Knowledgebase
Overview #
When users finalize orders on their iPads, eCat automatically generates an email to send to the customer, rep, and your order desk. A PDF version of the order is attached to the email. You can customize the order email and email subject line to meet your company's specific needs by maintaining HTML format templates in the admin portal Company Settings / Email Templates section.
The company default order email subject and email templates can be overridden by user group. So different order formats can be specified for sales people selling different types of customers, international distributors using other languages, your customers who are using eCat to sell your products at retail, etc.
Separate sets of templates are provided so you can define order formats for when prices are shown and when prices are hidden in eCat. This enables customization of product information sent to customers with and without pricing.
Variables can be used to customize the information shown in the emails to your company's needs. Variables are not case sensitive and are distinguished from other text by bracketing them with a ‘%’ symbol.
There are three separate template areas.
Order email subject template defines the order email subject line format.
Order email message template defines the order message body format.
Order email item line template defines information shown in the order detail lines.
Here's an example order email. Recipients can click thumbnail images to download tear sheets.
Email templates are maintained in the eCat admin site Company Settings and user group definition pages as shown below.
Order email recipients #
When orders are submitted, they are delivered to the rep, the customer, and your order desk.
We have two ways of delivering to your internal order desk: via the Order Email Recipient, and the Backup Order Email Recipient.
In eCat the Order Email Recipient will be added to the CC line on the email order draft that is created after the user submits an order. Because the email is a draft, and is using the Apple mail program, we cannot guarantee that the email will be sent. For instance, the rep could delete the draft.
The Backup Order Email Recipient will receive a copy of the order as soon as the order is received by our servers. This is more reliable than the primary Order Email Recipient, so if you are having difficulties with receiving order emails, we recommend setting this. Please note: It will result in many duplicate order submission emails, so generally we recommend leaving this blank.
Order email subject line template #
Your company's default order email subject is defined in Company Settings. This can be overridden by user group.
Selected variables can be used in the subject line. For example, the subject line:
Acme Home Emporium Order #87-052215-9, $98,765.43
would be templated as:
Acme Home Emporium Order #%orderNumber%, %total%
Order email subject line variables #
The following variables can be used in both the order email subject line template and in the order email message template. Variables are distinguished from other text by bracketing them with a ‘%’ symbol.
| Order Subject Line Variable | Notes |
| BillToAddressCity | customer company's bill-to city |
| BillToAddressCompanyName | customer company's bill-to company name |
| BillToAddressCountry | customer company's bill-to country |
| BillToAddressLine1 | customer company's bill-to address line 1 |
| BillToAddressLine2 | customer company's bill-to address line 2 |
| BillToAddressState | customer company's bill-to state |
| BillToAddressZip | customer company's bill-to postal code |
| BuyerFirstName | first name of person who placed the order |
| BuyerLastName | last name of person who placed the order (entered by eCat user) |
| CancelDate | Date before which order should be shipped |
| CompanyName | customer company name |
| CustomerEmailAddress | customer company's email address |
| CustomerNum | customer's bill-to account number |
| CustomerPONum | customer's purchase order number for order |
| CustomerPhoneNumber | customer company's phone number |
| OrderFooterText | Standardized text maintained in Company Settings order preferences |
| OrderHeaderCustom1Label | Customizable order field label |
| OrderHeaderCustom1Value | Customizable order field value |
| OrderNumber | Unique eCat-generated number for this order |
| OrderOrigin | Company defined origins like 'Market', 'Write-in', 'Road' |
| OrderType | Like 'Confirmed', 'HFC', 'Quote' (maintained in Company Settings/Order Preferences) |
| OrderTypeAndNumber | Order type, e.g. 'Confirmed', 'Quote', etc. followed by order # |
| OrganizationAddress1 | your company's address line 1 (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationAddress2 | your company's address line 2 (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationCity | your company's city (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationCountry | your company's country (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationEmail | your company's email address (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationName | your company name (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationPhone | your company's phone number (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationState | your company's state (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationWebsite | your company's website URL (maintained in Company Settings) |
