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Econnect: Ecommerce Development For Microsoft Great Plains
By By Andrew Karasev
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has several options to enable web ordering. Traditionally Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise had eOrder – this is ASP pages based ordering application, enabling you to place or retrieve your Sales Order Processing (SOP) Sales Orders over the web. There were several drawbacks however with eOrder. You should be the customer in Great Plains company database to be able placing the orders. Also if you were planning to customize eOrder – you could only do cosmetic style changes only – if you wanted to alter scripts on the ASP pages – then you would have very serious eOrder upgrade issues. Upgrade simply wipes out your custom scripts and you had to reapply your customization to new version enriched ASP pages. Instead of following the way to move eOrder to ASPX or .Net platform – MBS introduced eConnect, enabling web designer to “connect” eCommerce site to Great Plains backend. This is very elegant module and solution, however we are hearing a lot of complaints from developers on eConnect restrictions. •SOP Invoice posting. It is not enabled in eConnect. However you should probably first understand the architecture of Microsoft Great Plains. Order takers supposed to enter Sales Order and submit it (place in the batch and save) to the manager for approval (taking off transfer/print/post holds). eConnect enables you to create or update Great Plains objects, but it doesn’t allow you to process them (post) – this would open a gap in the security/approval cycle. •Order Transfer. Again – this is similar
Adding a Blog to Your Ecommerce Website
<p>A blog on your ecommerce website can be an excellent platform for direct communication with your customers. Of course, like every other business decision there are two sides to an <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/od/eCommerce-Marketing-Strategies/a/Does-Your-Ecommerce-Website-Need-A-Blog.htm">ecommerce blog</a>.</p>
<p>If you decide to set up a blog, I recommend the WordPress platform. It is free and open source. But the default themes leave a bit to be desired. That is where a premium theme such as <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/buildingyourwebsite/fr/Pagelines-2-0-Review-Build-Your-Wordpress-Website.htm">PageLines 2.0</a> might be preferred.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/adding-a-blog-to-your-ecommerce-website.htm">Adding a Blog to Your Ecommerce Website</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 07:42:33.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/adding-a-blog-to-your-ecommerce-website.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/adding-a-blog-to-your-ecommerce-website.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/adding-a-blog-to-your-ecommerce-website.htm&zItl=Adding a Blog to Your Ecommerce Website">Email this</a></p>
Selecting a Hosting Provider for Your Ecommerce Website
<p>Reliable hosting is a primary requirement for an ecommerce business. If you have read my article titled: <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/od/eCommerce-Design-and-Dev/a/How-To-Select-The-Right-Hosting-For-An-Ecommerce-Website.htm">How to Select the Right Hosting for an Ecommerce Website</a>, and would like some more information, I have a great article for you. This one is written by my colleague <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://onlinebusiness.about.com/bio/Bryan-Haines-71602.htm">Bryan</a>, and is titled: <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/webhosting/a/findawebhost.htm">How to Find a Web Host</a>.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/selecting-a-hosting-provider-for-your-ecommerce-website.htm">Selecting a Hosting Provider for Your Ecommerce Website</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 07:16:58.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/selecting-a-hosting-provider-for-your-ecommerce-website.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/selecting-a-hosting-provider-for-your-ecommerce-website.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/selecting-a-hosting-provider-for-your-ecommerce-website.htm&zItl=Selecting a Hosting Provider for Your Ecommerce Website">Email this</a></p>
Should You Operate As a Work-From-Home Ecommerce Business?
