The Product Properties program is where you set up and maintain your inventory file--that is, all of the products you sell in your store, or stores if you are running a multistore operation. Product Properties is a vast, multilayered program with nearly unlimited flexibility. It is easy to add products to the system and easy to maintain them once they are there.
You can access the Product Properties program in several ways.
Click on the Product toolbar icon at the top of your main [i] Merchant Desktop menu, if you have toolbars displayed. The Find Product screen appears. (At this screen, you can create a new product. Simply click on the New toolbar icon at the top of the Find Product window. The New Product message box appears, where you can enter a product number--normally via scanning--and select a product industry. As a convenience, if you have already keyed in a product number in the Find screen Search field, that number will automatically be entered in the Product Number field of the New Product message box. You can also access the Customer Order Subscriptions program by clicking on the Subscription toolbar icon.)
From the menu at the top of the [i] Merchant Desktop, select File-Open-Product. The Find Product screen appears. (At this screen, you can create a new product. Simply click on the New toolbar icon at the top of the Find Product window. The New Product message box appears, where you can enter a product number--normally via scanning--and select a product industry.)
From the menu at the top of the [i] Merchant Desktop, select File-New-Product. The New Product message box appears. You can scan the product's barcode at this point. The product number field will automatically fill in. If you cannot or choose not to scan the barcode, you can key in a product number--anything you choose. If you do not fill this field in, the system will assign a number to it once you proceed to the Product Properties screen.
If you scan a product into the system, [i] Merchant will automatically convert the product number to a 13-digit ISBN. Likewise, if you hand-key the ISBN as a 10-digit ISBN in the product number field, the system will automatically convert it to a 13-digit ISBN.
If you really want the ISBN to be formatted as 10 digits, after the product has been added to the system, go back in the product number field and change it back to a 10-digit ISBN.
However the product number is formatted in Product Properties (10-digit vs. 13-digit ISBNs) will determine how that product number will display on printed forms and reports. If the product number in Product Properties is formatted as a 13-digit ISBN, for example, then that same number will always print as a 13-digit ISBN on printed reports and forms.
For already-existing products within [i] Merchant, you can also convert 10-digit ISBNs to 13-digit ISBNs. For instructions on how to do a sweeping conversion of all of your applicable products, click here.
In the Industry field, a default industry will already be filled in if it has been established in Tools-Customize. If you don't need to change the default here, you can simply leave it. If you do need to change it, click on the down arrow to the right of the field, then select the industry that most suits the product--for example, Books, General Merchandise, Magazines. After selecting the industry, click on the Next button at the bottom of the New Product message box. This takes you to the Product Properties screen.
Note:
There is an exception to this behavior. When you scan a product in, [i] Merchant will examine the barcode. If it finds a two-digit add-on code, it will change the default industry to Magazines, if Magazines is an allowable industry as defined by how you have set up your system.
When you add a new product, you can either add it just to one store, or, if you are a multistore operation, you can also add it to each store in your chain. To set the default, do the following:
Once in Product Properties, select Tools-Default Settings. A submenu will appear. In that submenu, one of the options will be: "Add New products to All Stores." If you click on this, it will be checked, meaning that, when adding products to your system, the default will be to add products to all stores in your multistore operation simultaneously. If this is already checked, but you do not want it to be the default, select it again to uncheck it. If unchecked, then products will only be added to the individual store you select. When checked, the Save toolbar icon will have a multidisk, layered look, reminding you that the default mode is to save to all stores. If unchecked, the Save icon will appear as only a single disk.
You can override the default setting. When saving a new product, go to the File menu. There, you will see, among other things, the following options: "Save, Save As, Save and Close, and Save to All Stores." By selecting one of those options, you can override the default. (For example, if the default is to save to just a single store, you can still save to all stores without switching the default by selecting File-Save to All Stores.)
When you return to the traditional Find screen, if you added the product to all stores, a separate row will appear for each store the product was added into. If using the Product-Find screen, each line item will appear separately in the window at the top right of the screen.
