Frequently asked questions

We have customer-specific pricing. Does Crik-IT handle that?

Yes. Crik-IT is designed to handle customer-specific pricing. It's built to "streamline communication between manufacturers, distributors, sales reps, and dealer channels", and a core aspect of this is managing sales and pricing. That it can manage and apply pricing rules that vary by customer or channel

We want our reps to be able to access information and sales reports, but only relating to their own customers. Does Crik-IT handle that?

Yes, Crik-IT is designed to handle that. It provides sales reps with access to "sales reports" and "CRM tools for managing customers" within a system that streamlines communication for sales reps. The typical design of such a platform for sales teams is to ensure that reps can only see data relevant to their assigned accounts or activities, ensuring data security and focus.

How does all the information (i.e. items, order confirmations, etc.) get from the subscriber's system to Crik-IT?

If a subscriber uses QuickBooks Online, they grant Crik-IT permission to access their QuickBooks data, which is then synced to the Crik-IT portal. Changes made in QuickBooks typically appear in Crik-IT within 5–30 minutes, and Crik-IT orders show up in QuickBooks within 5 minutes during business hours.

For QuickBooks Desktop (Premier, Pro, or Enterprise), the Crik-IT Sync Manager (CISM) is installed on the subscriber’s network. After the user grants access, CISM syncs data to the Crik-IT portal via the cloud. Updates from QuickBooks appear in Crik-IT within 15–30 minutes, and Crik-IT orders appear in QuickBooks within 10–30 minutes.

• The subscriber's information must be put into a format that Crik-IT can work with. This can be a series of text files, Excel spreadsheets, SQL Server tables, or any number of different options. The number of files required depends on which Crik-IT options the subscriber chooses to use, but can be as few as 6 files.
• This information can be produced in a variety of ways. For example, a custom report writer, such as Crystal Reports, could be used to create the files needed by Crik-IT. Or, SQL Server queries or views could be created. There are other options as well. We will work closely with the subscriber to determine the best option for them.
• The files will be produced by the subscriber's system on a regularly scheduled basis. This will happen at least on a nightly basis, and some information can be created much more frequently than that (for example, inventory availability information may be produced as often as every half hour).
• Once produced, the files will be transmitted via encrypted file transfer methods from the subscriber's system to the Crik-IT servers. Once there, Crik-IT sees the new information and makes it available via the Crik-IT portal for users to access.

What systems has Crik-IT already been integrated with?

We have subscribers who send information from Epicor, Sage MAS90, Sage Accpac 100, Sage Pro, MYOB's AccountEdge (Macintosh system), QuickBooks (Online, Pro, Premier, Enterprise), as well as custom built systems. Just about any software system can be configured to send info to Crik-IT.

I'm a dealer/B2B customer. One of my biggest headaches is updating my own inventory system when my Crik-IT vendor updates their pricing... or adds new product lines or items. Can Crik-IT help me?

Yes. If you use QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier or Pro, you can use the Crik-Link to QuickBooks program which lets you download prices/costs, new items, etc. from Crik-IT and put them automatically into your QuickBooks system.

We also work with Evosus Software.

I'm a dealer/B2B customer. Why would I want to enter POs via Crik-IT instead of into my own PO system? And does that mean I have to enter the purchase order twice.... once into Crik-IT and once into my own PO system?

Crik-IT offers several advantages when it comes to entering POs:

Many email alerts are designed to notify the dealer if there are issues with the vendor's order confirmation for a particular PO. To make use of these email alerts, the dealer's POs must be in Crik-IT.

• If the subscriber uses the matching accessories option in Crik-IT, when the dealer enters a purchase order for an item with matching accessories, Crik-IT walks them through ordering only those accessories that go along with that item. This dramatically reduces ordering errors, as well as the customer frustrations, shipping costs, installation delays, and other headaches that accompany such errors.
• Purchase orders that are in Crik-IT can be emailed to your account manager (customer service rep) with a simple click of the mouse. The purchase order is emailed as a professional-looking, easy-to-read PDF attachment directly to the account manager, with a copy going to you, the dealer.
• If you use QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier or Pro, you can use the Crik-Link to QuickBooks program which lets you import purchase orders directly from Crik-IT into your QuickBooks system. You simply enter the PO number (or a date range of POs) that you want to import, and the system does the rest... it goes out to the Crik-IT website, finds the POs, then automatically puts them into your QuickBooks system as purchase orders! It's that easy... and it eliminates errors that can happen when entering a purchase order twice (once into Crik-IT and again into your QuickBooks system).

Is my data secure?

Absolutely. We take all reasonable precautions to keep your information safe and secure. Our state-of-the-art servers are hosted and professionally managed by Microsoft Azure and by HostDime, recognized leaders in high-end hosting. Crik-IT utilizes some of the most advanced technology for Internet security available. When you access Crik-IT, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology protects your information using both server authentication and data encryption, ensuring that your data is safe, secure, and available only to registered users that you have authorized to view your data. Crik-IT is audited by Cigital annually.