Product

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The Product module, located in the Materials group, keeps track of products. Products are items that are sold while parts are items that are purchased or manufactured. It is possible to have more than one product associated with the same part. When a part is created and marked to be sold, a product is automatically created. Products can also be imported from a spreadsheet.

Module buttons

New creates a new product.

New also has a drop-down option to create a kit when clicking the drop-down arrow.

Save saves any changes made to the product.

Delete deletes the product.

Inventory opens the product in the Inventory module.

Duplicate creates a duplicate copy of the product.

Product Tree opens the product tree.

Email opens a window to compose an email. If the module's default report is specified, the PDF report will be attached. Email can be configured on the Email tab of the Settings module.

Print sends the default module report to the printer.

How To opens this article in a web browser.

Refresh reloads whatever is currently open in the module.

Create a new product

Products can be automatically created when creating new parts. To manually create a new product, follow the instructions below.

1. Click the New button in the Product module.
   
2. Select a corresponding part.
3. Enter the product info.
4. Click the Save button.

Descriptions of each field can be found on the General tab. Products can also be imported from a spreadsheet.

Add a product image

1. To add a product image, drag and drop the picture file into the picture area.
   
2. Alternatively, click the Add button located on the component toolbar to the right, locate the image file, and then click Open.
   
3. Then click the Save button on the module toolbar. The new image will also be visible in the search pane.
   
   • Click the Save button to save the image to the computer.
   • Click the Delete button to delete the product image.
   • Click the image to display it in a separate window.
   • The maximum image and thumbnail size can be set in the  Settings module options.
   • To upload pictures for multiple products at once, see Batch upload product pictures.
   • When an image is uploaded for a part, the image can also be updated for all associated products.
     

Batch upload product pictures

The Product import can be used to upload pictures for multiple products at once.

1. Export the Product CSV by clicking the File menu, selecting Export, and then choosing Product.
2. Choose a location to save the file.
3. Browse to the location where the file was saved (Documents Folder by default) and open the file in a spreadsheet program like Excel.
4. Type the path to the image file into the ProductPictureUrl column.
   • If the images are located in an images folder on the C: drive, the cell value would look similar to this:
     file://localhost/C:/images/B201.jpg
   • If the images are predictably named, a formula can be used to reference other cells. For example, if the image is named the same as the product number, then the product number field (A2) can be used in the formula. The same formula can be copied into all applicable cells. The formula would look similar to this:
     ="file://localhost/C:/images/"&A2&".jpg"
5. Import the Product CSV by clicking the File menu, selecting Import, choosing Product, and then selecting the edited file.

TIPS

• Make sure the file extension matches exactly (.jpg, .jpeg, .JPG).
• Localhost in the URL means the files are located on the local computer. The word localhost could be replaced with the name of the server where the images are stored. If the name of the server is excluded, make sure there are three forward slashes instead of just two: (file:///C:).

Modify or delete an existing product

To modify an existing product, double-click the product in the Search pane, and then double-click the product. The product details will appear on the right hand-side of the screen. After making any changes, click Save.

Once a product has been created and acquired a history, it cannot be deleted. However, a part can be inactivated through the Product module.

1. Choose the product to inactivate and select the General tab.
2. Beneath the General Information section, deselect the Active box. The product will no longer be visible in the Product module, or available for any orders.
   

To activate or view the part again, click the Advanced Search feature located next to the standard search button, search for the desired product, and select the Active box.

Duplicate a product

Use the following steps to duplicate a product in the Product Module.

1. Locate the product to duplicate using the Search pane and double-click on it.
2. Click the Duplicate button located on the module toolbar.
3. A dialog box will appear stating that the product was duplicated.

A duplicated product will always be named as a copy of the original. It can be renamed by editing the Product field and clicking the Save button on the module toolbar.

A duplicate product is still tied to the Part of the original product. Therefore, the inventory tied to the duplicate product will be the same as the original product. When a product is duplicated the Substitute, Pricing, and Memo tabs will not be copied over from the original product.

Assign substitute products

If a product with insufficient inventory is added to a sales order, Fishbowl will provide the option of selecting a substitute product which can be configured on the Substitute tab of the Product module. To add a new substitute product, click the Add button located on the component toolbar to the right and select a substitute product. The Substitute tab also displays which kits a product is included in.

