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New software eases e-commerce-Boise company, RocketCart, lets businesses customize sites

A Boise business is making it easier for the world to go shopping online.

Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman

RocketCart, a software company launched in June, has developed and sells a program that lets businesses be in control of their own e-commerce. While many such programs are implemented by a Web hoster, RocketCart is built to be used by the average businessman or Web designer, said owner Dave Green.

The company has helped Rampant Restaurants — which runs Richard´s Across the Street and Goldy´s restaurants in Boise — launch an e-commerce site this summer and is working with several out-of-state companies, as well.

The software lets businesses customize their own sites, determining what sales taxes to make applicable, setting e-mailing capabilities for customers and establishing methods for managing incoming orders.

“It´s really pretty slick,” said Toni Himmelman, director of marketing and finance for Rampant Restaurants. “We had our first online order a couple of weeks ago. This woman from Salt Lake City ordered five Goldy´s coffee mugs.”

While Rampant Restaurants doesn´t expect to do a huge business online, it does plan to add offerings to its online store, selling baseball caps, T-shirts, mugs and other related goods. For local customers, the upgraded site allows the ability to buy tickets for special events at the restaurants and also to special-order cakes.

Customers also can use the site to place orders and review menus for Richards at Home, a home-chef service offered by Rampant Restaurants.

“Customers don´t have to call the restaurants,” said Himmelman. “They can go straight to the Web site, and I can administer the whole thing from here.”

Himmelman said one helpful part of the software is that it isolates Web sales from restaurant sales, linking with the company´s accounting system and allowing management to track results.

Green, who launched the business with David Hollander and John Matteson, also runs iPlan, a Web design and consulting business. He sees the typical RocketCart customers as Web designers and developers who will be able to use the program as an added value for customers.

The software comes in three versions, tiered for the volume of business being conducted, with licensing costs ranging from $395 to $1,795. Larger volumes require the more sophisticated version. Setup and installation charges range from $150 to $1,200.

The benefits of the software are its flexibility and portability, said Green.

“If a company starts out with our standard product and then grows to where they want to move off of a shared hosting site to inside, they can take it with them,” said Green. Twelve customers have purchased and installed the program to date, according to Green.

“Anyone who can browse a Web site can use this program,” he said. “The idea is they have a business to run, and there´s not time to learn how to work the Web site.”

To offer story ideas or comments, contact Julie Howard
[email protected] or 373-6618

http://www.idahostatesman.com/Business/story.asp?ID=19530

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