Frequently Asked Questions
Brandengine is the 100% Australian Made and Owned CRM Quoting and Job Management System built specifically for Distributors of Promotional Products.
Built to increase efficiencies in your day to day processes, the Brandengine workflow includes:
– New Enquiries
– Quotations
– Projects
– Job Management
– Purchase Orders
– Tasks
Powered directly with live supplier data from Promodata, Brandengine can remove the need to manually enter and manage data. This helps you avoid mistakes and saves time on admin.
Brandengine is also AI Boosted – enhancing your efficiency even further.
With API architecture at its core, Brandengine can connect to external API services that you currently use. (eg Xero, MYOB, CRM packages, etc..)
Brandengine is created by people who know the local promotional products industry.
Brandengine is available on a subscription basis for AU$249* per month. (For APPA Members)
This fee includes your first 2 users/team members and Promodata access.
Additional users/team members are AU$49* per month.
*(+GST)
Ask us about Volume Seating and Annual Billing.
View more details here
Nope – Brandengine charges no upfront or setup fees – just the monthly subscription.
No – there is no lock-in contract or minimum subscription period with Brandengine.
Brandengine billing is performed in advance on the 1st of each month.
Your 1st month’s subscription will appear as an invoice for payment.
For everyone’s convenience, this initial invoice will also contain details on setting up direct debit for all future payments.
If adjustments need to be made to your subscription please let us know by the 25th of each month so it is reflected in the following month’s billing cycle.
Annual Billing is the exception to the above.
We will gladly provide you with a virtual demo and guided tour of all the features of Brandengine.
You and your team will then have the ability to grab the keys and go for a test drive where you will be able to create enquiries, quotes, jobs & purchase orders.
You can experience 1st hand Brandengine’s user friendly interface, the power and flexibility.
We recommend running the Brandengine test drive alongside your current system so you can run real life quoting scenarios for a direct efficiency comparison.
NB – During the test drive, there is no access to custom settings, accounts integration or email capabilities. Information entered into your test drive WILL NOT carry forward into your subscription platform.
Yes, Brandengine is at the forefront of AI (Artificial Intelligence) innovation in the Promotional Products Industry.
We believe AI is great way to boost efficiency as it can be utilised as a powerful assistant to your daily tasks.
AI is not here to replace human expertise. Instead, we see it as a powerful collaborator, augmenting your skills and capabilities.
AI simply frees you from mundane tasks and empowers you to focus on what you do best.
For more info on how Brandengine is working with AI >>> click here >>>
Promodata is a consolidated central promotional products database that is updated by industry Suppliers within Australia and New Zealand.
When integrated with Brandengine, the result is immediate access to information of the 10’s of thousands of products across Australasia.
Information from API enabled Suppliers is updated every 24 hours.
Suppliers that currently do not have API capabilities maintain their data directly using CSV file uploads.
Suppliers that are connected via API also provide the ability to access stock levels in real-time directly from within Brandengine.
See a product, check its price and stock availability at a click of a button. That’s powerfully driven.
Click here for a full list of Suppliers currently contributing to Promodata – and included by default in your Brandengine subscription.
You have unlimited access to all suppliers product information available in Promodata – there no restrictions
For any products and services that you sell, that are not available on Promodata, Distributors can easily upload and create their own custom product catalogue which can then be accessed for quoting and ordering by all “team members” in your organisation.
This includes any decorators and other other service providers as required by your promo business.
So you can quote efficiently, Brandengine includes all of the product decoration options as provided by Suppliers in their Promodata feed.
You also have the ability to load as many additional decorators (and other services) that your business offers to your clients and prospects.
Brandengine gives you the ability to load your own products and services into your exclusive company catalogue database.
Any product or service that your business offers can be loaded for easy quoting, invoicing and ordering.
Yes – Out of the box Brandengine can integrate with your cloud-based versions MYOB* and Xero* saving you time on admin and double handling of order information.
