WebStore Wizard

New Blog Home

2009-10-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

ATTENTION! My blog has a new home!! I'm happy to announce the new and improved eMarketing center powered by the Active Network. I've created a place specifically for you to go to for all things WebStore related. You'll find:

WebStore tips, tricks and hints
WebStore information such as Remittance Schedule, FAQs, Data Sheets, etc..
Access to all of our FREE customizable templates to download
Catch up on my blog!

I'm so excited b/c I know that many of our WS users were blocked from this blog site by their districts and therefore weren't able to read all my tips!

The new home of my blog will be http://emarketing.activenetwork.com/login.htm

You should all be receiving an email with your autocreated username and password so that you can log in to the site. Bookmark this page: http://emarketing.activenetwork.com/login.htm so that you can keep up with my blog and gain access to all of our FREE marketing tools to really help promote your WS at your school.

Hope you're all having a great weekend! I'm in Salt Lake City visiting some of our schools and preparing for snow tomorrow!! AHHH!

Lifetouch Yearbooks

2009-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! I'm trying to find out if any of your schools use Lifetouch for your yearbook production? If you do, can you let me know - shoot me over an email :)

Thanks!

September WS of the Month!

2009-10-01T11:18:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Amy Seyfi of Crescenta Valley High School who has been named my September WebStore of the Month!

Amy had over 400 transactions in September - be on the lookout for more information from Amy about her experiences with the WebStore in my October issue of the WebStore Wizard's Bulletin newsletter that will be coming out in the middle of this month!

Click here to check out Crescenta Valley's WebStore

Gold Star for you Amy!!

Donations & Advertising Webinar TOMORROW!

2009-09-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Don't forget to register for my Donations and Advertising Webinar tomorrow! I'll be covering how to maximize your donation and fundraising opportunities at your school by using your WebStore as a means of collecting more money!

Time: 1PM PST / 4PM EST

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Hope to see you there!

Announcements!

2009-09-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I have some major announcements that I'd like to share with you of some things that I've been working on over here!! It's been a busy month over here and I'm really excited to share the progress with all of you.

1. The WebStore Wizard Bulletin - the inaugural edition of my monthly newsletter will be sent out on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd. If you don't receive it, let me know! Every month I'll be sending this out to our WebStore customers and the content is specifically geared at making the most of your store and answering some of your most frequently asked questions!

2. eMarketing Center - I'm happy to announce that we've built a place for you all to go to now to download the templated flyers and posters that we've created for you to use. The eMarketing center will also be the new home of my WebStore Wizard blog - this is GREAT...as many of you are blocked from the blogspot domain and are unable to access it anyway - this will be housed on our activenetwork servers so there will be no reason for you NOT to read this :) Some things the eMarketing center can be used for:

WebStore templates - email, posters, flyers, web buttons
Best Practices from other Schools
Free marketing tips and useful information to spread the word about your WebStore

You should all be receiving an email here soon introducing you to the eMarketing Center and your pre-created username and password! WHOO HOO!

3. Donations & Advertising Webinar - Sept. 29th at 1pm PST. Click here to register!

4. WS Enhancements - They're coming!! Thanks to everyone who filled out the quick survey that I sent out. We have been able to bump up some key enhancements to the WebStore that will be released by the end of the month - Quantity Limit to 1 and MUST items are currently being worked on in the store! I'll keep you posted on the progress!!

5. Event Sales - I've had some great conversations with our users on other ways that they are using their WebStore now that fall registration is over - charity golf tournaments and big game football tickets are just a few ways that schools are continuing to make the most of their WebStores!

Hope you're all as excited as I am about what's coming up in the near future! Have a great week!

Back To School Night!

2009-09-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

Back to School night is a FABULOUS opportunity to get information out about your WebStore to parents.

Here are some things that schools are doing on this night to announce their WebStore:

Principal is going to mention online payment option during welcome address
Flyers will be in every classroom and in any packets that parents receive that night
WebStore will be announced during Student News Broadcast
During purchases - flyer will be handed out to parents along with receipts
WebStore will be displayed on Marquee for parents to see

If you are doing something else on this night to inform parents, I want to know about it! Comment below and share your ideas.

Also - if you need a flyer created, let me know and I'll whip one up and send it over to you. All you'll have to do is make copies!

