Store-level Buyers

This user guide is for buyers managing purchasing for a single store.

Introduction

This guide will walk you through the main capabilities of the Forager platform for Store-level buyers. These are buyers who manage purchasing for a single independent store or a location that is part of a multi-store account. Depending on how your account is set up and the type of user role you have, there may be restrictions in place for some of the functionality described below.

You can access our Multi-store user guide here.

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Restricted functionality for Store-level buyers managed by a multi-store account

If you are a Store-level buyer who is part of a multi-store account you will have restricted functionality when it comes to managing your products, paying invoices and setting supplier payment terms. Functionality that may be restricted for these accounts will be marked with a πŸ”’.

Getting started

Watch our short overview video for a quick walk-through of Forager's platform.

1. Your first login

As a first step, you will get an email notification when your account has been activated and is ready to go. This email will include a request for you to set your own user password after which you will be able to login to Forager.

We recommend saving this page under your bookmarks to make it quick and easy to access in the future. If you can't find the login link, you can also access our login page via the login button in the top navigation bar of our website.

When logging in you will always start on the home tab which we will refer to as the Dashboard page.

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‍2. Navigation & Key Pages

In order to navigate through the platform you'll want to use the side menu bar as well as the top navigation bar.

Side Menu Bar

  • ‍Dashboard - Review your order history and key metrics at a glance. Quickly see upcoming deliveries as well as order deadlines for your suppliers. This is also where you'll see supplier updates, for example when new products become available.‍
  • Products - This page will serve as your master product list and your ordering hub. Search, favorite and order products. You can also leave a note for your colleagues and set custom product IDs forbettertracking across different platforms.‍
  • Orders - Manage your current orders and edit them if needed.
  • Invoices - Approve and schedule payments for orders. You can also export various reports on this page and filter/search for a specific invoice.‍
  • My Suppliers - Review key information about your existing suppliers (Connected) and discover new suppliers (Marketplace).
  • Help - External link to our help and FAQ portal.
  • Settings - Set your email preferences.

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Top Navigation

  • Location - Quickly check which store you are currently viewing.
  • Messages - Manage all communications with suppliers related to your orders.
  • Shopping cart - Edit and complete your orders.
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Tip

The side menu bar defaults to the compact view without icon labels. Click the hamburger menu icon [☰] on the top left of the screen to expand the side menu.

Placing & editing orders

1. Adding products to your cart

The easiest way to place an order is through the Products page. You can quickly identify the products you would like to order using the product search features described above.

Simply enter the desired quantity of a product in the field provided for each product and click Add. The product will now appear in your Shopping Cart (top right navigation). Items which are currently in your shopping cart will also remain visible on your Products page with an Edit button for making changes. Please note that once a product is added to your shopping cart you can only edit the product quantity via the detailed shopping cart view.

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Your shopping cart products will automatically be split by supplier so you can add as many products as you would like and then place separate orders for each supplier. The shopping cart will also save any products that were not placed so that you can complete the order next time you log on.

2. Placing an order

When you're ready to place an order, click on the Shopping Cart icon in your top navigation and select View full cart. You'll know that you have items in your shopping cart if the icon has a small green number above it.

You can place an order for all of the products in your shopping cart (Place all orders button at the bottom of the page) or for all of the products from a single supplier.

This is also where you'll be able to see delivery date options for each supplier. Depending on their delivery schedule you may be able to select from multiple delivery dates for the coming week.

Once you place the order the supplier will automatically be notified by email and the order will appear on your Orders page. Your suppliers will be able to comment on the order (in case there are last minute changes to product availability) but only you, as a buyer, can edit the order within Forager.

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‍3. Editing an existing order

The Orders page has multiple tabs to help you track your order status.

  • All - All orders from all of your stores.
  • Open - Orders which have been placed but have not been delivered.
  • Delivered - Orders which have been marked as delivered and will now show up under your invoices page.

You can easily search for specific orders by order ID, supplier, UPC code and custom product ID.