| OrganizationZip | your company's postal code (maintained in Company Settings) |
| PriceComparison | If you configure a Comparison Price Level in Company Settings, this variable will display a message like, "You saved <amount>" where the amount is the difference between the item price at the comparison price level and the price on the order. |
| PriceLevelCode | Code for price level associated with the order |
| PriceLevelCue | 1-2 character abbreviation ('cue') for price level associated with the order |
| PriceLevelName | Label associated with price level associated with the order |
| RepEmail | Sales rep's email address. In eCat, this is the user's email. In eCat Online, this is the rep of record's email. |
| RepFirstName | Sales rep's first name. In eCat, this is the user's name. In eCat Online, this is the rep of record's name. |
| RepLastName | Sales rep's surname. In eCat, this is the user's name. In eCat Online, this is the rep of record's name. |
| RepNumber | First entry in sales rep's Rep/Territory Code(s) field. In eCat, this is from the user. In eCat Online, this is from the rep of record's. |
| RepPhone | Sales rep's user's phone number. In eCat, this is from the user. In eCat Online, this is from the rep of record's. |
| ShipAfter | customer's desired 'Ship After' date |
| ShipBefore | customer's desired 'Ship Before' date |
| ShipDate | date after which order should be shipped |
| ShipmentPreference | shipping preference, e.g. 'Ship As Available', ' Ship Complete'... (maintained in 'Company Settings/Order Preferences') |
| ShipToAddressCity | ship-to address city |
| ShipToAddressCompanyName | ship-to company name |
| ShipToAddressCountry | ship-to address country |
| ShipToAddressLine1 | ship-to address line 1 |
| ShipToAddressLine2 | ship-to address line 2 |
| ShipToAddressState | ship-to address state |
| ShipToAddressZip | ship-to address postal code |
| TagFor | note field for associating order with a customer's client ('Mark for') |
| Today | today's date |
| Total | net order total with surcharges and after all discounts |
Order email message template #
Use the order email message template to define information to display in your order email message and where it should be displayed. All standard HTML tags can be used in the order message template, including color, bold text, and embedded links.
Sample order email template #
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title></title> </head> <body> <P>Dear %buyerFirstName%, <P>Thank you for your order! <P>After your order is processed, our home office will email you a separate order acknowledgment with a final order total including all charges. If you need to make changes after reviewing your order details below, please call our customer service department promptly at ###-###-####. We ship many orders on the same day they are received. <P>Thanks again, we appreciate your business! Please call or email me if I can help you further in any way. <P>Sincerely, <P>%repFirstName% %repLastName% <br>%repPhone% <br>%repEmail% <P><strong><a href="http://www.mycompanyname.com/terms">Order terms & conditions.</a></strong></P> <P>---------------------- <table> <tr><td align="right">Order Number:</td><td> %orderNumber%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Date Ordered:</td><td> %today%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Ship Date:</td><td> %shipAfter%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Cancel Date:</td><td> %shipBefore%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Company Name:</td><td> %companyName% </td></tr> <tr><td align="right">PO Number:</td><td> %customerPONum%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Ordered By:</td><td> %buyerFirstName% %buyerLastName%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Account #:</td><td> %customerNum%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Phone:</td><td>%customerPhoneNumber%</td></tr> <tr><td align="right">Email:</td><td>%customerEmailAddress%</td></tr> </table> <P><strong>Order Notes: %notes%</strong> <br> <br> <table cellpadding="2"> <thead> <tr><th> </th><th>Item #</th><th>Description</th><th>Qty</th><th>Price</th><th>Total</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> %orderDetail% </tbody> </table> <p>Total Mchds: %total% <p> %totalCBMLine% <p>* This total is at your standard customer discount and does not include taxes, or shipping, claim file fee or any order charges that may apply. All orders are subject to approval by our customer service department. You will receive a separate order acknowledgment to confirm order acceptance. <p>Delivery Address <br>------------------------ <br>%shipToAddressCompanyName% <br>%shipToAddressLine1% <br>%shipToAddressLine2% <br>%shipToAddressCity%, %shipToAddressState% %shipToAddressZip% <br>%shipToAddressCountry% <p>Billing Address <br>------------------------ <br>%billToAddressCompanyName% <br>%billToAddressLine1% <br>%billToAddressLine2% <br>%billToAddressCity%, %billToAddressState% %billToAddressZip% <br>%billToAddressCountry% </body> </html>
Order email message template variables #
In addition to any of the variables listed in the subject line list above, the variables below can be used in order email message templates. Variables are distinguished from other text by bracketing them with a ‘%’ symbol.
