Shares & Products / CSA Shares / Add a Share
One of the key steps as you begin to set up CSAware is to have a high-level understanding of the way shares, product listings, and SKUs are used in your online store.
First, “shares” are the boxes you define and make available to the customer on a regularly scheduled basis. The information you put in when you “add a share” is used by the software but not directly visible to the public. “Product listings” provide detailed information for each item in your online catalog, including your shares and any add-on products you may offer. The software formats the product listing information into a page that is visible to the public via your online catalog. Each share could potentially have several different product listings or configurations, but most shares have a single product listing.
The SKU, or “stock keeping unit,” is the standard identification of an item/product on sale, specifying the price and how you plan to collect payment for the product. A product should have no more than six SKUs associated with it to make payment selection easier for the member.
Add a Share
Begin by clicking “add share.” You will then be directed to a 5-step process.
- Share Relationships: How does this share relate to you previous shares? Click "next" to skip if none are applicable.
- You can use the first drop down menu to create a "duplicate" share from a previous one. Meaning if you are keeping the same exact set up as last season, you can find the previous share in the drop down menu and it will duplicate the share settings, product listing settings, and skus. You should still be reviewing each of these items to make sure it is correct.
- Auto Renew: A completed seasonal subscription to an "Auto-Renew" share will automatically convert to an equivalent share. Auto renew is used to automatically convert your members subscriptions into an equivalent subscription for the next season of your choosing. For example, you may want to auto renew your Summer members from last season, into the next summer season. Or maybe you would like to auto renew members from summer to fall to winter to spring. To see more details on auto renew, follow this link, https://help.localharvest.org/hc/en-us/articles/12110380608532.
- Extension shares can be purchased only by subscribers to the share being extended. Meaning if you would like to limit who is allowed to purchase this share. For example, members can only buy the Fruit share if they were previously subscribed to the Summer share.
- Name: To help distinguish your shares over time, we suggest you identify the share by the year and season, e.g. “2021 Summer.” Then click “Next” to move on to step 2.
- Seasonality: If your CSA runs year-round, select the “Ongoing”option. If your CSA makes deliveries on a set seasonal schedule, click the “Seasonal” button to then select the beginning and end dates from a pop-up calendar. (Please note that the weeks in CSAware run from Sunday-Saturday)
- Options:
Share Type: There are three options for your Share Type, described below:
- Auto-Customizable: This option is for the auto-customized BoxBot share type. This option uses harvest counts, member preferences, and adjustable parameters to auto-fill boxes each week.
- Customizable: There are two other custom box options in CSAware. Either a “custom by item count” option where the farmer determines a “default” box where members can selectively add or remove items, or a “custom by price” option where items are individually priced and members may be billed extra if their selection exceeds the base box price. This option can be specified by editing your share once it has been created.
- Fixed Selection: This option is used for a traditional CSA share, where the farmer determines the contents of the box. Our experience is that 99% of the traditional CSA shares will be identified as “Fixed Selection.”
- Empty Box: The empty box is filled with member-chosen add-ons. It is used instead of a fixed- selection box. The empty box designation tells CSAware that the member has a subscription, which gives the member a spot on the delivery schedule. The member is taken to the add-ons section to select options like “milk every other week”, or “eggs once a month,” or “carrots bi-weekly.” This share type shows “what’s available this week” and current inventory.
Schedule: Choose between three delivery frequencies: weekly, bi-weekly (every other week), or monthly.
Organic: Please specify whether your farm share is certified organic.
Short Description: The one or two sentence description you place in the “Short Description” box will appear above the SKU area in the product listing in your catalog. It should briefly define the specific characteristics of this product. The “number of characters remaining” below the description field provides you feedback on how many of the allowed 200 characters remain for your description. When writing your short description, we recommend that you be as descriptive and specific as possible.
- Sizes:
Size Name: Enter the name of the different share sizes you offer. Between one and four sizes can be designated per share. (Most farms offer one or two sizes.)
Price/Season: Enter the price per season for each share size. If you are billing per delivery only, enter the price per box for each size.
# Items: You may leave the next column blank. The “Items” field indicates the target number of items per box. This information is used when designing a box in the Harvest section of CSAware, and is required for Custom by Count share types.
- Photo: Upload a photo of your share to be used in your online store. When completed, click on “Create Your Share”