Configuration of Elastic Path Commerce

Overview

The topics in this chapter describe activities performed in the initial configuration and maintenance of store operations in Elastic Path Commerce. These include configuring stores and warehouses, payment providers, shipping regions, tax codes, and customer profile attributes.

Customer Profiles

Customer Profile Attributes

Customer profile attributes store information about a customer (such as name, address, and email address) within the Elastic Path Commerce database. They are used by the Customers Representatives (CSRs) to record information about customers during the customer creation and maintenance processes.

Tax Exemption Profile Attributes

Two attributes are available as Customer Profile Attributes that are used during tax exemption scenarios. Values for these fields can be manually entered by the CSRs. When integrating with a Tax Provider, these values are available to pass along to the tax provider, indicating taxes for the given order are not to be calculated. There are two scenarios as to how or where exemption is indicated.

In the first scenario, companies supporting tax exemption order processing are required to collect, validate, and store values for their customers. In this scenario, the following fields are available in the Customer Profile to collect and store the information. Orders for these customers then pass the given customer information to the tax provider. Generally, these numbers, if visible to the customer at the time of checkout would be non-editable.

• Business Number: Used to record the customer’s business identification number.

• Tax Exemption: Used to record the number provided by the government for use by the given customers on orders where taxes are not to be charged or collected

In the second scenario, a tax exemption number is provided by the customer at the time of checkout. You must enter this value manually with each transaction, as there is no tie between a value provided at checkout and that stored within a Customer Profile. Similarly, values available in the Customer Profile are not used to auto-populate any tax exemption fields presented at the time of checkout or purchase.

Note: The Elastic Path tax engine currently does not factor in exemption. If you are using the Elastic Path Tax Tables, taxes are calculated regardless of entering exemption codes. The Tax Exemption functionality only applies when integrating with a Tax Provider.

Creating a Customer Profile Attribute

You can add customer profile attributes in Elastic Path Commerce. However, adding an attribute does not automatically cause it to appear during store customer account creation or editing. You need to customize the store for additional fields to appear within it.

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profile section of the left pane, select Profile Attributes.

3. From the top right pane toolbar, click Create Attribute.

4. In the Create Attribute dialog box, enter values in the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Attribute Key	The unique identifier for the attribute.
   Attribute Name	The display name of the attribute.
   Attribute Type	The format of the attribute’s data (for example, Date, Text, Integer, or Decimal).
   Required	Specifies whether the new attribute is required or optional.

5. Click Save

Editing a Customer Profile Attribute

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profile section of the left pane, select Profile Attributes.

3. In the top right pane, select the profile attribute you want to edit.

   Tip: To find attributes more quickly, click a column header to sort the column by that header.

4. From the top right pane toolbar, click Edit Attribute.

5. In the Edit Attribute dialog box, make the required changes and click Save

Deleting a Customer Profile Attribute

Note: If data is already entered for a profile attribute, the Edit Attribute and Delete Attribute buttons are disabled. This prevents corruption and loss of data.

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profile section of the left pane, select Profile Attributes.

3. In the top right pane, select the profile attribute you want to delete.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Delete Attribute.

5. Click OK

Customer Segments

Customer Segments enable marketers to group customers together and create conditions for delivering price lists, dynamic content, and cart promotions. Customer Segment tags determine if the customer belongs to a segment and if they are entitled to different content, prices, and promotions for the storefront.

An example of a customer segment is where a store employee is assigned to an employee segment so they receive employee pricing when shopping.

Creating a Customer Segment

A default PUBLIC customer segment is available and applies to all customer accounts.

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profiles section of the left pane, select Customer Segments. The Customer Segments tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Click Create Customer Segment.

4. In the New Customer Segment tab, enter the values for the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Customer Segment Name	The customer segment’s unique identifier.
   Description	The customer segment’s description.
   Enabled	Activates the segment. If disabled, conditions using this tag or the customer segment are not triggered.

5. On the toolbar, click Save

Editing a Customer Segment

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profile section of the left pane, select Customer Segments. The Customer Segments tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Click Edit Customer Segment.

