The channel module in Tradebox One contains a list of all of the external sales channels Tradebox is integrated with. This article is focused on the configuration settings for an EKM channel. To access the channel configuration settings go to the Channels Module and either double click on the channel from the list or select the channel and choose the Edit button. The Channel is split into 6 tabs:

• DETAILS - Channel Integration and configuration setting
• VAT - Tradebox's VAT settings
• ORDERS - a list of orders downloaded from this channel
• SALES - Graph comparing last 3 Calendar years' sales
• STATUSES - Table mapping marketplace statuses to Tradebox statuses
• SAGE 50/XERO- settings for accounts integration

This article is focused on the channel integration and configuration settings for an EKM channel. 

Note: There is a save button at the bottom of each tab. Clicking this saves and closes down the channel details and takes you back to the channel list. If you are amending multiple tabs at once, you can navigate between the tabs without saving. It's only necessary to click the save button once you've made all your amendments in every screen. 

Details

Channel Details

• Sales Channel Name: The name given to the sales channel to identify it. This is a free text field. It is recommended that the name is something that easily identifies the channel Tradebox is integrated with. 
• Currency: This field displays the currency of the channel. The field is chosen in the setup wizard, and cannot be edited.

API Connection Details

• API Key:  This is the authorisation for Tradebox to access your EKM account. You may need to refresh your API Key from time to time, for example if you change your EKM password or your website moves server. To do that, click the Get New API Key button directly below your existing API Key, and follow the steps from there.

Order Processing

• Place all downloaded orders on hold:   If ticked, all orders downloaded by Tradebox are placed into a status of On Hold. When an order is in this status stock is not allocated, the order cannot be marked as shipped or passed to an accounts package. Effectively the order is frozen until the user changes its status. This allows users to manually verify the order details before releasing it into the order management cycle.
• Create Tradebox Product Records:   If ticked, Tradebox will create new products in the Product Module where a SKU in a downloaded order does NOT already exist. The product record created will only contain the minimum information required, such as SKU and description, and will not contain information such as price, location, dimensions etc. This is not applicable if you're using Accounts Software or None as your stock control method.
• Don't Update Tradebox stock levels: If ticked, Tradebox will not amend stock levels in its own database based on orders received through this channel. This is not applicable if you're using Accounts Software or None as your stock control method.
• Ignore Orders Dated Prior to:   Allows the user to configure Tradebox to ignore any transactions prior to a given date preventing orders that fall before this date from being downloaded. 
• Ignore Orders Dated After: Allows the user to download orders up to a certain date and prevent any orders downloading after that date. This would usually be used where certain settings would apply up to a specific date, and different settings after that date, for example, the date you become VAT registered.
• Days to Download: How many days' worth of sales you want Tradebox to download for this particular channel. Tradebox will never download any duplicate sales, but it can cover old ground to see if any orders that didn't meet your criteria on first check are now valid for download, and also update order statuses if applicable.
• Invoice Date allows the user to choose the date to use on the invoice produced by Tradebox. The options are:
  • Order Date - The date the order was placed
  • Payment Date - The date the order was paid for
  • Despatched Date - The date the order was despatched

By default, this option is set to Order Date. Payment Date and Despatched Date can only be used if they are provided by your site and the order is downloaded at a stage when they are populated.

• Discount Type allows the user to configure the type of discounts applied on downloaded orders which inform how the order is calculated in Tradebox. The user can choose:
  • None - No discounts to be applied
  • Order Discount - This applies a discount to the entire order
  • Item Line - This applies a discount to the item, rather than the order.

• Product Prices are Net: By default, Tradebox assumes product prices include tax. This box should only be ticked if the product prices on EKM exclude tax. This can be checked on the EKM backend in Settings > Tax > Product Price Tax. Only tick this box if the EKM setting for Product Price Tax is set to Products Exclude Tax

• Carriage is Net: By default, Tradebox assumes carriage prices include tax. This box should only be ticked if the carriage prices on EKM exclude tax. This can be checked on the EKM backend in Settings > Tax > Delivery Price Tax. Only tick this box if the EKM setting for Delivery Price Tax is set to Delivery Charges Exclude Tax.

