Orders can be entered into Timestone Software via four different ways:
online, via the Timestone Software Internet Ordering System (IOS)
by scanning a suitably encoded barcode
via keyboard entry
by importing a text file
Orders created online are referred to as ‘Online Orders’ while the other three methods are referred to as ‘Paper Orders’
Orders are comprised of one or more Packages. As such an order will contain one or more Package Codes. The packages may contain options, referred to as Package Options. Packages are comprised of one or more Products which are ultimately what get printed and delivered to the customer.
Packages and Package Codes
Ordering is always for Packages - even if the package contains just one product. When ordering online, the customer sees and orders Packages. With paper orders, the user enters (via keyboard, barcode, or text file) the packages’ Package Codes.
Package Codes are ‘processed’ according to the job’s offer. This involves looking at the job's offer, seeing what products are defined for the package codes and placing those products into the print queue. The same package codes can be used in different offers that are defined with different products.
Packages and OffersOffers
Package Codes are 'processed' according to the job's offer. The same Package Codes can therefore be used in different offers to order different products.
A thorough understanding of how packages, products and offers are related is essential. To this end it is strongly recommended the user consult the document:
Further reading
A thorough understanding of how packages, products and offers are related is essential to understanding ordering. To this end, it is strongly recommended the user consult the document:
Creating an order
An order is deemed to have been created when either:
A package code is entered for a subject, family or folder in either Details Mode or Orders Mode - a paper order.
An online customer clicks the Submit Order button in IOS - an online order
The Order Key
An order automatically receives a unique 8-character "key" called an Order Key, which can be used as a reference for the order. Order Keys are most useful in online orders where they appear in order confirmation emails and elsewhere.
Although paper orders also have an order key, they are seldom used.
NOTE
Order keys are most useful with online orders where they provide a reference for the customer, while providing the photographer with a
mechanism for finding an order.
While paper orders also have an order key it is of little use since paper orders contain a single entity (usually a subject) and the subject itself is therefore the reference for the order.
Order Keys are visible to the user in many areas of the software and be retrieved by using @codes.
Other order properties
All orders have an order date.
Online orders will also have a monetary amount, together with customer information. Paper orders typically do not have this additional information.
The order date is also recorded along with the monetary amount of the order. Online orders additionally have customer information - the name, address, and telephone number of the person completing the online transaction. Typically, Paper orders do not belong to a customer. Instead, they are placed against a subject and therefore do not contain customer information.
Types of Order
There are three basic order types in Timestone:
Paper orders are placed against a subject, folder, or family in Details Mode or Orders Mode of the apps.
Are entered by keyboard (F3), barcode scanning, or importing a text file
Returning to the entity (subject, family, or folder) later and entering further packages will create extra order(s)
Can be re-processed against a different offer. This will replace the original orders with new orders
Belong to a subject (or family or folder) A paper order may only contain one subject.
Online purchases are placed by the customer in the Internet Ordering System and are downloaded into either NeoPack or Fulfill for processing.
It is possible to order for multiple subjects in a single order
A single, completed transaction in IOS creates a single order regardless of the number of subjects ordered for
Returning to IOS later and ordering again creates a new order
Online orders may be considered as belonging to a customer
Though not technically an order, Point ‘n Click mode allows the user to add products for a subject, folder, or family to the print queue.
Products added in this way do not create an Order Key and therefore do not appear in Orders Mode, in Orders Reports, or in tsPortal.
Customer paper orders allow a ‘customer’ to be entered for paper orders. This differentiates them from regular paper orders in the following key ways.
A customer is manually created in the apps before entering paper orders for the customer
Orders belong to the customer, not the subject
Multiple subjects can be included in the one order
Provides a mechanism for differentiating orders for the same subject
Paper Orders
Paper orders are entered for a subject, family, or folder in either Details Mode or Orders Mode. This can be achieved by scanning a barcode, importing a text file, or by keyboard entry.
Orders are not immediately created when package codes are entered. Instead, the Package Codes are ‘processed’ and the orders are created when:
The user changes to a different mode
The job is saved
The user exits the application
If the user returns after the original processing and enters further package codes for the same entity, this will create a new order.
Further reading
The above represents a very brief discussion of paper orders. More information on paper orders is available here:
Re-processing paper orders
Package codes can be re-processed, meaning they are again processed against the current offer. This replaces the original orders and products.
Re-processing is needed if the user had omitted setting an offer for the job, or if the offer was incorrect or has been changed.
To re-process orders
Navigate to Orders Mode
Select the View All Orders tab
From the menu, select Orders>Re-process orders
Customer Paper Orders
Technically, paper orders ‘belong’ to the entity for which the Package Codes were entered - a subject, family or folder. It is therefore not possible to combine orders for multiple subjects into a single paper order, nor is it possible to separate multiple orders for a single entity.
Customer-based paper orders overcome these limitations while also allowing a paper order to have customer information - name, address etc.
Further Reading: Customer Paper Orders
Although far less common than ‘normal’ paper orders, customer paper orders have their uses. Learn about how to create customer-based paper orders with this document:
Online Orders
Online orders are created the moment a customer clicks the Submit Order button in IOS. If the customer then continues to successfully pay for the order, it is cleared for downloading to the photographer. Unpaid orders will not download; however, the photographer can mark the order as paid in their IOS Service panel or, in some circumstances, the customer can pay for the order later.
At the completion of the online transaction, the order key is relayed to the customer both on-screen and by confirmation email.
NOTE
If the customer places items into the cart but then quits the browser, has their payment rejected, or otherwise does not complete the transaction, an order is NOT downloaded into the applications; However, it is possible for the system to trigger automated emails reminding customers to return and finish the transaction in these cases.
Further Reading: Automated Emails
Timestone’s Online Ordering System offers several automated emails.
Methods of Processing Online Orders
Online orders may be classified in two ways:
Orders downloaded into Orders Mode of NeoPack or PackBuilder
Orders downloaded into Fulfill
The choice as to how online orders are to be processed is made by the photographer when uploading the job with tsIOS
Online Orders in NeoPack
Online orders are downloaded into Orders Mode by navigating to Orders > Download Online Orders. Products resulting from these orders appear in the Online Orders branch of the orders tree in Queue Mode. These orders may be deleted from Orders Mode, but, unlike paper orders, cannot be re-processed against a different offer.
TIP
Orders downloaded and processed in Fulfill also appear in Orders Mode (double download icon) but these are for informational purposes only. They may not be deleted or re-processed.
Online Orders in Fulfill
When online orders are processed via Fulfill, the system will automatically check the web server every minute for any new orders (regardless of the job or offer)
Further Reading: Fulfill
Fulfill is a utility application provided alongside the Timestone Software Internet Ordering System (IOS) that allows users to manage and print orders received via IOS. It offers several functions to streamline order handling and integration with Timestone’s database system.
Point 'n Click ‘Orders’
Products added directly to the print queues in Point 'n Click Mode are not orders, as an order is not created in the database, and an order key is not generated. Therefore, “orders” made in Point 'n Click Mode do not appear in Orders Mode or various order reports such as the Checked and Delivered report and reports in tsPortal.
Products added in Point n Click Mode also appear in Queue Mode under the Point 'n Click branch of the orders tree. These pages (unlike pages generated from Paper or Online Orders) may be deleted in either Queue Mode or Point 'n Click Mode.