*Accounting software subscription is additional to your Brandengine subscription
If you require connection to other Accounting software that is API capable, we will gladly scope out the request for custom development.
Yes – Brandengine allows you to check the status of Client invoices*, and download invoice copies*, directly from within the platform – avoiding interruptions of Accounting staff.
You can also update Brandengine PO’s with one-touch once the Supplier invoice has been recorded in your accounting software*
*Requires integrated accounting software such as MYOB or Xero
When you activate your Brandengine subscription, our Valet will setup and customise a fresh version of the platform for your business.
NB – This is a clean installation of Brandengine and does not carry over information from your test drive.
Once we receive your completed On-Boarding questionnaire, our Valet will setup your new version of Brandengine so that when you get the keys – you’re good to roll.
This includes setting up your branding, team members and company settings.
There are 2 things we will need help with:
– Connecting your SMTP (business email) will require a few settings to be made by your IT team.
– Integration with MYOB & Xero will be done by your organisation once you gain access. This has be setup to be a quick and painless process.
Your fully functional Brandengine subscription will be setup within 24-48hrs after receiving your completed onboarding questionnaire.
NB – This does depend on how long it takes your IT team to load the SMTP settings for your business email.
The team at Brandengine will always be here to help with any questions.
As our team is located on both the east and west coasts of Australia so business hours timing should not be an issue when reaching out to us.
Digital assets and support materials will also be available covering a wide range of topics, features and tips.
Yes – Brandengine has a user friendly Help Doc system which is available here and also linked in the User platform
The Brandengine dashboard and quote template are customised to your brand and logo. This ensures that all documentation matches your company brand.
Personal profile images etc.. are managed within the software and can be changed by individual users.
SMTP API integration ensures that your emails come from “your” email address – increasing deliverability and maintaining your image.
Brandengine is custom built at code level and based upon Ruby on Rails e-commerce software.
It follows tried and tested processes used on a similar custom built quote and job management solution designed by Brandconnect in 2010. It’s built for the promotional product industry by the promotional product industry.
Brandengine is developed in Perth, Australia.
Brandengines cloud servers are located in Sydney, Australia.
Yes, Brandengine has been built from the ground up with API in mind.
Yes, with API architecture at it’s core we will gladly explore bespoke API integration requests and quote accordingly.
We take security very seriously at Brandengine.
As part of our commitment to security, we undergo regular penetration testing of our SaaS platform. This process involves engaging a third-party to identify any security vulnerabilities. We have a zero-tolerance policy for security vulnerabilities, and we work quickly to fix any vulnerabilities that are found. We believe that penetration testing is an essential part of ensuring the security of our platform, and we are committed to providing our customers with a secure and reliable platform
Our Sydney, AU based servers are mirrored in multiple locations globally, so if the local server goes down, we have a very fast recovery route.
Backups of your data are performed every night – with full system backups being conducted weekly.
Current uptime stands at 99.99%
The Software Engineers behind Brandengine comply with the best practices outlined in the Coding Standards and Guidelines.
They have been writing code on a professional level since the 1980’s in many different development languages including Delphi, Java, C#, VBA, C and Oracle’s PL-SQL.
Brandengine is built on Ruby on Rails and our Engineers have over 15 years of experience working with this full-stack framework, including the development and maintenance of one of Australia’s most advanced promotional products websites – Brandconnect
The team behind Brandengine have individual experience in the Australasian Promotional Products Industry of up to 20+ years, so we have a good understanding of the nuances in the local industry.
The Brandengine roadmap includes deploying a range of front facing website into it’s eco-system.
These will seamlessly hook into the current workflow offered within the Quoting and Job management platform, providing an end-to-end solution.
…coming in early 2024 – register your interest here
Company Stores and secure client stores are included in the Brandengine roadmap and will also seamlessly connect to provide a fluid workflow.
Brandengine makes a difference…
significantly reduced our workload by over 70%….
So easy to use and navigate at speed across Quotes and Purchase Orders.
We have found new suppliers and products and are now much more efficient.