borsaid

I am extremely new to web development concept. . .well, at least from the developers p.o.v. I currently do not have any immediate needs for an ecommerce solution, but I am going through the process of having my website completel rebuilt from the ground up and I envision needing to accept payments via my website. Thing is, all this talk about shopping carts, gateways, pirates, merchants, php this, mysql that, an ssl here, and an https there. . .im dizzy.

I was hoping someone could explain the process to me as if I was a 5 year old. I'll explain what I do know (or least think I know) and explain what my needs are (again, at least what I think my needs are).

My Situation
I currently do not have tangible products to sell from inventory that would require shipping. I operate a small it consulting business and our primary business is service. I currently only receive payments by cash or check and rarely paypal. Every customer and their respective "product" is unique, so I can't exactly have a page that lists Consulting Product A $50, Consulting Product B $500, etc. I do all of my invoicing using Quickbooks.

I sometimes recommend a customer purchase a specific product, or I will purchase the product and resell it. . . so sometimes my "inventory" is acquired and distributed for one customer. I sell some software (such as operating systems, virus scanners, etc) all the time. . .but do not keep inventory. I order on an as needed basis. I sell some "closeout" style things using ebay and wish Paypal would die. . .so I'd be game to route ebay sales through my own web site.

I will have some other purchaseable non-tangible products that are static such as service plans. (disaster readiness cookie cutter plans, prepaid service agreements) Also will offer remote support which i can sell in blocks of time, monthly or annual installments.


What I Know
Nothing. . .ha. . . nearly. I know that I need to be secured, SSL certificates. I know where I can purchase these, but how are the implemented? Is this something that needs to be renewed? What's the difference from one to the other?

Shopping cart? I'm guessing I need one of these to make the whole "system" work. . . Are these things difficult to customize for a novice such as myself? I've seen some awfully bulky carts out there and would rather not put my customers through that much b$ if they don't have to. For the most part, unique users will not be making purchases. . . they will probably already be my customer.

Accepting credit cards? I think I need a merchant account, and a gateway? How does all this work exactly? Someone obviously takes a bite out of each transaction. Are their usually setup fees? Do I have to make arrangements with visa, mc, amex, discover independently?

Customer Accounts? Are customer accounts generated where they will have to log in and such every time they make a purchase? Is this done automatically? Can this be tied into any other service that I may have on my website where customer accounts might be needed? For example, but not limited to a forum?

What I think My Needs Are
Can I invoice people directly for custom work done, and not for something in my inventory? *gulp* can this be interlaced with my quickbooks db or would i have to hand copy this?

If a customer tells me they want a 20" flat panel monitor, would I be able to do some research and then EASILY insert a handful of different 20" flat panel monitors into the system, and have that customer go to the site and pick one and purchase it right there, even if I don't have it in inventory? Maybe prior to the conclusion of the sale offer value added services such as "on site installation" or "on site smack in the face" for an additional charge or discount?

This would be really sweet. . .Would I be able to get paid via credit card using my site while still at my customer's location before an invoice or anything has been drawn up?

Also really sweet. . .similar to above monitor scenario, if customers have user accounts, would they be able to access CUSTOM product offerings for just them when they log in?

---------------------

yeah, i'll stop for now. I think I'm going to win some kind of award for the poster who posts the longest posts. I hope I didnt scare you guys away! Look forward to hearing back

stevo

Im a bit confused with your post. What exactly did you need to know.
As far as the above quote goes, if you are running an ecommerce site, you really need the stock listed there so people can just go online and choose what they want.
I cant see customers asking you for products that dont actually appear on the site.