Another differentiating factor is order processing. Some products support only off-line transactions, so when you are notified of a new order, you must process it manually as you would any order. Several also support online credit card transactions, which can take place in batches at intervals or in real time. Two related features, taxes and shipping, are also handled differently. In most cases, you enter this information by hand into tables and the shopping-cart software automatically adds the appropriate charges based on the customer's billing address.
Some products make no provisions for taxes, however.
Others try to make things easy for you. Virtual Spin Internet Store provides default data for the tax tables. MerchandiZer includes all of the shipping options and rates for UPS delivery. The final area in which we saw a lot of variation is reporting. Many small-business solutions simply don't have it.