FAQs for Resellers at the Standard Edition

Owned by Apostolos Karakaxas
Last updated: Apr 02, 2021 by Konstantinos Parisopoulos (Deactivated)
7 min read

The interworks.cloud platform allows distributors to easily upgrade their lite resellers to the standard edition and provide them with valued autonomy to:

  • set up their own SEO-ready Storefront and configure the preferred look and feel (L&F)

  • automatically view and manage end-customer subscriptions

  • automate order placement and cloud service provisioning

  • easily update product catalog and pricing.

This section addresses some of the most frequently asked questions and will be continuously updated as more functionalities become available.


Q: Why should I upgrade a lite reseller to the Standard Edition?

A: There are many reasons you should upgrade a reseller to the standard edition. Apart from the business incentives and the ability to diversify your offering, such an upgrade empowers your resellers with:

  • Their own-labeled Storefront seamlessly connected to yours

  • Automation of cloud service provision and billing

  • Integration with your own APIs. The standard edition reseller will have access to Marketplace API that offers access to their customers' data (orders, subscriptions, contact details) and invoices.

At the same time, such an upgrade brings significant benefits for you:

  • You provide your resellers with a diversified offering that sets you apart from the competition.

  • You avoid revenue loss inherent to transacting with “traditional” resellers.

  • You can support your resellers in transitioning more of their services to the cloud.

  • You can stand out as the preferred vendor for your resellers and forge a more long-term partnership.

  • Ultimately, you can generate higher sales volume and achieve sustainable growth for your distribution stream by empowering the digital transformation of your resellers with intuitive tools that help them grow.

 

Q: Is the ability to upgrade Resellers to the Standard edition available for everyone?

A: Access to the Standard Edition upgrade is available for customers who have purchased the Diamond Edition of the platform.

 

Q: What is the cost of the Standard Edition?

A: The ability to upgrade resellers to the Standard edition will be available at a small additional commitment rate. Please contact our Sales Department for a quote specifically tailored to your needs.

 

Q: Why is interworks.cloud offering this functionality now?

A: At interworks.cloud, we work hard to provide solutions that match your needs and enable you to offer bespoke services to your resellers. For this reason, and taking into account our customers' feedback, we have decided to create a holistic, step-by-step approach that guides you and allows you to gradually upgrade your resellers by giving them the ability to update their services and capabilities. In this context, our vision foresees three different editions for resellers:

  • Basic edition: for any reseller who wants to offer services bought from a Distributor

  • Standard edition: ideal for resellers who want to take it to the next level and enable their customers with a self-service storefront to order/manage and provision services

  • Professional edition: the most advanced edition that will be substituting the tenant reseller edition. Perfect for upgrading your standard edition resellers wanting to become System Integrators and MSPs who buy services directly from vendors (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc.).

 

Q: Which services can my standard edition resellers offer to their end customers?

A: By upgrading your resellers to the standard edition, they can provide their customers much-valued autonomy and flexibility by allowing them to:

  • Check available products and prices

  • Place new orders

  • View previous orders and order history

  • View and manage their subscriptions

  • View their Azure plan consumption

  • Manage their O365 users/licenses

  • Contact the reseller using the website form.

All this, right from their own Storefront!

Q: Can my standard edition reseller invoice their customers?

A: The Standard edition doesn’t offer invoicing capabilities, as invoicing is offered with the Professional Edition. But, they can use the Marketplace API for getting their invoices (what they need to pay to you) for having their costs in their back-office system.

Q: How can I upgrade a reseller to the Standard edition?

A: Very quickly. Just click on Upgrade Resellers at the Shortcuts menu on the left-hand side panel of the account you want to upgrade. The system will prompt a pop-up window asking you if you want to upgrade your reseller to the Standard or Tenant (soon: Professional) edition.

Q: Can I upgrade any reseller I want?

Basically, yes. It is up to you to decide which reseller(s) you want to upgrade.

 

Q: If I change my mind, can I downgrade a reseller?