4. In the bottom right pane, make the required changes to the customer segment.

5. On the toolbar, click Save

Deleting a Customer Segment

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Customer Profile section of the left pane, select Customer Segments. The Customer Segments tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the customer you want to delete.

   Note: You cannot delete the PUBLIC customer segment.

4. Click Delete Customer Segment.

5. Click OK.

   Note: If the customer segment has a customer association or is used as a condition, then a Customer Segment in Use message is displayed indicating the segment cannot be deleted. Either remove the associations or condition or disable the customer segment

Data Policies

A data policy is a collection of data points that Elastic Path stores for a specific customer. A data point is a specific information about a customer. For example, when a customer orders an item, Elastic Path collects the name and address. The name and address are data points.

You can use data policies to maintain compliance with various data protection laws, such as CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) or GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). CMS (Content Management Systems) use data policies to present the customer with the option to provide or revoke consent for the collection of their data for business purposes.

Elastic Path Commerce only records what data is stored for a data policy and basic identifying information about the data policy. Presenting a data policy to a user, storing a data policy’s legal description, and implementing how a data policy functions are implemented in CMS. The Elastic Path Commerce Manager only controls whether a data policy is active or inactive for a store, and what data points a data policy collects.

Data Policy States

Data policies can have the following states:

• Draft: Indicates that the data policy is editable and not collecting data.
• Active: Indicates that the data policy is currently active for all stores that have enabled data policies. Only the end date of an active data policy is editable.
• Disabled: Indicates that the data policy is no longer active. A disabled data policy may still have data points associated with it. Disabled data policies are not editable and cannot be re-enabled.

Data Retention and Deletion

This section covers data retention and automatic data deletion. For information about manual data deletion, see the Removing Customer Data section.

Data Retention Types

You can specify the following data retention types for a data policy:

• From Created Date: Retains data from the date of its initial creation until the end of the retention period.
• From Last Modified Date: Retains data from the date it was last modified by the customer or Elastic Path until the end of the retention period. Whenever data is modified, the retention period is reset.

For data policies with the From Created Date retention type, the data point values associated with the data policy are deleted automatically at the end of the retention period. For a data point created on the last day of an active data policy, the data point value is deleted at the end of the retention period.

For active data policies with the From Last Modified Date retention type, the retention period is calculated from the last modified date. For a disabled data policy with the From Last Modified Date retention type, the retention period is calculated either from the last modified date or the disabled date, whichever is the earliest date.

For example, if disabled date is January 3, 2018 and the last modified date is January 8, 2018, the retention period is calculated from January 3, 2018. After the retention period of data policies, data is deleted automatically.

Customer Consent and Data Deletion

If a customer revokes the consent for a data policy, data is deleted within 24 hours by a cleanup job. The consent for a disabled data policy cannot be revoked.

When a data point is used in one or more data policies, data is automatically removed only if the following circumstances are met:

• The customer has not provided consent for the data point in any other data policy.
• The retention periods for all data policies using the data point have expired.

For example, if a customer provides consent for the collection of the first name for two data policies, the first name is deleted only at the end of the longest retention period.

Creating a Data Policy

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.

3. In the top right pane, click Create Data Policy.

   The New Data Policy tab appears in the bottom pane.

4. In the New Data Policy > Summary tab, enter values for the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Name	Specifies the display name of the data policy.
   Reference Key	Specifies the unique ID of a data policy as provided by an external system, such as a CMS.
   Retention Type	Indicates whether the data policy retains data from its creation date or its last modified date.
   Retention Period (Days)	Specifies how long data is stored in the system. Retention period can either be calculated from the creation date or from the last updated date.
   State	Specifies the current state of a data policy. For a new data policy, select Draft.
   Start Date	Specifies the date and time a data policy begins collecting data.
   End Date	Specifies when a data policy no longer collects consent. You can change the end date of an active data policy.
   Description	Provides a description for the data policy.
   Activities	Lists the activities that the data policy is associated with.

5. To add data points to the data policy, click the Data Points tab.

   All available data points are listed in the Data Points window. You can select data points from the available data points and assign to the data policy. You can also create a new data point and assign to the data policy. For more information about creating a new data point, see the Data Points section.

