# Managing Your Products Products are at the heart of your business — they're the items you buy, stock, and sell. This guide shows you how to add, edit, organise, and manage every aspect of your products in ActuaryPOS Hybrid Solution. --- ## What You'll Learn - How to add a single product - How to add products with variations (sizes, colours, etc.) - How to import products from a file - How to organise products with categories and brands - How to set up units of measurement - How to manage pricing and tax - How to print barcode labels - How to track stock and expiry dates --- ## How to Add a New Product 1. Go to **Products → Add Product** from the left sidebar. 2. Fill in the details below. ### Basic Information - **Product Name** — Enter a clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Organic Honey 500g") - **SKU (Stock Code)** — A unique code for this product. Leave blank to auto-generate. - **Barcode Type** — Choose the barcode format (C128, EAN13, etc.) or leave as default. 📸 *[Screenshot: The top section of the Add Product form with name and SKU fields]* ### Classification - **Brand** — Select a brand or type a new one (e.g., "Nature's Best") - **Category** — Choose a category (e.g., "Food & Beverages") - **Sub-Category** — Choose a sub-category if applicable (e.g., "Honey") - **Unit** — How the product is measured or sold (e.g., "Pieces", "Kg", "Bottle") ### Pricing - **Purchase Price (Excluding Tax)** — What you pay your supplier for this item - **Selling Price (Excluding Tax)** — What you charge your customers - **Product Tax** — Choose a tax rate to apply (e.g., "VAT 20%") - **Tax Type** — Whether the tax is included in the price or added on top: - **Inclusive** — The price already includes tax - **Exclusive** — Tax is added on top of the price 📸 *[Screenshot: The pricing section showing purchase price, selling price, and tax settings]* > 💡 **Tip:** The system automatically calculates your profit margin when you enter both prices. ### Product Type Choose how this product is structured: | Type | When to Use It | |---|---| | **Single** | A simple product with one price (e.g., a bottle of water) | | **Variable** | A product with variations like size or colour (e.g., T-shirt S/M/L/XL) | | **Combo** | A bundle of multiple products sold together (e.g., a gift basket) | 3. Click **Save** at the bottom. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Save button at the bottom of the Add Product form]* --- ## How to Add a Product with Variations Variations let you sell the same product in different sizes, colours, or options — each with its own price and stock level. 1. When adding a product, set **Product Type** to **Variable**. 2. Choose a **Variation Template** (e.g., "Size" or "Colour"). - If you don't have one yet, create one under **Products → Variations**. 3. Enter the values for each variation: - **Variation Name** — e.g., "Small", "Medium", "Large" - **SKU** — Unique code for each variation - **Purchase Price** and **Selling Price** — Can be different for each variation 4. Click **Add More** to add additional variations. 5. Click **Save**. 📸 *[Screenshot: The variable product form showing size variations with different prices]* --- ## How to Import Products from a File If you have many products to add, importing from a spreadsheet is much faster: 1. Go to **Products → Import Products**. 2. Click the **Download Template** link to get the correct file format. 3. Open the template and fill in your products — one row per product. 4. Save the file as **.csv** or **.xlsx**. 5. Back in ActuaryPOS Hybrid Solution, click **Browse** and select your file. 6. Click **Submit** to start the import. 7. The system will tell you how many products were imported successfully. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Import Products page with file upload and template download link]* > ⚠️ **Important:** Make sure your column names exactly match the template. Products with errors will be skipped. --- ## How to Edit a Product 1. Go to **Products → List Products**. 2. Find the product you want to change (use the search bar or filters). 3. Click the **Actions** button next to the product. 4. Select **Edit**. 5. Make your changes and click **Update**. 📸 *[Screenshot: The product list with the Actions dropdown showing Edit option]* --- ## How to Print Barcode Labels 1. Go to **Products → Print Labels**. 2. Search for the product(s) you want to print labels for. 3. Add them to the print list. 4. Choose: - **Barcode Setting** — The label size and format - **Number of Labels** — How many copies to print 5. Click **Preview** to see how they'll look. 6. Click **Print** to send to your printer. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Print Labels page with products selected and preview shown]* --- ## Organising Products ### Categories Categories help you group similar products together (e.g., "Electronics", "Clothing", "Food"). 