Please note, creating different store items for products already existing within the system must be done manually.
The Product Properties screen has a huge assortment of fields. You can rearrange the fields, add fields, and remove fields in the Screen Designer for Product Properties. The list of fields below represents the [i] Merchant default settings for the Book industry of Product Properties. (Other industries, such as General Merchandise, will have a very similar default screen. Some book-specific fields listed below for the Book industry will not be present, but the overall look and feel of the other industries' default screen will be quite similar.)
The default settings in the upper left of the Product Properties screen fall under the "Product" section. The ten default fields in this section include:
Product Number: There is something you need to know about Product Number, apart from the basic definition. You need to know the difference between "products" and "items." A specific product can only have one Product Number. For example, if the Product Number for a book is that book's ISBN, then that Product Number needs to be unique for this book throughout [i] Merchant. No other product can have a duplicate Product Number.
However, multiple items can exist under this Product Number. Taking the example of a book, only one Product Number can exist for this specific book title. But there might be a new edition, along with a used copy--or several used copies. Each of these represents a different item. All of these items will have the same Product Number, but they can be segmented into items, falling under this parent Product Number.
How to create items? It's easy . . . it's also done in the Find Product program once an item is highlighted on that screen. For information on how to create new items, click here. (Note: This link takes you to the optional Product Find screen. If you are running the traditional Product Find screen, do not worry. Creating an item is done the exact same way regardless of which Product Find program you are using.)
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If you add a "new" product to your system that already exists, [i] Merchant will issue a warning. However, if you have security access to do so, you can, at this juncture, choose to have the "Add New Item" window appear, so you can create a new item immediately. Once items exist, you can transfer one item to another item, if desired. For instructions on how to do this, please click here. |
Now, on to the other default fields you will see on the Product Properties screen:
On Hand: A note about onhand. If you go into this field, you cannot change it. To change an onhand quantity, select Edit-Adjust Inventory from the menu at the top of the screen; or, simply press F10 on your keyboard while in Product Properties for the selected product. (You can also change onhand amount at the Find screen for a highlighted product.)
The Adjust Inventory window opens. Here, if you have security access, you can alter the onhand amount, along with the other fields listed in the window. The Cost and Discount fields listed here will calculate automatically once you make a change in any of the fields in this window and then click on the "Calculate" button.
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Be careful here. When you change onhand amount and click on "Calculate", the system will automatically update the Cost, Unit Cost, and Discount fields as needed. But you may not want these fields updated--just the onhand quantity. If this is the case, be sure to manually change the fields back to the way you want them after clicking "Calculate". |
Note the "Update Last Cost" field. This is a checkbox field, and it's safe to leave this checked. The system will update the Last Cost automatically; however, if you leave this field checked, it ensures that the Last Cost will be updated correctly regardless of the manual adjustments you might make to Cost or Unit Cost.
Notice the "Reason" field at the bottom of the window. Based on how you set the default in Tools-Options, you will either be forced to enter a reason when you adjust an onhand amount or it will be an optional field--you can key in a reason or not, as you choose. This is a free-form field, and you can key in anything you want.
Accounting Category The Accounting Category is an important field. One of the functions it can do is designate a product as non-tracked inventory. This means the product will not have an onhand value, nor will it have a cost value in Product Properties. You may put in a retail price, but it is not necessary. When the POS clerk scans a non-tracked product without a retail price, he/she will need to key in the price at POS. (When scanning a non-tracked product with an established retail price, the price will automatically appear at POS, as it does with other products. Sales Promotions can still apply automatically to non-tracked inventory with a retail price on file--but not to products with no retail price on file. Customer Discounts will also be applied to non-tracked inventory, even if no retail price is on file for the product. In that case, the discount will be taken off whatever the cashier keys in for the selling price.) Non-tracked products are essentially products for which you do not want the system to keep track of onhand amounts. If a product is tagged as non-tracked, the system will prevent you from entering an onhand quantity or a cost value. For more information on how to tag a product as non-tracked inventory, please read about the Accounting Category parameter. Additionally, if you want to run a G/L Export for your inventory, be sure to assign each product with an Accounting Category.
