Amazon, Google and social channel selling Optional #
Sell on Amazon and social channels too
The WebSell storefront connects to Amazon, Google Shopping, Facebook and Instagram as additional selling channels alongside the retailer's own site.
More in Cloud & Connected Systems is part of Cloud & Connected Systems in Windward System Five. System Five includes 77 documented capabilities here — 30 in the standard set and 47 optional. Trades that lean on it include Furniture Store, Party & Equipment Rental Businesses, Lighting Showrooms.
These 77 capabilities sit within System Five's 1287-capability documented set — a selection, not a ceiling.
Sell on Amazon and social channels too
The WebSell storefront connects to Amazon, Google Shopping, Facebook and Instagram as additional selling channels alongside the retailer's own site.
Send the file out automatically
A completed export can be transferred straight to a remote FTP server. Server credentials are saved as named settings that can be shared by several exports.
Let the carrier rate and book the shipment
Invoices flagged with the Averitt shipper code are exported with the customer information Averitt's O.N.E. Portal requires, sent to their FTP server, where Averitt rates the shipment, selects the method and creates the bill of lading.
Get back in when the phone is lost
Users can generate one-time backup codes for use if their phone is lost, and can move their second factor to a different app, device or email address.
Reach the system from a browser
An application server component publishes System Five functions to a browser over a configurable port, with its own database connection and a session timeout of up to 360 minutes, including a separate port for mobile and web clients.
Build budgets in Excel and load them
Budgets can be exported to Excel and imported back from CSV or tab-delimited files; exporting an empty budget produces a file with the correct column headers to use as an import template.
Load customers and their parent accounts at once
The Customer Load tool imports customer records and establishes national account parent and child relationships in bulk rather than one account at a time.
Load customer records from a spreadsheet
Customer records can be exported to a spreadsheet, edited, and reloaded through the customer and supplier data load, matching on account number or the internal unique customer number. Loyalty point balances are among the fields that can be restored this way.
Load the whole catalogue in one go
Initial catalogues and later bulk updates are loaded from data files, including images and customer part numbers loaded against named customers or account numbers, then refined item by item.
Update the whole catalogue from a spreadsheet
The Part Load tool imports a spreadsheet of parts to update fields across the whole catalogue at once, including the foreign currency code on every item, and logs which records were changed.
Load a whole size grid in one go
Build the full grid of variant part numbers in a spreadsheet, save as CSV and load the parent style plus every child variant into inventory in a single import.
Take cards and gift cards at the till
Documented integrations for credit, debit and gift card processing including DataCap Systems and Mercury Payment Systems, with a PA-DSS implementation guide for the payment application.
Apply card fees to online payments
Card-not-present payments taken through the WebAPI can carry the same payment fee configuration as counter transactions.
Take card payments while running in the cloud
Stores running System Five on Cloud take card payments through supported processors, with the pinpad at the counter talking to the hosted application.
Open a web tool with the customer filled in
Configured web service links accept substitution codes that insert the customer's primary contact first and last name, falling back to the record's own name when no primary contact is set.
Run till hardware from a hosted session
A cloud-hosted System Five session drives locally attached counter hardware: receipt printers configured through Setup Tools, cash drawers opened through the POS Device Manager and Windows drivers, and a VX805 PIN pad for card payments.
Invoice oilfield customers in their format
Selected invoices are extracted from the database and transformed through a company-specific XSL stylesheet into the XML or TSV format that digital oilfield platforms accept, then written to a designated location for pickup.
Email the export without touching it
An export can be e-mailed as an attachment with a defined subject and body, sent either through the user's default mail client using Simple MAPI, which allows several recipients, or through System Five's own SMTP client, which sends to one address.
Pay suppliers electronically instead of by cheque
Documented EFT integration options for moving funds electronically rather than by cheque.
