With SimpleStore and Intuit Web Payment,you can have a store up and running on your website and on Facebook with just a few simple steps

1. Log-in to Facebook to quickly and easily create a Facebook page for your business. The process requires just a few short answers about your business.
2. SimpleStore will then automatically create a professional-looking store as a tab on your business page.
3. The checkout process is integrated with Facebook as well – the same Intuit Web Payment checkout you already have on your website will automatically run on Facebook too.

SimpleStore on Facebook is a free feature for all SimpleStore with Intuit Web Payment customers.

Here’s how it works:

Create a Facebook Business Page

You’ll need a Facebook business page – this is different from your personal page.  They are free and easy to setup on Facebook – our website guides you through the steps.

Here’s an example:

Adding SimpleStore to a Facebook Business Page

Once you are logged in to Facebook, SimpleStore will find your business page and ask your permission to install Intuit’s app to create your store on Facebook. It creates the Store tab and your SimpleStore shows up immediatelyas displayed below. From now on, any changes you make to your product catalog are automatically and immediately reflected on both your website and Facebook.

Transacting on Facebook

When customers purchase products from your SimpleStore on Facebook, they are able to checkout without ever having to leave Facebook or create a new log-in.  Intuit’s Web Payment checkout form will pop up within Facebook to confirm the transaction and get payment information from the customer. The money will be deposited directly into your bank account exactly as it does when people buy from SimpleStore on your website.

That’s it!  One store to manage, but two ways to reach customers.

Here’s a better solution. SimpleStore for Intuit Websites has been upgraded and enhanced to let you add a professional store and shopping system to your existing website. Here’s how you can set up your own professional-looking shopping system on your site with just five minutes of work.

A Tour of Intuit SimpleStore

In a nutshell, SimpleStore lets you builds a store within a website. If you have less than 100 products, it’s a perfect solution, letting you add categories that shoppers can browse through and search so customers can easily find what they want. SimpleStore connects to Intuit Web Payment also, giving shoppers an easy one-page checkout.

Setting Up Products

Setting up products couldn’t be simpler, using SImpleStore’s web-based setup tool (see below).

SimpleStore has all of the most common and popular options you’d want for managing products, including the ability to set product attributes like size and color.  You can even set a different prices for each attribute (like if you want to charge more for the XL size t-shirt). With attributes, you can effectively sell far more than 100 products, since only base products count toward the 100 product limit.

Adding SimpleStore to Your Intuit Website

SimpleStore works best on a page by itself – your new Store page. To set it up, in the website editor, simply create a new page, and then drop SimpleStore onto it (see the highlighted area above).  You can then adjust the position and size of the store to suit your design.

Your store will automatically become part of your website navbar.

Taking Payments

Finally, don’t forget to signup for Intuit Web Payment, described in this blog post, in order to get a real merchant account and give your users a professional checkout experience.

Getting Started

Like any real merchant account, you’ll need to sign up with Intuit Web Payment.  It is a quick and easy process and you can start listing your products as soon as you are approved.  Setting up products is easy:

Intuit Website product manager

All you need is a name, a description and a price.  Do put some thought into the description.  If it’s a common product, the manufacturer probably already has marketing-ready copy to use.  If it’s a unique product, then be creative!

Of course, it’s best if you also provide a picture.  You can upload a new one directly on this page.  Quality photographs will help your customers see you as a professional store.  Again, a manufacturer might already have images ready for use.  If not, for smaller items, consider using a lightbox to diffuse the light and isolate your product from the background – they cost around $100.

Despite its name, our SimpleStore can handle the most common advanced features including:

• Adding attributes, such as size and color.  You can even set a different price for each option, e.g. if you want to charge more for extra large.
• Setting special shipping prices for an unusually hard to ship item.
• Using categories to give your customers an easy way to browse thru the items in your store.

Adding SimpleStore to your Intuit Website

Once you’ve created your listings, it is easy to add them to your existing Intuit Website.  If you are starting from scratch, check out this blog post to see our great new template gallery and learn how to get started creating a website for the first time.

Most businesses will want to add a new page to their site that is dedicated to their store, keeping the other pages to provide general info, contact info, testimonials, and so on.  With your website loaded for editing into SiteBuilder Plus, create a new page.   Now, simply go to the eCommerce tab and drag a SimpleStore onto your website.  We suggest you size it to fill the page.

That’s it!  Your store is pre-configured to work with your Intuit Web Payment account.  Here’s an example of a finished cookie store:

Finished Cookie Store

SimpleStore and Intuit Web Payment in Action

When your customers visit your website and see products they like, they add them to their cart.  When they are ready to checkout, they will see this clean, professional checkout page:

Intuit Web Payment checkout page

There are no ads, logins, or other information to turn away your customers – just this 1-page checkout.  And when your customers ultimately get their credit card statement, it will have your business name showing, not some other company’s name, so they won’t be confused or concerned.

Taking Payments Over the Phone

If you or your customers prefer to order over the phone – Intuit Web Payment comes with an online terminal so you can take their credit card info over the phone.  The choice is yours.

Getting Paid

That’s what it’s all about, right?  Intuit Web Payment automatically transfers funds to your bank account – fast.  Some payment systems hold your money for weeks, and make you come get it.

The bottom line is that by leveraging our new Intuit Web Payment capability, you can now accept credit card payments the way that is best for your customers and your business.