In the upper right of the default Product Properties screen is the Author/Role Box.
Below the Author/Role box is the Customer Orders group box, which contains three fields, which are informational and automatically filled in by the system:
Total Allocated is the total number of copies allocated to fill outstanding Customer Orders.
Total Needed is the total number of copies still needed to fill outstanding Customer Orders.
Total Ordered is the total number of copies that have been ordered to fill outstanding Customer Orders.
The bottom half of the Product Properties screen--the "Details" section--is segmented by tab buttons. The default tab buttons are: Basic Detail, Cost/Price, Purchasing, Sales, and Returns. When accessing Product Properties, the Basic Detail tab is automatically selected. To select another of the tabs, simply click on it. You can change the fields that appear under a tab button, delete entire tab buttons, or add new ones, in the Screen Designer.
The following fields appear under the Basic Detail tab button:
The following fields appear under the Cost/Price tab button:
The following fields appear under the Purchasing tab button:
UPC/ISBN Box
The following fields appear under the Sales tab button:
The following fields appear under the Returns tab:
To Be Returned. (This field lists the To Be Returned quantity. Beneath it are two buttons: New and Show. "New" will call up the TBR Properties screen, where you can adjust the quantity to be returned, among other things. And if you do alter the TBR quantity, the new value will be reflected in the To Be Returned field here in Product Properties once you are brought back to this screen. "Show" will take you to the TBR Find screen for this product, and each TBR entry will display in the grid at the bottom of the screen. Close out of this screen to return to Product Properties.
Remember, you can rearrange the Product Properties screen any way you want using the Screen Designer. The above fields and above design only represent the default settings.
No matter which fields you choose to place on the Product Properties screen, each user can establish default values within the applicable fields for each industry. For example, let's say a user named Kathleen wants to establish default values for the Book industry. Here is what she would do:
Find any product within the Book industry.
In the the Product Properties program, set the applicable fields the way she wants them.
From the menu at the top of the screen, select Tools-Default Settings-Update Saved Settings. The default values are now updated. Until changed at a later time, each new product Kathleen adds within the Book industry will include these default values for the applicable fields. (If no default values are set, the fields will come in empty for each new product and will need to be filled in manually.)
The default values can be updated at any time. They can also be removed.
To remove default values, select Tools-Default Settings-Remove Saved Settings from the menu at the top of the screen. If Kathleen does this, all applicable fields will be empty when she adds a new product within the Book industry--until she saves new default settings at a later time.
Setting default values is fluid (you can constantly change the defaults) and user-definable. One user can have an entirely different set of default values from another user within the same industry. Setting defaults really comes in handy if some fields will always be the same when adding new products. It can be a timesaver if used wisely. And again, alter the defaults as the situation warrants.
The following fields are applicable to setting defaults (note, not all of them appear on the default screen described above) . . .
User-definable fields can also be defaulted.
Or . . . you can select any of the applicable default fields above on an individual basis. To set defaults this way . . .
With the appropriate product displayed (while in that product's Product Properties page), select Tools-Default Settings-Select Fields to Default and Set Values. This calls up the Select Fields for Defaults box. This box lists the applicable fields (the ones you can set defaults for). Check the box to the left of each field for which you want to set up default values. These are the fields that will be set to the default values you select. Unchecked fields will not be used as defaults.
When you have placed a check beside all of the fields for which you want to establish defaults, click on the "Next - Enter values for the selected fields" button. (If you want to back out without establishing defaults, click on "Quit - exit and do not save defaults.") This calls up the Set Default values box.
All of the fields you had checked at the previous screen will be listed here. For each field, select the default value you want to use. When you're through, click on the "Next - Update Defaults" button, and the fields will be set with the default values you have chosen, and you will be brought back to the Product Properties screen. (If you need to go back to the Select Fields for Defaults box, click on the "Previous - select fields to update" button. If you want to abort the process entirely, click on the "Quit - exit and do not save defaults" button.)
