Create Letters for Use with Commerce Manager

Letters used to notify Authors at various steps related to CM fees must be configured by the publication. No default letters are provided.

Up to four letters may be associated with each of the two types of fees (Submission Fees and Other Fees):

Payment Due Letter to Author: For Submission Fees, this letter is automatically sent to the Author only if the Author selects the Bill Me option on the Fees and Payments page. For Other Fees, this letter is sent to notify the Author that a fee has been charged.

The Editor or Publisher initiating the Fee has the opportunity to customize the letter before sending it when the Fee is initiated. Only for Other Fees.
A checkbox appears next to this Letter labeled, "This letter serves as the payment invoice," which allows the Editor/Publisher to indicate that the Payment Due Letter to Author serves as the invoice for the payment.

Grant Waiver Letter to Author: For all fees, this letter notifies the Author when an authorized Editor/Publisher checks the Grant Waiver or Grant Institutional Waiver option on the Fees and Payments page. This letter may be customized before sending.

Deny Waiver Letter to Author: For all fees, this letter notifies the Author when an authorized Editor/Publisher checks the Deny Waiver or Deny Institutional Waiver option on the Fees and Payments page. This letter may be customized before sending.

Cancel Fee Letter to Author: For all fees, this letter notifies the Author when an authorized Editor/Publisher checks the Cancel Fee option on the Fees and Payments page. This letter may be customized before sending.

TO CONFIGURE:

Go to PolicyManager > Email and Letter Policies > Edit Letters, and click the Add New Letter button.

The Add Letter page includes these fields:

Letter Purpose: Enter a brief description. This is displayed on the Fee Correspondence History page.

Subject: This is the subject line of the email when it is sent to the recipient(s).

Letter Family: Select Fees and Payments from the drop-down menu.

Click Continue to refresh the page and continue with these new fields:

Custom Instructions: Enter any instructions for the Editor/Publisher roles that will be sending the letter.

Recipient: Select the appropriate recipient(s).

Additional Recipients:

Automatically cc:/bcc:): Check the appropriate boxes for roles to receive a copy of the letter and/or enter email addresses of those to receive copies.
Allow Choice on Send Letter page: Select appropriate options (check the boxes) to allow the sender to make the choice of how to send copies of the letter. Also, check the box to allow the sender to include HTML formatting when customizing the letter body.

Letter Body: Enter text for the letter in the text box. A set of merge fields is available for use in Commerce Manager letters. (See below.)

When all fields are complete, click Save.

For more information on letter configurations, see Create Letters.

Merge fields for Commerce Manager letters

The following merge fields can be used to include fee and payment information in letters.

%FEE_TRACKING_ID% inserts the unique tracking ID of the fee. The Fee Tracking ID is generated by the system when a Fee is created, enabling the publication to track this internally and to reconcile credit card transactions with PayPal.
%FEE_DESCRIPTION% inserts the description of the Fee for which the letter is being sent. This may be a Submission Fee, or another type of ad hoc Fee set up by the publication.
%PAYMENT_INSTRUCTIONS% inserts any Payment Instructions entered for the Fee for which the letter is being sent.
%FEE_AMOUNT_DUE% inserts the amount of the Fee for which the letter is being sent.
%PAYMENT_NOTES_TO_AUTHOR% inserts any Payment Notes to Author that have been entered with the Fee for which the letter is being sent.
%AUTHOR_PAYMENT_DEEP_LINK% inserts a hyperlink that automatically logs the Author in and goes directly to the payment page. For more on this deep link, see Set Author Payment Deep Link Expiration Policy.

For more information on merge fields, see Merge Fields for Letters.