<p>If you are a single-person work-from-home ecommerce business, you are one of many. But should you really work from home? My colleague <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/bio/Mindy-Lilyquist-91597.htm">Mindy</a> recently wrote about the pros and cons of working from home. Here are two must-read articles:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/beforeyoubegin/a/Should-I-Work-From-Home-10-Reasons-You-Should.htm">The Pros of Working From Home</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/beforeyoubegin/a/Should-I-Work-From-Home-10-Reasons-You-Should-Not.htm">The Cons of Working From Home.</a></li>
</ul><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/should-you-operate-as-a-work-from-home-ecommerce-business.htm">Should You Operate As a Work-From-Home Ecommerce Business?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 06:57:27.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/should-you-operate-as-a-work-from-home-ecommerce-business.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/should-you-operate-as-a-work-from-home-ecommerce-business.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/22/should-you-operate-as-a-work-from-home-ecommerce-business.htm&zItl=Should You Operate As a Work-From-Home Ecommerce Business?">Email this</a></p>
Wal-Mart Increases Its Commitment to China
<p>In May 2011, Wal-Mart took a minority stake in the Yihaodian -- a Chinese ecommerce player. Today, Wal-Mart announced that it was hiking its stake to 51%.</p>
<p>This move is just one of many by US giants trying to establish a foothold in emerging markets. Watch this space for more reports on global ecommerce action.</p><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/20/wal-mart-increases-its-commitment-to-china.htm">Wal-Mart Increases Its Commitment to China</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 10:41:40.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/20/wal-mart-increases-its-commitment-to-china.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/20/wal-mart-increases-its-commitment-to-china.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/02/20/wal-mart-increases-its-commitment-to-china.htm&zItl=Wal-Mart Increases Its Commitment to China">Email this</a></p>
Coding Your Own Ecommerce Site? Learn Some CSS
<p>Many people prefer to go in for hosted ecommerce solutions, such as <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/od/ecommerceresources/fr/Shopify-Review.htm">Shopify</a>, that require little or no coding. But if you are a power user, you can adapt your software to your needs better if you coded the visual parts of it.</p>
<p>CSS transitions and transformations are a helpful visual technology for websites. My colleague Jennifer has some interesting articles and illustrations that will help you understand these techniques better:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://webdesign.about.com/od/css3tutorials/a/css-transformations.htm">CSS Transformations</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://webdesign.about.com/od/examples/l/bl-css-transition-examples.htm">CSS Transitions Examples</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://webdesign.about.com/od/css3tutorials/a/transformations-vs-transitions.htm">CSS Transformations vs. Transitions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://webdesign.about.com/od/examples/l/bl-css-transformation-examples.htm">CSS Transformation Examples</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://webdesign.about.com/od/examples/l/bl-css-transition-examples.htm">CSS Transitions Examples</a></li>
</ul><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/coding-your-own-ecommerce-site-learn-some-css.htm">Coding Your Own Ecommerce Site? Learn Some CSS</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 09:33:52.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/coding-your-own-ecommerce-site-learn-some-css.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/coding-your-own-ecommerce-site-learn-some-css.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/coding-your-own-ecommerce-site-learn-some-css.htm&zItl=Coding Your Own Ecommerce Site? Learn Some CSS">Email this</a></p>
Do You Run Your Ecommerce Business As a Home Business?
<p>Some of the largest businesses in the world are ecommerce businesses. So it is interesting that some of the smallest businesses are also ecommerce businesses. That is the new paradigm of business, and in this paradigm ecommerce is the great leveler.</p>
<p>If you run an ecommerce business as a home business, you will have a lot of tax-related questions. My colleague Mindy recently authored some articles to help you out. Here they are:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/Home_Business_Tax_Information/a/15-Self-Employed-Tax-Deductions.htm">15 Self-Employed Tax Deductions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/Home_Business_Tax_Information/a/Top-5-Tax-Return-Audit-Questions-For-Self-Employed.htm">Top 5 Tax Return Audit Questions For Self-Employed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/Home_Business_Tax_Information/a/Top-5-Questions-For-Home-Business-Deductions.htm">5 Frequent Tax Questions For Home Business Deductions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://homebusiness.about.com/od/Home_Business_Tax_Information/a/5-Common-Questions-Concerning-Taxes-For-Self-Employed.htm">5 Common Questions Concerning Taxes For Self-Employed</a></li>
</ul><p style="background:#f5f3ef;border:1px solid #d5d0bf;clear:both;padding:.5em;"><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/do-you-run-your-ecommerce-business-as-a-home-business.htm">Do You Run Your Ecommerce Business As a Home Business?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/">About.com Ecommerce</a> on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 09:12:08.</p><p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/do-you-run-your-ecommerce-business-as-a-home-business.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/do-you-run-your-ecommerce-business-as-a-home-business.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://ecommerce.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://ecommerce.about.com/b/2012/01/31/do-you-run-your-ecommerce-business-as-a-home-business.htm&zItl=Do You Run Your Ecommerce Business As a Home Business?">Email this</a></p>
problem to the invoice posting. Both Order and Invoice could be subject to holds and approvals. eCommerce logic might need partial or full order transfer to invoice or even backorder, based on the item availability status.Why would you then need to purchase eConnect? Maybe just go ahead and program the connection in SQL stored procedures? The answer is – eConnect allows you to allocate items in Great Plains Inventory Control module. It would take you a lot of time (if you are new to Great Plains tables structure and never coded in Great Plains Dexterity). Plus eConnect allows you to create and update customer record in Great Plains – this is however relatively simple to imitate in the stored procedure. Then what is the solution? •Do not allow order transfer and posting through eCommerce. This is probably the best advise we could give you – just create orders, or invoices, leave them to the Great Plains user to approve and post. However in some cases it is absolutely critical and required •Look for Invoice posting stored proc on the market. You are not the first and not the last one to face this dilemma – somebody already has it implemented (SOP10200, SOP10100, SOP30200, SOP30300 tables) •Microsoft Small Business Financials or former Microsoft Small Business Manager. In your case – you need the whole set of stored procedures to enable eCommerce Great Plains version: more likely you are using eConnect for Great Plains Standard or Great Plains Professional 7.5, 8.0 and in the future 8.5 or 9.0 Good luck in e-Commerce developing and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com
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