topic Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023 in Ask Me Anything and Panel Discussions

[Closed] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

NBach — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 09:16:09 GMT

Hey HubSpot Community!

I’m Nicoline! I’m a Product Marketer for Commerce Hub at HubSpot. At INBOUND ‘23, we announced the launch of Commerce Hub to help you better grow your business and support your commerce process.

As we all know, time is money! It can be frustrating losing time to arduous tasks around collecting payment and the strain delayed payment puts on your business. That’s why we launched Commerce Hub to help you get paid faster, save time, and increase your revenue.

With this Hub, you’ll have access to new revenue tools like Invoices. Plus, you can choose your preferred payment processor with the addition of Stripe Payment Processing. Here’s to an exceptional opportunity-to-revenue process all within your CRM!

Commerce Hub is available to all U.S.-based customers with either a:

HubSpot account and an integrated Stripe account (using Stripe Payment Processing integration)
Starter+ subscription to another Hub & HubSpot Payments

We plan to expand Stripe Payment Processing globally. If you’re interested, join the waitlist!

Log in to try Commerce Hub

We also know that money doesn’t grow on trees and you may have questions about our newest Hub. We’d like to invite you to an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) to answer any questions you have about Commerce Hub and how you can digitize your commerce process.

[AMA] Get to Know Commerce Hub

Ask any questions right here in this thread to learn from a member of the Commerce Product team.

When: October 9th - 13th, 2023

Where: Right here! Drop your questions about Commerce Hub in this thread.

Not sure what to ask? Here are some ideas:

How do I get Commerce Hub?
What other tools integrate with Commerce Hub?
When should I use a Payment Link vs. Quote vs. Invoice?
What are some use cases of customers using Commerce Hub?

Looking forward to hearing what’s on your mind when it comes to Commerce Hub and how we can help your business grow better!

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

MandyDROS — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 02:04:28 GMT

Can you automatically generate invoices?

What are the reporting capabilities with the commerce hub?

Do your invoices sync with any accounting or ERP systems?

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JackCoopersmith — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 20:33:04 GMT

Awesome questions @MandyDROS and I hope you've been well my friend! I'm Jack and I work on the Commerce Hub Product team here at HubSpot

I'll go one by one here, though I'd love it if other folks reading this could also chime in with their answers and thoughts as well as I'm sure this is something a lot of people are thinking about....

Regarding automatically generating invoices, tell me more - is this the type of thing where you'd want them automatically created and distributed on, for example, the 1st of the month? Is it the type of thing where you'd want to leverage a workflow action? I'd love to learn more

Reporting capabilities are deep, they'll only get deeper over time as we continue to build more out of the box reporting. Check out the "Gross Payment Revenue" default dashboard if you haven't already. We're also simply creating commerce CRM objects to represent the data (payment object for a transaction, subscriptions for recurring payments and invoices as a record + a payable channel) so you can leverage that data in custom reports like literally any other object

When it comes to accounting and ERP integrations, yes! I'm curious though - what accounting systems and ERPs do you see the most often? How should this sync work in theory?

Would love your thoughts on the above + the thoughts of anyone else reading this! All three of these items are something the team is thinking about a lot nowadays, we'd love you all to influence our roadmap 🙂

Thanks! Keep the questions coming!

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

Raffy — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 04:15:17 GMT

Are you aware of the roadmap to making that availalbe in the Philippines? Are you sharing workarounds for this?

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

danmoyle — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 17:05:44 GMT

The quiet drop of Commerce Hub at INBOUND23 (kind of just an off-hand "oh yeah here it is" moment) was either genius or someone didn't think it would be ready by September 😂

Is the goal with Commerce Hub to work with CMS Hub and overtake other online marketplace solutions?

How do you see Commerce Hub working for businesses who don't have a relatively simple Quote-Invoice-Payment journey? Will it be pretty flexible?

Thanks!

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

DarrenScottUK — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:14:09 GMT

can the invoices be integrated within an existing invoice/financial system? HubSpot could generate the automation but we are bound by an existing system.

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

DPMortimer — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 09:59:28 GMT

Thanks for doing this AMA.

1.

I'll ask what I got asked at all 5 HUGs I attended in September: What's the timeline on global release/access, please?

2.

Even with full access to everything, what are the cases for and against using Commerce Hub vs Shopify *the most common ecomm POS our clients use), please?

Thanks a lot!

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

mccormack — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 11:37:08 GMT

@danmoyle,

someone didn't think it would be ready by September 😂

Definitely this option @danmoyle. It's not ready. It is only available to US-based customers so I cannot fully test it. Alas, at this early stage, I doubt that it can manage millions in payments. After a thorough evaluation of what resources are available to me, it's really only for a SME (SMB as you may call it).

A few notes from across the Atlantic

The system changes (invoicing milestones, payments, etc) to facilitate Commerce Hub have been pushed globally to all users. This has caused confusion internally: questions raising from internal users following HubSpot about the announcement to quotes no longer working in the same manner as pre-5 September 2023;
When it comes to the EU, HubSpot are not aware fully of financial regulations. I have had to hack certain things into the system to comply with EU legislation.

Alas, an alternative EU-based solution has been priorised over Commerce Hub. For us, it is the best option.

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JWarren7 — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:36:45 GMT

Hi Paul! Two great questions. Thanks for bringing these up.

Regarding bringing Commerce Hub international, we're planning to start a limited roll-out this year, then expand to additional markets over the upcoming quarters. We plan on using our Stripe integration to power this, so be sure to fill out the wait list below to make sure you are notified when we go live in the relevant market.

