[SOLVED] Virtue Mart Integration?

I have seen that CB Subs comes with a plugin to integrate with Virtue Mart, but I am wondering what that gives me beyond the described functionality of resetting a subscription plan.

Basically, I am looking for a solution to do the following:

1. Visitors have no access to Virtue Mart and CB Subs.
2. Registered Users (CB) have access to Virtue Mart.
3. If a Registered User purchases a product with a maintenance agreement in Virtue Mart they will have access to their subscription in CB Subs.
4. Entitlements (files, documents, etc.) for CB Subs are store in DOC Man and registered users should have access based on their subscription plan.
5. If a subscription expires, the user should see a renewal product in Virtue Mart.


I can already do 1. and 2. I am also willing to drop Virtue Mart for something else if needed, but the subscription part has to work.

Thank you for any replies in advance!

Best regards,
Jens

Post edited by: krileon, at: 2010/08/05 22:19

1. Visitors have no access to Virtue Mart and CB Subs.

Set your virtuemart menu link to registered, protect the component with CBSubs, set CBSubs plans to Registered (allow free registered users or provide a public free plan as well).

2. Registered Users (C have access to Virtue Mart.

See 1. reply.

3. If a Registered User purchases a product with a maintenance agreement in Virtue Mart they will have access to their subscription in CB Subs.

No, CBSubs is not affected by outside components. CBSubs can restrict VirtueMart, but not the reverse.

4. Entitlements (files, documents, etc.) for CB Subs are store in DOC Man and registered users should have access based on their subscription plan.

Yes this is doable, that's what we do here. Docman supports groups and you can assign users to those groups based on subscription with the CBSubs Docman plugin.

5. If a subscription expires, the user should see a renewal product in Virtue Mart.

No, they'll need to renew in CBSubs.

The VirtueMart integration will create the user if they do not exist. It can then assign users to virtuemart groups (shopper and user) based on subscription. That is all it does.

Thanks Kyle!

If I understand you correctly I will be able to do everything I want, but CB Subs will drive the process instead of Virtue Mart. Correct?

You also say that users will need to renew their subscription in CB Subs. How does this work? I mean CB Subs doesn't come with a payment module, right?

Do you see any potential pitfalls with my approach?

I want to avoid coding at all costs and so I am trying to find a solution that will work with my business requirements. The business flow itself can be adjusted as needed.

Thanks,
Jens

If I understand you correctly I will be able to do everything I want, but CB Subs will drive the process instead of Virtue Mart. Correct?

Correct, please keep in mind CBSubs does not provide things such as shopping carts, etc.. it's not designed for merchandise based sales (however merchandise plan types are provided).

You also say that users will need to renew their subscription in CB Subs. How does this work? I mean CB Subs doesn't come with a payment module, right?

CBSubs creates a Subscriptions tab that users can review on their profiles (as seen here at Joomlapolis) where they renew from. CBSubs does come with a module that they can renew, upgrade, or subscribe from (tab must still be published, etc...).

Do you see any potential pitfalls with my approach?

Sorry, can't advise you on your use case matters. You'll simply need to trial and error to find the best configuration for your needs.

I want to avoid coding at all costs and so I am trying to find a solution that will work with my business requirements. The business flow itself can be adjusted as needed.

You can't code with CBSubs, it's entirely encrypted. So if it can't meet your needs and are within 30 days purchase you can request a refund.

I recommend experiencing our demosite found here .

Thanks again Kyle!

I somehow missed the demo page and it surely answered some questions for me.

Just to clarify: The plug-in to Virtue Mart is one way, right? I can't do anything beyond creating/assigning users in Virtue Mart?

Are you planning to extend the Virtue Mart integration? It would be nice if purchases in Virtue Mart could trigger subscriptions in CB Subs.

Regardless, I believe we have found a good candidate for our needs.

Best regards,
Jens

Just to clarify: The plug-in to Virtue Mart is one way, right? I can't do anything beyond creating/assigning users in Virtue Mart?

Correct.

Are you planning to extend the Virtue Mart integration? It would be nice if purchases in Virtue Mart could trigger subscriptions in CB Subs.

No, a developer familiar with VM should make such an integration once CBSubs API is available. Last I have reviewed as well VirtueMart does not provide an API making such an integration basically impossible at this time without massive core hacks.