3 Question Survey

2009-09-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and enjoyed some well deserved rest. Before the weekend I sent out a survey that I really need your help with! I'm working on getting some key enhancements to the WS pushed up the priority list and developed in time for your next dance, but in order to do so, I need your help!

If you haven't already (which many of you haven't...I only have 44 responses!) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE click on the link below and complete the 3 question survey! It's really easy, I promise!

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY

Thanks for your help!!

Just For Fun!

2009-09-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

With the craziness of the beginning of the school year upon you, I thought I'd make my post for the day very light hearted b/c you all deserve a break and could use some laughter!

Check out this school answering machine recording:

Trust me...it will make you laugh out loud :)

Enjoy the day!

2009-08-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Do you have notice boards, service counters, phone booths, or outdoor signs at your school? Since your students and parents will be walking through your school during fall registration and everyday during the school year, these are ideal locations to promote your online student store.

Long line-ups can also be a strong incentive for parents to make use of the online alternative. Remind parents and students that are standing in line during fall registration that you offer online payments that are quick, easy and available 24 hours a day!

If you need flyers - let me know!

Major Announcement!

2009-08-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Tip for the day:

TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

whoot whoot!

Enjoy your Tuesday everyone :)

Spanish Versions of Flyer & Instructions!

2009-08-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Good news..thanks to Katie over at MLK Jr. Middle School, I now have Spanish versions of the flyer and WebStore Login Instruction templates that you can use!

If you need them, just let me know and I can send them over!

Thanks Katie!!

Back to School!

2009-08-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

So I just spent 4 days in Las Vegas on site at 5 of our schools during their orientation days! Let me just say - CRAZY! I learned so much about the students, parents and most importantly your everyday jobs. You all deserve a standing ovation for your efforts!!

We had computer labs setup on campus for those that wanted to pay by credit card and the thing that parents mentioned the most to me (nope..not the credit card fees!) was:

"I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT WE COULD PAY ONLINE BEFORE I GOT HERE SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS!"

This just re-emphasizes that it's all about the messaging to parents that is the KEY to making your store a success. I'm here to help with this so let me know how I can help you! I can help you create your fliers, posters, emails, etc. as I know that each of you are incredibly busy!

just ask :)

Product Reviews!!

2009-08-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I've been checking around on some of your stores and have noticed that the Product Review option is enabled on your products. This feature allows parents and students to comment on the items that you have for sale. This can be scary! I've had 2 people that have had reviews of their products and people haven't been so nice...complaining about the color of the shirt and the design of the logo - apparently they weren't fans and wanted everyone to know! No need to have other see these types of comments so I'd recommend to all of our users to DISABLE this feature on your store.

Here's how:
Management - WebStore - WebStore/Software Options

Click the NEXT button at the bottom of the screens to get to the 4 tab - Sales Options

At the bottom of that screen you'll see Optional Features: Gift Certificates, Product Reviews and About Us

Disable Product Reviews (and Gift Certificates if you're not ready for this yet!). Click the next button to navigate through the rest of the screens then click finish.

Don't forget, you must SYNC YOUR STORE after making this change!

Defaulted Passwords

2009-08-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

I've received a few calls saying that parents are having problems figuring out what their default password is. Since their passwords are auto created from their customer record in Tracks, it's all dependent on how you have their last name displayed.

Remember, passwords are all lower case letters!!

here are some examples:

Josh Smith = jsmith

Emily Chan-Norris = echan-norris (hyphen is included in password)

Vanessa Del Rosario = vdel rosario (space is included in password between last name)

Michael Hudson II = mhudson ii (space is included in password between last name and roman numerals - roman numerals are in lower case letters)

This should cover most of the last name situations so hopefully you can follow these examples when helping parents with logging in!

Enjoy your day

Important - WebStore Link on School Website

2009-08-10T11:53:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

As we're coming up towards a busy time for transactions, I want to make sure that your links are working properly. I've had a couple calls saying that parents were having issues with items being deleted from their carts when they go to purchase.

Make sure that your WebStore link opens up into a new web browser when parents/students click on it from your school website. If the link is embedded in your school website, it can cause issues for some customers. If their security settings (in IE and possibly other browsers) are set to Medium or includes blocking of 3rd party cookies, then they cannot add items to their cart. The WebStore message will say that the item was added to their cart successfully, but then the cart shows as empty.

