Documentation/ Master records and catalogues/ The external product catalogue
The external product catalogue
The external catalogue is your own list of references: the things you sell or handle, with your name for them, your code, your unit and your VAT rate. It comes from no document, unlike the masters, and that is why you have to load it.
Database › External product catalogue
On this page
What it is and how it differs from the master
| Product master | External catalogue | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | The lines on the documents you receive | You load it |
| What is in it | What you buy | What you sell or handle |
| Mainly used for | Assigning the ERP item on purchases | Filling in lines on sales documents |
| Fills itself | Yes | No |
Put another way: the master collects what arrives; the catalogue offers what you want typed.
The fields on a reference
| Field | What it is | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | The trade description. | Yes |
| SKU | Your internal reference code. | No |
| Reference ID | A second identifier, for cross-checking another system. | No |
| Family | A grouping, as free text. | No |
| Unit of measure | The pack or unit it is supplied in. | No |
| Conversion factor | What it comes to in the base unit. | No |
| VAT (%) | The rate that applies, as a percentage. | No |
| EAN | The barcode. | No |
| Extra code | An additional free field. | No |
| Notes | Free text for anything else. | No |
Only the name is required: without it the application says the product name is needed and will not save.
Family here is free text, not a drop-down: it has nothing to do with the product master's families. Worth always writing it the same way if you mean to group by it.
Adding a reference
- Press New product.
- Type the name and whichever fields you need.
- Save.
It confirms the product was created. To change an existing reference you open the same record from the list.
The external catalogue does not take an Excel import: references go in one at a time. If you have a large catalogue to load, raise it with support before you start.
Searching the catalogue
The search box at the top finds things by name, SKU or reference, and in practice it searches the rest of the list's fields too: family, unit, VAT, EAN, extra code and notes.
Each column also has its own filter and sort, and the list can show ten, twenty, fifty or a hundred rows a page.
Where it gets used
The catalogue feeds the description and packaging drop-downs on the lines of sales documents. Instead of typing the name by hand on every line, you pick from the list, so the description always comes out written the same way.
Those drop-downs also let you type a value that is not on the list, so an odd case is never blocked. And when a reference has only one packaging attached, it fills itself in as you pick the description.
This depends on how the account is set up. If the drop-downs do not appear on your sales documents, ask support.
Keeping the catalogue in shape
- One name per reference. The catalogue's value is that the description is stable; two entries for the same thing throw that away.
- Retire what you no longer sell. The delete button takes several ticked references at once.
- Go over the VAT when a rate changes: it is stored here as a written percentage and does not update itself.
- Use the notes for what does not fit a field: terms of sale, equivalents, warnings for whoever fills the document in.
Exporting
The export button downloads the catalogue to Excel with every field. The file has a timestamp in its name, so successive downloads never collide.
Since there is no import, the export mostly works as a backup and as a way of reviewing: spotting duplicates or gaps is far easier in a spreadsheet.
Things that come up
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The description drop-down on a sales delivery note is empty | The catalogue has no references in it. | Add them from this screen. |
| It will not save the record | The product name is missing. | Fill it in: it is the only required field. |
| The packaging does not fill itself in | The reference has more than one possible packaging, or none. | Pick it by hand on the line, or fill the unit of measure in on the catalogue. |
| The drop-downs do not appear on the document | The feature depends on the account's set-up and the document type. | Ask support. |
| There are repeated references | They were added twice; there is no merging on this list. | Delete the spare one from the list. |