toru.ing

The problem

Made-to-order prints, and a lot to keep track of

Every print in the shop is made to order, at home in Kaitaia. That means every sale carries more than a price.

• Many prints need details only the buyer knows: a colour, the name on a name keychain, a kura logo.
• Some buyers want their order posted. Others pick it up in Kaitaia and would rather pay cash.
• Money only counts once it has been paid, so an order on its own cannot go on the fund total.
• The printer works one plate at a time, so it helps to know how many of each print are waiting.

What we put in place

One shop, one board, one print list

A one-page shop with te reo Māori first and English alongside it, and a private side for running it.

• The shop.

  Figurines, fidgets, keychains, earrings and desk pieces, sorted by type. Custom and bulk requests are welcome, such as a kura or club logo turned into keychains.

• Pay when you order.

  Buyers choose delivery or pick-up and pay by card through Stripe. Pick-up in Kaitaia can be paid in cash instead.

• Questions without paying first.

  A buyer can send a question about a custom piece without paying, and get a quote back.

• Emails that look like the shop.

  Every email to a buyer or to the shop uses the same look as the site, in te reo and English.

• The owner board.

  A private board, made for a phone, that shows each order from being priced to paid, made and handed over, refunds included.

• The print list.

  Paid orders grouped by print, with each buyer's notes, so a whole plate of the same print can be ticked off in one go.

• The trip fund meter.

  The meter on the home page counts money actually paid through the shop, not orders placed.

• The thank-you wall.

  Buyers who pay can choose to have their first name shown on the wall of supporters.

• Found and shared.

  Search engines can read the prints and their prices, and a link shared on Facebook shows a picture.

How it fits together

1. 01

   One record for every order.

   An order is saved before anything else happens. The board, the print list, the fund meter and the thank-you wall all read from that one record.

2. 02

   Stripe confirms the money.

   An order only counts as paid when Stripe says so, and a regular check catches a payment that Stripe took but the shop never heard about.

3. 03

   Made for a phone.

   The shop, the board and the print list all work on a phone screen, so the shop can be run without sitting at a computer.

What changed

A new way of working

These are the practical changes now in place.

• →

  Paid at the time of ordering.

  Card buyers pay as they order, instead of waiting for a pay link by email.

• →

  Cash where it makes sense.

  Pick-up in Kaitaia can still be paid in cash.

• →

  One list of what to print.

  Paid orders turn into a print list grouped by print.

• →

  A fund total that is real.

  The meter moves when money is paid, not when an order is placed.

• →

  Supporters thanked, with their say-so.

  Only buyers who opt in appear on the thank-you wall, and only by first name.