Assign multiple products per part

A product may not be assigned to multiple parts. However, a part may have multiple products assigned to it.

1. Open the Details tab of the Part module, which displays all of the products associated with a part.
   
2. Click the New Product button located on the right side of the Product section.
3. The product number and description will be automatically entered.
4. Enter any other applicable fields and then click the Save button.

Product tree

The Product Tree organizes products into categories and subcategories. This simplifies the process of applying pricing rules to groups of products, viewing sales by category, etc. A product can also be listed in multiple categories.

To access the product tree, click the Product Tree button located on the module toolbar. The product tree window is divided into two basic sections. To create categories and to organize products, use the Product Tree pane on the left. To search and filter a list of products, use the Product Search on the right.

Creating a new category

Categories can be imported into the product tree using a CSV import file, or they can be manually entered into the client.

To add a category manually, select the Product category in the Product Tree pane, click the Add Category button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, and enter the name and description of the new category.

To add a subcategory, follow the same process by selecting the desired parent category, clicking the Add Category button, and entering the subcategory name and description.

Adding products to the tree

Products can be imported into a category using a CSV import file, or they can be manually entered into the client. To move a product into a category manually, use the following steps.

1. In the Product Tree window, highlight the desired category.
2. On the right side of the screen search for the desired product using the product number, product description, part number, or through an advanced search.
3. Select the desired product from the search results.
4. Click the Add Product button to move the product to the left side of the screen.

To edit the product tree or to delete portions, select the category, subcategory, or product to be modified and click the Edit button or Delete button at the bottom of the product tree pane. To refresh the product tree, click the Refresh button.

For information on adding pricing rules to a product tree, see Pricing Rule module.

Associated pricing

Associated pricing allows additional costs to be tied to a specific product. For example, if a product has an additional charge for delivery, this could be added as an associated price on the Pricing tab.

To create a new associated price, go to the Pricing tab of the Product module, and click the New button to the right of the Associated Prices pane. Enter the price and select the Associated Price Type. To create a new Associated Price Type, click the New button next to the Associated Price Type drop-down list.

To add associated pricing to a sales order, open the Sales Order module, and click the Add Item button located on the right. Select Associated Price from the list of items to add to the sales order. Click Next, choose the correct associated price type from the drop-down list, and then click Finish. The total of the associated price line item will be the sum of all the associated prices for products above the line item.

Associated Pricing can also be imported from a spreadsheet.

Associated products

Fishbowl provides the ability to add multiple products to a sales order simultaneously by using associated products. An associated product has the same name as the main product plus a special suffix to identify it as an associated product. Associated products are often used in industries where recyclable cores can be returned to offset the cost of a new item. For example, when selling a new car battery, an auto parts store may give a discount to a customer that returns an old battery. Below is one example of how associated products could be used with core products.

1. Create a new part and product named Battery.
   
2. Create a new part and product named Battery-Core.
   
3. Open Battery-Core in the Product module and click the Details tab. Set the SO Item Type to Credit Return.
   
4. Click Tools on the menu bar, and open the  Product module options. Enter -Core% as the Associated Product Suffix. The % symbol functions as a wildcard search, meaning it will look for products named Battery-Core plus any other characters after that (for example, Battery-Core2 or Battery-CoreABC).
5. Create a new sales order and add the Battery product. The Battery-Core product (and all other products that match the wildcard search) will be added automatically.
   

Associated products aren't limited to core products. By adjusting part types, default product types, prices, and suffixes, a company could use the associated product feature to fulfill various company needs, such as bundling products together (similar to a kit), adding service items or delivery fees (similar to associated pricing), or many other possibilities.

Search

To search for products, use the search pane on the left of the Product module.

The product search pane is displayed in other areas of Fishbowl, such as in the product tree window, and can also be found by clicking the Product search button in the Sales Order module, the Pricing Rule module, etc. The image and inventory data can be hidden by clicking the Tools menu, selecting Program Options, and then customizing the Inventory Data options on the General tab.

To perform a more advanced search, click the Advanced Search button.

TABS

General tab

The General tab contains important information about the product.

