General Questions

1. Who is FreshLink for?
2. This is my first time here – how do I get started?
3. I already have an account – how do I log in?

FAQ for Buyers

4. How does the site work for buyers?
5. What if I want to purchase from a farm that I’ve never done business with?
6. How do I purchase something on the site?
7. What happens once I generate an order?
8. How can I easily keep track of the farms or foods I’m most interested in?

FAQ for Farmers

9. How does the site work for farmers?
10. How do buyers know what I have available?
11. How do I contact buyers to let them know what I have for sale?

Updating your Price List

12. How do I update my Price List?
13. How do I add a new product to my Price List?
14. How do I add a new variety to my Price List?
15. How do I remove a product from my Price List?
16. My Price List is up-to-date – now how do I activate my Price List?
17. How do I see how my Price List will appear to potential buyers?
    

Managing your orders and sales

18. What happens when a buyer places an order?
19. How do I confirm (or cancel) an order?
20. What happens after I confirm an order?
21. How do I view and print the invoice?
22. Can I download invoice details directly into my accounting software?
    

Updating your ‘Farm Guide Profile’

23. How do I update my farm’s ‘profile’ on the web site?

General Questions

1. Who is FreshLink for?
   This website is designed for farmers who want to sell to colleges, and college food service buyers who want to purchase directly from local farms.
2. This is my first time here – how do I get started?
   Whether you are a farmer or a food service buyer, you’ll need an account to get started using the site. Creating an account is free and only takes a minute. Create an account.
3. I already have an account – how do I log in?
   Go to the FreshLink home page.
   
   On the left hand menu, enter your email username and your password. Then click the “login” button.
   
   If you think you have an account but can’t remember your login info, send us an email.

FAQ for Buyers

4. How does the site work for buyers?
   Once you have an account, you can browse local farms' price lists by a specific farm or by specific foods.
   
   Buying is simple – all ordering is done on the site – no phone call required. When you’ve found a product you want to purchase, you can generate an order with the click of a button. You’ll receive an e-mail confirmation and a printable invoice as soon as the farmer confirms your order.
   
   FreshLink automatically shows the farms nearest to you, and allows you to track the foods or farms you’re most interested in, and even receive e-mail alerts notifying you when there is a new listing for a product from a farm with whom you have a relationship.
5. What if I want to purchase from a farm that I’ve never done business with?
   This web site is all about forging new connections and creating new relationships between farms and schools. If you’d like to do business with a farm for the first time, it’s important that you contact the farmer first. Contact info is listed on each farm’s profile – just click on ‘farm details’ when viewing a farm’s product page.
6. How do I purchase something on the site?
   Browse the foods for sale from participating farmers. When you’ve found a product you’re interested in, click on the link for the farm that corresponds to that product – you'll be brought to a page that lists all of that farm’s products (this page will also list details about the farm, such as payment requirements, delivery info and more).
   
   To generate an order, click the 'create a new order' button. Simply fill in the quantity of each product you’d like to order, then click the ‘update order items’ button – this will automatically update the total price of your purchase. When ready to purchase, click the ‘finalize order’ button.
7. What happens once I generate an order?
   Once you generate an order, the farmer receives an email prompting them to confirm the order online – as soon as they do, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail with the details of your order and a link to your printable invoice.
8. How can I easily keep track of the farms or foods I’m most interested in?
   [COMING]

FAQ for Farmers

9. How does the site work for farmers?
   Your farm has its own individual ‘profile’ on the site that shows buyers where you’re located, what you grow, your delivery and payment requirements, plus other info about your farm. You post the foods you have available for sale to colleges – including prices, quantities and other notes. All sales are done via the web site, so when a buyer places an order, you receive an e-mail, confirm the order online, and view and print the invoice right on the site – no phone call required.
10. How do buyers know what I have available?
    Buyers can easily browse all of the foods that are available on the site. They can also browse the farms that are listing products on the site. They can even ‘track’ certain foods or farms – meaning they receive an e-mail alert if you post a new product to the site.
11. How do I contact buyers to let them know what I have for sale?
    [COMING]

Updating your Price List

12. How do I update my Price List?
    Your price list – the list of your products available for sale to schools – needs to be updated at least every 7 days. You’ll receive an e-mail reminder when it’s time to update your price list.
    
    To update your price list, first log in to your account, then click on ‘Update FreshLink Price List’ on the left-hand menu.
    
    You will be brought to a page that lists all of the foods you sell (regardless of whether or not they are in season). This is your Price List page.
    
