In Bloom, a batch is a group of memberships that have been selected to be charged for a club release. Once a batch is processed, orders are automatically created, members are emailed their order receipt, and shipments are ready to be fulfilled.

Your wine club likely has a few membership levels. When creating batches, it's very common to group memberships. For instance, instead of processing all of your Case Club memberships, you may choose to process the pickup memberships first, then separately process the shipping memberships. Another common method is to first process winery choice memberships, then process customer choice because the picking and packaging are typically different between the two types. 

Batches exist to keep things organized. 

In this article

 

What is a batch?

In Bloom, a batch is a group of memberships that you select to process. When processing batches, Bloom will:

  1. Create orders for each member
  2. Process payments for each order through your selected payment gateway
  3. Email an order receipt to each member

After that, all that's left for you to do is fulfill your shipments.

 

Types of batches

There are three types of batches; processed, saved or archived. Once you name a batch but before it has been processed it is a saved batch. After a batch has been processed it will be found in the processed tab. There you can reprocess members with failed payments. Once you are done with a processed batch you archive it to move it out of sight. 

Types of Batches

 

The batching process

Processing 

Processing batches is how a wine club is charged with Bloom. This system allows you to filter which members are charged, the wines they will be receiving and in 2-3 easy steps charge your wine club. Once Bloom is set up charging your club is a breeze. 

Creating a new batch

Saving 

Saving a batch can be a useful way to prep for your charging your wine club. Once a batch is named, Bloom will automatically save the batch until it is processed. You can also save and exit the process at anytime after the first step. This allows you to get multiple groups of members prepped for processing ahead of time. You can find your saved batches under the Saved tab in the Bloom batches section.

Saved Batches

Archiving 

When a batch is no longer in use we suggest archiving it. Archiving frees up space in the processed tab and allows the members with failed payments to be included in future batches. To archive a batch select the file box icon on the righthand side. Once archived, members with a failed payment in the batch won't be available to reprocess. You can however restore a batch if need be. 

 

Best practices for batching

Running a wine club can be intimidating and complicated. Batches exist to keep things organized. Before you start creating batches, though, it's good to consider how to approach the task.

Automated emails

When batches are processed, emails will automatically be sent to your members. It is a good idea to check the wording of your automated emails to ensure they are worded appropriately.

Checking inventory

You'll want to make sure you have enough inventory to process your batches. Bloom's Selection Report will give you a heads up on how much inventory you'll need. Then check and update your product inventory in Shopify before creating a batch.

Fulfillment method

Another factor to consider is pick-up versus shipping orders. For example: suppose you are processing a club called "Quarterly 6-Bottle." Instead of processing all the members at once, you might process pickup orders first and shipping orders afterwards. This can help streamline your fulfillment process. 

Reconciling failed payments

If you have unresolved failed payments from a previous batch, you should archive those batches. Doing this will allow these memberships to be included in your next batch.