How Can I configure Xball Products In Xpos Cloud?

CREATING XBALL PRODUCTS IN XPOS

This guide explains how to create an XBall product in XPOS and how Sales Rules control which customers are allowed to purchase each product from the ball machine.

HOW XBALL PRODUCT SELECTION WORKS

XBall is designed so that the customer is presented with the cheapest XBall product for each ball quantity that they are eligible to purchase.

For example, you may have the following products:

25 Balls - Visitor - £6.00
25 Balls - Member - £5.00
25 Balls - Premium Member - £4.00

The ball machine does not simply display every 25-ball product.

XBall first checks the Sales Rules to determine which products the customer is allowed to purchase.

If the customer is eligible for more than one product with the same number of balls, XBall presents the cheapest eligible product.

This is why Sales Rules are an important part of XBall product configuration.

IMPORTANT

Always include a Sales Rule for products that are intended to be available on the ball machine.

Think of the Sales Rule as the customer's permission to purchase the product.

1. CREATE A NEW XBALL PRODUCT

Go to:

Products > Add Product

Select XBall as the product type.

Select the appropriate Sub Group and Brand.

For example:

Sub Group: Range
Brand: XPOS Shop

The exact Sub Group and Brand used will depend on how the club's products have been organised.

Select Create Product.

2. ENTER THE PRODUCT INFORMATION

Enter an appropriate name for the product.

For example:

25 Balls

The product name itself does not determine how many balls are dispensed.

The actual ball quantity is configured separately within the product's pricing settings.

A product variant will be created underneath the main product.

3. CONFIGURE THE NUMBER OF BALLS AND PRICE

Open the Pricing section for the product variant.

Configure the following fields:

Number of Balls

Enter the number of balls that should be dispensed.

For example:

25

This is an important setting because XBall uses the Number of Balls value to determine the size of the product.

Products with the same Number of Balls are effectively alternative prices for the same ball quantity.

VAT

Select the appropriate VAT rate.

For example:

Standard - 20%

Sales Price

Enter the amount the customer should pay.

For example:

£5.00

A completed product could therefore have:

Number of Balls: 25
VAT: Standard 20%
Sales Price: £5.00

4. ADD A SALES RULE

Open the Sales Rules section for the product variant.

Select the option to add or manage a Sales Rule.

You can either select an existing suitable Sales Rule or create a new one.

CREATING A NEW SALES RULE

Give the Sales Rule a clear name that describes who the product is intended for.

For example:

25 Balls - Members

or:

Member Ball Pricing

The name itself does not control access. It is simply there to make the rule easy to identify later.

5. CONFIGURE THE SALES RULE AVAILABILITY

Add the appropriate timeslot for the rule.

If the product should be available all day, every day, for example, configure:

00:00 to 23:59

Select:

Monday through Sunday

Timeslots can also be used if a particular product or price should only be available on certain days or during certain times.

6. SELECT THE CUSTOMER TYPE

Within the Sales Rule, select the appropriate Customer Type.

This is one of the most important parts of the Sales Rule.

The Customer Type determines which customers have permission to purchase the product.

For example:

Member Customer Type = Member XBall Product

Visitor Customer Type = Visitor XBall Product

This allows different customer groups to have different prices for the same number of balls.

Once the correct Customer Type and availability have been configured, save the Sales Rule.

The rule should then be attached to the XBall product.

IMPORTANT

Every normal ball-machine product should have a Sales Rule.

Without the correct Sales Rule, XBall cannot correctly determine which customers should have access to that product.

7. UNDERSTANDING MULTIPLE PRICES FOR THE SAME BALL QUANTITY

It is completely normal to have several XBall products with the same Number of Balls.

For example:

50 Balls - £8.00 - Visitors

50 Balls - £6.00 - Members

50 Balls - £5.00 - Premium Members

All three products have:

Number of Balls: 50

However, each product has a different Sales Rule.

When a customer uses the ball machine, XBall determines which of those products they have permission to purchase.

It then presents the customer with the cheapest eligible product for that ball quantity.

For example:

If a customer is eligible for both the £8.00 and £6.00 products, they will be offered the £6.00 product.

If they are eligible for the £8.00, £6.00 and £5.00 products, they will be offered the £5.00 product.

This behaviour is intentional and is one of the main reasons Sales Rules are used.

8. HIDE ON BALL MACHINE

Within the product settings there is an option called:

Hide on Ball Machine

For a normal XBall product that customers should be able to purchase directly from the machine:

Leave Hide on Ball Machine unticked.

XBALL VOUCHER PRODUCTS

Hide on Ball Machine is particularly useful when creating XBall voucher products.

For example, you may create a product that is used to sell or process an XBall voucher within XPOS, but you do not want customers to see that product as a normal purchasing option on the physical ball machine.

In this situation:

Tick Hide on Ball Machine.

The product can still exist within XPOS while being hidden from the list of products offered on the ball machine.

9. SAVE THE PRODUCT

Before saving the product, check the following:

1. The correct Number of Balls has been entered.

2. The correct Sales Price has been entered.

3. The correct VAT rate has been selected.

4. A Sales Rule has been attached.

5. The Sales Rule contains the correct Customer Type.

6. The Sales Rule is available on the correct days and times.

7. Hide on Ball Machine is unticked for normal ball-machine products.

8. Hide on Ball Machine is ticked where appropriate for voucher products.

Once everything has been checked, select Save.

SALES RULES - KEY CONCEPT

The easiest way to understand XBall Sales Rules is:

Sales Rule = Permission

The Sales Rule determines whether a particular customer is allowed to purchase that product.

The XBall process works as follows:

Customer is identified

XBall checks the customer's Customer Type

Sales Rules determine which XBall products they are allowed to purchase

Products are compared by Number of Balls

XBall selects the cheapest eligible product for each ball quantity

The appropriate products are presented to the customer

This means that care should be taken when creating overlapping Sales Rules.

If a customer is eligible for several products with the same Number of Balls, XBall will present the cheapest product available to them.

QUICK RULE TO REMEMBER

Every product available on the ball machine should have a Sales Rule.

The Sales Rule determines who can purchase the product.

XBall then presents each customer with the cheapest eligible product for each ball quantity.

For XBall voucher products, or other products that need to exist in XPOS but should not appear directly on the ball machine, use Hide on Ball Machine.