6. To add data policy segments to the data policy, click the Data Policy Segments tab.

   • To add a new data policy segment, enter a name in the Add Segment field, and click Add Segment. For more information see the Data Policy Segments section. :::note You must create at least one data policy segment for a data policy. :::

7. On the toolbar, click Save.

8. Click Refresh.

   The data policy is added to the list in the Data Policies tab.

Activating a Data Policy

Data policies are enabled for a store if the Enable Data Policies field in the store settings is selected. An activated data policy applies to all stores which have data policies enabled.

warning

The end date of an active data policy is editable, but all other fields are not.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.
2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.
3. Double-click a data policy.
4. In the State list, select Active.
5. In the toolbar, click Save.
6. Click Refresh. The data policy’s state is updated in the Data Policies tab.

Disabling a Data Policy

Disabling a data policy prevents Elastic Path Commerce from recording consent for the data policy, but does not truncate how long the data policy stores data. Data collected on the last active day of a data policy is retained for the full retention period of the policy, starting from that day or the data’s last modified date.

warning

A disabled data policy cannot be re-activated.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.

3. Select a data policy and click Disable Data Policy. A warning prompt to disable the data policy appears.

4. Click OK.

5. In the toolbar, click Save

Data Points

A data point refers to specific information about a customer that Elastic Path Commerce collects. A data point consists of customer data, the location of data, creation and modification dates, and additional information about the data point itself.

Marking a Data Point as Removable

The data key value of a data point can be set as removable by a customer service representative for the customer by selecting the Removable option when creating a data point. You can mark any data point as removable, but removing the data key value for the data points that are required for the completion of purchase can cause errors in the system.

The following data point data keys must not be marked as removable unless the system administrator specifies:

Data Location	Data Key	Result if Removed
CUSTOMER_PROFILE	CP_EMAIL	The customer cannot add email address back to the profile and cannot complete the purchase.
CUSTOMER_PROFILE	CP_FIRST_NAME	The customer cannot complete the purchase and the system displays an error.
CUSTOMER_PROFILE	CP_LAST_NAME	The customer cannot complete the purchase and the system displays an error.

For more information about removing customer data, see the Removing Customer Data section.

Creating a Data Point

A data policy must be in the draft state to add or create new data points.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.

3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.

4. On the Data Points tab, click Create Data Point. The create data point pop-up appears.

5. Enter values for the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Name	Specifies the display name of the data point.
   Data Location	Specifies the location of the data point value.
   Data Key	Specifies the value of the data point. For the ORDER_DATA, CUSTOMER_PROFILE and CART_GIFT_CERTIFICATE data locations, the data key is a custom value, and must be provided by the system administrator.
   Description Key	Specifies the key or unique identifier used by the CMS or other system to describe the data point.
   Removable	Specifies whether a data point needs to be retained for auditing or legal reasons.

6. Click Save. The new data point appears in the list of available data points

After creating a data point, you can use the data point in all data policies in Elastic Path Commerce. You cannot create a data point for an existing data location-data key pair.

Adding a Data Point to a Data Policy

A data policy must be in the draft state to add or create new data points.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.

3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.

4. On the Data Points tab, in the Available Data Points list, select the data points to add to the data policy.

   note

   To select multiple data points, hold the Shift key on the keyboard and select multiple data points in the list.

5. Add data points to a data policy using the > or >> buttons.

6. On the toolbar, click Save

Removing a Data Point from a Data Policy

A data policy must be in the draft state to remove data points.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.

3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.

4. On the Data Points tab, in the Available Data Points list, select the data points to remove from the data policy.

   note

   To select multiple data points, hold the Shift key on the keyboard and select multiple data points in the list.

5. Add data points to a data policy using the > or >> buttons.

6. On the toolbar, click Save

Data Policy Segments

Data policy segments indicate logical segments of customers for which a data policy can be applied. For example, you can create data segments for different geographical locations. Each data policy is associated with one or more data policy segments. A data segment can be associated with one or more data policies depending on the data protection laws in that segment. How a data policy functions is configured by the front-end developer in CMS.

