About the Franchise Ordering & Management Portal

Welcome to the official documentation for the Franchise Ordering & Management Portal. This platform is a centralized, high-performance B2B web application designed specifically to streamline the ordering process, financial tracking, and communication between head office and franchise outlets.

By acting as a secure bridge between the web and the central ERP, the portal empowers franchises to manage their accounts autonomously while giving administrators granular control over operations.

Core Capabilities

• Live Sage Integration: Real-time synchronization with Sage Evolution for inventory levels, pricing, customer 360 data, and automatic order injection.
• Intelligent Financial Guardrails: Automated enforcement of credit limits and 14-day overdue ageing buckets directly from the ERP master files.
• Role-Based Workspaces: Distinct, secure dashboards tailored for Head Office Administrators, Support Staff, and Franchise Owners.
• Secure Payment Gateway: Seamless integration with DPO PayGate for immediate online settlement of accounts and outstanding invoices.
• Asynchronous Communication: A robust background email queueing system powered by PHPMailer for reliable delivery of invoices, order confirmations, and system alerts.

Technical Architecture & Stack

The application is engineered for maximum speed, security, and long-term maintainability. It avoids heavy, bloated frameworks in favor of a granular, highly optimized native environment.

• Backend Application Logic: Built on a strict, custom Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. Powered by Native/Vanilla PHP utilizing PDO prepared statements for ironclad security against SQL injection.
• Database Engine: MySQL relational database handling local caching, session states, and asynchronous queue management.
• Frontend Interface: Responsive, mobile-first design leveraging Tailwind CSS. Native Light and Dark Mode themes built into the core UI for optimal user accessibility.
• API & Connectivity: Custom Sage Bridge API for secure, bidirectional communication with the central Sage Evolution database.
• Server Environment: Designed for seamless deployment on standard Linux/cPanel hosting environments.

Version Information

• Current Release: Version 1.0.0 (Update this as needed)
• Release Date: April 2026 (Update this as needed)
• Changelog: For a detailed list of the latest features, bug fixes, and system optimizations, please review the Release Notes section in this helpdesk.

Developer & Support Information

This application is developed, maintained, and proudly supported by Christo Lochenberg Developments (RC Developments). We are committed to building software that adheres strictly to IFRS Accounting Principles and South African Tax Laws (SARS).

If you experience critical system errors, integration failures, or require developer-level support, please reach out to our technical team:

• Email: info@christodev.co.za / info@rcdevelopments.co.za
• Phone / WhatsApp: +27 61 523 9126
• Website: rcdevelopments.co.za

For standard operational "how-to" questions, please browse the articles in this knowledge base before submitting a support ticket.