E-mailing or Faxing orders

Fax or E-Mail BrokerForce™ Orders

BrokerForce exports orders to Rich Text Format (RTF) files that can be read by any word processor and reduce the amount ink used by the recipient when printing them because graphics are eliminated. RTF files support different fonts like bold and italic however, graphics, lines, and reverse print text are not supported. So, DO NOT attempt to use the RTF format to send a regular order. Your recipient may not be able to read it.

BrokerForce also supports the export of reports and orders to the Adobe PDF format. The methods for sending orders in an electronic data format are very similar with the exception that you would choose the appropriate format from the <To Export> drop list preferred by your vendor.

To e-mail a single order:

If you use MS Outlook (not just Express) you can use the first of the two following methods. If not, you can use the second method if you have a default e-mail program that Windows recognizes.

Method 1: Click the <Email Order> button on the top center of the order form by the <Ship To> address information. and follow the prompts regarding sending to your customer and manufacturer. This method will also prompt you regarding marking your orders as transmitted. NEW FOR '08 - The default format is for Adobe PDF that includes all graphics. Remove the <PDF> option to send your order(s) as an RTF format without graphics.

Method 2: Click the <Print> tab at the bottom left of the main order form and select ‘Order RTF’ from the <Reports> drop list as shown at right. Click the <Print Preview> button on the toolbar and then click the <Send> button on the toolbar and select the ‘RTF’ format option. The order will be attached to a new message. Be sure to enter a transmitted journal entry as appropriate. This requires that your e-mail client software be properly configured as your default e-mail link. Click here for how to configure MS Outlook to use AOL.

Fax software?

If you have Windows XP, fax is included in the operating system. To install this:

Click <Start>, <Control Panel>, double-click on <Add or Remove Programs>, and click the Add/Remove Windows Components icon in the left frame of the <Add or Remove Programs> window.
Place a check in the <Fax> check box. and click <Next> to update your system
When you are previewing a report and select <Print>, choose <Fax> as your printer.
Verify that your computer is connected to a phone line. You won't be using the fax services of a fax/printer, but you can connect the line to the <Phone> jack on your fax machine if that is the phone line that you would use for faxing.
The first time that you fax through this fax printer driver you will be prompted to setup your user preferences. This is one time only.

Tip: Copy the fax number of a client from the order form by selecting their fax number on the order form and then press <Ctrl-C> to copy the number into the computer memory. When prompted for the fax number by your fax software, press <Ctrl-V> to paste the number into the fax number dialog box.

New 11/26/08 Use an E-mail/Fax service like efax.com or send2.fax.com

Click the <Order> tab on the top tab strip to move to the order form. Place a dot in the <Fax> option. The first time that you do this, you will be prompted to enter your fax provider's e-mail address. As a matter of popularity, the prompt will default to "efaxsend.com" and you should change this to "fax.send2fax.com" for your fax service provider.

Once you have setup your e-mail/fax provider preference, and the <Fax> option is selected, click the <Email Order> button to the left of the <Ship to> address block on the order form. This will output a copy of the order to a PDF file, create a new MS Outlook e-mail, attach the PDF file for you, and insert the fax number in the preferred format for sending to your fax/e-mail provider for processing.

If you remove the <PDF> option setting the order will be attached as a Rich Text Format (RTF) file instead. This removes graphics and takes less toner on the recipient's end.

To Fax or E-mail a batch of Orders using RTF format:

1) Click the <EDI> tab at top

2) Select the 'Orders_Fax_E-mail' option from the <Export> drop list on the EDI form. For electronic data transfers, select the format preferred by your vendor.

3) Select a Vendor from the <Vendors> drop list. Only orders that do not have a "Transmitted to Vendor" entry, are not "Quotation" or "Canceled" or "Delete" order status, and do not have invoice information posted to them can be included in your order transmission.

4) Select yourself as the rep that is transmitting the batch of orders

5) Check mark which orders you want to include in your batch. If you have not kept up with your transmitted entries, you can uncheck your current orders and do the export without e-mailing or faxing but, answering <Yes> when prompted to "Mark as transmitted to vendor?". This will put a transmitted entry into those so that they will not be included in your next transmission.

6) Preview and print the 'Orders for Fax/e-mail with cover' report as needed. Remove the check from the Page Breaks check box if you do not want to include a page break and your company header for each order. Click the <Print Preview> button on the toolbar. If you want to fax this batch of orders, click the <Print> button on the toolbar and print the report using your fax printer. See: "Fax Software?" below.

7) Click the <Export File> button on the EDI form. The orders will be exported to a rich text formatted file copy of the 'Orders for Fax/e-mail' report. After the file is created, you will be prompted to e-mail the file as an attachment. If you have already printed the order to a fax printer, click <No> if you do not need to e-mail the report. Tip: Note the path or highlight and copy it for pasting to your e-mail software if other than MS Outlook.

8) You will be prompted to allow a hyperlink to be created to the resulting file. This link may be accessed from the VendorLinks tab on the vendor form so that you can review or re-send this batch orders file as needed.

9) When prompted if you want to e-mail the orders, click <Yes> if you use Microsoft Outlook for your e-mail. If you use AOL or other web based mail, you will have to attach the file that was created to a new e-mail otherwise, this is fully automated. Tip: If you have MS Outlook (not Outlook Express), you may be able to configure it to use web based mail (we do not support this).

10) When prompted to post the orders as transmitted to vendor, click <Yes> if you will not need to print, fax, or e-mail this batch of orders again.

Tip: If you have not kept your <Transmitted Journal> current, click <Yes> to mark all orders as transmitted so that you can start fresh next time. If you remove the transmitted to "Vendor" entry from an order, it will be included in your next batch unless the order has been invoiced, or it has a status of "Canceled", "Delete", or "Quotation".

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