Creating a Data Policy Segment

A data policy must be in the draft state to creating data policy segments.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.
2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.
3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.
4. On the Data Policy Segments tab, in the Add Policy field, enter a data policy name.
5. Click Add Segment. The data policy is added to the Assigned Segments list.
6. On the toolbar, click Save

Editing an Existing Data Policy Segment

A data policy must be in the draft state to edit data policy segments.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.
2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.
3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.
4. On the Data Policy Segments tab, in the Assigned Segments list, select a data policy segment and click the icon.
5. Edit the name as required.
6. On the toolbar, click Save

Removing a Data Policy Segment

A data policy must be in the draft state to remove data policy segments.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.
2. In the left pane, click Data Policies.
3. Double-click a data policy. The data policy appears in the bottom right pane.
4. On the Data Policy Segments tab, in the Assigned Segments list, select a data policy segment.
5. Click Remove Segment.
6. On the toolbar, click Save

Payment Provider Configuration

Payment providers are third parties that process and authorize payments made between a customer and a merchant. A payment provider plug-in is a fully configured payment plug-in, such as AliPay or Stripe. You can add as many payment provider plug-ins as you require. The Payments framework provides interfaces that you can implement to configure payment plug-ins for the payment provider of your choice. After you implement a plug-in, you can configure the plug-in for specific stores in Commerce Manager Payment Configurations section.

The following workflow outlines the process in Commerce Manager:

1. Create the payment provider configuration.

2. Activate the configuration to use it within a store.

3. Associate the configuration with a store.

Creating a Configuration for a Payment Provider

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the Payment Methods section of the left pane, select Payment Configurations. The Payment Configurations tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Click Create.

4. In the New Payment Configuration dialog box, enter the following information:

   • Provider: Specifies the name of the payment provider.

   • Method: Specifies the payment method that the payment provider supports, such as credit card.

   • Configuration Name: Specifies the name of the configuration for the payment provider. This name is unique and is shown in the Payments tab in the store configuration.

   • Display Name: Specifies the default display name, such as user interface display name, of the payment provider configuration.

   • Add Localized Name: Specifies the localized value of a display name of the payment provider configuration. When you select a locale, it is no longer available in the locale list until you remove it. Use the remove icon to delete a localized name in the list.

     Note: For localized values to show in your store, the store must support localization. For more information about localization, see Configuring Localization.

   • Configuration Data Settings: Specifies the required data settings for the payment provider configuration, such as the merchant ID or API password

Editing a Configuration for a Payment Provider

When the payment provider is in the draft state, you can edit the following settings:

• Configuration Name
• Display Name
• Localized Name
• Data Settings

After you activate the configuration, the Data Settings cannot be edited.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the Payment Methods section of the left pane, select Payment Configurations. The Payment Configurations tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the configuration and click Edit.

4. In the Edit Payment Configuration dialog box, you can edit the settings as required.

5. Click Save.

Activating a Configuration for a Payment Provider

Before you can use a payment provider with a store, you must set the payment configuration to the active state.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the Payment Methods section, select Payment Configurations.

   The Payment Configurations tab appears.

3. Select the payment provider configuration you want to activate.

4. Click Activate.

5. In the Activate Confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Disabling a Configuration for a Payment Provider

Ensure that you remove the store association to the payment provider configuration before you begin. For more information, see Removing a payment method.

1. On the toolbar, click Configuration.

2. In the Payment Methods section, select Payment Configurations.

   The Payment Configurations tab appears.

3. Select the payment provider configuration that you want to disable.

4. Click Disable.

5. Click OK.

Adding a Payment Method in a Store

1. Click Configuration > Store and select a store.

2. Click the Payments tab.

3. In the Payments table, select the Configuration Name check box.

4. On the toolbar, click Save.

Removing a Payment Method in a Store

1. Click Configuration > Store and select a store.

2. Click the Payments tab.

3. In the Payments table, clear the Configuration Name check box.

4. On the toolbar, click Save.

Shipping Regions and Service Levels

In Elastic Path Commerce a shipping region is a geographical entity such as: country, state, or province; while a shipping service level determines what shipping services are available to customers at each store.

