How do I set up the voucher integration with Intersolve in RetailVista?

This document describes the setup of a digital voucher integration with Intersolve in RetailVista. This instruction contains explanations for the cashier and explanations for the office on how to set up RetailVista.  

Office instruction

The gift card extensions are available from RetailVista POS version 16.4.5882.39060 and higher. The version number of RetailVista can be found at the bottom of the RetailVista login screen and within RetailVista via Help -> General information.

If you do not have this RetailVista version yet, first perform a RetailVista LiveUpdate or contact NedFox for an update. This document assumes that the procedure for an update is known.

Within RetailVista POS (cash register), version 16.2.5896.26283 or higher is required. You can find this version in the title bar of RetailVista POS. If this version has been released by NedFox, it will be mentioned when starting the cash register.

In order to use the voucher functionality, it is important that the Intersolve voucher interface license is present in RetailVista.

First check the license via Help -> General information. The license 'Intersolve Gift Card Interface' should be listed in the license modules list. Contact NedFox if this is not the case.

The voucher functionality differs from gift cards because vouchers cannot be sold physically in the store as a card. A voucher must be sold 'Digitally', where RetailVista POS will query the voucher provider for available vouchers. Examples of vouchers are phone cards but also concert tickets.

The main difference between these two is that phone cards are always available for purchase, while concert tickets are sold out at a certain point. By requesting the available vouchers, there is a possibility that some vouchers are suddenly no longer selectable. Therefore, the display of the available vouchers also takes place in a listbox where a choice must be made. It is therefore not possible and not necessary to create a separate product for each type of voucher in advance.

After a voucher is purchased and paid for, the voucher(s) will be printed on a thermal receipt printer.

Now go to Extra -> Settings -> Gift Card Integration within RetailVista. Check there if the gift card integration is activated. The image below shows the corresponding screen.

> In a future release of RetailVista, a section 'Voucher Integration' will be created.

Now go to Administration -> Gift Card Types  to create the voucher as a type of gift card. Give it the description 'Intersolve voucher'. Choose 'Intersolve voucher 1-step protocol' or 'Intersolve voucher 3-step protocol' for 'Gift Card Type'. The choice to be made must be indicated by Intersolve. The difference between 1 and 3-step protocol is that for some vouchers (especially concert ticket vouchers), due to high demand in a short period of time, a short-term reservation is used. The consumer then has the option to pay for the vouchers within a reasonable time, after which the reservation is made final. If the checkout process takes too long, the reserved vouchers will no longer be available.

Enter the URL provided by Intersolve. The fields 'Sales init string, Payment init string' and 'One-time spending' can be left empty.

> In a future release of RetailVista, a menu option 'Voucher Types' will be created.

Now go to Administration -> Gift Card Authorization. For each cash register terminal, enter the Intersolve merchant ID, along with the Merchant password and Merchant checksum for the 'Intersolve voucher' type product. The Merchant ID and password are provided by Intersolve, and the Merchant checksum codes can be requested from the support desk. So, for each cash register terminal, a Merchant ID, password, and checksum must be provided!  

Now go to Start -> Product maintenance -> Product maintenance and check if there is already a voucher product of the 'Intersolve voucher' gift card type. You can search for gift card type through 'Advanced' in the product search screen. Otherwise, create this product if it does not already exist. Vouchers have nothing to do with barcodes, so the barcode can be left empty. Of course, it is possible to generate a fictitious barcode and use a sticker to scan the voucher product.

The VAT percentage for vouchers is 21% (high VAT), and do not enter a selling price for the product. The cash register will receive the selling price from the voucher provider when selling this voucher. For example, a phone card of 10 euros automatically leads to a selling price of 10 euros. The 'Classification level 1' used in the following example is just an example, you can determine the classification to be used yourself.

Unlike gift cards, the sale of a voucher is considered revenue. Then mark the choice 'Gift card' and select 'Intersolve voucher' for 'Gift card type'.

By performing these actions, RetailVista now knows that when selling this product, an Intersolve voucher will be sold with a value that will be confirmed later by the voucher provider.

RetailVista is now ready to sell vouchers.

Cash register instruction / Sale of voucher

Start the cash register and search for the created voucher product.That can be done through the product search screen, scanning a fictional voucher barcode, or encoding the voucher product in the touchscreen layout. After selecting the voucher product, a 'Voucher sale' screen will appear. Select the desired type of voucher from the listbox and choose the price of the voucher below. Finally, enter the desired number of vouchers.

This transaction can be supplemented with additional products and must then be paid for using the usual payment methods. 

Question: If I don't have internet, can I still sell a voucher?
Answer: No, if there is no internet, the available vouchers cannot be retrieved and therefore vouchers cannot be sold.

Question: When is a sold voucher actually activated?
Answer: That depends on the use of a 1 or 3 step protocol. With a 1 step protocol, a voucher is activated immediately. For example, a phone top-up voucher via a 1 step protocol has immediate value. Whether it is still possible to remove such a voucher is currently unknown to us. With a 3 step protocol, a reservation is first made and the voucher is only made final after payment. The voucher cannot be reversed in any case.

Question: When starting the cash register, the message 'At this moment, a connection cannot be made to the Intersolve gift card service. When using a gift card, an attempt will be made again to see if the service is accessible! Contact the RetailVista support desk if this message persists.' What does this mean?
Answer: A connection cannot be made to the internet where the voucher transactions from Intersolve are processed. Please check your internet connection.

Question: What is the URL of the production environment?
Answer: Intersolve will inform you about the URL to be used.

Question: How many licenses do I need?
Answer: To be able to communicate with Intersolve for the sale of vouchers, you need the 'Intersolve voucher interface' license once. It doesn't matter how many different types of vouchers you sell, as long as they are processed by Intersolve.