1. Go to **Products → Categories**. 2. Click **Add** to create a new category. 3. Enter: - **Category Name** — e.g., "Electronics" - **Short Code** — A short abbreviation (e.g., "ELEC") - **Parent Category** — Leave blank for a main category, or select one to create a sub-category 4. Click **Save**. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Add Category popup with name and parent category fields]* ### Brands Brands identify the manufacturer or maker of your products. 1. Go to **Products → Brands**. 2. Click **Add** to create a new brand. 3. Enter the **Brand Name** and save. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Brands list with the Add button]* ### Selling Price Groups If you sell the same product at different prices for different customer types (e.g., retail vs. wholesale): 1. Go to **Products → Selling Price Groups**. 2. Create groups like "Retail", "Wholesale", "Export". 3. Set different prices per product for each group. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Selling Price Groups page]* --- ## Units of Measurement Units define how products are counted or measured. 1. Go to **Products → Units**. 2. Click **Add** to create a new unit. 3. Enter: - **Name** — e.g., "Kilogram" - **Short Name** — e.g., "Kg" - **Allow Decimal** — Turn on if this unit can have decimal quantities (e.g., 1.5 Kg) 4. Click **Save**. ### Sub-Units Sub-units let you buy in one unit and sell in another (e.g., buy by the carton, sell by the piece): 1. Edit a unit or create a new one. 2. Set the **Base Unit** (e.g., "Carton"). 3. Define the sub-unit and the conversion factor (e.g., "Piece = 1/24 of a Carton"). 📸 *[Screenshot: The Units page showing a unit with sub-unit defined]* --- ## Stock & Inventory ### Checking Stock Levels 1. Go to **Reports → Stock Report**. 2. You'll see every product with: - **Current Stock** — How many you have right now - **Total Sold** — How many have been sold - **Total Purchased** — How many you've bought 3. Use the filters to view stock by location, category, or brand. 📸 *[Screenshot: The Stock Report showing product quantities]* ### Tracking Expiry Dates If you sell perishable products (food, medicine, etc.): 1. Ask your administrator to enable **Track Expiry Dates** in **Settings → Business Settings → Product** tab. 2. When adding or purchasing products, you'll see an **Expiry Date** field. 3. The system will: - Alert you when products are nearing expiry - Optionally block sales of expired items 📸 *[Screenshot: The expiry date field on a product/purchase form]* ### Lot Numbers For batch tracking: 1. Enable **Lot Numbers** in **Settings → Business Settings → Product** tab. 2. When making a purchase, enter the **Lot Number** for each batch. 3. You can track which lot number was sold to which customer. --- ## Product Settings & Options | Setting | What It Does | Where to Find It | |---|---|---| | **SKU Prefix** | Adds a prefix to auto-generated SKU codes | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Enable Categories** | Show/hide the Categories feature | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Enable Brands** | Show/hide the Brands feature | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Enable Product Expiry** | Track expiry dates on products | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Enable Lot Number** | Track batch/lot numbers | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Enable Warranty** | Add warranty information per product | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | | **Default Unit** | The unit automatically selected for new products | **Settings → Business Settings → Product** | --- ## Common Questions **Q: Can I delete a product?** A: You can only delete products that have no transactions (no sales or purchases). If a product has transactions, you can make it inactive instead. **Q: How do I change a product's price?** A: Edit the product and update the selling price. The new price applies to future sales only — past sales are not affected. **Q: Can I have the same product at different prices for different customer groups?** A: Yes! Use **Selling Price Groups** to set different prices for wholesale, retail, etc. **Q: How do I track stock across multiple locations?** A: Stock is automatically tracked per location. When you make a sale or purchase at a specific location, the stock updates for that location. --- ## Tips & Best Practices - 📌 Use **categories** and **brands** to keep your product list organised - 📌 Set a **reorder level** for each product to get alerts before you run out - 📌 Use the **import feature** when adding many products at once - 📌 Review the **Stock Report** weekly to spot slow-moving items - 📌 Enable **expiry tracking** if you sell perishable goods