Follow this guide below to understand the "why" behind how products are set up, and to help you best decide the set up that fits your operational needs best. If you're completely unsure, you can contact your Account Manager for assistance!
Product Class Basics
Product Classes are usually set up when you are first staring to use OrderBot. The types of product classes you need will depend on whether or not you would like to track inventory within OrderBot, or if you have a simple versus a complicated product setup.
These are the three Class Types
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Sales Class - This is the basic level on which your products are set up–under this class, you will create sales units, the basic unit of a product containing most of its information. If you don't plan on managing your inventory through Orderbot, this will be all you need.
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Component Class - This is the class on which your basic inventory units will be created, and it's needed if you intend to track inventory within Orderbot. Information on this class is what will show on inventory-related reports. Your inventory units should be linked to sales units, so that when you ship an order containing the sales unit, the correct inventory unit will be depleted.
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Assembly Class - Use this class only if you have a more complex inventory setup, where you purchase and store individual components, then assemble them together into a finished product. (For example, if you purchase individual toys, then put them together into a toy set, which is sold to the customer as a single SKU.) If you use this class, you must also set up a component class–with a 1:many bill of material, you link components together under an assembly unit.
Example of a Basic Setup - Sales Class Only
Example of a Complex Setup - Sales Class, Inventory (component) Class, and Assembly Class
Product Class Features
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Edit your existing Class by clicking the Edit button. This allows you to change the Name, but not the Class Type of your Class.
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Activate or deactivate your Class by clicking the Active or Inactive buttons. While Classes cannot be deleted, deactivating them will prevent them from appearing on any dropdown menus or reports.
Product Structure Basics
Once you have your Product Classes set up, you can set up your Product Categories and Product Groups. The exact setup you use will depend on your operational needs, but here are some basics to get you started.
Product Category - This is the larger category under which your organizational groups will be created. You can filter by category on reports, as well as while searching on the Manage Products page.
If you would like to organize your products by vendor, you may find it useful to use vendor names for your category names.
If you don't have many products, you might find it easiest to create a single category called 'Products.'
Product Group - This is the subcategory under which your products will be organized.
For example, if you were selling toys, you could create a group for each type of toy: blocks, plushies, model kits, etc. Breaking up your products this way allows you to search for them more efficiently.
Product Structure Features
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Edit your existing Categories or Groups by clicking the Edit button. This allows you to change the Name of your categories and groups.
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Activate or deactivate your Categories or Groups by clicking the Active or Inactive buttons. Inactive categories and groups won't show on any searches or reports, unless you choose to include them in your search filters.
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On the Product Structure page, click the 'Include Inactive Categories or Groups' option if you would like to view your inactive categories and groups as well.
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Click the Delete button to get rid of an unwanted category or group.
Note: You cannot delete a category or group once it contains products. If you would like to discontinue a category or group with products, use the checkmark button to deactivate it.