The use of the term "product" only takes place to lighten the text. The Akcelos online sales platform also allows the sale of services. In fact, the majority of the traders on Akcelos offers services.
Akcelos Basic or Premium subscription plan, what differences?
A basic subscription allows you to display your products and services on the online directory. Customers wishing to order from you will have to communicate with you directly. This plan is a great way to increase sales opportunities for social economy businesses.
In addition to displaying your products and services, a Premium subscription allows you to sell your products and services online, making full use of Akcelos as a transactional website. A 4.2% transaction fee is to be charged on each transaction for the Visa, MasterCard and Monetico Desjardins service fees. This plan is a great way to make shopping easier for your customers!
Whatever you decide, if you wish to do so, it's always possible to upgrade to a higher plan during the year.
First of all, you will need to complete the Certification questionnaire, which you will find under the "Join us" tab or in the footer under the "Become a partner" tab. We ask you to leave us a 2-3 day delay to analyze your application.
Once your organization has been approved you will receive a confirmation email along with a temporary password. It will enable you to access the "Merchant space" and once there, if you wish, you may change your password. You will then be able to complete the Merchant file. For the detailed procedure, please refer yourself to the Merchant Navigation Guide.
Why is an Accreditation Process needed?
Merchants registered with Akcelos have been chosen because they meet the criteria of social enterprises (see accreditation).
Their accreditation is a guarantee to buyers that their purchases have added social value. Increasingly, consumers want their purchases to be socially responsible, support a cause that is important to them, or simply be meaningful. Akcelos makes this possible.
Similarly, more and more municipalities and governments have social or sustainable purchasing policies. Akcelos' accreditation allows them to make these purchases in compliance with their policy without having to undertake the accreditation process themselves.
Too many enterprises claim to be social enterprises. Akcelos' recognized standards authentifies that status. This is the Akcelos guarantee: products and services displayed on our site come from enterprises that have been accredited because of their social values.
What is My Relationship with an Affiliate Partner?
A supplier's relationship with an affiliate partner is based on either membership or certification. The affiliate partner certifies the merchant and sends this information to Akcelos. Your affiliation may be displayed on the site if the affiliate partner has an agreement with Akcelos.
What are the fees for Akcelos' use?
Merchants can subscribe with one type of membership or the other and both are for a one year period. The first membership entitles the merchant to register an unlimited number of products or services in our online directory. To order a product or service, the customer will need to contact the merchant.
What is the lenght of the membership?
All memberships are for one year and start once you have completed your online registration.
Can I modify my membership?
Of course, you just have to advise us and we will make the proper adjustemnents to your membership.
Two options are offered for the social economy affiliate partner that also wish to participate to Akcelos.
It is possible to become an affiliate partner in Akcelos. Companies in your territory who are members of your organization will be able to indicate this on their individual merchant account and this affiliation will be visible on the site. As in advanced search, it is possible to search by Affiliate partner, it will be easy to find all your members registered on Akcelos.
Can I post up more than one certification?
As an Akcelos merchant, you can post up all the certifications you have recieved from recognized organizations. The certification will appear in your merchant file. If your certification type does not appear in our options, please let us know at: info@akcelos.com.
Can I put the Akcelos link on my website?
Once your social enterprise has been certified you will be able to post it on your website.
How can I have access to my sales stats?
When you connect yourself on "Merchant spoace", you will see on your Dashboard, under the "Sales in the last 30 days" tab the amount of orders you have received during that period and the total sales they represent. You can also get the amount of sales per product by keeping track of the inventory.
What is the procedure to display my products and services?
For the detailled procedure, refer yourself to the Merchant Navigation Guide.
Once you have completed your Merchant file, you will be able to create your product/service files which will need the Akcelos team's approval prior to publication. Please allow a 2-3 day delay for approval. You will receive an email either advising that the product file has been approved or that you will need to amend it.
Upon approval of your product/service, you will then decide if you want go ahead and publish it or not. In order to avoid any confusion amongst the users, we ask you to depublish products that are not or no longer available.
I don't have a fixed price for my product/service, how can I proceed?
Your product/service must indicate a price in order to be displayed on Akcelos, otherwise you will get an error message. You are free to determine the terms and conditions of pricing that you can add on your file by going to the "Sales parameter" section. For example, you could indicate a per hour rate for a housekeeping service. The customer could then select the number of hours he wishes to buy. If you do not have the " Online sales membership" , it is possible for you to indicate a "starting from" price range.
When do I get a "out of stock" warning?
You will receive an email once the item's inventory level is at zero. your product will still be displayed but a customer won't be able to purchase it until you have replenished the inventory. Everytime an item is sold, your inventory is reduced automatically. Inventory management is left to your discretion and we ask you to monitor it regularly in order not to loose any sales.
How can I control the number of items in stock?
When you create a product file, you must indicate the number you have currently in stock in the "Sales Parameters" For each item sold the inventory is reduced automatically. If you go to the tab "Inventory" of your product page you will be able to keep count of it. if needed, you can refer yourself to our Merchant Navigation Guide.
Can I integrate/export my current inventory management system?
No not for the time being, butshould be available in 2018.
How do I know if I have received an order?
You will receive an email each time a customer buys one of your products/services. As well, if you login your Merchant space you will automatically be directed to your dashboard. You will see in the first tab of the page, your awaiting orders and the ones that need processing. An additional email will be sent to you, should an order be awaiting processing for more than 24 hours.
If the order hasn't been processed within 7 days, you will get a call from the Akcelos team to make sure you haven't missed the actual order. In all respect for the users we ask you to please monitor on a regular basis your Dashboard and your emails.
How do I manage my orders when they come in?
Please refer yourself to the Merchant Navigation Guide, the procedure is given step by step.
When do I receive the payment for the product/service sold?
It is to be determined, either every week or month according to the amounts.
What is the reimbursement procedure?
Contact the Akcelos team. We will reimburse the customer via Monetico and the credit card used at time of purchase will be credited. On the other hand, if you prefer to reimburse the customer yourself, you can do it via Interac and not with the credit card unfortunately.
What information is requested in my Return/Reimbursement Policy?
The maximum days given to return an item.
Fees (if applicable) upon the return of the parcel.
The shipping method for returns.
If the original receipt (proof of purchase) is requested.
If the original packaging is requested.
If return to be eligible, the item needs to be in the same condition has received.
Any other detail that you feel is pertinent.
You have the possibility to deliver the goods yourself or use a carrier of your choice. In both cases, you must give details in the "Delivery methods" section of your Product file. For the management of your orders, refer yourself to the questions: "How to manage your orders" below.
If you send the orders by mail, you must contact Canada Post, Purolator, UPS or others, in order to make the proper arrangements and to get a Tracking number, which you will send by email to the customer for future reference.
What information is requested in my Delivery Policy?
If needed, refer yourself to the Merchant Navigation Guide.
How should I proceed to deliver the goods?
Refer yourself to the Merchant Navigation Guide, the procedure is given step by step.
Send us an email at: info@akcelos.com. Thank you for allowing us a 3-4 working day delay for responding.