So overall lesson - check your link on your school website and have your IT person change it if necessary so that it opens up into a new web browser to avoid any problems for your customers.

Unique Email Addresses

2009-08-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday WebStore Users,

Hope you all had a great weekend! Wanted to make sure to remind you all that the WebStore only allows UNIQUE email addresses to be stored in the system.

So if parents have multiple children and log in under each students' account and try to make purchases for each child, they will NOT be able to enter the SAME email address for each child in their separate accounts. They will get an error message that says that that email address is already stored in the system.

Therefore, recommend to parents that they create their own usernames and passwords and assign their students to their account so that they are all attached to 1 email address.

You can always refer them to the Quick Start Guide on the WebStore that will walk them through setting up their own accounts. Feel free to print out that guide as well for your records so you can have it on hand if anyone needs help.

Hope you all have a great week!

Out of Stock

2009-08-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I've noticed on some stores that some of items are showing up as OUT OF STOCK on the details page of the item.

Here's why!

On the main tab of item maintenance you'll see Quantity on Hand and WebStore on Hand fields. Typically the WebStore on Hand field has a zero in it - which is perfectly fine - HOWEVER if you go to the WebStore 2 tab and there is a checkmark in Display Available Stock this will display whatever number is in the WebStore on Hand field on the item in the WebStore.

If WebStore on Hand has a zero and there's a checkmark next to Display Available Stock - the item will show up as OUT OF STOCK on the WebStore.

Uncheck Display Available Stock - sync your store and OUT OF STOCK will go away and parents and students will be able to now purchase this item.

Happy Back to School time!

Make Items Orderable!

2009-08-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users!

Just a reminder!! If you previously set items to Un-Orderable in the WebStore while you were gone during the summer - make sure to go into item maintenance and make them Orderable when you're ready to start accepting payments for fall registration!

Otherwise, people won't be able to add items to their cart....right Jolene?? :)

Usernames & Passwords

2009-08-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore users!

hope the summer has been treating you well. Many of you are now back in the office (yay..I've missed you. I haven't had anyone to talk to all of July!) and I wanted to make sure to remind you of a few things now that fall registration is coming up!

1. Usernames = student ID numbers/ student alpha codes - whatever their customer no. is in Tracks is what you should be relaying to parents/students

2. Passwords = defaulted as their first initial & last name - no spaces and all lower case letters.

I've received 2 calls this morning actually saying that parents can't log in and neither can you! TURN OFF YOUR CAP LOCKS WHEN ENTERING IN THEIR PASSWORDS!!

hope you all have a great week!

Students Don't know their ID #s???

2009-07-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

As the beginning of the school year approaches and you've completed your Dr. Download, you may find that some of your incoming student's do not know what their Student ID # is and therefore aren't able to purchase on your WebStore.

Solution - Use the FORM LETTERS feature in Tracks to format letters that can be mailed or emailed out to incoming students.

Step 1 - Create you form letter by going to Form Letter Maintenance. Found by going to Reports - Customer Reports - Form Letter Maintenance.

Create a letter code (Ex: WS)

Type in a description for your letter

Type in the text of your letter and insert specific fields into the proper spots by choosing them from the drop down box.

To insert the field, select it from the drop down box and then paste it into the text of your letter.

Selecting the "Customer No." field will provide students with their student ID numbers that are assigned to them in Tracks.

Step 2 - Go to Form Letter Printing to email or mail out the letters to your students.

Each letter that is sent will prepopulate the specific fields into the letter for each child - providing them with their Student ID number.

This is a great way to generate mass emails/letters to all students with their student ID information as well as notify all incoming students of your school WebStore!

If you have questions or want a more in depth look at this functionality - call me!

Reminder - WS & Fall Registration Webinar Tomorrow!!

2009-07-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Just a friendly reminder!

Don't forget to register for the WebStore and Fall Registration webinar tomorrow!! I promise, it will be the most informative hour of your day!!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!!

Reporting for Student Debts

2009-07-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

If you are charging debts/fines to student accounts these payments will NOT show up on your Sales by Item/Customer report for WebStore only sales. Debts are NOT considered items and therefore will not show up on this report.

Here are your best options for viewing debt payments:

1. Run a Sales by Receipt report for WebStore only sales if you want a print out list of those that have paid off their student fines.

2. View their full WebStore transaction in their Customer History on the Workscreen which will show all of the payments that were made during their online transactions.

