NETbilling Email Manager tutorial

 

The NETbilling system automatically sends emails to your customers on your behalf. There are two steps to setting up these automatic emails. You create the emails to be sent (or use the pre-set emails supplied by the NETbilling system), and you must choose when and to whom those emails are sent.

Since the system delivers pre-set emails to you automatically, you can skip to choosing which emails are sent when. This is done by visiting the Email Manager under by clicking the Site Tag link and then clicking the "email" link for the specific site for which emails need to be configured, and associating emails with the events that send them.

If you would prefer not to use the NETbilling supplied emails with your site, you can create your own. You can either copy an existing email and edit it, or create your own from scratch. In either case, you begin by going to Email Editor in the Site Tools area. Once you have created a new email (or copied one) you can choose to edit it. This will bring up a screen where you can control the contents of the email.

Most of the process of creating your own email requires no special work; it's like typing a normal email. But, if you want to put something in an email that is different for each email (such as the name of your customer) you can't just type that information in, you must instead insert an email field.

Email field are placed in an email where you want information to be pulled from the database to customize the email. For example, if you want the name of your company to appear in the email, you would insert the variable ${COMPANY_NAME} into the email. The email system would then grab whatever you configured as your company name in the Contact Info section of your NETbilling gateway account.

There are four data sources from which the email manager can capture information. Not all data sources are available for all emails, so be sure to use only the data sources that make sense for the kind of email you are making.  The four data sources are ACCOUNT, TRANSACTION, SITE, and SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP.

For example, if you are creating an email to welcome a new member to your subscription site, it might make sense to use all four data sources.  The user has just paid (TRANSACTION) to be a member (MEMBERSHIP) of your (ACCOUNT) website (SITE).

On the other hand, if you are creating an email to act as a receipt for a product purchase, then ACCOUNT and TRANSACTION information may be appropriate, but MEMBERSHIP and SITE information would not be available.

If you are unsure what data sources to use, copy an existing email, or visit the Email Manager page by clicking the 'Site Tags' link in the left-hand menu and clicking the "email" link on the right of the page next to the specific site.  Both these resources can help you to learn which data sources are appropriate for the kind of email you are making.

Account

This information is always available to all your emails.

This is the specific information about your NETbilling account that you have entered into various parts of your configuration like your company name, address, and telephone numbers. This information is static and is always available to the email manager.  While you could just type your contact information directly in an email, it is smarter to use these fields so that ALL your emails will automatically be updated if you change your contact information later.

Transaction

This information is only available in emails that are a result of a transaction, such as a transaction receipt or a subscription signup.

This is the information that comes through the system for a given individual transaction. This would include items like the credit card number, the card holder's first and last name, and their billing address among others. This information is specific to a single transaction and once that transaction is finished, the information is no longer available to the email manager.

Site

This information is only available to emails that are associated with a SITE. This means most transactions can use this information - but in certain places (such as the Virtual Terminal) you can choose to omit the SITE. If you do, this information will not be available.

This is information that comes from your Site Tags Configuration screen and includes information such as the site tag, the name of the site, the webmaster's email or the url of the site. This information is static and is always available to the email manager.

Membership

This information is only available to emails that are associated with a Subscription or Membership.

This is information that specific to a membership, but not part of the transaction data.
This would include the username, password, length of membership, and expiration date. This data is pulled from a single membership signup, and then is no longer available to email manager.

Below, we have listed all the information that is available in the different data sources for you to create your own, completely original email. Just remember, that when you create a completely original email template that you choose the data sources that you choose make sense for the email you have chosen. For example, if you are not using the subscription features, avoid the membership fields.

(a) primarily intended for end users
(b) primarily intended for agents

Account Data Sources

Account Fields

Name Description Example
${ACCOUNT_ID} The ID number of the merchant123456789012
${AGENT_ID} The ID number of the merchant's agent234567890123
${AGENT_COMPANY_NAME} The name of the merchant's agent3rd National Bank
${COMPANY_NAME} The everyday name of the merchant's companyJohn's BBQ Sauce
${COMPANY_LEGAL_NAME} The legal name of the merchant's companyJohn Wilson, Inc.
${COMPANY_DBA_NAME} Another name of the merchant's companyJohn's BBQ Sauce
${COMPANY_PHONE} The merchant's phone number888-888-8888
${COMPANY_FAX} The merchant's fax number888-888-8877
${COMPANY_STREET} The merchant's street address 888 E. Eighth St. #8
${COMPANY_CITY} The merchant's cityEightville
${COMPANY_STATE} The merchant's stateAZ
${COMPANY_ZIP} The merchant's ZIP number12345-6789
${COMPANY_COUNTRY} The merchant's countryUSA
${CONTACT_NAME} The name of the merchant's primary contactJohn Botsford
${CONTACT_EMAIL} The email of the merchant's primary contactjohn@johnsbbq.com
${CONTACT_PHONE} The phone of the merchant's primary contact888-888-8889
${TECHNICAL_NAME} The name of the merchant's technical contactSue Jones
${TECHNICAL_EMAIL} The email of the merchant's technical contactsue@johnsbbq.com
${TECHNICAL_PHONE} The phone of the merchant's technical contact888-888-8899
${FINANCIAL_NAME} The name of the merchant's financial contactChris Smith
${FINANCIAL_EMAIL} The email of the merchant's financial contactchris@johnsbbq.com
${FINANCIAL_PHONE} The phone of the merchant's financial contact888-888-8999

