Account Master

Copyright 1996, Webfront Software

Written by Dan Budney
based on a concept designed by Lewis Shepherd

Current release "0.6 Beta" Dated 12/31/96

For WC5/ WIN server

Make sure you have the latest copy!!!

 


Table Of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Legal stuff
3. Installation
4. Explanation on files
5. Usage
6. Q&A - Kinda a more specific "what happens if" section so you don't have to search the whole docs for a specific answer
7. A quick note to Beat testers - Please read



1) Introduction


Let me first start off by saying, thanks for downloading our product. We feel it is an important product to have, and after spending weeks customizing it for other WIN servers, we see it’s incredible potential, and we hope you do to.


 

 

This product is an extremely diverse billing program. There are many features to this program that will make taking subscriptions a breeze. It currently supports.

1. Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover
2. Any 7 digit 900 billing system (Logicom for ex.)
3. U.S. And Canadian On-line Checking (ATS for example).
4. Cyber-Pay

 

What this product will do.

1. Web side Dynamic HTML billing
2. Telnet/dial-up user interface
3. Toggle reoccurring billing on or off based on your preference
4. Set your own prices, and combinations of subscription types
5. Automated functions, such as removing a user from reoccurring billing, without canceling their membership, or canceling them out altogether if they decline in a later billing run
6. Database edit that allows you to edit every aspect of the customers billing, including manually changing the price, changing their billing day of the month, or next billing date.
7. Set reoccurring billing to any interval Bill them any amount, monthly, bimonthly, yearly, or any combination of months if you want.
8. It keeps user information stored in its own data file
9. Allows for manual manipulation of users billing schedules, including add on sales. (Say like if a user calls in, and wants to pay extra for another 5meg a day for downloads.


What this program was designed for:


This program was originally written for my system, stand alone. I needed a way to take new members off the web. We just kept adding, and adding features till we one day thought, hey, lets share it with others that are not fortunate enough to have a decent web side billing system. Thus is the creation of AccountMaster.



2. Legal Stuff

This product is fully functional, and will operate to that potential till the amount of users in the database reaches 50. Then automated billing is shut down. Everything else continues to work, but you will lose the handy billing features, and it turns into just another database of who is on your system and needs to be billed by hand. As soon as you register, billing is turned back on. This product is shareware, and falls under all protections that this label represents. If you can hack it, or reverse compile it, more power to you, but that won’t stop us from going after you legally if we find out., plus, you won’t get updates, fixes, or tech support.

We also cannot promise that this program works 100%. There are many factors that prevent us from taking any blame. For example…. This was programmed in the Mustang Software’s WCIDE compiler. If there is a bug in that, this won’t work right. If your computer has a problem, this program won’t run right. If you do not set this up correctly, this won’t run right……. Etc. Basically, we assume no responsibility for this program’s conduct, as there are too many outside influences governing it.


3. Installation

It is essential that you follow these steps in order. This is a real heavy duty program, and will not operate if you just drop it anywhere.


1. Open your "autoexec.bat" file on every machine that runs wconline, and wcserver. Add the following "set wcdir=<WC5 home dir>. For example "set wcdir=c:\wc5" Then reboot!

2. Unzip all the contents of this zip file into the home dir of WC5

3. Make a dir like c:\credit (the actual name is not important, but this is where your daily output files will go.)

4. Open "amconfig.txt". There are instructions in that file on how to set that up. (That’s the config file.)

5. Go into Wcmenu, and give all new users access to "amBBJoin.wcx". Then give the Sysop access to "AmSysop", "AmDaily" and add those to the Sysop menu

6. Make a "newuser.htm" (Or whatever your new user defaults to for security level… My new user screen is WC5.htm), and tell a little about your system. At the bottom, Make a link for "code/html-am1" to invoke the "billing program". If you do not have a "newuser.htm" there is a sample included in amsamp.zip that is sitting in your wildcat home dir, that you can use for examples.

7. If you want to force all the callers from the ANSI side into subscribing, add "run AmBBjoin" to your Login.wcx file. If you Do Not have Wcsource, and WcCode, you can download a version of Logon.Wcx by clicking here, and putting it into the WC5 home Dir. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO FORCE CALLERS INTO THE SUBSCRIBER MENU, simply make it a Menu item


4. Explanation on files

 

Here is a list of the files included, and how they are used.