3. Run/Preview a Balance Due report to verify that their name has fallen off the list if they have paid their debt in full or that their amounts have been adjusted based on the amount that they paid online.

Hope you're all enjoying your summer!

Encore! Fall Registration & WS Webinar

2009-07-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since some of you weren't able to attend an earlier presentation of this webinar at the end of the school year, I'd like to offer it to you again before the upcoming school year!

Topic includes:

How to set up your WebStore for Fall Registration
How to handle item pickup for those that buy online
Messaging strategies using your WebStore email capabilities
How to encourage parents and students to use your WebStore for online payments

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Dr. Download & The WebStore

2009-07-13T14:14:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It has been brought to my attention from our product team that when doing Dr. Download, you’ll have the option to Purge all your items. Since you all have WebStores – you probably do NOT want to select this option because no sync will take place to remove those items from the store, which means that these items will be purged from your Tracks system but will still be enabled on your WS.

Also, you probably don’t want to do this because it means that you'll have to re-do all your WebStore items and will lose everything that you have now.

FYI - If you do want to purge all of your items - you'll need to go through and unable them in the WebStore - sync your store to remove them from your store and then proceed with your Dr. Download.

No Computer? No Problem!

2009-07-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Some of your parents and students may believe that online registration requires owning a computer.

This is a misconception.

Communicate with parents to learn which of them do not own a computer. Encourage them to visit friends and family who own a computer, their local library or even your school computer lab to buy school items online.

Contrary to what some think, paying online for school items IS accessible to everyone.

Changing Color of Flyer & Poster Templates

2009-07-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

I have sent many of you the templated fliers and posters that you can customize with your school information during fall registration and came across this helpful video that will walk you through changing the colors of the template to fit your school colors!

Check it out!

http://support.theactivenetwork.com/portal/emarketing/videos/colourchange.html

Don't forget, we have templates available for Prom and Graduation as well!

Changing WebStore Remittance Type

2009-07-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to pass along some information to you about WebStore Remittances and if you change your payment method (ex: from check to ACH) in the middle of a period that spans a month, you may receive two different forms of payment for the one period.

Our payment system splits transactions at the end of the month but the payment periods are bi-weekly and not based on month end. Here’s an example of what could happen:

Period Dates: 4/27/09 – 5/10/09
Changed your Payment Information from Check to ACH on 5/2

Since we split the information on the month,

Transactions that took place between 4/27 & 4/30 – you receive check
Transactions that took place between 5/1 & 5/10/09 – you receive ACH

This will not affect the following situations:
· If no changes are made to remittance.
· If the period does not span two months when a change is made.
· If the period spans two months, but the changes are made in the first of the two months (in the example above, if the change was made on 4/28).

Hope you're having a great summer!

Ceres High School - Flyer!

2009-06-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Kimli from Ceres used our customizable flyer for her fall registration announcement. She even switched out the pictures and added ones of her students and school!

Love it! Looks GREAT!

If anyone needs the template let me know and I can send it over to you to use in your packets as well. These flyers can also be given to your PTA or Booster clubs to hand out during meetings so that you have direct access to the parents at your school!

Jefferson Junior High School - Utah

2009-06-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

So I just had the coolest conversation with Chris Stoker at Jefferson Junior High about how they are getting the word out about online payments during fall registration.

Her school uses TxtWire (http://www1.txtwire.com/). Their txtdispatcher product enables administrators to send text messages to parents who subscribe to receive updates about school information.

Along with adding information in their packets, she's gotten the principal to communicate via text message with all of their subscribers about the WebStore option during fall registration.

How cool is that??

Text messages are instant, more often read than emails and not as time-consuming as phone calls and they provide an efficient and accurate means of communication.

Thought I would share this idea with everyone b/c I am totally impressed!!

Dr. Download Tutorial

2009-06-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

To prepare you for the upcoming school year, I've posted the Dr. Download help Tutorial for you to check out!

Be sure to ask your tech to include email addresses in your text file so that you can import that field into Tracks when you do your Dr. Download. This will be very handy when it comes to messaging new items for sale on your WebStore to parents/students!!

Old Thriva Reconciliations

2009-06-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

You all should have received my email this morning about completing any outstanding OLD Thriva store reconciliations by June 30th. I just want to make sure to clarify - it's ONLY any OLD store reconciliations that we're asking you to complete. Not closing our your entire year or reconciliations that pertain to the new version of the WebStore.

