Question: I want to provide my customers a way to order online, but I haven’t set it up yet. What are my options for online ordering?
Answer: Choose an online ordering service that meets your needs and works with systems you already have. Consider if you need one that can deal with different drop-off locations, delivery services, or shipping to your customers. The options below offer quick payment processing for all major credit companies, as well as gift cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Square
Square is a point-of-sale (POS) system and an online sales platform, one of the most popular in today’s marketplace with free card readers available and competitive transaction rates. Square has launched an online platform for businesses in addition to or in lieu of in-person sales. Square offers a range of plans, from “Free” to “Premium,” which is $72 per month. Under the “Free” plan, no monthly fees are charged, but Square has a transaction rate of 2.9% plus $0.03. The Premium plan also offers discounts in shipping rates and a real time shipping calculator to prevent over- or under-charging for shipping. https://squareup.com/us/en/online-store/plans
EasyCart
EasyCart is an eCommerce site. The WordPress website builder makes themes format easily across multiple devices. The EasyCart plugin on WordPress is mobile friendly, able to install in minutes, offers over 30 payment options, multi-currency and multi-language options, and the ability for customers to share details on their social media. All transactions are processed through Stripe, which charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful transaction. The “Professional” package for $69/year offers all features of the WP EasyCart platform and 1-year premium support. The “Premium” package for $99/year offers all features and includes the premium extensions with 1-year premium support. Premium provides extra tools for shopping cart, mobile extensions, and dedicated apps for iTunes and Google Play that help manage shopping cart. https://www.wpeasycart.com/wordpress-shopping-cart-pricing/
Local Line
Local Line is an online e-commerce and management platform designed for farmers, food hubs, and markets. Local Line provides real-time dashboards and reports, pick lists, packing slips, labels, and scannable codes available for phone, tablet, or computer. It also has an easy “drag and drop” editor for your site. The “Website Builder” is free, with the ability for custom domains. The “Farmer and CSA” option for $49.99/month provides unlimited products and customers, customer management, order management, reports and analytics, and access to the Local Line community. The “Wholesales and Food Hubs” option for $79.99/month provides everything the first option does plus supplier management. The “Markets and Co-Ops” option is $14.99 per vendor per month and provides everything from above and per farm checkout. https://site.localline.ca/pricing
Barn2Door
Barn2Door is another e-commerce platform that is customizable to individual operations. On Barn2Door, they offer monthly or yearly payments. The “Standard” plan requires a $299 one time set up fee and is $69/month. This includes a web store, ordering platform, on-boarding manager, and self-serve training materials. The “Plus” plan requires a $399 one-time set up fee and is $94/month or and includes a stand-alone website. The “Premium” plan requires a $499 one time set up fee and is $119/month or yearly at $99/month and offers additional services. All plans include full-service setup across web, social, email, and newsletter, inventory, scheduling, and ordering, and free integrations with Stripe, MailChimp, QuickBooks, FedEx, UPS, USPS, and TaxJar. https://www.barn2door.com/pricing
Shopify
Shopify is a POS system and an e-commerce platform. Shopify allows everything needed to sell retail goods on or offline, offer shipping or pickup, manage subscriptions, and more all in one system. The “Basic” plan begins at $29/month and a transaction fee of 2.7%. Other plans include discounts on shipping prices, more features, and lower transaction fees. All plans include unlimited product listings, abandoned cart recovery, shipping labels, coupon codes, connection to a custom domain, and social media integration. https://www.shopify.com/pricing
Selling online can be a great opportunity for businesses to make up for lower in-person sales, pre-order products for quick pickup or delivery, and increase customer base to those who might not attend markets. If you are interested in selling online and want to talk through your options, contact us today at kcard@kcard.info or at 859-550-3972.
The retailers listed are for reference only and are not endorsed by KCARD.