 

  1. AMBBJOIN.WCX - (ANSI side information gathering program) This is the program that users will hit when they are either taken there by Logon.wcx If it's made as a menu Item, this is the Program you add to your Menu.
  2. AMCONFIG.TXT - (Located in your Wildcat Home Dir) - This is the file read by all .wcx programs, and tell it how to operate. It's done as a .txt file, not as a "cfg" file so you can edit it easier with notepad, just by double clicking it.
  3. AMDAILY.WCX - (Add this as a Menu Item on the Sysop menu) - The is the "run" file. Either manually run it, or add it as an event to your WcEvents. This file will generate the output files "<date>.1", "<date>.2", etc. in the Dir you have listed in your AMconfig.txt file for output files.
  4. AMSYSOP.WCX - (Add as a menu Item to your Sysop menu) - This is the "editor" program. This file will allow you to manually edit users information, change billing amounts, Change dates, delete users, add users, change security levels, Expiration dates. I don't even use the Sysop user menu anymore, I just head here.
  5. HTML-AM1.WCX - (located in your Wildcat home dir) - This is the first program your users will hit. It will give them the option of signing up via different types of methods, and submit that information with parameters to the other programs.
  6. HTML-AM2.WCX - (located in your Wildcat home dir) - This is the program that generates the 900 number access billing form, and takes that data, and submits it to the system for processing. If the code given is valid, then the user is upgraded, and can continue on.
  7. HTML-AM3.WCX - (located in your Wildcat home dir) - This is the program that generates the Credit Card billing form, and takes that data, and submits it to the system for processing. If the information given is valid, then the user is upgraded, and can continue on.
  8. HTML-AM4.WCX - (located in your Wildcat home dir) - This is the program that generates the On-line Checking billing form, and takes that data, and submits it to the system for processing. If the information given is valid, then the user is upgraded, and can continue on.
  9. AMSAMPLE.ZIP - Files you might need, like Logon.wcx, Newuser.htm
  10. BILLING.LOG - (Located in your output file dir as set up in AMConfig.txt) - Lists the activity of EVERY billing activity, so if there ever is a problem, you can do a little research.

  11. TABSUSED.LOG - (Located in your output file dir as set up in AMConfig.txt) - Same as BILLING.LOG, but it adds information about the caller, such as the code he used, and in what file it was found.

  12. AM.HTM - This file
  13. REGISTER.TXT - Information on how to Register this product. - Keep the shareware spirit alive!!
  14. FILE_ID.DIZ - Import batch description file for BBS posting.
  15. README.1ST - This is a silly file telling you about this file,... but I always wanted to make one
  16. AMDBASE.DAT - (Located in your Wildcat Home Directory) - THE MOST IMPORTANT FILE!! This contains all the billing information for all your users. Back this file up as often as you can. If you lose this file, you can always look through the BILLING.LOG file, and re-add the missing ones.


5. Usage

Once you set up AccountMaster in the manor listed in the install process, most of the work is all done. Now just sit back, and let it collect money for you.

There are 2 programs you now need to know how to operate. One is the "Daily run" file (AMDaily.wcx), and the "Editor" program.

"The Daily Run"

This is what happens when you invoke "AMDaily.wcx". What this does is look through all of the database, and "Charges" all the users that are ready to be billed. It will then advance their billing date, and make output files based on the charge type so you can import them into your billing software.

Lets say you have a user that is set to be billed on the 5th of every month. Today is November 5th, and he is ready to be billed. You walk into the office, fire up the "Daily Run". This program will open up the database, and look through each user. When it comes across this user, it will take his information, amount, and other pertinent information from the database, and add it to the output file. It will then set his NEXT billing date to December 5th, and move on to the next record.

****NOTE!!!!**** You Do NOT have to run this program every day. AccountMaster looks through the database for everyone that need to be billed based on a billing date, so any date prior to the day you run "Daily Run" will get added to the output file. Run it once a week, month, year, if you want, but do not run it TWICE in a day as it will append to the current output file and you run the risk of charging a user twice if you import that file to a clearing house like ATS.

The output files are in this format - "Dec.12-96.1", or "Dec.-15-96.2"

The .1, and the .2 are the charge format types.... Charge type 1 is usually Credit cards, Charge type 2 is usually Checks.

 

"The Editor"

This is invoked by running "AMSYSOP.WCX"

This program is real easy to figure out, but please read this so you do not mess up your database.

There are basically 3 screens to the Database Editor.