Get any list out into Excel
Grids make up most of the interface, and any grid in lookups, editing screens or reports can be right-clicked to print or export to Excel XLS, plain text, CSV or HTML. Excel does not need to be installed to produce the XLS file.
Move files in and out of the cloud
A Windows Explorer tool for the cloud environment moves files between the local workstation and the hosted server, so documents and images such as PDFs and JPGs can be brought into or pulled out of the hosted dataset.
Email documents from your own mail account
System Five can send documents and correspondence straight out of the software through a Gmail account using Google SMTP/POP with SSL and SMTP authentication, configured per user.
Get the numbers into a spreadsheet
Report grids export to CSV or Microsoft Excel, or generate an XML representation of the cells for cases where a specific file format is needed. The report designers export to a choice of five file formats, and some reports export straight to a spreadsheet.
See why an import failed
Every import writes a log explaining what happened and why a load failed, viewable on screen and saveable before the next run overwrites it.
Turn a supplier file into your prices
During import, cost or retail can be derived from a supplier discount code, adjusted by a value-banded table so cheaper items take a different discount from dearer ones, or transformed by an XSL style sheet applied to each row as XML. Case costs can be divided down to unit cost and a prefix added to every part number.
Turn on only the modules you need
A defined set of specialty modules is installed and enabled per dataset, including job costing, production invoicing, process tracking, FedEx Ship, eConnect, John Deere, Softwheels, Profit Pro and multi-category catalog reporting.
Load kits, gift cards and rates in bulk
Dedicated importers assemble kits from parts already in inventory, bring in batches of third-party gift cards with their current balances, and load rental rates one department at a time.
Offer finance on a big-ticket sale
Documented integrations with leasing programs for financed sales.
Bring my old system's data across
Opening data can be loaded from comma separated, tab delimited, fixed width and pipe delimited text files and from dBase, Access and other common legacy formats. Other formats can often be read as a chargeable service, and data can be reloaded the day before go-live to refresh costs and quantities.
Turn on only the modules we need
Vertical and advanced capabilities — Budgeting, Job Costing, John Deere, Process Tracking, Promotions and Rentals — are separately licensed and switched on in the Setup Wizard.
Plug in lighting trade programs
A dedicated integration category for lighting industry programs and services.
Bring lighting supplier products into stock
Connects the Lights America platform to System Five through the S5 WebAPI, mapping categories, suppliers and salespeople, pushing individual products into inventory and updating a product's quantity when a user opens it.
Turn web orders into work orders automatically
A dedicated mailbox is monitored for purchase orders submitted by customers through the Lights America web interface; selected orders are turned into work orders with quantities on hand filled and the balance placed on order.
Turn customer wish lists into quotes
Customer wish lists downloaded from the Lights America showroom site as spreadsheets, named by the customer's phone number, are read and converted into estimates, with a warning raised for any item not in inventory.
Load your parts file without rekeying
Parts are imported from Excel, CSV, tab-delimited, pipe-delimited, fixed-width text, dBase, Access or an ODBC source, with each source column mapped to a System Five field. The mapping, the import options and the column functions are saved together as a reusable settings file.
Import a size and colour range in one go
Matrix styles and their child variants are created by import, with columns that set the style link, the axis labels on the master and each child's position on the axes.
Send documents through Outlook and Office
System Five works with the installed desktop versions of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office for email and document handling. Outlook Web Access and browser-based Office are not supported.
Add a second factor to cloud logins
System Five on Cloud logins can require a second factor in addition to the password, using the Microsoft Authenticator app or a code sent by email.
Work across two screens in the cloud
The cloud client supports multiple monitors and a tabbed MDI mode that lets windows be undocked, so a report or inventory lookup can sit on a second screen while work continues on the first.
Run in the cloud region you trade in
System Five on Cloud is delivered from region-specific environments for North America and Australia, each with its own access URL.
Load supplier and customer lists in bulk
Customer, supplier and parts load screens can pull directly from an ODBC data source, with an ODBC Admin button built into those screens and an optional SQL statement to target a specific Excel worksheet or table.