By clicking the Change order button you will be able to edit and send a message to your supplier who will receive an email notification with the updated order details. Any changes that are made to an order will be tracked in the conversation module below the order. This is also where you can message the supplier directly without changing the order.
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Keep in mind that once an order has been marked as received you can no longer edit the order but you can always go back to edit the delivery date.

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4. Messaging suppliers

Messaging on Forager is always linked to an order. You can therefore only message suppliers related to a specific order or invoice. Messages are always tracked and visible in the conversation module of the Order details page. Suppliers will receive your messages via email and you will be notified when they reply to you via the messaging icon in the top navigation.

There are two ways you can message a supplier:

  • While editing an order you can add an additional message - this field only appears when editing an order.
  • If you do not need to edit an order you can simply send a message at the bottom of the Order details page in the field provided.

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5. Custom orders

You have the ability to send an order through Forager to suppliers who are not setup on Forager. You can do this through custom orders. This can be helpful when sending orders to occasional or one-time suppliers.

To create a custom order, go to the Orders page and select Custom order on the top right of the order list table. Once all of the information for the order is complete and submited, the order will be emailed to the supplier and you now have a record of the order in Forager. Any email correspondence or edits to the order will be logged in the conversation module.

Creating a Standing Order

If you routinely order the same amount of products from the same supplier, Forager supports creating standing orders with your suppliers. Standing orders are managed separately from your regular orders and are created in a different location.

1. Creating a Standing Order

In order to create a standing order, you must first navigate to the Standing Orders page.Β Navigate to the Orders page via the left navigation bar and click the Standing Orders button in the top right corner.

Once on the Standing Orders page, click the blue New standing order button in the top right of the panel. Pick your supplier and the frequency of the order in the top corner. You can choose to have your orders placed weekly, every two weeks, every three weeks or every four weeks.Β 

Then add each of your products one-by-one by first selecting the category and then product and entering the quantities for each product added.Β 

When you have finished all your products for your standing order, click Confirm order to send it to your supplier.


2. Draft Standing Orders

If you’re not ready to place your standing order with your supplier, you can choose to save it as a draft and come back to it later. Simply add your products and then click Save as draft.

To continue working on your draft Standing order, navigate to the Standing Orders page by following the steps above. Either select the draft order from the All tab or select the Draft tab to see a narrowed list. Click on the ID for the draft order. To change your order, click the Change order button. To send your order to your supplier, click the Confirm order button.

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‍3. When Will My Standing Order Be Sent to the Supplier?

If you need to skip a week or put your standing order on hold for a bit, you can Pause a Standing order. Navigate to the Standing Orders page, select the Standing Order you want to pause. Then click the Change Status button and select Pause. This will prevent future orders being sent to your supplier. To resume a standing order that has been paused, follow the steps above and select Reactivate. Suppliers will be notified via email when you pause and reactive standing orders.

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4. Pause Standing Orders

Messaging on Forager is always linked to an order. You can therefore only message suppliers related to a specific order or invoice. Messages are always tracked and visible in the conversation module of the Order details page. Suppliers will receive your messages via email and you will be notified when they reply to you via the messaging icon in the top navigation.

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Standing orders are sent to Suppliers on Sundays. If your standing order has been sent to the Supplier for that week, the Pause will be effective starting the following week.

5. Cancel/Archive Standing Orders

If you’re no longer interested in having a Standing Order with your supplier, you can archive any Standing Order. Navigate to the Standing Orders page and select the Standing Order from the list. Click the Change Status button and then select Archive. Once Archived, Standing Orders cannot be reactivated.

Receiving orders

1. Marking orders as delivered

Orders can be received individually or in bulk depending on how you manage this process.

For orders that may require quantity adjustments upon delivery (like seasonal produce) you will need to receive the order by navigating to the Order details page. You can access this page by clicking on any order listed on your Orders page. Under the Change order button you can select Receive order. This will make the order details editable and also provide you with the option of changing the delivery date and adding your own supplier invoice number. Once all changes are made simply click on Mark delivered.

