Integrating with Metcash's Host File

Shopfront supports a basic integration into Metcash's Host File, predominantly for use with IBA Scan v2.5.

Setting up the Integration

Because of how intertwined with the system the host file has to be, setting up and connecting the integration is a bit different.

The majority of the integration is enabled by going to the Menu > Setup > General and then scrolling down in the Company settings to the Integrations setting where you can enable the Metcash Host File Integration.

This will allow you to use the majority of the host file integration without having to have a specific host file connected (instead a default Cellarbrations NSW file will be used).

To connect a specific host file, change to the Outlets tab, select the Outlet you wish to have a host file and scroll down to the Metcash Integration section and fill in the information (you may need to contact Shopfront or your BDM for this information if you don't have it).

Once you've finished setting up the integration press Save and the integration will become active.

Note: The integration will instantly activate, however it may take up to 24 hours for some data to flow through.

Configuring Metcash Standard Commodities (MSC)

To ensure continuous compliance, Metcash requires the mapping of their MSC to all products, Shopfront will automatically attempt to map your products to the host file, however products which cannot be mapped require either category mapping or to be mapped individually.

Mapping a Category

The simplest way to map your products to MSC is to ensure that all products are within a category and to set the MSC on each category. This can be done by going to the Menu > Stock Management > Classifications, finding the category you wish to map, pressing the Edit button and then filling in the MSC Mapping (we'd also suggest filling in the Master Database Reference if there isn't already one set).

Any product which isn't individually mapped will instead use this category mapping.

Mapping an Individual Product

If you want more control over how your products are mapped or if you have a product that doesn't quite match the category then you can override the category mapping for each product. Simply head to the Menu > Stock Management > Products, find the product you wish to modify and press the Edit button, scroll down to the Classifications section and fill in the Metcash MSC field.

NOTE: If Shopfront can automatically map a product then the MSC stored in the Metcash host file will override any individual setting.

Running a MSC Sales Report

As part of the integration, you can run a sales report based on the Metcash Standard Commodities. Functionality is a bit more limited compared to Shopfront's built-in reporting engine however it does provide an easy to use interface to assist when talking to your BDM about your sales.

The report can be run by going to the Menu > Reporting > Miscellaneous Reports > Metcash MSC Sales.

Simply input the dates you wish the report to run for and select the outlet and press the Run button.

The currently displayed report can also be exported to CSV by pressing the Export CSV button.