Fire an integration from the sale
An integration can be fired from an open invoice three ways — an Invoice Options menu entry, an assignable keyboard shortcut, or a custom button added to the button bar under the invoice totals.
Send documents from Outlook or Gmail
Document and correspondence email goes out through Microsoft Outlook 365 (32-bit or 64-bit) or Gmail.
See customer email inside the system
When System Five is paired with Microsoft Outlook instead of a direct SMTP account, sent and received email is visible inside System Five rather than only in a separate mail client.
Edit inventory in a spreadsheet and reload
Inventory data can be exported through a designed report, edited outside the system as CSV, and re-imported through Part Load to update or flag existing part records en masse.
Choose what goes on the web store
Each inventory item carries a web tab flag deciding whether it is exported to the connected online store. Matrix items publish as a searchable parent with its child variants beneath.
Bring inventory over from the old system
A defined conversion path brings inventory out of a previous point of sale system into System Five, mapping the old system's part numbers rather than SKUs, rebuilding matrix parent and child relationships, and attaching category codes against the live dataset with validation queries to catch orphans.
Get report data out as a file
Reports can be printed to an ASCII file rather than paper, and that output can then be parsed into delimited CSV records for customer, supplier and inventory data.
Export orders for the liquor board site
Purchase orders can be exported through the XML Central utility and shaped with XSL style sheets — the shipped example produces an order import file for the LiquorConnect.ca site used by Alberta liquor stores. System Five produces the file; it does not transmit it.
Get your data out in your own format
XML scripts written for the System Five XML interface are registered by name and path in setup and then appear on the XML export menu for users to run.
Use counter hardware from a cloud session
Connects locally attached POS hardware to a System Five session running in the cloud or over RDP. Supports Microsoft Virtual Channel as the default and preferred transport, Remote Relay, or a direct TCP/IP connection for on-premise RDP setups.
Set up an import once and reuse it
Named import and export definitions are built once in XML Central and then called by scripts, so the configuration work is done in the interface rather than in code.
Give each user the right cloud desktop
Each cloud account is provisioned with workspaces assigned to it, so a user sees the set of resources matching their role.
Reset your own password without support
Cloud users enrolled in multi-factor authentication reset their own forgotten passwords using their second factor, without raising a support call.
Email a customer without retyping anything
Outbound email is sent from within System Five over MAPI or SMTP using per-user mail server credentials, intended for sending rather than replacing an email client — it leaves messages on the server.
Test integrations without touching live data
The WebAPI can be stood up against both the live company and a training company on separate ports so integrations can be exercised against test data.
Book a courier from the order
Documented shipping integrations for despatching orders.
Bring data in from a spreadsheet
Data Load imports and updates parts, kits, customers, suppliers, health billing categories and price adjustments from spreadsheets or external databases in dBase, Access, CSV, tab-delimited or fixed-width format, and is also used for start-up databases and supplier price updates.
Get at data the reports do not show
Where the standard report designers do not expose a data set, users with SQL knowledge can query the underlying tables directly to build custom reports, subject to approval from Windward's programming team.
Find the right part for that vehicle
Parts are looked up in the NAPA ProLink catalogue by year, make, model, engine and submodel, checked for price and availability at the local store, and added to the sale, creating new part records from the catalogue's list and cost prices.
Automate imports and exports on a schedule
An XML instruction file drives System Five through data import and export operations. Scripts can be run externally by Sys5Script.exe, which will start and drive System Five, or registered in the Setup Wizard so they appear under a Scripts heading in the Navigator menu.
Run the system without my own server
A Microsoft Azure hosted deployment accessed through an RDWeb portal, with enforced password complexity requiring characters from three of five categories and self-service password change.
Run the system without your own server
System Five is delivered as a hosted service reached through a Windows desktop client running on Azure Virtual Desktop, with users signing in against windwardoncloud.com credentials.
