Service Pack 5.5 for BV Commerce will be available on Thursday the 16th, 2009. This service pack resolves several important bugs and adds some new features. It is a recommended upgrade for all BV Commerce 5 users.

REQUIREMENTS CHANGE:
Service Pack 5.5 requires the .NET Framework version 3.5 SP1 or later. Most web hosting companies already have this available. It is a free download if you don’t already have it installed on your local computer or server.

WHAT’S NEW:
In addition to bug fixes this service pack adds some new features including; Avalara AvaTax Service as an optional way to calculate taxes, Mail To links on order screens for faster customer communication and Version Checking on the admin dashboard to make sure your software is running the latest updates.

IMPORTANT POLICY CHANGE:
This will be the last free service pack for BV Commerce 5. For more than 8 years I have provided free service packs and updates for BV Commerce. Unfortunately, as the application gets more sophisticated and as it integrates with more outside services the maintenance time is growing rapidly. It is no longer feasible to provide these updates for free.

On Thursday, I will be announcing the details of a new annual maintenance plan for BV Commerce.