Regional print settings: automatic selection of template language for invoices and delivery notes

Entrepreneurs who are scaling their business and trading beyond a single region or country face the need to provide customers with accompanying documents (invoices, delivery notes, commercial offers) in the customer’s language. Manually changing print templates for each order takes a lot of staff time and disrupts process standardization. How can you make the program automatically select the required document template depending on the customer’s country? Can automatic email sending of invoices be configured with the subject and message text in different languages? How can an existing template be quickly copied for a new region without configuring it from scratch? To solve these tasks, Torgsoft provides a regional print settings mode.

Basic concepts and current state of the issue

Regional print and sending settings — are a Torgsoft tool that allows you to automatically link a specific printed document template (invoice, commercial offer, delivery note) to the customer’s geographic region or to your company.

Document template — is a configured print form file (usually in FastReport format) that contains static text in the required language and program variables for displaying data about products, prices, and counterparties.

Company — a legal entity or Sole Proprietorship on whose behalf trade is conducted and the document is issued.

Currently, Torgsoft allows print templates to be configured not only by region but also by company. This means that the system automatically analyzes the data of the current document and selects the appropriate template file, eliminating the need for manual selection by the cashier or manager.

How automatic template selection works

The logic of the option is based on a clear priority algorithm. When the user clicks the button to print or send an invoice (or delivery note), the program goes through several steps to determine the correct template:

1. Full match (Region + Company). First, the system searches for a setting where the values of the "Region" and "Company" fields fully match the data specified in the current invoice.

2. Company match. If no full match is found, the program searches for a template where the region is not specified ("empty"), but the company matches the company in the invoice.

3. Region match. If the previous option does not work, the system searches for a template with an "empty" company field but with a region that matches the invoice region or the region specified in the customer card.

4. Default template. If none of the parameters match, the program uses the setting for an "empty" region and company (the default template).

5. Standard algorithm. If regional settings have never been created in the database, the program uses the basic data from the system registry and the corresponding text files.

It is important to note that for a delivery note, the data from the invoice on the basis of which it was created are used.

Step-by-step configuration guide

To configure automatic selection of the template language, follow these steps:

1. Go to the menu item Document -> Sales with Invoice Issuing.

2. Select the action group Print -> Invoice Print and Sending Settings.

3. In the window that appears, click the Template Settings button.

4. The Print and Sending Settings work form will open, where you can create a new setting or edit an existing one.

5. In the editing form, specify:

•    Region (selected from the region directory).

•    Company (selected from the list of your companies).

•    Document template file name (specify the path to the fr3 file containing the translated template).

•    Email subject, Email text, Attachment file name — these parameters are used to automatically send the document to the customer’s email address in the required language.

•    Email sending method (for example, Outlook or SMTP).

Variables can be used in the subject, email text, and attachment file name parameters (for example, Invoice for <customer> No. <invoice number> dated <invoice date>), which makes it possible to personalize emails for each customer in a foreign language.

Practical examples for different languages

Let us consider practical use using the example of a company that sells goods in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Romania.

• Ukrainian language (main market). You create a "Default template" (leave the region and company fields empty). The template file contains text in Ukrainian. The accompanying email text is also filled in Ukrainian. The program will automatically apply this template to all domestic customers for whom no specific region is specified.

• Kazakh language. In the region directory, create the "Kazakhstan" region. Make a copy of your standard invoice template and use the built-in FastReport editor to translate the static text (column names, labels, contract terms) into Kazakh. In the "Print and Sending Settings" form, create a new entry, specify the "Kazakhstan" region, link the translated template file, and enter the email text in Kazakh. When an invoice is generated for a customer from Kazakhstan, the program will automatically generate the document in this language.

• Romanian language. Similar to the previous step, a Romanian-language template is created. Torgsoft supports Romanian localization at the interface level, but you create the template for printed documents yourself. In the regional settings, select the "Romania" region, add the Romanian template, and enter the accompanying email text in Romanian.

Answers to frequently asked questions from entrepreneurs

?How can I quickly copy an existing template for a new region without adding all variables from scratch?

For this purpose, the "Regional Print and Sending Settings" work form includes a Copy button. It allows you to create a new regional setting based on an existing one. An editing form with completed fields will open, where you only need to change the region and select another document template file. This significantly speeds up the administrator’s work.

?Does the language of the printed document depend on the program interface language?

The language of the printed document is determined exclusively by the static text entered in the template file (in the FastReport editor) and by system variables. Regional print settings allow the program to select the correct template file regardless of which interface language the seller is currently using (Ukrainian or Romanian). If you configured the template for Romania in Romanian, it will be printed in Romanian even if your Torgsoft interface is in Ukrainian.

?What should I do if a business operates through several Sole Proprietorships and documents for the same region must differ depending on the Sole Proprietorship?

Torgsoft allows templates to be configured not only by region but also by a specific Company. In the settings, you can create a separate template for a specific Sole Proprietorship and a specific region. The program algorithm first searches for a full match by both parameters.

?Can emails be sent to foreign customers in their language without using external email clients (for example, Outlook)?

Yes, you can select the sending method in the regional print settings. If you select a method other than Outlook (for example, direct sending via SMTP), the program will use the settings you specified to send the email. The email subject, text (in HTML format), and attachment file name will also be generated in the language you specified in the settings for that region.