Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I install Beanbasket on my site?
A: We've designed our e-commerce system to be Software as a Service (SaaS). You are provided core application updates and we take care of all the infrastructure details for you including server setup, security, patching,backups, and redundancies.
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Q: Is my data secure?
A: Yes, all transactions to your e-commerce site utilize standard SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption used in all modern browsers. The data we collect is stored in an encrypted format for additional security. Our servers are also located in a secure, electronically keyed facility and are protected by firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
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Q: I'm a Web designer / developer. Can I use Beanbasket for my clients?
A: Absolutely! We work with designers every day. You provide the HTML/CSS and we turn that into a store that works. You can focus your skills and knowledge on creative and branding so your e-commerce implementation is measured in hours and not months.
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Q: When can I make my first sale?
A: Typical custom web store implementations take between 2 and 6 weeks depending on complexity and customizations. During that time you will be trained on item and content setup as well as standard operational tasks. You'll need to get your products entered set up sales tax and shipping charges as applicable and you are ready to sell..
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Q: What is a digital certificate?
A: Digital certificates enable you to conduct business securely on the Internet. They are issued to your company based on your domain name from a certificate authority such as Verisign or Thawte.
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Q: What do I need to process credit cards?
A: You will need a merchant account to process payments. Beanbasket has partnered with market leading merchant account providers like Cardservice International to seamlessly integrate payment processing functionality.
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Q: What are the typical charges for merchant accounts?
A: Merchant account fees vary depending on your financial institution. For example, Cardservice International has an initial $350 application fee (refunded if your application is declined for any reason) with a monthly usage fee of $27 plus transaction fees. For each transaction there is a $0.30 (includes $.05 Address Verification Service) fee along with a discount rate of 2.42%. There is a $15 monthly minimum on all transaction fees.
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Q: Can I reduce my credit card processing fees?
A: Financial institutions place a slightly greater risk on Internet transactions. Many companies such as Cardservice International also have excellent processing rates for traditional point-of-sale (POS) services. If all your Internet and POS transaction services are through the same vendor, additional discounts may be possible.
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Q: I already have a merchant account with my point of sale (POS) system and would like to process orders with it. Is this possible?
A: Yes, simply obtain the payment information from Beanbasket and process your online transactions as you would any other sale.
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Q: I signed up for a trial but I'm now ready to go "live". What's next?
A: Simply go through our online account signup process to let us know all the information we need to establish your e-commerce site with us.
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Q: I already have a Web site at another hosting provider, will Beanbasket still work?
A: We can coordinate with your existing provider to create a subdomain from your existing domain name or setup a new name for you. For instance, if your existing domain name is beanbasket.com, a subdomain like store.beanbasket.com could be setup. You must contact your existing provider for this functionality or allow Beanbasket to manage your domain name services for you.
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Q: Can I customize the look of my store?
A: Yes, you can Beanbasket's integrated WYSIWYG / HTML Content Publishing tool to easily make changes to pages and areas of pages.
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Q: I need a feature that isn't available in Beanbasket, what now?
A: Let us know and we'll consider adding that functionality into our next service enhancement cycle.
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Q: Am I entitled to updates or additional new features?
A: That is a primary benefit to Beanbasket's SaaS platform - new features are available to all e-commerce customers as they are completed. Some new features may require webiste work to appear. For example to add Beanbasket Reviews we would need to work with you to define where reviews and review summaries would appear and then add that code to your store.
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Q: Aside from e-commerce what else does Beanbasket provide?
A: We provide a full array of services in your e-commerce hosting package including email services such as spam filtering, virus scanning, and webmail. There are also complementary services such as Web site design, search engine submission, email lists, site statistics, virtual ftp and more.
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Q: Do you backup my data?
A: Beanbasket performs automated nightly backups for all hosting customers using DLT tape autoloader technologies. In addition, we perform additional database snapshot backups hourly and have mechanisms available for point in time database recovery.
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Q: What skills are needed to setup and maintain my e-commerce solution?
A: You, or a designated third party, will need someone to perform order fulfillment and shipping. To manage your online store, all you need is a browser and an Internet connection.
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Q: What is my time commitment?
A: If you have many products, setting up your inventory can be a daunting task. Beanbasket can create a custom import process based on your existing inventory management system. Most other setup activities require very little time and usually only need to be done once.
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