To get started with eCommerce, reach out to our support team to have it enabled on your portal. Once eCommerce has been enabled, you will need to follow these steps to fully configure eCommerce on your portal:
Select aPayment Gateway
First you must choose a payment gateway, an online service that processes credit card payments for ecommerce sites and brick and mortar stores. If you already have a payment gateway, check here to ensure that we support it. If you need to obtain a payment gateway, you can also check here and view the full list and our client's most popular choices which are marked with an asterisk (*). There are pros and cons to each payment gateway and so you will need to talk with the providers to determine the best option for your organization.
Configure and Test Your Payment Gateway
After selecting your payment gateway and setting up a merchant account, you will need to enable and test your payment gateway. The attached Payment Gateway Setup Guide provides step-by-step directions for configuring our most popular payment gateways. If your gateway isn't on the list, please reach out to our support team who can assist in getting you up and running.
Once you configure the payment gateway site, you should test it. Keep in mind that:
- Most payment gateways have a "Testing" mode. Our eCommerce settings allows you to test your setup (if supported) without spending real money. The rules for testing vary widely between vendors and we strongly recommend you read up on the rules specific to your gateway.
- We recommend that you perform at least one test purchase after the Live gateway is enabled. The easiest way to do this is to set a course to $1 and add self-enrollment rules that limit the audience to just yourself. Then you can be 100% sure that everything is ready for your launch.
If you experience any issues during testing, you will need to reach out to the support team at your payment gateway. To reduce any runaround, it is important that you provide their support team with the specific terms or settings used so that they can assist you. You can find these details in the setup guide or you can contact our support team and they will provide you with the details you need.
Configure Absorb's eCommerce Settings
Once the payment gateway account has been configured and your testing was successful, you will need to modify some information in your Admin portal before you can begin selling your courses.
- Log into your Admin Interface and select the Portal Settings button within the Settings drop-down menu.
- Select Manage eCommerce Settings located on the right hand side of the page. You will then be taken to the page called Edit E-Commerce Settings where you can edit the data on each of these tabs: Settings, Cart Settings, Payment Gateways, Tax Rates, Messages and More.
*Be advised that you can move back and forth between the eCommerce tabs, and any data you have entered up to that point will be maintained. However, if you leave this section of the LMS without saving your settings, then the information you have entered here will not be recorded.
Settings
Under the Settings tab, you can configure how your eCommerce site will function for Users. Here, you will be able to configure these options:
- Users Must Be Logged In To Access Shopping Cart - if this is ON, users will be required to log in to the portal using their sign-on credentials before they can purchase training material. If a buyer accessed the item via an externally available URL but they do not have an account, they will need to create a new User account before they can make their purchase.
- Default Currency - the currency chosen from this drop-down list defines the currency type / symbol displayed in the catalog.
- Course Delivery Type - setting this ON allows customers access to their purchase even while their payment is pending. This may be useful if your organization accepts payment methods that take time to process, like checks or purchase orders.
- Default Department - when a Department name is selected from this drop-down list, any new customer making their first purchase will be automatically associated with the chosen Department. If the User already exists, this setting will not affect them. Note: If you have a Blended Billing Model, a tooltip will state whether the Department you've selected has Internal or External Billing applied. Please ensure you have selected the correct Department and that the Department has the expected Billing Type.
- Multi-Seat Purchases - setting this ON allows customers to purchase more than one seat in a Course, ILT, Course Bundle, or Curriculum by creating an Enrollment Key. If this option is disabled, the customer can only purchase and enroll themselves.
- When Multi-seat purchases are ON, you will have the option to turn ON Multiple Key Generation. This provides Users with an individual Enrollment Key for each seat in the course.
- If Multiple Key Generation is OFF, Users will receive one Enrollment Key for each course they have purchased seats for. Each Enrollment Key will be suitable for the number of seats purchased.
- Single Use Shopping Cart - setting this ON forces a buyer to re-enter their information if they cancel their checkout process. (This is useful if buyers use shared computers. )
- Terms and Conditions - if this is ON a customer will need to accept a set of terms and conditions before their payment will be processed. (This message is created under the “Messages” tab.)
Cart Settings
The information under the Cart Settings tab is used to configure and operate your store. The Cart Settings will already be pre-configured with information from your portal. It includes:
Store Name - the name displayed for your Absorb store as it appears to your customers.
Email - the email address for the point of contact if any transaction issues arise between eCommerce and your payment gateway.
Postal Code - this is your postcode which is used for calculating shipping. Though not applicable to an LMS purchase it is required by eCommerce and your payment gateway.
Country- the country displayed from this drop-down list will be used for calculating tax on the LMS purchase.
State / Province - the region displayed from this drop-down list will also be used for calculating tax on the LMS purchase.
Currency - the type of currency displayed from this drop-down list will be the one that your items for sale will be sold in when they are shown on your checkout page specifically.