Note: Elastic Path provides a default shipping calculation plug-in, which can be used to configure shipping regions and shipping service levels. However, if you want to use a custom shipping calculation plug-in, you must remove the default shipping calculation plug-in from Elastic Path Commerce Manager before you integrate the custom plug-in with the application.

Shipping Regions

A shipping region is a geographical entity (for example, country, state, province) that your store ships to. Shipping service levels are the delivery services available in a given shipping region (for example, Ground Shipping, Overnight Shipping, etc.)

A customer’s shipping cost depends on the shipping region they reside in and the shipping level they choose. A shipping region should use a single set of shipping service levels and costs. You must configure shipping regions before the store’s checkout process can work.

Note: If your shipping service levels and shipping costs are identical for all locations, you only need to create one shipping region. If you use non-global service levels (that is, they are available only in some parts of the world), or if shipping cost calculations vary between regions, you need to create multiple shipping regions.

Creating a Shipping Region

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Shipping section of the left pane, select Shipping Regions. The Shipping Regions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Click Create Shipping Region.

4. In the Create Shipping Region dialog box, enter a name for the region.

5. In the Available Countries/Sub Countries list, select the countries or sub countries to include in the region.

   • To select multiple countries or sub-countries, hold the CTRL or Shift keys and click to select your choices

6. Click > to add the countries or sub-countries to the Selected Countries/Sub Countries list.

7. Click Save

Editing a Shipping Region

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Shipping section of the left pane, select Shipping Regions. The Shipping Regions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the shipping region you want to modify.

4. Click Edit Shipping Region.

5. In the Edit Shipping Region dialog box, make your changes.

6. Click Save

Deleting a Shipping Region

Note: If tax values are configured for a region, you cannot delete the region until you remove the tax values.

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Shipping section of the left pane, select Shipping Regions. The Shipping Regions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the shipping region you want to delete.

4. Click Delete Shipping Region.

5. Click OK

Shipping Service Levels

Shipping service levels determine the shipping services available to customers at each store. For example, customers for a store selling high-value items may be offered overnight shipping at a reduced rate, while customers shopping at a discounted storefront may be offered slower surface delivery options.

Shipping service levels are configured under Store.

Searching for Service Levels

1. On the toolbar, click the Store button.

2. On the left pane, click the Shipping tab.

3. In the Filters section of the left pane, select a shipping service level state, shipping region, and store from the respective lists.

4. (Optional) In the Sorting section, select the sorting options for the returned search results.

5. Click Search

Sorting Search Results

You can sort the shipping service level search results by clicking on a column header.

Pagination of Search Results

By default, the search results show 10 items per page. You can change this by clicking the admin list in the top right corner of the right pane, and selecting Change Pagination Settings. Choose a Results Per Page value from the list, then click Save.

Creating a Service Level

1. On the toolbar, click the Store button.

2. On the left pane, click the Shipping tab.

3. (Optional) Perform a shipping service level search with default values.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Create Service Level.

5. In the Create Shipping Service Level dialog box, set the values for your new shipping region.

   Note: A Unique Code is required for data importing and exporting.

6. Click Save

Editing a Service Level

1. On the toolbar, click the Store button.

2. On the left pane, click the Shipping tab.

3. (Optional) Perform a shipping service level search with default values.

4. Select the shipping service level you want to modify, and click Open Service Level.

5. In the Edit Shipping Service Level dialog box, edit the values for your new shipping region.

6. Click Save

Deleting a Service Level

1. On the toolbar, click the Store button.

2. On the left pane, click the Shipping tab.

3. (Optional) Perform a shipping service level search with default values.

4. Select the shipping service level you want to delete, and click Delete Service Level.

5. In the Delete Shipment Service Level dialog box, click OK

Tax Configuration

Store administrators need to configure taxes for jurisdictions that are "tax nexuses" (jurisdictions with the right to impose a tax on taxpayers).

To configure a tax system for their store, administrators must configure:

• Tax Codes: Products are connected to taxes through tax codes. Tax codes define the type of tax that is applicable to a product (for example, Shipping vs Goods vs Digital taxes), and are visible to customers.