• Product - The product number or name used to identify the product in Fishbowl.
• Product Desc - A brief description of the product.
• Part - A link allowing the user to jump to the part that is associated with the product.
• Part Desc - The description of the part that is associated with the product.
• Price - The price the product will be sold for.
• UOM - The default unit of measure for the product.
• Class - The class the product is assigned to. The product class will take precedence over all other classes. If the product doesn't have a class, then the customer class will be used. If the customer doesn't have a class, then the location group class will be used.
• Active - The status of a product. A product that has been used cannot be deleted. However, by unchecking the box, the product will be hidden in Fishbowl except when searching for inactive items.
• Show on SO Combo Box - A checkbox determining whether the product will be visible when typing into the Product field in the Sales Order module.
• Taxable - A checkbox determining whether sales tax should be charged for the item.
• URL - A clickable URL for the product. Clicking the link can open local files, websites, etc. Click the Edit button to modify the link.
• Allow product to be sold in other UOMs - A field that controls whether the product can be sold in a UOM other than the default UOM specified on the General tab.
• Details - A place to store additional details about the product.
• Picture - The image of the product.

Details tab

The Details tab displays additional details about the product.

• UPC - Stores a bar-code number for the product that can be scanned to add an item in the Sales Order module or in Fishbowl Checkout.
• SKU - Stores an additional number that can be used to identify the product.
• Alert Notes - Stores alerts that will automatically display in a popup window when adding a product to an order.
• SO Item Type - Specifies the default type (sale, drop ship, or credit return) when adding the product to an order.
• Auto Fill Cartons in Shipping - Allows Fishbowl to automatically create a carton for each product that has a default carton count specified. Any products that do not have auto fill enabled will be grouped into a single carton.
• Size and Weight - Stores the dimensions and weight of the product. The weight will automatically populate in the Shipping module.
• Income Account - Specifies the income account that will be used for this product.
• Inventory - Displays the inventory quantities for the product. Clicking the Display more information button located to the right, will display even more detailed inventory information.

Substitute tab

The Substitute tab allows specific products to be substituted for others when they are out of stock. If an out-of-stock item is added to a sales order, a dialog will be displayed with an option to select a substitute product.

• To specify which products can be used as substitute products, click the Add button on the Substitute tab.
• The lower section of the Substitute tab also displays if the current product is included on any kits.

Pricing tab

The Pricing tab makes it possible to create new pricing rules, as well as edit or delete existing pricing rules. For instructions on creating, editing, or deleting pricing rules, see the Pricing Rule module. For details about associated pricing, see Associated pricing.

Customers tab

The Customers tab displays the customer part numbers associated with the selected product.

Memo tab

The Memo tab is for internal use and allows users to enter notes regarding a specific product. The top portion of the screen displays the date a memo was created, by what user, as well as a preview of the memo. Click on the preview to view the entire message in the window below.

Use the component toolbar on the right to Add a new memo, Edit an existing memo, or Delete a memo. To print all of the memos for a product, click the Print button.

Custom tab

The Custom tab is an internal-use field for recording extra information. Use the Custom Field module to set names for each custom field. This feature makes it possible to use an advanced search for products by custom field, or to display custom information on reports in Fishbowl.

MODULE OPTIONS

Some aspects of the Product module can be customized by opening the module, clicking the Tools menu, and then selecting Module Options.

General tab

• Associated product suffix

This field contains the associated product suffix that Fishbowl will search for automatically when adding a product to a sales order. Fishbowl provides the ability to add multiple products to a sales order simultaneously by using associated products. An associated product has the same name as the main product plus a special suffix to identify it as an associated product. Associated products are often used in industries where recyclable cores can be returned to offset the cost of a new item. For example, when selling a new car battery, an auto parts store may give a discount to a customer that returns an old battery.

By entering -Core% in the suffix field, products containing "Battery-Core" in the product name will be added to the sales order whenever the associated product, "Battery," is added. The % symbol functions as a wildcard search, meaning it will look for products named Battery-Core plus any other characters after that (for example, Battery-Core2 or Battery-CoreABC), and all items containing that suffix will be added to the sales order. For more information, see Associated products.

• Set new products taxable

This option specifies whether or not all new products will be marked as taxable.

• Add custom fields to SO item

If this option is enabled, custom fields with the same name and type will transfer from the product to the sales order item. For example, if a product has a custom field that stores color and there is a matching custom field for sales order line items, the data in the product custom field will transfer to the custom field for the SO item.