Yes. However, this functionality is not available yet.

 

Q: How can I know which resellers I have upgraded to standard edition?

You can use the Reports functionality of your BSS to obtain a report of those accounts that have been upgraded to Standard or to filter them by this role.

 

Q: Do I need to notify my resellers that they have been upgraded to the Standard edition?

A: No. The system will take care of that for you by sending an automated notification to the reseller. This notification will inform the standard reseller of the upgrade and will provide their new Storefront URL.

 

Q: Do my Resellers at the Standard edition get their own Storefront?

A: Yes! By being upgraded, your standard edition resellers obtain their very own, customizable, and SEO-friendly Storefront.

 

Q: Can a Reseller at the Standard edition customize their Storefront?

A: Of course! Actually, from the admin environment of their Storefront, your Resellers at the Standard edition can:

  • Adjust their Storefront’s general settings, such as company name, Storefront URL, and Google Analytics

  • Customize look and feel (rebranding), such as selecting their preferred skin (color theme), setting up the structure of their homepage (sections, images, banners)

  • Set contact page for their customers.

 

Q: Can a Reseller at the Standard edition manage their own customers' access to their Storefront?

A: Definitely. Standard edition resellers can create Storefront user accounts for their end customers where the latter can log in and place/manage orders and subscriptions, view Azure consumption, manage O365 licenses, etc.

 

Q: Can my Standard Edition Resellers monitor the evolution of their costs, payments and/or products?

A: Yes, and they don’t have to do anything about that! Every time a Standard Edition Reseller logs into their Storefront, the homepage displays a dashboard with meaningful statistical information that includes:

  • General Statistics, such as monthly costs, subscriptions sold, licenses sold, account balance, overdue payments, etc.

  • Product Mix: a pie chart with their Top 10 products broken down per type.

 

Q: Can I help my Resellers at the Standard edition manage the products I make available to them?

A: Definitely! In your reseller’s Storefront's admin environment, there is a “Vendor” button, which bears your name, as the reseller’s Distributor. At that section, the platform displays: (i)Vendor Statistics, including the total number of all products the reseller can purchase from you, the total number of products listed on their Storefront and the total number of unlisted products (ii) Categories, i.e., clickable tags for filtering vendor products and the tabs for quick access to unlisted and listed products.

 

Q: I offer my Resellers at the Standard edition a wide variety of products. How can I help them find what they are looking for?

A: You don’t have to do anything. Your reseller can easily filter the products you make available to them, using either the Categories tags at their Vendor’s menu or the Search for a product box right above the unlisted or listed products table.

 

Q: Can my Standard Edition Resellers adjust the pricing of the products they offer?

A: Yes but only for setting specific mark-up to above their cost. They can do this both for individual products or in bulk when they publish a product on their Storefront and any time after that.

Q: Can my Standard Edition Resellers offer trial subscriptions to their customers?

A: Definitely, and your reseller’s customers can ask for a trial subscription right from their Storefront.

 

Q: Can my Standard Edition Resellers manage their customers?

A: Very easily. Right from the admin side of their Storefront, at the My Customers section, your standard edition resellers can:

  • View and manage customers, their subscriptions, orders, and assets

  • Obtain customer statistics

  • Filter customers according to specific criteria.

 

Q: What kind of customer statistics are available to my standard edition resellers?

A: Your standard edition resellers can easily access the following information pertinent to their customers:

  • All Customers: the total number of all their customers, both active and inactive.

  • Transacting Customers: the total number of customers who:

    • have at least one active subscription/ asset or

    • a Monthly Run Rate larger than 0

  • Monthly Run Rate: the monthly revenue of their customers.

 

Q: What kind of customer management possibilities are there for my resellers at the Standard edition?

A: The system offers your Standard Edition Resellers a diverse array of actions for managing their customers that include:

  • Search for a customer record from the search bar

  • View their customers' orders and subscriptions

  • Define per customer if approval of orders is required or not.

  • Add a new customer

  • Create and manage Storefront Users