Look up stock away from the counter
Staff can run a full System Five session on a wireless tablet or portable Windows device through a terminal server, doing price and stock lookups and writing orders away from the counter, including at trade shows and customer sites.
Pick how you want to sell online
System Five offers a WebSell partner storefront, a WooCommerce connector, and a developer SDK, so a retailer can pick the level of build effort and control that suits them.
File the reports our trade requires
Beyond the standard report set, purpose-built reports exist for particular suppliers and jurisdictions, such as Apple supplier reporting and the Tennessee Accountability Report.
Know which integrations are supported
System Five 7 carries forward a maintained set of integrations including AVB Linq, Lights America, Message Media, Orgill, Polaris, ShipRush, WebSell Ecommerce, WooCommerce, XO Lights, Windward Intelligence and the WebAPI.
Send the right product text to the website
An extended web comment travels with items flagged for the e-commerce site, separate from the counter description.
Use the same API wherever you run
The same WebAPI service runs against on-premise System Five installations and System Five on Cloud deployments, and can be reached from inside the network or externally once firewall access is opened.
Keep the webstore stocked from head office
After uploading by FTP, System Five calls the Windward E-Commerce System with a store identifier, administrative credentials and URL to start the import, automatically requesting inventory, category, invoice, customer and keyword imports according to the export being run, with the ability to override the import type.
Sell online off the same stock file
An optional e-commerce platform that keeps the online store synchronised with the in-store business, purchased separately from the core system.
Connect other apps to your system
Windward Connect works alongside the WebAPI service as the connection layer that lets third-party and cloud applications exchange data with System Five in both directions.
Build the webstore you actually want
A developer toolkit that connects System Five to a web platform of the customer's choosing, exposing inventory, customers, categories, orders, pricing and tax, with mapping the developer controls.
Sell on WooCommerce from your own stock
Pushes product detail from System Five out to a WooCommerce store and brings the resulting invoices back through a Windward staging application, with onboarding from Windward's Professional Services team.
Feed the website your product data
XML Central is the System Five tool for configuring and exporting inventory and category data to an e-commerce site, with the e-commerce flag enabled in the licence codes.
Push catalogue data to your web server
System Five can generate an XML export of catalogue data and send it to a remote web server over HTTPS when the e-commerce import option is enabled, with certificate validation handled through Windows.
Bring website orders in without rekeying
Orders placed on the lighting showroom website are collected from an FTP site and created in System Five on a schedule with no operator action. Unknown items are created into a mapped sub-category or a default one, and unknown customers are created, or matched on name and address and updated with new email and phone details.
Yes. The WebSell storefront connects to Amazon, Google Shopping, Facebook and Instagram as additional selling channels alongside the retailer's own site. This is optional in System Five.
Yes. Documented integrations for credit, debit and gift card processing including DataCap Systems and Mercury Payment Systems, with a PA-DSS implementation guide for the payment application. This is optional in System Five.
Yes. Selected invoices are extracted from the database and transformed through a company-specific XSL stylesheet into the XML or TSV format that digital oilfield platforms accept, then written to a designated location for pickup. This is optional in System Five.
Yes. Parts are imported from Excel, CSV, tab-delimited, pipe-delimited, fixed-width text, dBase, Access or an ODBC source, with each source column mapped to a System Five field. The mapping, the import options and the column functions are saved together as a reusable settings file. This is optional in System Five.
Yes. Parts are looked up in the NAPA ProLink catalogue by year, make, model, engine and submodel, checked for price and availability at the local store, and added to the sale, creating new part records from the catalogue's list and cost prices. This is optional in System Five.
Yes. A Microsoft Azure hosted deployment accessed through an RDWeb portal, with enforced password complexity requiring characters from three of five categories and self-service password change. This is optional in System Five.
Every capability on this page is documented in the System Five capability index. Last updated 2026-11-05.