Magento Integration
From NewHaven Software Wiki
NewHaven Software has created an optional Magento Extension to expand the core capabilities of the Magento API and improve integration with CMS. For basic Magento deployments this extension is optional but it is required for products configured to use attributes (e.g. size and color) and Magento custom fields for data like ad code.
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Magento version requirements
Minimum
- Enterprise 1.12.0.x
- Community 1.7.0.x
- Go 1.1.2.x (limited support)
Maximum
Latest tested version is 1.9.3.6
Magento 2.x (Work in Progress)
Magento 2.x is a significant departure for 1.x both for your site and the API that CMS communicates with. There is not a good transition path to get to 1.x to 2.x for either your site or our integration so research and plan accordingly before deciding to jump to 2.x. Be sure to find out what is involved to get your new site created and coordinate with us on our timeline for support for 2.x.
Magento 1.x is still a supported product and currently does not have a date set for its end of life (EoL). Magento is aware that there is not an easy transition from 1.x to 2.x so they are maintaining support for 1.x for some time. They have stated that they will provide at least 18 months lead time on any EoL date they announce. As such 1.x will remain a viable solution for some time.
We are evaluating our integration options for 2.x but at this moment do not have a scheduled date. Be advised, due to the complexity of the integration and how much has to be done from scratch, it is possible that 2.x support may not come until 2019.
In the mean time we have explored alternatives for CMS users moving to Magento 2.x in advance of our support for it. There is a company called Xtento that produces Magento extensions (for both 1.x and 2.x, Community and Enterprise) that looks promising. We've reviewed our XML requirements with them and they seem quite capable of delivering.
Perhaps most interesting about Xtento's suite of extensions is that they allow CMS to work with Magento in a non-synchronizing mode, for better or worse. In other words, instead of synchronizing invoices and packages with Magento which allows Magento to process the payments, it instead operates more like a standard integration where the order downloads into CMS with the credit card info so that CMS can handle payment processing. This is particularly beneficial for back order and future ship (split order) processing and simplifying the integration. To accomplish this you'd need to use three of Xtento's extensions:
- Magento Order Export Module - Allowing orders to be imported (not downloaded) - Downloads and imports can be done manually or in conjunction with our File Based eCMS plug-in.
- Magento Saved Credit Cards Module - Enabling Magento to pass credit card data to CMS for processing
- Magento Tracking Number Import Module - Import shipped item data with tracking numbers to update status in Magento
- Magento Stock Import Module (optional) - For uploading updated stock levels
It is worth noting that Magento inherently does not support single orders with multiple recipients. This is a strength of CMS and common for B2C companies shipping gift orders. Magento instead treats each recipient as a separate order (meaning the buyer gets charges separately for each instead of one payment for all orders.) In Magento 1.x our Magento extension stitches these separate orders together so this is another important difference to be aware of between 1.x and 2.x at the moment.
Current capabilities of the base Magento Plug-in
Order Downloads
- Credit card payments are processed in Magento via Authorize.net CIM. CMS will provide Magento with shipped item data to facilitate related captures, include split and delayed shipments (back order or future ship.) These updates take place as part of the invoice creation process which takes place during order status updates.
- Credit card data is not available from Magento hosted solutions (Go and Enterprise) due to PCI concerns on their side. In a future version of CMS we will add support for downloading credit card data from their user-hosted solutions (Community and Professional.) This is currently scheduled to be included with our next submission of CMS for PA-DSS validation Q4 2013.
- Shipcode mapping from Magento codes to CMS codes
- Order level gift messages
- Supports Magento’s coupon codes (imported as ad code)
- Magento order-level custom field support (requires the NHS Extension, see the NHS Magento Setup Guide for more info)
Order Status Updates
- Invoice creation (facilitates Magento’s payment processing)
- Support for back order invoicing
- Global support for billing delayed items now
- Status updates
- Shipment updates with tracking numbers
Product Data Uploads
- Support for Simple and Configurable products
- Creation of new products and updates to existing
- Product code/sku
- Descriptions
- Pricing
- Inventory
- Weight
- Status (enabled/disabled)
- Attributes (requires the NHS Extension)