Time Zone - the geographical region displayed from this drop-down list will be used to represent your local time and date where it is displayed to your customers.
Language - the language chosen displayed from the drop-down list will be the one used in the written communications displayed to your customers during their purchase.
Use International Currency Symbol - when enabled, the currency type chosen on this page will be displayed as a three-letter abbreviation (e.g. USD) instead of the symbol.
Payment Gateways 
On the Payment Gateways tab, you will define the forms of payment your LMS will accept as well as configure the payment gateway used for processing credit card transactions. Specifically, you can configure the following options here:
Payment Methods - Choose the types of payments from the drop-down list that your customers can use including: Credit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer, Check or Purchase Order.
Ask for Billing Address - if Wire Transfer, Check and/or Purchase Order payment methods are chosen, then this option will be automatically displayed. Setting this ON requires the customer to provide their billing address before their purchase will be processed.
Live Gateway - enabling this option will allow your LMS (in conjunction with your gateway and eCommerce) to start processing financial transactions. This should only be set ON if you are ready to begin to sell your training inventory. Leave this OFF if you are in a testing period.
Available Payment Gateways - the payment gateway provider chosen from this drop-down list corresponds with the one you selected and configured in the sections above.
Supported Credit Cards - the drop-down list contains the credit card types you can allow your customers to use when paying for their purchase(s)
API ID - the alphanumeric code entered here is provided by your payment gateway and is used to identify your customer's transaction as coming from your specific merchant account.
Transaction Key - this alphanumeric code provided by your payment gateway provides an additional layer of security. It ensures that any transaction requests being submitted by your LMS portal actually belong to your merchant account.
*Please note that the first time you add both these payment gateway codes you will be able to see them and verify that they are correct. However, once saved, they will be hidden so that no other Admin and/or Absorb employee doing work in your portal can view it.
Hosted Payment Gateways - you will only see these settings if you have chosen Paypal as one of your Payment Methods. Please check with Paypal support if you are unsure if you use Legacy or Reference transactions.
Paypal Express Checkout (Legacy)- once this is ON, you will be required to also add an email address associated with your Paypal account.
Paypal Express Checkout (Reference Transactions) - once this is ON, you will be required to also add an email address associated with your Paypal account.
Tax Rates
Under the Tax Rates tab, you have the option to set up all of the applicable taxes that your government requires you to collect from your eCommerce customers during their purchase.
Our eCommerce has a feature that automatically calculates the applicable taxes on purchases made by your LMS customers using their credit card or PayPal. The tax rates in the automatic tax rates are determined by the shopping cart service we use and make use of a database that is updated monthly. As such the tax rates by state should be accurate at any given time.
Please note that if your organization is located outside the European Union or the United States; or if you plan to accept alternate payment methods beyond credit card and/or PayPal, you will need to do some tax rate configuration and set up manual tax rates.
To set up Automatic Tax Rates - Select the tax location by clicking the plus (+) to the right of the box. The list contains economic zones (Canada, the EU & USA) that eCommerce can automatically calculate tax for when processing a customer purchase made by Credit Card or PayPal.
To set up manual tax rates, you will select Add Tax Rate below Tax Rates for Credit Card and PayPal Transactions or Tax Rates for Wire Transfers, Purchase Orders and Cheques. View this article to review the detailed steps for setting up manual taxes.
Messages
Under the Messages tab, you can create the language that you want the customer's to view at different points in their purchasing process. Here, you can manage these features:
New Users Are Required to Validate Their Email - if this is ON, new users who sign up via eCommerce will need to validate their email before logging in. This is independent of the same toggle found under “Users” in portal settings.
Require First Use Terms & Conditions - you can add comments on any requirements or limitations that your customers must agree to before they can make their first LMS purchase as a new customer.
Welcome Notes - you can add a greeting to your customers.
Confirmation Notes - you can add a notification to your customers suggesting that they confirm their purchase choices.
Checkout Notes - you can add a notification to provide your customers with any other information that they should know prior to commencing their checkout.
Invoice Notes - you can add information that customers need to know as a result of having made their LMS purchase.
Custom Question - you can add an optional query in order to obtain direct feedback from your customers about their purchase, or any other information you may want.
Store Response In - the category chosen from this drop-down list will be the LMS location that all of your customer's answers to the Custom Question will be stored. Only True or False type custom fields can be selected for the "Store Response In" field.
Note: f you opt to ask your customers Custom Questions, contact Absorb to set up the specific answer category/categories you require.
More
Under the More tab, you can set the shopping cart value that triggers the availability of the non-immediate/deferred payment options (Cheque, Wire Transfer, Purchase Order). For example, if "100" is entered in this field, the non immediate / deferred purchase options will only appear if the value of the items in the shopping cart are greater than or equal to $100.
Note: Once you have configured all the needed information on these tabs, remember to hit Save so to store all the information that you have added.