    For all of the products that you have available for sale this week to schools, fill in the following ‘fields’:
• Quantity (Qty) – Type in the total quantity of this product that you have available for sale this week. You should also include here the unit the product is sold in (lbs, bushels, etc.). For example, if the product for sale is apples, this field might say ‘’10 bushels’’
• Price/unit – Type in the cost per unit, whatever unit the product is sold by. For example, if the product for sale is apples, and they are sold by the bushel, put in the cost per bushel.
• Variety – Type in the variety of whatever the product is that’s for sale. For example, if the product for sale is apples, this field might say ‘’Macoun.’’ This field is optional.
• More details – Type in any other details that you would want buyers to know about this product. For instance, ‘’the Macoun is one of the finest cooking apples’’. This field is also optional.
13. How do I add a new product to my Price List?
    If you have a product for sale that doesn’t appear on the Price List page (for instance, you have peaches for sale but ‘peaches’ does not appear as an option on the Price List) you will need to add it by updating the ‘Foods You Produce’ page in your profile. See ‘How do I update my profile?’ below for instructions.
14. How do I add a new variety to my Price List?
    If you have a variety of a product that you would like to add to your Price List – for instance, if ‘apples’ appears on your Price List, but Macouns are newly available and you want to add them – click the link to ‘add a new variety’ which appears next to the ‘Update Price List’ button.
    
    You will be brought to a page that looks similar to the Price List page. For the variety you would like to add, find the corresponding product in the list (for instance ‘apples’) and fill in the fields for Qty, Price, Variety, and More Details. When done, click the ‘Add varieties and update Price List’ button at the top of the page. You will then be brought back to your Price List page, where the variety you have added will appear. You can add as many varieties as you want for each product you sell.
15. How do I remove a product from my Price List?
    Put a zero in either the Quantity (Qty) or the Price/Unit field for the product you’d like to remove. Then click the ‘’Update Price List’’ button at the top of the page.
16. My Price List is up-to-date – now how do I activate my Price List?
    Once you have added the necessary info for all products you have for sale to schools this week, click the ‘Update Price List’ button at the top of the screen. Your Price List on the site will stay active for a maximum of 7 days (if for any reason you want your Price List to expire sooner, just select a different date in the drop-down menu to the left of the ‘Update Price List’ button).
    
    Note: If it is time to refresh your Price List, and you do not have any changes to your Price List from the previous week, all you need to do is click the ‘Update Price List’ button at the top of the page to refresh your Price List for another 7 days.
17. How do I see how my Price List will appear to potential buyers?
    On the left-hand menu, click the ‘Preview FreshLink Buyer's View’ button.
    

Managing your orders and sales

18. What happens when a buyer places an order?
    When a buyer places an order with you online, you will receive an e-mail that will include basic information about the order, as well as a link – click the link in the e-mail to go to a web page where you can view the order online.
    
    You can also view your orders at any time by clicking the ‘Manage FreshLink Sales’ link on the left-hand menu. This page – your ‘’sales history’’ – will display all past and present orders that have been placed with your farm – with links to each individual order)
19. How do I confirm (or cancel) an order?
    The order page that you reach via the e-mail – or via the ‘sales history’ page – will show you the following:
    • an itemized list of what has been ordered
    • a total
    • billing info for your buyer
    • delivery address for your buyer and requested date of delivery
    • an invoice number
    Once you have viewed the order details, you can confirm the order by clicking ‘confirm order’ (or, if for any reason you cannot fulfill the order, you can cancel the order by clicking the ‘cancel order’ button).
    
    Delivery Details (such as storage or handling suggestions for the buyer) can also be added/edited here – the buyer will receive these notes by e-mail so they can be better prepared when the delivery arrives.
20. What happens after I confirm an order?
    Once you click ‘’Confirm Order,’’ the order is finalized – this will generate an e-mail notifying the buyer that you have confirmed the order. You should now click the button to ‘’Mark Order for Delivery’’ – this will generate an e-mail invoice to the buyer.
21. How do I view and print the invoice?
    After you have marked your order for delivery, a ‘View/Print Invoice’ button will appear – click this button to view the invoice for the order you have just confirmed. The invoice will include information about the buyer (where to bill and deliver to) as well as the details of the order (such as products, quantities, prices and total). You also have the option to print a copy of the invoice from this page.
22. Can I download invoice details directly into my accounting software?
    Not yet, but we’re working on it – stay tuned. In the meantime, let us know what software you use by sending us an e-mail.
    

Updating your ‘Farm Guide Profile’

23. How do I update my farm’s ‘profile’ on the web site?
    Your farm’s profile on the web site – basic farm info, the products you sell, delivery details, payment information, farm photos and more – has already been created. However, you may want to update this info. Here’s how:
    
    On the left-hand menu, click the ‘update web listing’ button.
    
    Four ‘buttons’ will appear on the top of the screen: Farm Basics → Foods You Produce → Points of Sale → Photos. These buttons lead to the following pages:
    • Farm Basics: The info on this page provides buyers and potential buyers with basic information about your farm. Please make sure all fields are complete and up-to-date.
    • Foods You Produce: The info on this page provides buyers with information on what you produce. Whatever is selected on this page will determine your options on the inventory page, so it’s important that you check all of the items you produce, not just the ones that are in season now.
    • Points of Sale: The info on this page provides a summary of where people can buy what you grow, raise and produce.
      • Delivery and Pickup: Reached via the Points of Sale page – The info on this page indicates to buyers all of your delivery details and requirements: when you deliver, where you currently deliver (or are willing to deliver), delivery cost, minimum order, and what types of payment you accept. Make sure you fill out all fields.
    • Photos: The photos you add here will be viewable to buyers – and potential buyers.