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You are able to allow your customers to 'try out' an item for whatever period of time you like using Trial Purchases. For example, violinists and other stringed instrument players will often spend large sums of money on an instrument, and to make sure they are getting one that has the right sound and feel, violin shops will allow them to put a credit card on file and try the item out for a few weeks to determine if it is a good fit. If it is, the customer can have the shop run the charge for the item and complete the purchase. If not, they can return the item and try a different one.

Please Note: To use this service, you need an integrated payment processor that facilitates saving cards on file, a feature automatically provided by our Payments service.

The Trial Purchases module allows you to facilitate this kind of 'try-before-you-buy' purchasing, and it can be done with any items you like. You can activate this function by clicking on the Admin button in the upper right that has your username and going to Beta Features. Find T rial Purchases and toggle it On, then click Save at the bottom. Your Trial Purchases module will now appear in your Modules list.

To start a Trial Purchase, click Trial Purchases in the Modules menu. On the Trial Purchases list page, click +New Trial Purchase button.

First, you'll search for the Customer doing the trial. Once you have found the right customer, you can set an End Date for how long you will allow the trial to run. If you are shipping items in the trial to the customer, you can set Ship Items to Yes and choose the Shipping Method and set the Shipping Price.

You will need to set the Sales Rep for the trial, whether you do commissions or not, this will be a required item. Also, the Customer Information will display for Billing and if needed, Shipping addresses. Next you will need to either choose a card on file from the Select Card drop-list that has already been saved, or click to +Add Card. Make sure the customer understands the card will need to be able to cover the full cost of whatever items plus any shipping that will be needed for the Trial Purchase.

Once you have set the card that will be used, you can start searching for whatever items will be part of the trial purchase. Each line item has an Edit button that will allow you to apply either a Percentage Discount or an Amount Discount. And just like a Register line item, you can also add Notes or set the item to be Tax Exempt if needed. Add as many items as the customer will need for the trial.

If you need more time to finish putting together the Trial Purchase you can click the Create Draft button and come back and finish it later from the Trial Purchases list page. Items you have included in a Draft will go to a Reserved status so website or in-store inventory will not display them as available for sale.

Once you are ready, click Create and Activate and the system will start the Trial Purchase, again, the inventory will be Reserved. If you need to bill the card for Shipping charges up front, you can click the Pay button from the Trial Purchases list page and it will load the shipping as a line item.

Once the trial is completed, clicking the Pay button will load the entire amount due into the Register. Or, you can click to open the Trial Purchase at any time and make adjustments to any of the information, including items in the trial, the card being used, etc. For an Active Trial Purchase, line items will have a drop-list that lets you choose what is happening with the item. You can either Purchase or Return items. Once you have set the appropriate action, when you click the Finalize Actions button, it will take the Amount Due into the Register so you can complete the purchase or return the item, as selected.