Emails to vendor on paying him

-- url of the page with the problem -- : local MAMP
-- HikaMarket version -- : 1.4.1
-- Error-message(debug-mod must be tuned on) -- : My eyes popping out about 30cm...

Hi Jerome,

Not a classic bug, but an email and "invoice" mess at the end of the order process when vendor is due to get paid, particularly in "fees" mode, obviously.

Quick question:
Am I assuming right that you are aware of the problem, the missing email template(s) and result of this both to vendor (disaster) and admin (who cares), and same "invoice" as to customer*** going out to vendor instead of - well, something better or nothing at all? Or do I need to explain and prove lengthily? Got all screenshots and story, just need to wrap it up, but it's going to be long...

I know, "nothing at all" is definitely always an out-of-the-box option, haha! I can also see that this is probably also not a thing of a single day's work. Well, I'm not in a hurry, need some more time before going live anyway, and prefer to have it right and well instead of rush-rush and buggy. So, after recovering from the shock upon finally going "all the way to the end", I can guess the scope and am mentally even prepared to stick with the "nothing" option and "manual" for a while... when it's the time.

Just wondering if you do see the problem generally as I do (and probably a bunch of others), and if something is, or is getting, on the way?

The very briefest reply will do, even only a "yes" or "no"... in case of "no" just let me also know if I need to post more here, please. Would sure love to save us the hassle.

Thanks & cheers!

*** Note, I've got this attach-PDF-invoice-to-email plugin, though I can't imagine that it's better without it, hehe. The PDF at least looks proper after styling. One of the better 10€ investments I've made, even if completely wrong for use with a vendor in fees mode - yet.

Oh ok. Read this quick, then delete the thread. Promise!

Let's try the wordy way first - I still hope I must not show the screenshots here (although they're all lined up here, just not blurred where needed):

I can imagine you never played the game to its end. But you should: Stay in fee mode, have an order from a customer going through the stages of order statuses (there the O.S. words again...), or fast forward to the let one when customer is happy, has paid, and now you pay the vendor.

So, mark the order, click "pay" and send the email(s), then see what the vendor is getting and what you as admin are getting.

(#1) The vendor is getting a mail based on CUSTOMER order status notification template with exactly those text blocks, eventually thanking for the order etc. Except, presenting him with what money he has to get from you. Whoa!

(#2) Admin is getting a mail based on admin NEW ORDER CREATION notification template, again, telling what money the vendor has to get. Woohoo!

It gets better, still:
(#3) You're not sure if vendor got his mail? send him an even better one by going into his sale order in the backend and click "Your mail" in the upper toolbar. Yesssssss: that's an email to the vendor with how much money etc, in the context of the CUSTOMER NEW ORDER CREATED notification template! Not 2 words in that one make sense together...

Hold it - one more, one more:
(#4) Use the PDF invoice attachment template as I do. Yoh! It's an INVOICE - without a number - including all text blocks aimed at a customer (of course), in my case also with MY bank account details, and the details and amount of what the vendor has to GET. Ouch. That hurts most! The very, very best: It goes out automatically with email #1 to the vendor.

The next day you have one vendor less. A month later you're out of business.

It's logical: These emails are to go out, but there are no dedicated email templates for them, though they would be absolutely needed - obviously - as their content/context is unique and has nothing, NOTHING to do with any other email in the system. See it?

If not, I can attach the screenshots here, but I don't think you'd want that. Actually, I'm okay if you delete this thread here now. Right now.

Anyway, now you know why my eyes were popping out that far, I couldn't believe what I saw. Then I cried. Then I laughed, because it is so odd and off, it's funny again.

Needless to say, and easy to prove (with those screensnaps): It's not any mods or so, of course not. It's what email templates the scripts grab and use. And again, those are limited. usually fine for customers and admin, but very, very wrong for vendors.

Go, try and have a laugh as well! But first delete this here. Please. You don't need this, and sure you don't deserve it. You know how to reach me.

Seeing what you guys are accomplishing both here on the forum (even at nighttime, on holidays, weekends and while you're out) as well as when seeing new versions, I'm not at all surprised that you're exhausted from time to time!

Haha, "not pretty nice" and "not embedding some interesting elements" are funny understatements. The content of these emails, of course the one to the vendor in the very first place, is simply wrong. They should never be sent, unless the site owner/admin wants to look completely bananas.
While correct in commission mode, in fee mode anything "invoice" is also totally wrong, obviously. The very least would be a "credit note" (requiring a separate numbering cycle). Better would be no such document at all, but an email first demanding an invoice from the vendor, where the payment is to be made upon receipt of that - and possibly to be confirmed by yet another email.

So, yes, and as mentioned, we must have additional email templates (call them overrides of the HikaShop mails if that's what they are technically, or make it a separate thing since it hasn't got anything to do with the order statuses or other customer related stuff, anyway):

Fee mode:

• One mail going out to vendor announcing that payment to him can be made but requires his invoice first. No attachment, no invoice or anything.
• One more email could be sent to vendor announcing that payment to him has been made. Again, no attachment, sure no invoice etc. (However, this email would not be mandatory but be pure "kindness"... I'd always expect a vendor to check at his end if payment of his invoice has come in. The positive aspect of such mail is that it's an opportunity to thank the vendor for his business and encourage him for more.)

Commission mode:

• An email asking for the due commission to be paid by the vendor to the admin, and yes, attached an invoice for it.
• As it is with payment moral, reminder emails could make sense, but are not mandatory, of course.

Admin mails? Forget it, I couldn't care less. IMHO they are unnecessary as it's the admin who's sending all of the above, anyway.
However, since - in commission mode - accounting will require a copy of the invoice, a (B)CC to some email address(es) to be specified will be helpful, if not mandatory.

All of this is very different from anything we have now, but very much needed. I'm actually surprised that other users haven't been loudly banging at your door for it. It's so obvious...

I'm still not "live" yet anyway, but if I were, I'd be very careful to NOT send out any of what's presently generated by the system. Well, the only alternative is "manual" then. Which is silly as all the information needed is in the system...

Thanks!