Categories, brands, units and taxes

These four lists organise your products. They are under Catalogue in the left menu: Categories, Brands, Units and Tax rates. They all work the same way, so learn one and you know them all.

#How the lists work

• Each list has a search box, a table and an Add ... button (for example Add Category).
• Click the pencil icon to edit a row. Click the trash icon to delete it and confirm.
• You need permission for each list (for example categories.create). Buttons you are not allowed to use are hidden.
• In demo mode the Delete buttons are hidden and deleting is blocked by the server.

Tip: You can also create categories and brands automatically by importing products from a CSV file. See Import products from a CSV file.

#Categories

Categories group your products. They appear as filter buttons on the POS and as filters in the product, stock and report pages.

1. Go to Catalogue → Categories and click Add Category.
2. Type the Name (for example Beverages).
3. Optionally choose a Parent category to make it a sub-category (for example Soft drinks under Beverages). Only top-level categories can be parents, so categories go one level deep.
4. Optionally upload an Image.
5. Optionally tick Print prep ticket (kitchen / bar) when sold (see below).
6. Click save.

The list shows each category's parent, how many products it has, and Yes in the Prep ticket column for categories marked for kitchen tickets. In the POS the category bar shows every category that has at least one active product.

#Print prep ticket

Tick Print prep ticket (kitchen / bar) when sold on categories whose items must be prepared, such as Food or Drinks. When such an item is sold, a preparation ticket with the items, quantities and notes (no prices) is printed for the kitchen or the bar. The switch only works when kitchen tickets are turned on in Settings → POS & scanner. See Kitchen and prep tickets.

#Brands

A brand is just a name (for example Coca-Cola). Add one with Catalogue → Brands → Add Brand. The list shows how many products use each brand. You can filter the product list by brand.

#Units and conversion

Units tell the system how a product is counted and sold: pieces, boxes, kilograms and so on.

#Base unit and factor

• A base unit has no parent. It is the smallest unit you track stock in, for example Piece (pcs) or Kilogram (kg).
• A bigger or smaller unit points to a base unit and has a Factor: how many base units are in one of this unit.

Stock is always stored in the base unit, so a sale in boxes and a sale in pieces use the same stock figure.

Examples:

A new installation already contains these units. The list shows the conversion in plain words, for example 1 box = 12 pcs.

#Add a unit

1. Go to Catalogue → Units and click Add Unit.
2. Fill in Name (Carton) and Short name (ctn).
3. For a base unit leave Base unit empty. For a bigger or smaller unit choose its base unit (the hint says: "Leave empty for a base unit (e.g. Piece). Choose one for a bigger unit (e.g. Box)").
4. Type the Factor, for example 24 for 1 carton = 24 pieces, or 0.001 for grams under kilograms.
5. Save. For a base unit the factor is always saved as 1.

#Using units on products

On the product form you choose the product's Unit. The price is for that unit. In the POS and in purchases the cashier or buyer can pick any unit from the same family and the price, cost and stock are converted automatically.

Note: Pick the unit that matches how you usually price the item. If you price per piece but buy in boxes, keep the product in Piece and choose Box on the purchase line.

#Tax rates

A tax rate is a named percentage, for example VAT 5%. A new installation includes No tax, VAT 5%, VAT 10% and GST 15%.

1. Go to Catalogue → Tax rates and click Add Tax rate.
2. Type a Name and the Rate (%) between 0 and 100.
3. Save.

#How tax is charged

• Tax is chosen per product in the Tax field of the product form.
• It is added on top of the selling price. A 10.00 product with 5% tax costs 10.50 at the POS.
• Order discounts and coupons are spread over the lines before tax, so tax is calculated on what the customer actually pays.
• The receipt can show or hide the tax line (Settings → Sales & receipts → Show tax line).
• Purchases use the same tax rate of each product to calculate the tax on your supplier invoice.

#Default tax for new products

To avoid choosing the tax each time, go to Settings → Sales & receipts and pick Default tax for new products. Every new product form starts with that tax selected (you can still change it per product). It does not change existing products.

Note: Changing a tax rate's percentage changes it for every product that uses it, from the next sale on. Past invoices are not changed.