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Using BigCommerce

Step 1 Setup BigCommerce

First, create 14 day FREE BigCommerce store. Just let us know when to activate, so we can insure proper ProfitSystem integration.

You must use ProfitSystem 13.4.3 or later with BigCommerce, as BigCommerce requires TLS for connections and 13.4.3 forces TLS connections to BigCommerce.

Next, configure your BigCommerce store for sales. At the minimum:

  1. Go to Design and select a Theme for your store.
  2. Go to Settings->Store and review all the tabs.
  3. Go to Settings->Checkout and set up credit card processing.
  4. Go to Settings->Shipping and set up your shipping providers.
  5. Go to Settings->Tax set up your tax rates and zones

Legacy API accounts
If under the Setup & Tools menu there is a 'Legacy API accounts' option, use the following procedure.

To create a two BigCommerce users for the ProfitSystem to use:

  1. Go to Users Click Create a User Account
  2. Set the Email: to your email address
  3. Set the Password: to a complex password that you create
  4. Make sure Status is Active
  5. Make sure 'Yes, allow this user to use WebDav?' is checked

  6. Click Save

  7. Go to Setup->Legacy API & Tools

  8. Click Create Legacy API Account
  9. Set the Username: to apiuser
  10. Click Save.

If your BigCommerce store has Settings on main menu

  1. Go to Main menu->Settings
  2. Under API, select "Store-level API accounts"
  3. Click "Create API account"
  4. Set Token type to "V2/V3 API token"
  5. Name it "PS API"
  6. Under Auth Scopes, set Product to Modify.
  7. Click Save. It will display the Client ID, secret and access token. It will also download them in a text file
  8. In the ProfitSytem go to Setup->General Setup->System Setup->Big Commerce tab
  9. Enter your store URL, which is usually something like [store name].mybigcommerce.com
  10. Select v3 API version.
  11. For API Token, go back to BigCommerce in the web browser
  12. Copy the API Token into the clipboard.
  13. Go back to the ProfitSystem
  14. Click in the API Token field, then hold the Ctrl key and type V. This will paste the API Token into the field.
  15. Go to BigCommerce, click on the API Path field, and copy it.
  16. Go to the ProfitSytem, click on the API Path field, then type Ctrl-V to paste it in.

No 'Legacy API accounts'
Use this procedure to create a single BigCommerce user for the ProfitSystem to use

  1. Go to Users
  2. Click Create a User Account
  3. Set the Username: to apiuser
  4. Set the Password: to a complex password that you create
  5. Set the Email: to your email address
  6. Make sure Status is Active
  7. Make sure 'Yes, allow this user to use the API?' is checked
  8. Make sure 'Yes, allow this user to use WebDav?' is checked
  9. Click Save
  10. Finally, click the Edit link next to Apiuser.

The values for API Path, API Token, and WebDav path need to be entered into the ProfitSystem. Leave the web browser window open and start the Profit System

  1. In the ProfitSytem go to Setup->General Setup->System Setup->Big Commerce tab
  2. Enter your store URL, which is usually something like [store name].mybigcommerce.com
  3. Select v3 API version.
  4. For API user, enter apiuser
  5. For API Token, go back to BigCommerce in the web browser, Setup->Legacy API & Tools.
  6. Edit the user.
  7. Click the Generate New Token button next to API Token:
  8. Double-click on the API Token field to highlight the entire field, then hold the Ctrl key and type C. This will copy the API Token into the clipboard.
  9. Go back to the ProfitSystem
  10. Click in the API Token field, then hold the Ctrl key and type V. This will paste the API Token into the field.
  11. Go to BigCommerce, click on the API Path field, then double-click to highlight the entire field, then type Ctrl-C to copy it.
  12. Go to the ProfitSytem, click on the API Path field, then type Ctrl-V to paste it in.
  13. Go to BigCommerce, Users, and edit the new apiuser.
  14. For the WebDAV user, enter apiuser.
  15. In BigCommerce, click on the password field under WebDav, then double-click to highlight the entire field, then type Ctrl-C to copy it.
  16. Go to the ProfitSytem, click on the WebDav Password field, then type Ctrl-V to paste it in.
  17. Click on the Path field under WebDav, then double-click to highlight the entire field, then type Ctrl-C to copy it.
  18. Go to the ProfitSytem, click on the WebDav Path field, then type Ctrl-V to paste it in.
  19. In the ProfitSystem, click Save Settings.
  20. At BigCommerce, click Cancel

Step 2 Setup ProfitSystem Support Data Within the ProfitSystem

For every category that will have e-commerce products, go to Inventory Categories and enter weight, width, height, and depth. You can use either a maximum weight for products that vary, or an average. These are used by BigCommerce to compute shipping charges. Only the weight is required.