Uploads

• Don't Upload Zero Quantities: Tradebox will not upload a stock level of zero to any item on EKM.
• Upload Negative Quantities as Zero: If a stock level is negative, Tradebox will convert the stock level to zero instead.
• Upload Quantities for Bundles: Bundle products in Tradebox are by default excluded from uploads. Ticking this box will include them. 
• For Sage BOM use Quantity to Make Up: If you're using Sage stock control and have BOM (bill of materials) products, Tradebox can calculate the number of BOM end products that can be made up from the component products, and upload that to EKM. 

Please see our Uploading Stock Levels guide for more information.

VAT

The VAT section of the channel details shows a set of default tax codes for UK and Rest of World. The illustration above shows the default codes for a business on the standard VAT scheme. The UK Sales dropdown only applies to users who are running without any stock control; if you are using stock control in either Tradebox or an accounts package, Tradebox will automatically use the tax code on the product record and the UK sales options will be greyed out.

Use Product Tax for Carriage: If you are selling goods with a mixture of tax codes, you may wish to select this option. With this setting turned on, if all of the products on an order are non-vatable, then no VAT will be applied to the carriage. If any product on the order is standard rated then the carriage will also be standard rated, even if the majority of the products are non-vatable.

Use Single Tax Code for ALL Entries: If ticked, all sales and carriage through the channel will use the code you choose from the dropdown that appears. This takes precedence over all other VAT settings except the per-customer tax code within the Contacts screen.

EU VAT Calculation Method

For EU sales, there are four options you can choose from. 

1. Remove Destination VAT - Zero Rate: When this option is selected, Tradebox takes the total value of the sale from your website and applies a zero rated tax code to it.

2. Calculate Destination VAT on orders less than €150: To be used where you are liable for VAT on EU orders up to a value of €150. This will instruct Tradebox to check the tax rates you have applied against each EU country in Configuration > Countries within Tradebox. The tax rate will be determined based on the standard rate of the country the order is being shipped to, or the product tax for that country.

3. Calculate Destination VAT on All Orders: This is used if you are liable for VAT on all EU orders, regardless of their value. The tax rate will be determined based on the standard rate of the country the order is being shipped to, or the product tax for that country.

4. Zero Rate Gross Value: With this option, Tradebox simply takes the total value from the website and applies a zero rate tax code to it. When this option is selected, a secondary option becomes available which allows you to choose which of your zero rated tax codes you want to use for these sales.

For more details on how Tradebox deals with VAT, see our article here.

Orders

The orders section of the channel will display all orders that have been downloaded for that particular channel. It displays the following information:

Type: Displays either SO (Sales Order) or SC (Sales Credit Note).

Date:The order date. By default, this is the date the order was placed.

No. The Tradebox order number, which is automatically assigned on download.

Channel No.The order number from the channel, in this case, the Amazon order number.

Customer: The customer's name.

Value: The total value of the order.

Status: The order status within Tradebox.

Double clicking on any order in the grid opens the order in full. The grid can be sorted by any column and is sorted by order date by default. 

Sales

The Sales page of the channel details shows a breakdown of the sales value for this channel by month over the past three years, with the option to view as a bar graph or line chart.

Statuses

The top section of the Statuses tab displays a list of marketplace order statuses and the corresponding Tradebox order statuses they are mapped to. This controls at which status your orders will download to Tradebox. The bottom section of the grid controls which statuses are set to post to your accounts package (if integrated). To edit a marketplace status, double click on it and a pop up box will appear that allows you to choose what Tradebox status to map it to, and whether you want that status to download. To edit a Tradebox status, double click on it and a pop up box will appear that will allow you to choose whether or not you want orders with that status to post to your accounts. You can add or delete marketplace statuses using the 'Statuses - Add New' and 'Delete' functions in the Action menu in the bottom right.

This is explained in more detail here.

For EKM, there is also an additional option: 'Only download orders where EKM status is SUCCESS'. EKM does not by default have a status of Paid, meaning that some statuses can include both unpaid and paid orders. It does, however, show an additional field called 'Success' if the order has been successfully paid. Ticking this option will download only orders which meet the specified status in the list and also show that the payment has been successfully collected.

Sage 50/Xero

If you have opted to link Tradebox to an accounts package, you will see either Sage 50 or Xero displayed as an additional tab within the channel. This holds the connection details for your accounts package, and, once connected a new range of tabs will open up. The Sage 50 connection page is shown below:

For full instructions on setting up the accounts link, please see our guides for either:

Sage 50

or

Xero