Independent (virtual) merchants, My delivery company and the account type

Purpose#

An independent merchant (called "virtual" by the system, VIRTUAL_MERCHANT) is a merchant who registered directly on the platform and was given a private delivery company that they run from their own panel with their own couriers. This guide covers what is created for them, what the My delivery company section is and how to use it, and the truth about "switching merchant type".

Who can use it#

• The independent merchant: one who registered on the merchant sign-up page of the main website (see the registration guide), or was created for the platform by the super admin. Only this type of merchant owns a private company, so only their menu shows the My delivery company section.
• A merchant who belongs to a delivery company (created by the company or registered on its site) is of the "standard" type and owns no private company: the section is not shown, and opening its links directly gives the refusal "You do not have a private delivery company."
• Creating parcels and adding couriers need an active merchant plan (whenever the platform has merchant plans). The private company needs no company subscription; its limits come from the merchant plan.

What is created for you at sign-up#

The platform automatically creates: an internal delivery company named after your business and owned by you, an internal administrative account for it, and a default branch named after your business with its address. The company is then linked to your account.

Steps#

1. Open the My delivery company section

   In the side menu its items are: Parcel distribution, Couriers and commissions, "إشعارات المناديب", "تتبّع المناديب" (these two have no English translation, so they show in Arabic), Delivery areas and Delivery prices. The home page has a card of the same name: Ready for distribution, With couriers and Cash with couriers.

2. Add your couriers

   From Couriers and commissions click New courier. Name, mobile and password (at least six characters) are required, and you set the courier's commission (a percentage or a fixed amount). The courier signs in through the courier mobile API with the mobile number or with a six-digit login number the system generates (no courier app is bundled with the platform).

3. Create the parcel choosing your company

   In New parcel choose the Delivery company option that carries " — my company". The parcel immediately gets the status "Received Warehouse" (in the Arabic interface «بالمستودع — جاهز للتوزيع») and appears in Parcel distribution under Ready for distribution.

4. Distribute the parcels

   In Parcel distribution select parcels, pick the courier and press Assign selected; or press Auto distribution by areas, which appears if you drew delivery areas and there are ready parcels. Every parcel that is with a courier has Deliver, Failed and Postpone buttons.

5. Settle the courier's account

   From Couriers and commissions record I received the cash from them for the collection they handed you, and I paid their commission when you pay it, and review the courier's statement.

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1. Choose the pickup place
2. Choose the delivery company
3. Enter the recipient's name and phone
4. Set the cash-on-delivery amount
5. Your invoice number, to recognise the parcel later

What is deducted from your balance#

The parcel fee comes from the Delivery prices you set for your company, and from the Shipping balance only the platform fee is deducted, if the super admin enabled one (it may be zero). On delivery the collected amount is recorded with the courier, and their commission accrues, until you settle both in the last step.

"Switching merchant type"#

There is no button in the current merchant panel to switch the type between "standard" and "virtual"; the old button was disabled when the two panels were merged. The type is decided when the account is created: a merchant who registers on the platform's own sign-up page (or is created for the platform by the super admin) is created "virtual", and a merchant created by a delivery company is created "standard". The My delivery company section follows owning a private company, not this tag.

Expected result#

• You see your company's parcels, your couriers' cash and their commissions due on one page.
• Old links to the former independent-merchant panel send you to the unified pages: the parcel list to Parcel distribution, adding a parcel to New parcel, and the courier pages to Couriers and commissions.

Common mistakes#

• The section is missing: your account belongs to a delivery company or has no private company.
• The New courier button is disabled: you reached the courier limit of your plan. You read: "Your plan allows N couriers, and you have M. Upgrade the plan to add more couriers." or "You do not have an active merchant plan subscription — subscribe or renew to add couriers."
• "This mobile number is used by another account on the platform.": the system does not accept a courier mobile number that belongs to another account.
• A courier cannot be chosen when distributing: they show in the list disabled with "— limit reached" (they reached the parcel limit set for them) or "— غير متصل" (offline, shown in Arabic; only if you required the online condition); an inactive courier is not listed at all.
• The live-tracking map shows a refusal: the feature is not included in your plan.

Limits and permissions#

• You cannot manage another merchant's company from your panel: every page in the section works on your own company only.
• An independent merchant does not ship only through their private company; the Delivery company list also shows independent delivery companies open to merchants and the active shipping companies.
• Features such as live courier tracking (on the map) and the number of couriers are set by the merchant plan.