• Tax Categories : The tax categories or taxes determine the taxes that are applicable to each tax jurisdiction. For example, the "PST" (the Provincial Sales Tax) or "State Tax" (the State tax) or "VAT" (Value Added Tax) rates may be different from one region to another.

• Tax Jurisdictions: The tax jurisdictions are hierarchical, so it is possible to have different tax categories applied at various levels. These include country, sub-country (state or province), city, and zip code. Tax Jurisdictions are either inclusive or exclusive.

• Tax Values: The tax rate applied to a tax category in a particular jurisdiction

Tax Configuration Hierarchy

You need to configure taxes in a specific hierarchy:

• Configure the tax jurisdictions. These are the countries in which you need to calculate a tax for.

• Configure the country level tax, if required. For example the VAT in UK or GST in Canada.

  Note: Some countries do not have country-level taxes. A country can have multiple country level taxes.

• Configure the sub-country level tax. For example, the PST in Canada, which is calculated at a different rate based on the province/region in the country.

• Configure each sub-country’s tax values. These are tax rates for specific types of goods (as defined by your tax codes) that can be different based on the sub-country.

  Note: A country (tax jurisdiction) may have multiple country-level taxes, but each country level tax cannot define the tax value. The tax values can only be assigned to sub-country taxes

Inclusive and Exclusive Tax Calculations

Inclusive and exclusive taxes indicate whether the taxes are included in the shown or advertised price of an item. Inclusive taxes are included in the price, while exclusive taxes are not.

For example, the advertised price for gasoline in Canada is inclusive; it includes the GST (Goods and Service Tax). However, most other goods sold in Canada are exclusive. The GST and other sales taxes are added to the advertised price of the item when the purchase is made. For more information, see the Tax Exemption section.

Inclusive Tax Calculation Example

The customer is buying 1 tennis racket that costs £75. The VAT tax rate is 15%; shipping charge is £5 and is also subject to VAT.

Line Item	Amount	Calculation
Subtotal	£75.00	(sum of item prices)
Item tax	£9.78	(VAT/1 + VAT)*item price
Shipping tax	£0.65	(VAT/1 + VAT)*shipping price
Total tax	£10.43	(item tax + shipping tax)
Total	£80.00	(subtotal + shipping price)

Inclusive Tax Calculation Example with Cart Discount

The customer is buying 1 tennis racket that costs £75. The VAT tax rate is 15%; shipping charge is £5 and is also subject to VAT. There is a discount of 10% on the subtotal.

Line Item	Amount	Calculation
Subtotal	£75.00	(sum of item prices)
Discount	£7.50	(subtotal * discount percentage)
Item tax	£8.80	(VAT/1 + VAT)*(item price - discount)
Shipping tax	£0.65	(VAT/1 + VAT)*shipping price
Total tax	£9.45	(item tax + shipping tax)
Total	£72.50	(subtotal + shipping price)

Exclusive Tax Calculation Example

The customer is buying 1 tennis racket that costs $75. The GST is 5% and PST is 7%; shipping charge is $5 and is also subject to GST and PST.

Line Item	Amount	Calculation
Subtotal	$75.00	(sum of item prices)
Item tax	$9.00	(item price * (GST + PST))
Shipping tax	$0.60	(shipping price * (GST + PST)
Total tax	$9.60	(item tax + shipping tax)
Total	$89.60	(subtotal + shipping price + total tax)

Exclusive Tax Calculation Example with Cart Discount

The customer is buying 1 tennis racket that costs $75. The GST is 5% and PST is 7%; shipping charge is $5 and is also subject to GST and PST. There is a discount of 10% on the subtotal.

