A purchase order is a payment option offered only to institutional customers in which software is delivered immediately without the upfront collection of payment. cleverbridge offers the following three ways to process purchase orders:
Online Order with Fax, Letter, or Email Validation
Purchase orders can be activated to always display as a payment option in the cart. This is offered by a client's request and implemented by our Technical Support team. If a customer selects purchase order as a payment option and the order is processed, the customer receives instructions on how to complete the order process on the confirmation pageThe confirmation page is displayed after a customer makes a purchase. The confirmation page contains the order confirmation and delivery information..
The order is confirmed when cleverbridge receives a signed fax, letter, or email on company letterhead from the customer. (If email is used, it must include an attachment with the order on company letterhead.)
The purchase order is released by the Customer Service team in the Commerce Assistant, and the customer receives an email with payment instructions, as shown below:
The release of purchase orders is not limited to the Customer Service team; clients can also release purchase orders to customers.
If clients want to approve purchase orders for customers, our Technical Support team can configure this option. The client must define a minimum amount in the cart for the purchase order option to display, for example, orders of $150 or more.
Note
This option is mostly used by B2B clients.
Order by Fax, Letter, or Email
If a client's primary focus is B2C, and the client doesn't think the purchase order option is necessary in the cart, the client can still offer purchase orders. In this scenario, clients must have selected the purchase order option in their policies.
There are two ways clients can offer the purchase order option even when it is not displayed in the cart:
- A customer can directly ask the client for this payment option
- A client can provide information about the payment option on the client's website
Direct Customer Request
If purchase orders are offered per individual customer request, clients define the rules in their client policies for Customer Service to follow. Clients can specify the type of customers permitted to use purchase orders and the minimum and maximum amount for the orders.
Customers have two options to use the purchase order option when it is not available in the cart:
- A customer can place an online order and select the Offline paymentOffline payment stands for a group of payment options. With the order confirmation, the customer receives a link with information on how to make the payment. Ordered products are delivered as soon as cleverbridge receives a payment confirmation from the payment provider. option. This gives the order the status Awaiting Offline Payment. When cleverbridge receives the fax, letter, or email, the order is converted to a purchase order. The customer must provide cleverbridge the reference number of the order.
- The order is placed by the customer submitting a signed fax, letter, or email on company letterhead. (If email is used, it must include an attachment with the order on company letterhead.) The order must contain the order reference number, product name and ID, and the customer's billing information. Usually the customer receives the reference number and product ID from a direct contact with the client. Customer Support processes the order, selecting the purchase order option which is always available to Customer Support.
Information on the Client's Website
Clients can also offer purchase orders by providing instructions on their websites, such as the following:
Our ecommerce provider cleverbridge processes corporate purchase orders from its offices in the US and Europe. As a corporate customer, you can order using a purchase order from our partner cleverbridge. Please send us your official order on company letterhead by mail or fax and include the following information:
- The product name and the product ID
- The quantity
- The name of the person the product license will be issued to
- Your billing and delivery addresses
- Name, phone, and fax numbers for the contact person for your order
- The email address to which the order confirmation should be sent; the invoice is always sent to the billing address, if different from the delivery address
- Your billing currency
If you include all the required information, your order can be processed immediately by cleverbridge's Customer Service team. Please send your order by mail or fax to the location nearest you; the link below provides all necessary contact data:
Click here for cleverbridge customer service contact information
A customer or a client's support team can contact cleverbridge at any time for assistance in the purchase order process.
Registered Partners
Partners have the purchase order payment option available to them if configured in the Commerce Assistant.
To enable the purchase order option for partners, set the order limit and select a currency. If this field is left at zero, the purchase order option is not available to partners.
An order confirmation fax is not required for partners.
Summary
The three options are summarized below:
| Online order with fax, letter, or email validation | Fax, letter, or email order | Online order for partners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer type | Institutional customers | Institutional customers | Registered partners |
| Validation of order data | Fax, letter, or email to cleverbridge | Fax, letter, or email to cleverbridge | No offline validation |
| Enable purchase order as a payment option | Enabled per client request with a database setting by our Technical Support | Purchase order option is not enabled as a setting, but granted on an individual basis by the client | Enabled in the Commerce Assistant in each individual partner interface |
| Activate individual purchase orders | Order accepted in the Commerce Assistant by the client or by cleverbridge depending on the client's policy. Order converted in the Commerce Assistant from the status Awaiting Release for Purchase Order to Purchase Order | Order converted in the Commerce Assistant from the status Unpaid to Purchase Order | No release in the Commerce Assistant is required |
| Purchase order option offered in order process | Yes | No | Yes |
To understand the purchase order process, see also the following flow chart:
For more information about purchase orders, contact Client Experience.