Setting up
Read the products list
The Products screen is where every other job in Outlyz starts. What each column means, how to search and filter it, how to read the stock figure, and how to open a product to reach its Variants, Batches and Units tabs.
Products is your whole catalogue on one screen. One row for each product, with its category, how many variants it has, and how much of it you can sell right now. The page is headed "Products" with "Manage your product catalog" under it.
Almost every other guide starts by telling you to go to "Inventory" then "Products". This page explains what you are looking at once you get there, so the rest makes sense.
One thing to hold in mind before you read any number. The figures follow the location picked in the top bar. Pick a branch and you see what that branch holds. Pick "All Locations" and you see the whole business added up.
Step by step
1. Open the list
In the sidebar open "Inventory" and click "Products". The table below shows ten products at a time, in name order from A to Z. It opens showing only your live products, so anything you have deleted is out of sight until you ask for it.
2. Read the four counters at the top
"Total Products" is how many products you keep, and the small line under it says how many categories you have. "Total Units" is every piece you hold, with how many of those are available on the line under it. "Low Stock" and "Out of Stock" count products, not pieces. On a phone these four are hidden and the table starts straight away.
3. Read one row across
"Product Name" is the product itself, not the variant. "Category" shows the folder it sits in, or "Uncategorized" when you never gave it one. "Variants" is how many sellable versions live under it, so a water product with 500ml, 1 litre and 20 litre shows 3. "Stock" and "Stock Status" are the two stock columns, and the last column on the right holds the button.
4. Read the Stock figure carefully
"Stock" is what you can sell today, added up across every variant of that product. Numbered pieces count when they are marked available, and counted stock counts when it is home at the location, still full and not past its expiry date. So a crate out with a customer, an empty cylinder waiting for refill, and an expired lot are all left out. Outlyz counts in the word you gave the variant when you made it, under "What is one piece called?", so a crate variant counts crates and a bottle variant counts bottles. The list prints the bare number. The word itself shows inside the product, on the "Variants" tab under "In Stock", where the same figure reads as something like 25 bottles.
5. Read the Stock Status tag
"Stock Status" turns that number into words. Zero shows "Out of Stock" in red. Anything from 1 to 9 shows "Low Stock" in amber. Ten and above shows "In Stock" in green. The number in the "Stock" column takes the same colours, so you can scan the column and see trouble without reading the tag.
6. Find one product by name
Type into the box marked "Search products..." above the table. It waits about half a second after you stop typing, then fetches. It matches any part of the product name and does not care about capitals, so "wat" finds Waterfall and Mineral Water. It searches the product name only, not the SKU and not the variant name.
7. Narrow the list with the three filters
"Category" sits next to the search box and opens on "All Categories". "Status" holds "Active" and "Archived" and opens on "Active". "Stock Status" holds "All", "In Stock", "Low Stock" and "Out of Stock". They stack, so Beverages plus "Low Stock" gives you your reorder list for drinks. Any change to a filter, the search, or the location in the top bar sends you back to page one.
8. Open a product
Click "Manage" on the right of the row, or click anywhere on the row. Inside you get up to three tabs. "Variants" is always there and lists each version with its "SKU", stock and prices. "Batches" shows for counted stock, the crates and lots you book in by quantity. "Units" shows only when a variant is set to track serial numbers, and lists each numbered piece on its own. Products that count rather than number their goods open on "Batches", and the browser back button steps back through the tabs you opened. Along the top of that page sit "Edit", "Transfer (Between Locations)", "Refresh" and "Delete".
9. Know what the three buttons at the top right do
"Add Product" starts a new product. "Export" downloads your whole catalogue as one Excel file, and "Import" reads a filled sheet back in and shows you what would change before it writes anything. That pair is a job of its own and has its own page, "Move your stock list in and out on a spreadsheet". Use it when you have prices or counts to set on many products at once.
Worth knowing
Low Stock is fixed at ten
The line between "Low Stock" and "In Stock" is ten pieces, and it is the same for every product. You cannot set your own reorder level per product yet. For a shop selling by the crate, ten crates may be plenty. For a pharmacy counting tablets, ten is almost nothing. Read the tag with that in mind.
Deleting a product only archives it
"Delete" on a product does not wipe it. It moves the product out of the "Active" list, and it comes back when you set "Status" to "Archived". Its old sales and stock records stay where they are.
The counters ignore your filters
Search for one product and the table narrows, but the four cards at the top do not move. They always describe the whole catalogue at the chosen location. Only the table answers your filters.
Ignore the damaged line
The small line under "Out of Stock" always reads 0 damaged units, whatever your stock looks like. Outlyz stopped keeping a damaged count there and the line was left behind. Nothing is wrong with your figures.
Questions
Why does clicking a column header not sort the list?
Sorting is switched off on purpose. The table only holds one page at a time, so sorting would rearrange those ten rows and tell you nothing about the rest. The list is always in name order from A to Z. Use the search box and the filters to get to what you want.
I typed a SKU and nothing came up.
The search box on this screen looks at product names only. A SKU belongs to a variant, not to the product, so it lives one level down. Open the product and check the "SKU" column on the "Variants" tab.
The Stock number dropped and I sold nothing. What happened?
Check the location in the top bar first. Switching from "All Locations" to one branch shows only that branch. After that, look for stock that is still yours but not sellable. A crate signed out to a customer, an empty container waiting for refill, and a lot that passed its expiry date all leave the "Stock" figure while staying in your records.
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.