The advantage of this method for selecting product default values is that you can go through the fields one by one. The advantage of the generic method (described above) is that the process is quicker and more fluid. Choose whichever method works best for you. And remember, default values can always be changed and/or readjusted at any time.
You can also tag a particular item to be a product's default item when the product's manufacturer's barcode is scanned at the POS. (If you don't explicitly select a default item for a product, the system will simply choose the first item.
To tag an item to be the product's default item:
While in Product Properties for the item in question, select the Edit menu. A submenu appears. Look at the selection called ""Set as Default Item." If checked, this item will be the default item for this product. If not checked, click on it, and the check mark will appear. If there is a check mark present and you don't want it there, click on the "Set as Default Item" field, and the check mark will vanish, and this item will not be the default for the product in question.
Pay attention to the toolbars at the top of the Product Properties screen. Here is a list of them, and a description of what they do:
Save simply saves your changes.
Undo deletes all unsaved changes that you have made.
Print Label has a down arrow next to it. The down arrow calls up a submenu with two choices: Print Now, and Add To Batch. If you simply click on the Print Label icon itself, it is the same as selecting "Print Now." Print Now calls up the Label Printer Selections window, from where you can print the barcode label for the selected product. Create your store's barcode label using the Label Designer. Review the information in the Printer Selections window (such as which printer to print to, how many copies to print, and the stock the labels will be printed on) to see if it is correct. Make any necessary changes. You can preview what the barcode label will look like by selecting the Preview button. When you are ready to print the label, simply click on the Print button at the lower left of the Print Label box.
You can also batch labels, and then print the batch. Batching labels means that you send the labels to a batch queue to be printed later. This is convenient if your label printer is not nearby and you want to print labels for a variety of products. In this case, batch the labels, then print them later. To batch labels, simply click on "Add To Batch" from the submenu accessed via the down arrow next to the Print Label toolbar icon.
When you are ready to print the batch, select Reports-Print Labels from the menu at the top of the screen. This will open the Printer Selections window, which looks the same as when you print labels without batching them, except there is no Preview button and there is a Label Stock field (within this field, a number will appear, showing you how many individual labels exist within the batch). Click on the Print button when you are ready to print the batch.
After printing a batch of labels, the system will ask if you want the batch deleted. Unless there was a problem printing the batch (and you need to reprint it), have the system delete it.
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You can set the Label Type for each product within your system. If you want to print labels, then you should choose a Label Type for each product here in Product Properties. If you fail to do this, the system will choose the Label Type that is defaulted for your store, in Store Maintenance. The Label Type field will display a pulldown menu of label names that have been created in the Label Designer. Choose the one you want for the product in question. |
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Whenever you click on the Print Label toolbar icon (or select one of the two choices that appear after you click on the down arrow at the right of it), any changes you have made in Product Properties are automatically saved. If you want to undo those changes, simply press the Undo icon in the toolbar. |
You can create, view, and maintain Notes--Product Notes and Detail Notes--by selecting the Notes powerbar command.
The Sales toolbar icon opens the Sales box, which depicts the sales history for the selected product. In the Sales box, click on the View menu (or right-click your mouse), then select how you want the information to be broken down--for example, by day, week, month, year (year means current year to date), etc. The Preferences option under the View menu allows you to set how many days, weeks, or months you want to display sales information. When you are ready to print the report, select Reports-Quick Reports from the Sales-box menu.
This same Sales box (minus the mini menu at the top of it) can automatically display on your Product Properties screen for any industry of your choosing. If you want the Sales box to display automatically on your Product Properties screen, choose Product Sales Window from the Palette in the Screen Designer.
The PO's toolbar icon opens the Purchase Orders History window, which displays PO history for the selected product. Double-click on any of the POs in the list to view that PO's receiving history for the selected product (a Receiving window will appear).