Stripe International wait list: https://offers.hubspot.com/stripe-integration-beta-waitlist

Regarding Commerce Hub vs. Shopify there are a few things to consider. Commerce Hub is a great fit for quote to cash sales processes and ecommerce use cases that can be accomplished with "mini" carts (lean more about optional products here).

If you need a full-fledged shopping cart, then Shopify will likely be a better fit for the time being. It's also important to note that Commerce Hub doesn't currently support automatic shipping or tax calculations. We aim on tackling these points next year.

Hope that was helpful. Let me know if I can further clarify any of this!

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JackCoopersmith — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:46:37 GMT

O we're more than ready @danmoyle ! Also @mccormack I'd say I agree that Commerce Hub isn't currently focusing on gigantic companies, we are indeed focusing on the SMB segment more than anything (fewer than 100 employees generally, though certainly not exclusive of bigger firms) which is of course a sweetspot for HubSpot overall. We're also going to start rolling out internationally in the very very near future and continue to do so into early next year

@danmoyle when it comes to your question around CMS Hub + Commerce Hub, we definitely have some major synergy there:

You're able to quickly and easily add payment links to pages to get paid wherever whenever
You're able to leverage the HubSpot framework to do things like create a list of active subscribers (using the subscription object) and surface specific content to them
Because your commerce and customer data live under the same roof with Commerce Hub, you're able to leverage that data to surface specific content for upsells/cross-sells that are most likely

Regarding working with those who don't have a straightforward QTC motion, that's absolutely something we're solving for and will continue to solve for. I can make some assumptions here, but what exactly does "not a straightforward QTC process" entail to you?

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JWarren7 — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 16:09:38 GMT

Hi Darren - thanks for asking about this one. One of our top priorities for Commerce Hub is to offer a complete invoice sync between HubSpot and external accounting systems.

I assume from your username you're based in the UK. I'm curious to hear which invoicing/financial systems are most prevelant over there.

Are there any tools in particular you'd love to see Commerce Hub sync invoices with?

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JWarren7 — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 16:11:15 GMT

Hi Raffy! Thanks for reaching out about this.

We're planning to start a limited international roll-out for Commerce Hub this year, then expand to additional markets over the upcoming quarters. We plan on using our Stripe integration to power this, so be sure to fill out the wait list below to make sure you are notified when we go live in the Philippines.

Stripe International wait list: https://offers.hubspot.com/stripe-integration-beta-waitlist

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

Raffy — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 06:35:26 GMT

I signed up. Keeping my fingers crossed for this.

I understand Stripe is not supported in the PH either. Will using your "Stripe integration to power this" allow me to use the commerce hub?

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

IBibi — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 08:54:47 GMT

How do I get Commerce Hub and what other tools integrate with Commerce Hub

Betreff: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

MiaSrebrnjak — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 16:21:10 GMT

Hi all 👋

Thank you for the interesting topics & questions you've raised so far! 🙂

I wanted to invite a couple of other Community members to this AMA:

Hi @jen_furr, @GrantCarlile, @KGood1, @Jnix284, @NOperacions, @LBS1, @ryandrive, @MWells-Kress, @PEvans405, @KKirchberg, @TomM2, @traviskl, @Sam62, @PStruckmann, @AprilG, @Franci, @MisterKennedy, @danbanon, @HFisher7, is there anything you'd like to learn about the Commerce Hub? Now's the chance to ask our team! 🙂

Cheers
Mia, Community Team

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

traviskl — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 18:11:49 GMT

We're actively using Invoices today and excited about some of the features that are being rolled out (ability to send an invoice directly from the invoice, rather than copying the link!).

Is it possible to build a workflow that automatically sends reminder emails when an invoice is past due to the billing contact on a deal? We have a custom field labeled "contact type" on the Contact Record to indicate who the billing contact is.

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

traviskl — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:31:21 GMT

Actually, I think I figured it out! I set up a workflow with emails with a handful of personalization tokens.

Is there a way to have invoices automatically created a sent on a certain date?

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JackCoopersmith — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 22:15:21 GMT

Hey @traviskl hope you're doing well today! So regarding distributing invoices, we actually literally just started rolling out a feature today that does NOT require you to copy a link so if you're not seeing that now, you should in the next week or so (and if you hear this and say "but I want it now!" go ahead and DM me your Hub ID and we'll get you ungated ASAP. Same goes for anyone else reading this)

You're spot on regarding workflows, don't hesitate to reach out here though if you're running into roadblocks. Invoice URLs can also tokenize 😉

When it comes to your final question, we're calling that "recurring invoicing" and that is indeed towards the top of our product roadmap. Do you mind sending along your email and Hub ID to me via the community DM so that we can ungate you the moment we get to private beta or maybe even the alpha stage? Again, same offer goes for anyone reading this!

Re: AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JackCoopersmith — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 22:25:19 GMT

Great place to start without a doubt @IBibi and I hope you've done well today! So to get started with Commerce Hub you'll want to click on Sales > Payments in the upper navigation. From there, you'll be prompted to choose your payment processor - HubSpot payments or Stripe.

When it comes to integrations, I'm curious - what would you WANT to integrate with?

Re: [Coming Soon] AMA - Get to know Commerce Hub! | October 9 - 13, 2023

JWarren7 — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 22:25:43 GMT

Great follow-up question, Raffy! If Stripe is not supported in the Phillipines, then you will not be able to use the Stripe integration to leverage Commerce Hub. My apologies for the misunderstanding.

Our long-term goal is to offer Commerce Hub to all our merchants, regardless of where they are located.