Hopefully this helps clarify what we're asking of you. The majority of you should be fully reconciled with your old store transactions by now since you've been on the new version for a few months. But if not, please complete them by June 30th.

Thanks!!

Viewable but not Orderable

2009-06-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore users!

With many of you out of the office in the month of July - here's a tip for you so that you don't have to disable your whole WebStore off of your website while you're gone!

If you DON'T want to allow sales in the month of July, rather than taking off your WebStore link down from your school website - keep your items enabled on your store but uncheck ORDERABLE in item maintenance.

This will keep your items up so parents and students can view the items that will be available for purchase during fall registration, but won't allow them to add them to their cart and purchase them.

When you're ready to start allowing sales, just re-check orderable and you're all set! This is much quicker and will save you much more time when you get back from summer :)

Check out what San Juan Hills High School did!

2009-06-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users!

Sorry for the couple days of no posts - been out of the office but I'm back and ready to kick off the work week (thank goodness it's already Wednesday!).

Came back to an awesome email from Lori at San Juan Hills High School. She sent me the WebStore flyer that they are sending home to students/parents for Fall Registration! She took the customizable flyer that I sent to her and added her school info on it!

Congrats Lori on my Gold Star of the Day! The flyer looks awesome!!! Check it out:

May WebStore of the Month!

2009-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Fran Whitney at West Ranch High School for being the May WebStore of the Month! They had the highest volume of online transactions for May!

Fran turned her WebStore in the headquarters for her Summer Athletics Program Registration. Check out how she used the billboard gallery to communicate to parents:

http://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-software/west_ranch_high_scho/

Congrats Fran!

Emails From Contact Us on WebStore

2009-05-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

Wanted to pass along some information about the Contact Us section of your WebStore. This page contains a form that your students/parents can use to contact you with questions that they may have. When they complete this form it automatically sends an email to you.

I've had a few schools contact me and let me know that when these emails come through, they contain some broken text and strange characters. (Ex: pu).

Just letting you know that I've reported this to our product team, they have identified what the problem is and will be implementing a fix.

Just for fun - insert your choice words when reading the emails that come through when you come to the strange characters - makes the emails more amusing to read!

Happy Weekend!

No More Old WebStores!

2009-05-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! I wanted to make sure to let you all know that we will be decommissioning all of your old Thriva WebStores here soon. This was supposed to happen a few months ago - but we had some users that were still processing transactions and didn't want to disrupt any data.

NOTE: PLEASE BE SURE TO FINISH ALL OF YOUR OLD WEBSTORE RECONCILIATIONS ASAP so that we can decommission these stores.

If you need any support assistance with completing the last of your Thriva WebStore reconciliations please contact our support team.

Fall Registration & WebStore Webinars

2009-05-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Happy Monday to you all. Just want to make sure that everyone received my email about the Fall Registration and WebStore Webinars that I will be holding this week!

It's the same webinar - just offered on 3 different days b/c I had to limit the enrollment per day! So please only register to attend 1 day!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!!!

Spots are filling up fast!

Summer Athletic Programs?

2009-05-13T08:18:00.001-07:00

Hi WebStore Users!

Happy Wednesday! Wanted to share with you another great way to use your WebStore as the end of the year is approaching.

Some of you may have summer athletic programs at your schools that students have to pay for to attend. These are great items to post on your WebStore to allow parents to pay by credit card and allow you to track which students are attending and provide reports/lists to coaches!

Check out two of WebStore users that are currently offering this on their stores:

Valencia High School - http://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-software/valencia_high_sch2gt/

West Ranch High School -
http://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-software/west_ranch_high_scho/

WebStore Remittance Periods

2009-05-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Hope the week is off to a great start! Wanted to make sure that everyone is on the same page with their remittance schedule and has a heads up on when to expect their checks/deposits for any WebStore transactions.

Here's the two week periods for the next few months just so you have it on hand and know when to expect your payments:

April 27-May 10
May 11-May 24
May 25-June 7
June 8-June 21
June 22-July 5

Reports

2009-05-08T10:57:00.001-07:00

Wanted to share with everyone some information that Shelly Valentine at San Elijo Middle School "accidentally" figured out in terms of reporting when it comes to NON Customer Required items!