In the Purchase Orders History window, you can right-click to pull up a mini-menu. From this menu, you can call up the Receiving window for a selected product (mentioned in the above paragraph), either for just the selected PO, or for all POs--or you can call up a Preferences window. The Preferences window enables you to limit the number of individual POs displayed in the Purchase Orders History window for the selected product (keeping the Items Displayed field set to zero will have the system display all applicable POs in the PO History window). Also, in the Preferences window, you can establish whether only POs with the selected product already received should be displayed (Completed Only), whether POs with the selected product not yet received should be displayed (Pending Only), or whether both POs with the selected product received and not yet received should be displayed (All).
If you want to print the report, select Reports-Quick Reports from the PO History-box menu.
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If you want a Receiving window to appear on the Product Properties screen that details the product's receiving history, select ReceivingWindow in the Screen Designer Palette. This Receiving window shows the entire receiving history for the selected product. |
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If you want a Returns window to appear on the Product Properties screen that details the product's Returns history and To Be Returned (TBR) information, select ReturnsWindow in the Screen Designer Palette. This Returns window displays the selected product's entire Returns history as well as TBR information. |
This same Purchase Orders History window (minus the mini menu at the top of it) can automatically display on your Product Properties screen for any industry of your choosing. If you want the PO History window to display automatically on your Product Properties screen, choose Product PO Window from the Palette in the Screen Designer.
The Close toolbar icon closes you out of Product Properties. If you have not saved your changes, the system will prompt you.
To delete a product from the system:
Select Edit-Delete from the menu at the top of the screen. A message box asks you if you want to delete the record. If you have security access to delete products, clicking on "Yes" will delete it from the system. You will automatically be returned to the Find product screen, and the item you just deleted will have a strikethrough line running through it. (If you are using the optional, special Product Find program, the just-deleted item will have a strikethrough line running through it in the box at the upper right corner of the screen.)
To immediately restore a product that has been deleted:
On the Find product screen, highlight the item just deleted (it will have a strikethrough line running through it). (If using the optional Product Find program, the item in question--which will have a strikethrough line running through it--will appear in the box at the upper right corner of the screen.) Click on the Properties button. The system will prompt you with a message box saying the product has been deleted from the system, but if you want to restore the product, click on "Yes." Click on the "Yes" button, and you will be taken to the Product Properties screen for that product. It has now been restored to your [i] Merchant system.
To restore an item that has been deleted at a later point:
At the Find product screen, select View-Show Deleted Items from the menu at the top of the screen. Then run your search. Any items that were deleted at a previous time will appear at the grid at the bottom of the screen with a strikethrough line running through them. If you want to restore an item, highlight the item in question, then click on the Properties button. The system will prompt you with a message box saying the product has been deleted from the system, but if you want to restore the product, click on "Yes." Click on the "Yes" button, and you will be taken to the Product Properties screen for that product. The item has now been restored to your [i] Merchant system
If you are using the optional Product Find program, restore a previously deleted item as follows: At the Find product screen, when running a query, be sure to check the "Include inactive (deleted) records that meet the selection criteria" option at the bottom of the query window. Then, when running a search for products, when you highlight a product in the "Products selected for browsing" list, if any of that product's items have been deleted at a previous time, they will show up in the upper right corner of the screen with a strikethrough line running through them. If you want to restore the item, highlight the item in question, then either right-click or click on the Properties button. The system will prompt you with a message box saying the product has been deleted from the system, but if you want to restore the product, click on "Yes." Click on the "Yes" button, and you will be taken to the Product Properties screen for that product. The item has now been restored to your [i] Merchant system.
If you want to create a new product that is very similar to an existing product, you can use the Save As option. This works much the same as the Save As option in other applications, such as Microsoft Word.
To use the Save As option:
Locate a product in the Find Product window.
Access the Product Properties window for the selected product.
Change the field or fields you want.
Once you have changed the applicable fields, select File from the menu at the top of your computer screen.
Under the File menu, select Save As. (The system will, at this point, prompt you to enter a new Product Number by displaying a New Product Number message box. Key in the new product number here.) The new record is created.
Close the Product Properties window. The new product will be at the bottom of the grid within the Find Product window. It will also be highlighted.