Local Food Cooperative Software


The Jist: This software operates on an order cycle instead of an 'always open' system. Producers/farmers can log in and add products to their product catalog at anytime for sale. During a designated time, cooperative members place orders.
Home - Details - Demos - Downloads - How to Help

How To Choose Software For Your Co-Op


Internet Commerce and Local Foods: Computer Systems

Before you get started with this software, here is an overview and questions to ask first to make sure it will serve your purposes.

What is Open Source?

  • Where the source code of software that is made available to the general public with relaxed intellectual property restrictions.
  • Anyone can use and modify the source. If they do, cannot close the source.
  • Can share features back with the community. Has lead to a great deal of collaboration.
  • GPL – General Public License – not ‘free’ – osCommerce and the Co-op software are both released under the GPL

Overview of Co-op Software

Set up to work on an order cycle:
  • Co-op software set up on an order cycle
  • Producers add and edit products at any time – inventory, photos, descriptions
  • Admins screen product changes, then make the product changes live to public
  • Order opens, customers order over a week or two. Anything left in your cart when the order closes is considered an order
  • When order closes, producers log in and enter weights and mark stock
  • Route managers remind customers on their routes to pick up their orders
  • Invoice payments posted from previous cycle
  • Customer and producer invoice totals are saved “finalized”
  • Customer and producer invoices generated as PDFs and printed for delivery day
  • Delivery day!
  • Adjustments entered
Features not typical of standard shopping carts:
  • Delivery route lists
  • Product labels
  • Weights can be entered to calculate product price (2 pounds of tomatoes)
  • Adjustments – taxed and non-taxed
  • Membership maintenance, shares can be purchased online
  • Aging reports
  • Customer balances carried forward and applied to next cycle’s invoice
  • Future delivery options – installments, deposits for pre-purchase, items appear on both that invoice and noted on delivery invoice
  • Webpages for producers

Overview of osCommerce

  • Typical shopping cart, click, buy, and get. Always open.
  • Default is one central shipping and payment processing, and one producer
  • KS River Valley Brokerage has decided to use it for wholesale buyers and to be a clearinghouse for local products, not processing money
  • KS customized features:
    • Separate logins for producers
    • Producer deals directly with customers

Questions to ask yourselves

  • Order cycle system or order always open?
  • Who are your buyers?
  • Who fulfills your orders – producers direct to customer or co-op the go-between? What kind of distribution system will you use?
  • Who will handle the money?
  • Will you allow for weight-affected products? (price calculated after order place and item is weighed)
  • What kind of financial interface do you want?

Main Differences in Software approaches

Co-op software
Default osCommerce
KS osCommerce
Ordering
Cycle system
Always open
Always open
Weight-affected products
Producers enter weights before invoice totals final
N/A
N/A
Order fulfillment
Co-op fulfills
Co-op
Producer
Money processing
Co-op processes
Co-op
Producer
Sales tax
Yes, Co-op files
Yes, Co-op files
No, producers file

Payments tracked in the system and Balances carried forward

Yes
No
No

Deciding what you want to do with the Data



What kind of financial interface do you want?