database structure for online payment store?

[lovephp]

im planning to accept payment through some gateway so i need help in deciding the table structure to keep track of order.

 

would appreciate all your inputs as i have not done this before so please do not be harsh   

[mac_gyver]

rather than expect someone to do your work for you, how about sitting down and trying yourself.

 

have you defined the work-flow that a site visitor will go through from arriving at the site, as an unknown 'guest' user, through completing payment for an order, and beyond when the ordered items are shipped, received, and possibly returned?  This will define what data each page on the site will need to process and store as input data or retrieve for use to display the page. This will define the types of information you will need to have database tables for.

 

then, before you write any code or create any database tables, take the design you have theorized, and 'walk' through the process for a made up user and some made up items to see if your design does what you want. modify your design as needed and repeat until you are confident you have covered 99% of the possibilities.

 

then, write and test the code and queries that implement your design, making any needed changes along the way.

[Muddy_Funster]

Another option would be to use one of the miriad eCommerce programs that already exist and save yourself from reinventing the wheel. Writing an app that handles taking money from the public is not what anyone would grade as an Entry Point programming task. If you get it wrong you could be looking at some serious fallout and even, in extreme cases, criminal charges.