Transaction Fields

Name Description Example
${TRANS_ID} The ID number of the transaction456789012345
${ACCOUNT_ID} The ID number of the merchant123456789012
${SITE_TAG} The TAG (brief nickname) of the SITEBBQ1
${AMOUNT} The amount of the transaction25
${FANCY_AMOUNT} The above item, formatted nicely25.00
${AUTH_CODE} The authorization code returned when the transaction was run999999
${ISSUE_DATE} The date the transaction was issued2001-01-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_ISSUE_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyWED 2001-JAN-20 14:33:08
${AUTH_DATE} The date the transaction was authorized2001-01-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_AUTH_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyWED 2001-JAN-20 14:33:08
${CAP_DATE} The date the transaction was captured2001-01-22 15:25:11
${FANCY_CAP_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyFRI 2001-JAN-22 15:25:11
${AUTH_MSG} The authorization message returned when the transaction was runCaptured
${AVS_RESULT} The AVS result code returned when the transaction was runZ
${AVS_RESULT_MSG} The AVS result message returned when the transaction was run5-digit ZIP Code matches, address does not
${CVV2_RESULT} The CVV2 result code returned when the transaction was runM
${CVV2_RESULT_MSG} The CVV2 result message returned when the transaction was runCVV2 match
${BILL_STREET} The street address entered for the transaction1212 E. Green
${BILL_CITY} The address city entered for the transactionBensenville
${BILL_STATE} The address state entered for the transactionIL
${BILL_ZIP} The address ZIP entered for the transaction60614
${BILL_COUNTRY} The address country entered for the transactionUSA
${CARD_ISSUER} The issuer of the credit card (VISA, MasterCard, etc.)VISA
${BILL_NAME1} The first name of the cardholderSam
${BILL_NAME2} The last name of the cardholderBrown
${CARD_NUMBER_XXX} The obfuscated card numberxxxxxxxxxxxx1111
${CARD_EXPIRE} The expiration date of the card0304
${CUSTOMER_EMAIL} The email of the cardholsersamb123@email.com
${CUSTOMER_PHONE} The phone number of the cardholder932-932-9322
${DESCRIPTION} The description fo the product6 bottles bbq sauce - mild
${MISC_INFO} The miscellaneous information supplied with the transactionI love your stuff - send me a catalog
${REMOTE_ADDR} The IP address that delivered the transaction123.11.22.33
${REMOTE_HOST} The web (.com sytle) address that delivered the transactionhttp://www.email.com>

Site Fields

Name Description Example
${SITE_ID} The ID number of the site567890123456
${ACCOUNT_ID} The ID number of the merchant123456789012
${SITE_TAG} The TAG (brief nickname) of the SITEBBQ1
${SITE_NAME} The NAME of the siteJohn's BBQ Heaven
${SITE_URL} The web address of the sitehttp://www.johnsbbq.com
${MEMBER_URL} The web address of the membership area of the site (if it exists)hhtp://www.johnsbbq.com/members/
${WEBMASTER_NAME} The name of the webmasterSue Jones
${WEBMASTER_PHONE} The phone number of the webmaster888-888-8899
${WEBMASTER_EMAIL} The email address of the webmastersue@johnsbbq.com
${REFRESH_DATE} The time when memberships are refreshed daily2001-04-01 0:55:30
${FANCY_REFRESH_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyMON 2001-APR-10 0:55:30
${GRACE_DAYS} The grace period of an expired membership5

Subscription/Membership Fields

Name Description Example
${MEMBER_ID} The ID number of the member890123456789
${ACCOUNT_ID} The ID number of the merchant12345679012
${SITE_TAG} The TAG (brief nickname) of the SITEBBQ1
${SIGNUP_CHARGE_ID} The ID of the recurring transaction012345678901
${SIGNUP_DATE} The date of the member signed up2001-01-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_SIGNUP_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyWED 2001-JAN-20 14:33:08
${EXPIRE_DATE} The expiration date of the member2001-02-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_EXPIRE_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyTHU 2001-FEB-20 14:33:08
${LOGIN_NAME} The login name of the memberwilly1
${PASS_WORD} The password of the memberwonthe2
${REAL_NAME1} The first name of the memberBill
${REAL_NAME2} The last name of the memberWhite
${EMAIL_ADDRESS} The email address of the memberbill@white.net
${STATUS} The member's current statusACTIVE
${REBILLING_SETUP_DATE} The date rebillings were set up2001-01-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_REBILLING_SETUP_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyWED 2001-JAN-20 14:33:08
${REBILLING_DUE_DATE} The date the next rebilling will occur2001-02-20 14:33:08
${FANCY_REBILLING_DUE_DATE} The above item, formatted nicelyTHU 2001-FEB-20 14:33:08
${AMOUNT_EXPR} The amount the member was charged12.50
${NEXT_AMOUNT_EXPR} The amount the member will be charged at the next rebilling2.50