Line Item	Amount	Calculation
Subtotal	$75.00	(sum of item prices)
Discount	$7.50	(item price * discount percentage)
Item tax	$8.10	(item price - discount) * (GST + PST)
Shipping tax	$0.60	(shipping price * (GST + PST)
Total tax	$8.70	(item tax + shipping tax)
Total	$81.20	(subtotal - discount + shipping price + total tax)

Calculating Multiple Taxes

For multiple taxes, there is a different formula for calculating the tax depending on whether the prices are tax inclusive or tax exclusive. In the tax exclusive case, the system multiplies the taxes against the price of each item and sums the results. In the tax inclusive case, the calculation is more complex, as shown below:

Calculating multiple inclusive taxes, for example VAT and an environmental tax (ENV):

vatTaxes = (VAT/(1 + VAT + ENV))\*price
envTaxes = (ENV/(1 + VAT + ENV))\*price

Taxes and Discounts

Subtotal discounts apply to the sum of the line item prices. If the discount is given as a dollar amount (for example, $10 off on your cart), then that dollar amount is removed from the price sum. If the discount is given as a percentage (for example, 25% off on your cart subtotal), the system computes the dollar amount by taking the percentage of the sum of the prices.

• In the tax exclusive case, the discount is taken from the pre-tax price.

• In the tax inclusive case, the discount is taken from the tax inclusive price

Taxes and Order Returns

If the customer is returning the entire order, the system refunds all the taxes paid. If they are returning only a portion of the order, Elastic Path Commerce returns only a portion of the taxes. This is determined by looking at the total item taxes paid on the line item they are returning and then multiplying those taxes by the portion they are returning.

For example, a customer buys three tennis rackets having total item taxes of $29.34. They then return one tennis racket. The system returns (1/3)*29.34= $9.78 in taxes. If they are returning two tennis rackets they get (2/3)*29.34= $19.56 in taxes. The line item amounts are added to give the total taxes to return. By default, shipping costs and taxes are not refunded.

Tax Codes

Creating a Tax Code

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Codes. The Tax Codes tab appears in the top right pane.

3. On the top right pane toolbar, click Create Tax Code.

4. In the Create Tax Code dialog box, enter the Tax Code value.

5. Click Save

Editing a Tax Code

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Codes. The Tax Codes tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the tax code you want to edit.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Edit Tax Code.

5. In the Edit Tax Code dialog box, make your changes

6. Click Save

Deleting a Tax Code

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Codes. The Tax Codes tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the tax code you want to delete.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Delete Tax Code.

5. Click OK

Tax Jurisdictions

Creating a Tax Jurisdiction

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Jurisdictions. The Tax Jurisdictions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. On the top right pane toolbar, click Create Tax Jurisdiction.

4. In the Create Tax Jurisdiction dialog box, enter values in the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Jurisdiction Country	The country to which this tax applies.
   Tax Calculation Method	Specify whether the prices in this jurisdiction include taxes (inclusive), or whether they exclude taxes (exclusive).
   Configure Taxes	Specify the taxes that apply to this jurisdiction. In the Create Tax dialog box, specify the Tax Name and Address Field.

5. Click Save

Editing a Tax Jurisdiction

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Jurisdictions. The Tax Jurisdictions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the tax jurisdiction you want to edit.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Edit Tax Jurisdiction.

5. In the Edit Tax Jurisdiction dialog box, make your changes.

6. Click Save

Deleting a Tax Jurisdiction

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Jurisdictions. The Tax Jurisdictions tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the tax jurisdiction you want to delete.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Delete Tax Jurisdiction.

5. Click OK

Tax Values

Creating a Tax Value

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Values. The Manage Tax Values dialog box appears.

3. Configure the filter settings and click Filter to retrieve the tax values.

4. Click Add.

5. In the Add Tax Rate dialog box, enter values in the fields.

6. Click Save

Editing a Tax Value

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Values. The Manage Tax Values dialog box appears.

3. Configure the filter settings and click Filter to retrieve the tax values.

4. Click Edit.

5. In the Edit Tax Rate dialog box, edit the values in the fields.

6. Click Save

Deleting a Tax Value

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Taxes section of the left pane, select Tax Values. The Manage Tax Values dialog box appears.

3. Configure the filter settings and click Filter to retrieve the tax values.

4. Click Remove.

5. Click OK

Tax Exemption

Companies who sell in B2B (Business to Business) type scenarios, or who have non-profit, charity, or government customers often require the processing of sales where taxes are not calculated or collected. In these scenarios, a tax exemption code, and possibly a business identification number, is collected and stored along with the order for audit purposes. The selling company must be able to prove their due diligence in the non-collection of taxes for a given order. The selling company may need to enable the tax exemption code and/or the business identification number to be either provided by the customer at the time of the sale or recorded in their Customer Profile.