Alternatively, you can receive multiple orders at the same time by selecting orders in the orders list view on the Orders page (using the check boxes in the left hand column). Once you have selected the relevant orders you can select Mark delivered in the top right of the table. You can also adjust the delivery date using the calendar button prior to selecting Mark delivered.
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Once an order is marked as delivered it becomes visible as a new invoice and can be viewed on the Invoices page.

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‍2. Adjusting orders upon delivery

As noted above, you can only adjust orders upon delivery via the Order details page. Clicking the Receive order button will provide you with the same functionality as when you edit an order. You can then confirm the final changes by marking the order as delivered.

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Tip

You can access Forager on any mobile device or tablet and we offer use roles with restricted access for receivers who may not always have immediate access to a computer.

Paying invoices

1. Tracking invoices

The Invoices page has multiple tabs to help you track your order status.

  • All - All invoices including those that have been paid.
  • New - Order that have been marked as received will automatically show up as a new invoice.
  • Approved - Invoices that have been approved.
  • Scheduled - Invoices that have been approved and marked for payment.
  • Processing - Invoices that are currently being processed (~3-5 days).
  • Paid - Invoices that have been successfully paid.

You can easily search for specific invoices by supplier, UPC code and custom product ID.

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2. Approving and scheduling payments πŸ”’

Once an order has been marked as received it will automatically show up as a new invoice.

Invoices can be approved and paid in two ways:

  1. On the invoice list you can check the box next to the invoice you would like to pay or approve. This will make the Mark button visible in the top right corner of the table. You can then select either Approve, Approve and Pay or Pay. Keep in mind that the Pay functionality is only possible if an invoice has been approved.
  2. Click on an invoice to access the Invoice details page. In the right hand module you will be able to approve the invoice and then select Schedule for payment.

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‍3. Payment schedules

Invoices which are scheduled for payment are automatically paid based on the net payment terms defined on the My Suppliers page for each individual supplier. Payments typically begin processing 3-5 days prior to the due date of the invoice.

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Invoices need to be approved before they can be scheduled for payment. The payment date is automatically determined by the net payment terms defined on the My Suppliers page.

Exporting data

1. Exporting orders and invoices

Both the Orders and Invoices pages allow users to export data in various formats.

In order to initiate an export, select the order(s) that you would like to export by checking the boxe(s) in the left hand column or by checking all boxes using the check box in the column header. Once selected, the Export button will become active and you can select your preferred export format.

Available export formats:

  • Order Data CSV
  • Order Data (Catapult)
  • Order Item Data CSV
  • Order Item Data (Catapult)
  • As PDF

The export functionality is most commonly used to:

  • Export a specific order or invoice.
  • Export all orders or invoices for a defined time period.

Managing suppliers

1.Review and manage supplier relationships πŸ”’

The My Suppliers page has multiple tabs

  • All - All suppliers
  • Connected - Existing suppliers
  • Marketplace - New suppliers (no order history)

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Each supplier profile includes key data points to help you get a quick overview of your relationship with individual suppliers. You can expand a supplier profile by clicking on the supplier name. This will reveal additional content such as the supplier logo, delivery schedule and their latest update

This is also where you can set the preferred payment terms of each supplier. This will determine the automatic payment date that is automatically set by Forager once an invoice is approved and scheduled for payment.

Similar to the Products page you can save a shared note for each supplier that will be visible for the rest of your team.

Managing your account

1. Email notifications

By selecting the Settings icon in the side menu bar you can opt-in to receiving email notifications relating to supplier messages for orders that you placed or other members of your team placed.

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2. Reset your password

You can reset your password via the login page > select reset password under the login button. The email to reset your password will come from noreply@forager1.com so if you don't see it right away, be sure to check your junk folder.

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3. Mobile access

Forager is not currently optimized for mobile devices but can be accessed through any browser app on your mobile device or tablet.

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