Setting up
Add a product
How to make a product and its variants in Outlyz, using the four questions on the "Add Product" form.
An item has to exist before you can sell it, count it or take in stock for it. This page shows how to make one from scratch. It starts in the sidebar and ends with a saved product.
A product is the general thing you sell, like Cola Drink. A variant is the exact item a customer buys, like Cola 500ml. One product can hold many variants. The form will not save until it has at least one.
The form never asks how many you have. Stock comes later, once the product exists.
Step by step
1. Open the Add Product form
In the sidebar, open "Inventory" and click "Products". On the products page, click the "Add Product" button at the top.
2. Fill in the basic information
Under "Basic Product Information", type the general name in "Product Name". The box shows an example, "e.g., Cola Drink, Rice, Water Bottle". Pick a "Category" next to it if you have one. You can also leave it empty.
3. Add the first variant
Go down to "Product Variants" and click "Add Variant". A card called "Variant 1" opens, with the numbered questions inside it. Before you click, there is only a note saying no variants have been added yet.
4. Describe the item
Question 1 is "What is it?". Type the exact item in "Item name", like Cola 500ml. Then answer "What is one piece called?" with a word like bottle. Now stock reads as 25 bottles, not 25 units.
5. Say how you keep track of it
Pick one answer under "How will you keep track of this item’s stock?". The three choices are "Just count them", "Each one has its own number" and "Some have numbers, some I just count". Picking one opens two price boxes, "Selling price per bottle" and "Cost of one bottle". They take their name from the piece word you typed.
6. Set the pack sizes
If you count the item, the next question asks "Do your bottles come packed together?". Answer "Yes". Give the pack a "Name" like Crate. Say how many it "Holds", like 24. Then fill in its own selling price and cost. Use "+ Add a bigger size" if a bigger one holds those. You can have three sizes in all.
7. Say whether it expires
"Does it expire?" shows in the first variant card only. The answer covers the whole product. Answer "Yes" for medicine, food and drinks with dates. Then the app asks for an expiry date every time stock comes in.
8. Say whether the containers come back
"Do the bottles come back?" is for bottles, crates and jerrycans the customer brings back. Answer "Yes" and you get "Deposit per bottle", the "Do you charge to refill them?" question and a "Track filled / empty" switch. The "Deposit required on every sale" tick box is not there yet. It only shows up after you type a deposit above zero.
9. Save the product
Click "Save Product" at the bottom of the form. You go back to the products list. You see the message "Product created successfully".
Worth knowing
Copy a variant instead of typing it again
Six sizes of the same beer share nearly every answer. "Duplicate this variant" at the bottom of a card copies it all except the name. The copy sits right under the first one. The new card says "Copied from the one above. Give it a name and change what differs."
The question numbers move
The numbers follow what is on screen. Pick "Each one has its own number" and the packing question goes away. So "Does it expire?" becomes question 2 and "Do they come back?" becomes question 3.
Stock is added after
Saving makes the product with nothing in it. Open the product from the list. For counted stock, use "Add Batch" on the "Batches" tab. For pieces with their own numbers, use "Single Unit" and "Bulk Units" on the "Units" tab.
Reset wipes the whole form
The "Reset" button next to "Save Product" clears the product name, the category and every variant card you built. It does not ask you first, and you cannot undo it.
Questions
Do I have to pick a category?
No. "Category" can stay empty and the product still saves. It just shows as "Uncategorized" on the products list. The choices in that box come from what you made under "Inventory" then "Categories".
I sell the same drink by the bottle and by the crate. Is that two products?
It is one variant. Answer "Yes" to the packing question. Then add a size named Crate that "Holds" 24. A different bottle size, like 1.5L, is a new item. Give that one its own variant.
I clicked Save Product and nothing happened.
Something failed the check. The message sits on the field that caused it. "Product Name" cannot be empty. You need at least one variant. Every variant needs an "Item name" and an answer to the tracking question. Every size row needs a "Name" and a "Holds" of 2 or more.
Outlyz does this
Outlyz tracks your stock, orders and deliveries, and every container you expect back. UGX 20,000 per person per month. The first month is free and no card is needed.
Or call 0780 784870 and we will set it up with you.