When mom, dad, grandparents, etc. go through and buy a non customer required item - the purchaser's first and last name DOES show up on the Sales By Item report under the specific item.

So...if you have a field trip item that is NOT checked as customer required and mom creates an account and buys the item without assigning her child to her account - mom's name shows up on the sales by item report and will be expected to show up on the bus - rather than the student....Right Shelly?? :)

Customer Required Field

2009-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday. Hope everyone is gearing up for a great weekend. :)

Wanted to make sure that everyone is clear on what the Customer Required field in Item Maintenance does when it comes to the WebStore.

Checked = in order for anyone to buy that item on the WebStore they HAVE to be a customer in Tracks - most likely this means that they have to be a student at your school. This restricts sales to the general public, moms, dads, etc...unless they have a student tied to their account.

Not Checked = anyone can purchase this item - moms, dads, general public, etc can purchase this item WITHOUT having to having to assign it to a student.

Items that should probably be Customer Required include - dance tickets, field trips, class fees, etc...anything that you will need to provide a list of students that have purchased that item.

Items that don't need to be customer required - general merchandise items such as school t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and donation items.

Make sure that you have your items checked properly!

2009-05-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Julia Sing at PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL!!!

They have been named our WebStore of the Month for processing the most online transactions in the moth of April!

Here's the link to their store if you want to check it out!

http://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-software/palo_alto_senior_hig/

How to Post a Comment

2009-04-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

I've had a few people ask how they post comments on my blog posting so I thought I would provide instructions to you all!

At the bottom of each posting there is a little link that says the number of comments that posting has - Check out the bottom of this posting now - it probably says "0 Comments"...so sad for me! :(

Just click on that link and it will open up a comment form for you to type in and post your comment!

Let me know what's on your mind!

Updated Information about Emailing

2009-04-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Special thanks to Marilyn Hardman from Cyprus High School who informed me of this problem that she was running into when trying to email her WebStore customers!

She was using the Send Email WebStore Users menu option that I previously mentioned and was receiving a pop up that asked for her Username and Password - which isn't the way that it should be functioning!

So - here's the best way to email your WebStore customers:

Management - WebStore - WebStore Manager - click on Emails at the top of that screen - then under Manual Email Options – click to manage - format the text of your email - click Send Newsletter

Happy Emailing!

Templated Flyers & Posters!

2009-04-29T14:41:00.001-07:00

Hi Gang,

I've received a few questions from users asking about the cost of these templates! I totally forgot to mention that they're FREE!!...unless of course you'd like to offer me a small fee for sending them over to you :)...ha ha just kidding!

Have a great rest of your day!

New Posters & Flyer Templates Available!

2009-04-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users!

Wow! it's been almost a week since my last post and I do apologize for the delay! I took a few days off to move...ugh..that's not a very fun task!

But I'm back with some very exciting news!

We've just designed new fully customizable templated posters, fliers, postcards, and brochures
that you can easily download and hang around your school or send home to parents/students!!

We've created packages around Prom, Graduation and Fall Registration - all of the text and images are customizable so feel free to swap out images with students from your school if you'd like! Check em out!

Shoot me an email or comment below if you'd like me to send a specific template package over to you to use at your school!

It's NEVER too early to start getting the word out about your WebStore!! Fall Registration is just around the corner...it will be here before you know it!!

Handling Refunds!

2009-04-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

I've gotten a lot of questions regarding how refunds are handled for WebStore purchases. Here's the scoop -

All refunds are handled by you - The Active Network and Blue Bear Software has a NO refund policy for online purchases and will not credit refunds back to credit cards used online. We remit the payment to you for their purchase so that you can refund the student directly as you'd usually do through Tracks.

Here's my recommendation for notifying students of the refund policy - enable the About Us page on your WebStore and add some text about your online store policies such as:

Refunds:
Transaction fees are non-refundable and any online purchases will not be credited back to your credit card. All refunds are handled directly through the student store so please bring your confirmation email and your student ID directly to the student store and detailed information as to why you are requesting a refund. All refunds will be distributed back as Cash, Check or Credited to your Account. Due to our refund policy, we ask that you please take proper caution when purchasing online to ensure that all items bought by you or your child are correct.

If you'd like more information/templates for the About Us page on your WebStore just let me know!