| Email Order Variable | Notes |
| EmailBannerHtml | Inserts the email banner image into the document. (The email banner is uploaded separately under 'Tools/Import Images'.) |
| EmailBannerUrl | URL to associate with email banner image |
| OrderDetail (*see below) | This indicates where the order line items will be inserted |
| TotalCBMLine | Total cubes of items on order (based on product file PackedVolume field) |
| TotalShippingWeight | Total shipping weight of ordered items (based on product file ShipWeight field) |
| TotalVolumeLine | Total shipping volume ('cubes') of ordered items (based on product file PackedVolume field) |
| Notes | Order notes entered by user |
| Terms | Payment terms entered by user |
* This can be customized using the order item line template. The variable 'orderDetail' generates the content for the order lines in a format like the following.
<tr> <td align="center">%imageHTML%</td> <td "nowrap>%itemNumber%</td> <td "nowrap">%longDescription%<br> <font size="-1"> %optionDescription%<br> (if not empty) %lineNotes%<br> (if not empty) %discountDescription%<br> (if not empty) </font> </td> <td align="center">%quantity%</td> <td align="right">%price%</td> <td align="right">%extendedPrice%</td> </tr>
Order email item line template #
Use the order email line template to customize the information displayed in your order email order lines. If this template is left blank, eCat will use the built-in default settings. The defaults work well for most companies.
Line/Item Template Variables #
The variables below can be used in order email item lines. Variables are distinguished from other text by bracketing them with a ‘%’ symbol.
| Email Item Variable | Description |
| Everything in the HTML Email Template, plus | See the HTML Email Template documentation for more variables. |
| DescriptionHTML | pre-built HTML including long description, option description, line notes, and discounts creates content like the following:
%itemDescription% <font size="-1"> %optionDescription% (for each option) %lineNotes% (if present) </font> <font size="-1"> %discountDescription% </font> |
| DiscountDescription | pre-built HTML listing discount notes |
| ExtendedPrice | the calculated extended price |
| ImageHTML | pre-built HTML including a thumbnail image linking to the customizable tear sheet |
| ImageName | the filename of the product's image |
| ItemDescription | Deprecated. Use LongDescription |
| ItemNumber | the product's item number, using the matrix version if available |
| LineNotes | item line notes entered by the eCat user |
| LongDescription | the product's long description |
| OptionDescription | pre-built HTML listing options configured for this order item. Used in descriptionHTML |
| Price | the calculated unit price |
| Quantity | the quantity ordered |
| UnitsPerCarton | pack size/units per carton |
| UpcValue | the UPC code numeric value |
Example #
The following order email item line template adds UPC value and pack quantity to the order lines and omits optionDescription and discountDescription.
<tr> <td align="center">%imageHTML%</td> <td "nowrap>%itemNumber%</td> <td "nowrap">%longDescription%<br> <font size="-1"> UPC: %upcValue%, Pack: %unitsPerCarton%<br> %lineNotes%<br> </font> </td> <td align="center">%quantity%</td> <td align="right">%price%</td> <td align="right">%extendedPrice%</td> </tr>
Tips & Tricks #
Web hosted content, like banners, can be used in the email template. You can also use any of your company's graphic assets on your eCat server. These include the document logo, nav panel logo, and button logo.
For example, to include the 'document logo' image in the email, include HTML like the following at the top of the email, replacing '###' with your eCat org number. (Ask SuperCat for this number if you don't know it.)
<div style="height: 230px; overflow-y: hidden; background: url(https://supercat.supercatsolutions.com/data/###/document_logo.png) white center center no-repeat;"> </div>
Banners should not exceed 720 pixels width and should be uploaded via the admin portal 'Tools/Import Images' feature. Specify the image width in the order message template to prevent distortion. If banner images are kept to a standard size a non-technical person in your marketing department can easily change them simply by uploading a new image.
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