orders/Fulfillment), with Segment Numbers embedded in Order Numbers, appended with a hyphen (e.g. 102301-1).

Segment Numbers may also be used to facilitate order handling and processing via Batch Processing (Orders/Batch Process), the Order Status Import (Orders/Import), Excel and Access-format Order Exports (Orders/Export), and the XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools).

If you are using Split Order Processing with TrueCommerce Connect (Settings/Compatible Software), orders with Segments are exported with Segment Numbers embedded in Order Numbers, appended with a hyphen (e.g. 102301-1). If the Trigger field is set to In Proccess or Fulfilled, that status condition applies on the segment, rather than order, level.

If you are using one or more Online Shipping Tools (Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools), shipping label creation is likewise organized by segment.

When an order segment, but not the entire order, is marked as fulfilled, and the Shipped E-Mail option (Settings/Boolean Options) is on, an Update E-Mail is scheduled for sending to the customer. The scheduled date, as it is for Shipped/Sent/Ready E-Mails, matches the relevant Fulfillment Date. However, the Update E-Mail is scheduled even when the Fulfillment Date is the present date, or in the past; this allows you to fulfill multiple segments of an order in close succession without triggering multiple, potentially confusing, e-mails.

Segment Numbers are for internal use only and are never displayed to customers in the Online Store.

Activate this option in Settings/Site Options/Split Order Processing.

1/21/2019 -- Captchas Added to Multiple Storefront Features

CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) have been added to multiple features in the desktop and mobile stores. This added layer of security will be used to block spammers and bots attempting to access various features. CAPTCHAs have been added to Review Submissions, Question Submissions, Affiliate Signup, Forgotten Password Emails, and Trustee Invitations. The user must simply check a box to proceed.

1/21/2019 -- Reviews Export

Clients now have the option to export reviews of their products to Excel or Access. Log into the OMS and navigate to Reviews / Export and select a product from the dropdown menu. Results can be further narrowed down by selecting a date range for the submitted review.

1/21/2019 -- Integration Lock Override for XML Tools and TC Connect

When the XML Tools Integration Lock capability is activated on a Customer Record, such as when clients are using the TrueCommerce Connect integration to push orders into various business systems, the Customer First Name, Last Name, and Email Address fields are locked in the Order Management System. We now offer a checkbox that allows the OMS user to temporarily unlock the customer record and modify the locked fields. Once unlocked, a warning message displays, alerting user to potential consequences of saving a change. Saving the change automatically re-locks the record. This new option provides the flexibility for businesses to be able to keep their customer records accurate and current when customer contact information changes, while still protecting third party integrations. Use this unlock with caution, and be sure to update your third party integration manually to keep records in sync.

1/21/2019 -- Master Images Added to Product Import

On the primary Product Import (Products / Import / Product Import) we have added an option to use Nexternal's new Master Image functionality. If a Master Image is referenced for a product, when the file is imported, the system will create all the necessary additional images as configured in the Global Image Import Settings. Note that the image must exist on the server prior to the Product Import file being uploaded. If a product uses multiple images, the separate Image Import will still need to be used. If the Master Image is populated in the import, other images may not be configured in the import.

11/1/2018 -- Engage Customer Notes

Engage users may now view, edit, and add new Customer Notes through the application. When the Customer record is opened, notes are visible at the bottom of the first screen. Keeping customer notes up to date with personalized touches is a great way to make all of your customers feel special when you see them in person.