For every vendor that will be listed on e-commerce, go to Vendors. On the Details tab enter a delivery time-frame (6 to 8 weeks, for example) for products special ordered from this vendor. If the vendor name, as it appears on the Vendor form, should not appear on BigCommerce, enter a new name under Alt. name. For example, if the vendor is 'Discount T-Shirts', you may not want that to appear on BigCommerce. You can enter an alternate name, such as the shop name to appear on the BigCommerce store.

Step 3 Setup Inventory

Finally, for each style code in the ProfitSystem that will be sold online, do the following.

Add one or more pictures via the Images tab of the Retail Inventory form. Up to 5 pictures will be uploaded to BigCommerce for the product.

If the product is a special order item and uses a size chart, make sure the size chart is entered into the Profit System on the Size Charts form, and is also selected for the inventory item on the Style tab of the Retail Inventory form. If there are up-charges for extra length or certain sizes, make sure they're entered on the size chart. If there is an extra charge for length on the size chart, enter that amount on the size chart.

If the product is special order and uses a color chart and/or accent chart, make sure the color chart/accent chart is entered into the Profit System on the Color Charts form. For each color on the color or accent chart, you must enter the hex color code for the color.

Select the correct Sold via on the E-Commerce tab of the Retail Inventory form.

  • Blank or nothing selected: Style is sold normally from the ProfitSystem, and will not be uploaded to BigCommerce.
  • In store only: Style is sold normally from the ProfitSystem, and will not be uploaded to BigCommerce.
  • Web only: Style will be uploaded to BigCommerce, and a warning will be shown on the Ticket form if the product is sold directly in the ProfitSystem.
  • In store+web: Style is sold normally from the ProfitSystem, and will also be uploaded to BigCommerce.
  • Catalog only: Style is sold normally from the ProfitSystem, and will be uploaded to BigCommerce with a flag set that does not allow it to be sold on BigCommerce.

Check Allow stock sales?...on the E-Commerce tab of the Retail Inventory form if this style will be sold out of stock from the store. In this case, a separate product will be uploaded to the store for each size and color where the with QOH is greater than 0 in the ProfitSystem. For example, if the inventory shows a size 6 in White, with a QOH of 2, the style will be uploaded to BigCommerce with the size and color as part of the description, and the QOH on BigCommerce will be set to 2. No size or color options are added to the product.

If Allow Stock sales? is not checked, then the product is sold via special order on BigCommerce. In this case, a single product for the style is uploaded to BigCommerce, regardless of the sizes and colors in stock. A color Options is created using the color chart for the style. A size Option is created using the size chart. If certain sizes require an extra charge, as specified on the size chart, then those charges are added to the Option. If there is an extra length charge on the size chart, an Option is created for that as well.

Enter the E-Commerce sales description on the E-Commerce tab of the Retail Inventory form. This will become the Description on BigCommerce. HTML formatting is available, and hyper-links to external pages can be included, for sizing charts or vendor pages, for example.

The merge code SizeColors should be included somewhere in the description This code will be replaced with the sizes and colors that the item is available in.

For a stock sale item, it will be replaced with 'Available in size x, color y' for each size/color with at least one QOH. For example, if the style has quantity in size 8 and white, and size 6 and ivory, the merge code will be replaced with:

'Available in size 8, color white, size 6, color ivory'

For a non-stock sale item, the code is replaced with all the sizes and colors in the size and color charts for the style. So, merge code will be replaced with something like:

'Sizes available: [00], 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20,
22, 24, 26, 28, 30
Colors available: African Vi, American B, Amethyst, Apple Slic, Arctic,
Aubergine, Buttercup, etc'

If the Price field is set to 0 or left blank, Price 1 from the Style tab is used. If the Price is set to -1, then the price on BigCommerce will show as 'In store'

Inventory can be sent to BigCommerce one at a time, or in batch mode.

When entering your first few inventory items, you may want to use One at a time to see how the item uploads to BigCommerce. If you have updated many items and want to send them all at once, use Batch mode.

One at a time: Each inventory item is updated with detailed descriptions, pictures, etc. and uploaded once it is ready. This is the most common way to create the web store and is documented below.

Batch mode:A flag is set on each inventory item to be uploaded. A batch routine is then run which uploads all the items in a batch. This is often used if the store needs to be refreshed, or re-created from scratch.

The URL to the product on the BigCommerce web site is saved in the E-comm URL field on the E-Commerce tab of the Retail Inventory. This can be printed on the inventory tag using a QR code.

Repeat the above steps for each product to be listed on BigCommerce.

Batch Upload

  1. In the ProfitSytem go to Inventory->Big Commerce Upload, or with the switchboards go to Housekeeping->BigCommerce Store.
  2. There are options to only upload certain categories, vendors, or Sold via. Select at least one criteria.
  3. Click Report to run the BigCommerce Upload Report and use it to review the styles to be uploaded.
  4. If the details are correct, click the Upload Styles button. The process can take some time (hours for 1000's of items) ) and shouldn't be interrupted until it has finished.
  5. When it finishes, it will display a message and open the web browser to the web store.