  1. The search screen
  2. The results screen
  3. The user screen

 

1. The search screen

When you first enter the Editor, you are placed at the search screen. From there, you can search for a user many different ways

Once you decided on what you need to search on, enter it accordingly

 

2. The Results Screen

Once the search has begun, you will see results that match your search query come up on the screen. When you see the one you want, just hit the letter next to it to bring up the user, or hit <enter> to bring up the first match.

*NOTE* If there is only one user matching the search, the results screen will not be shown, it will jump right to the user record.

 

3. The User Screen

This is where the actual editing takes place. Now that you have your user up, you can manipulate his information anyway you want. If he wants extra time per day,or access to more things than usual, you can up the price a little (this is why there is up to 9 security levels that you can add in the charge types). If he calls in with a different Card he wants to be billed on, you can edit it there.... Everything can be edited there.

 

SYSOP AUTOMATED BILLING FUNCTIONS

This needs to be addressed. There are 3 options in this little screen.

 

The first option is rather self explanatory, you ran daily, there were no funds there, now you cut him off. This option also sets the expire date to today, and changes his security level to whatever the "declined user" is set for in AMConfig.txt

The second option is for users that do not want to be billed anymore, and want to finish off their membership. What this simply does is take their NEXT billing date, and make it their expire date.

The 3rd option is if you ran him by hand already, and all you want to do is move him forward, and not have his output be placed in the output file. Basically act as if he was charged.

 

The <esc> key backs you out of all the menus, but make sure all the information is correct before doing so, as this also writes the output to the database file.


Since for now, I can't really think of what else needs to be addressed for this beta version, so I will just go to the simple Q&A part


 

6. Q&A

 

Q: How much is registration?

A: $49.99, see the Register.txt file for payment options.

 

Q: A user stated that he signed up, and I can't find him in the editor. How can I see what happened to him

A: Check the billing log.

 

Q: If I accidentally run AmDaily twice in a day, what happens?

A: What ever is ready to be billed will append on to the current output file. Not all that awful to figure out, and fix, but it is a pain, and you stand the risk of billing users twice if you import that same file to your clearing house again.

 

Q: If I have it set up for monthly billing, and I accidentally run the daily program twice, will the users on that day get bumped forward another month?

A: No, when you ran it the first time that day, the user was already moved forward a month, so when you ran it the second time, the daily program didn't see him as a user that needed to be billed.

 

Q: What happens if I forget to run the daily program each day?

A: Nothing, It works on a "who needs to be billed" format, so it will just add everyone that needed to be billed yesterday, the day before, etc.

 

Q: If I don't run the daily run for 6 days, and it is the 8th of the month, and a user is set for the billing date of the 4th, will it advance him to the 8th of next month, giving him free days?

A: No, his billing DAY is the 4th, so this program will advance it to the 4th of next month, even though you are collecting for it 4 days late. (note, if you have his charge type set for billing every 4 months, then it will forward to the 4th of 4 months from now)

 

Q: A user NSF a few days ago, and now he wants to be reinstated now that he has the funds, do I have to enter in all the info by hand?

A: Nope. Account master doesn't REALLY delete records till they are a month old. It just sets the charge type to "0" so they are skipped. To fix it, just return the charge type back to the correct number, and fix the billing dates to match the next run.

 

Q: Do I have to force callers into the program when they sign up new?

A: Nope, just make it a Menu Item

 

Q: What if I screwed up, and billed a user twice?

A: Your choice, either refund him, or go into the editor, and advance his next billing date


7. A quick note to Beta Testers

At the time of this release, only 3 output formats were supported, this does not mean that this product will not work for you, just because I use a different clearing house than you. Here is what it is set up at the time of release (Check HTTP://WWW.G-I.com/AccountMaster/am.htm for more updated information)

If you absolutly CANNOT run with these output formats, set the charge type to "-1" for Credit cards, and "-2" for checking, and the users will be held until we can get your output format imported into the newest version, or some other sort of conversion utility written. (We will Email you the new copy as soon as It's implemented if you are waiting on it).

I will do voice tech support for everyone until the product is released out of beta. My number is 217-398-8972, Hit 2 for a "personal message to Lewis", and tell me your phone number, and its a problem with AccountMaster, if I am not there. I'll flip the bill for the call.

This product IS beta, so I would like to hear if it is doing anything weird, please don't hesitate in alerting me


End of current file, Please remit any questions to Lewis Shepherd