WebStore Remittances - ACH Deposits

2009-04-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Happy Monday!! I want to make sure that everyone is aware of this fact - If you selected ACH deposit for your WebStore remittance - the VERY FIRST time that we remit to you now that you've created a new store - it will be in the form of a CHECK.

After the first pay period, you will then start receiving ACH deposits into your account.

WS Syncing Errors?

2009-04-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users!
I've received a couple calls from users who are receiving a WebStore syncing error that comes up and notifies them that "the webstore has tried to sync 4 times, please contact support" or something to that effect.

If you receive this message - it's most likely due to Tracks trying to sync your OLD webstore.

Here's the fix if you're receiving this message:

Management - WebStore - Thriva Store - WebStore Settings

Once the screen comes up - click the next button to navigate through the screens - click through 4 screens until you get to Syncing Options and make sure to Turn Off Automatic Syncing and remove all other checkmarks.

Click Next and then Save.

This will ensure that the old store will stop syncing with Tracks and you will no longer receive that syncing error message.

Have a great day!

Prom Tickets Online

2009-04-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

Hopefully you all received my email about selling Prom Tickets online and the new features in the WebStore that can help make this item a bestseller on your store!

Many of you are selling prom tickets online and some of you aren't - I'd like to hear from you as to what's preventing you from doing so!

Comment below and share your thoughts....

2009-04-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder!

Make sure to make 3-5 of your items FEATURED so that they show up on your homepage of your WebStore. This will make your store look much more appealing and allow students/parents to find important items much easier.

Check out Hoover High's WebStore and their featured items!

To add an item to the homepage as a Featured Product go to the item in Item Maintenance: WebStore 1 Tab - Checkmark next to Featured in the display options - Accept. Don't forget to sync your store after you've made this change to your items.

I'll be checking stores next week - so you may just get a call from me if that homepage doesn't have any products on it.....

Start Emailing!

2009-04-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Selling Prom tickets or Grad night tickets online? Start notifying students by emailing past WebStore customers that tickets are available online. This will email only those students that have recently purchased on your new WebStore.

Go to Managment - WebStore - Send Email WebStore Users

There you'll be able to format an email all Users or Specific User Groups (ex: 2009 students) announcing that tickets are available online.

Helpful hint - when emailing be sure to include the link to your school website so parents/students can click directly from your email to your website to purchase online and let them know where to find the WebStore link - ex: go to www.yourschoolname.com and click on the WebStore link to purchase!

Congratulations!

2009-04-06T10:34:00.001-07:00

Hi WebStore Users - Happy Monday!!

Congratulations to Lisa Hall at Gunn High School for having the highest volume of school items sold online for the month of March!

http://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-software/gunn_high_school_onl/

No Video/Image Library??

2009-04-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Have no fear! Ta da! Here are the links that you can go to in order to access the images and videos if that menu option isn't showing up:

Video Library - http://webstores.activenetwork.com/video_guide.html

Image Library - http://webstores.activenetwork.com/image_library/image_library_view.php

If you don't have the Video Library/Resources menu options, like the user that commented below - it's probably a result of the software update not installing ALL of the new menu options. If you email into support they will be able to re-update you fully so that it will show up!

WebStore Video Library

2009-04-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hi WebStore Users,

Need WebStore Help? Watch help tutorials by going to:

Management - WebStore - Video Library/Resources - Video Library

Enjoy!

Image Library - No Joke!

2009-04-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fools day everyone! Wanted to share the good news with you...the image library is now fully stocked with all types of images for you to use on your webstore!

To find it - go to: Management - WebStore - Video Library/Resources - Images

These images are yours for the using - if you need others that we don't have, email me or post it below and I'll help you get some!

Have a great day!

Reconciliation Information

2009-03-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

FYI - any checks/ACH deposits that you receive for transactions that occurred on your old store (Thriva) your WebStore Reconciliation is found under the Thriva Store in your WebStore drop down menu by navigating to:

Management - WebStore - Thriva Store - WebStore Reconciliation

All of your old store information can be found in these Thriva Store menu options!

Have a great day!

Welcome WebStore Users!

2009-03-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome WebStore Users. I'm excited to introduce my new blog! On here, you'll find helpful tips and tools to make the WebStore a success at your school. I wanted to create a place for all of our users to go for resources and to share ideas and best practices on using the WebStore at your schools. So feel free to share your ideas and questions! Be sure to visit on a weekly basis for new posts from me..your WebStore Wizard.