When an exemption number is provided, the information can be passed along to any integrated Tax Provider service, so the request can be recorded and taxes are not calculated.

Note: The Elastic Path tax engine currently does not factor in exemption. When using Elastic Path tax tables, taxes are calculated regardless of entering exemption codes. The Tax Exemption functionality only applies when integrating with a tax provider.

Warehouses

The Warehouse configuration settings in Elastic Path Commerce let you set up a warehouse entity that you can then associate to a store. After a warehouse is associated to a store, you can track the inventory of shipped and received products.

Creating a Warehouse

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Warehouses section of the left pane, select Warehouses. The Warehouses tab appears in the top right pane.

3. On the top right pane toolbar, click Create Warehouse.

4. In the Create Warehouse dialog box, enter values for your new warehouse as described in the following table.

   Field	Description
   Warehouse Code	The unique identifier for the warehouse. You cannot change the code after the warehouse is created.
   Warehouse Name	The name of the warehouse.
   Address Line 1	The address of the warehouse.
   Address Line 2	If necessary, the remaining address information of the warehouse.
   City	The city the warehouse is located in.
   State/Province/Region	The state, province, or region the warehouse is located in, if applicable.
   Zip/Postal Code	The postal code of the warehouse.
   Country	The country the warehouse is located in.

5. Click Save

Editing a Warehouse

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Warehouses section of the left pane, select Warehouses. The Warehouses tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the warehouse you want to edit.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Edit Warehouse.

5. In the Edit Warehouse dialog box, make your changes.

6. Click Save

Deleting a Warehouse

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Warehouses section of the left pane, select Warehouses. The Warehouses tab appears in the top right pane.

3. Select the warehouse you want to delete.

4. On the top right pane toolbar, click Delete Warehouse.

5. Click OK

Tags

You can use the tag framework in Commerce Manager to create and modify tags. For more information, see the Tagging Framework section.

Adding Tag Groups

A tag group is a logical set of tag definitions used to organize tags. By default, Elastic Path provides browser behavior, customer profile, geo location, and shopping cart tag groups. With the tag configurations, you can create custom tag groups and tag definitions as required.

1. On the toolbar, click the Configuration button.

2. In the Configuration tab, click Tags.

3. In the Tag Groups window, click Add Group.

4. In the Add Group window, enter the following details:

   • Group Code: Specifies the group code for the tag group, such as Customer_Country. Ensure that you use a unique value within Elastic Path commerce system.
   • Group Name: Specifies the name of the tag group, such as Customer Country.

5. Click Save.

Adding Tag Definitions for a Tag Group

A tag definition contains information about a tag, such as name, description, or tag value type.

1. In the Tag Groups list, select a tag group.

2. In the Tag Definition pane, click Add Tag.

3. In the Add Tag Definition window, enter the following details:

   • Tag Code: Specifies the unique identifier that can be passed in the x-ep-user-traits http header to specify the value for a particular tag definition. You must use a unique value within tag definitions for this setting.
   • Tag Name: Specifies the name of the tag group.
   • Description: Specifies the purpose of the tag.
   • Display Name: Specifies the name that the store administrator uses to identify a tag.

4. In the Field Type field, select the type of value that the tag stores.

   For more information about tag values, see the Tag Values section.

5. In the Dictionaries field, select appropriate tag dictionaries for the tag definition.

   For more information, see the Tag Dictionaries section.

6. Click Save.

Editing Tag Definitions

1. In the Tag Groups list, select a tag group.
2. In the Tag Definition pane, click Edit Tag.
3. In the Edit Tag Definition window, update the settings as required. For more information, see the Adding Tag Definitions for a Tag Group section.
4. Click Save.

Removing Tag Definitions Associated with a Tag Group

1. In the Tag Groups list, select a tag group.
2. In the Tag Definition pane, select a value.
3. Click Remove Tag.