This guide outlines the important product fields in LightSpeed and Vital, explaining what each field means and how to use it effectively. Accurate and complete product information is essential for efficient inventory management, accurate sales transactions, and insightful reporting across your Poolwerx business.
Overview
Understanding each product field's purpose is fundamental to maintaining data integrity and ensuring smooth operations within the Evolution Platform. Just as knowing the right chemical mix is crucial for pool balance, correctly populating product fields ensures your business data is balanced and accurate.
LightSpeed is the master system for all product data. Vital consumes this data for field service operations and invoicing.
Best Practices & Tips
- Use Clear and Concise Names. Make it easy to identify products.
- Use Tags Strategically. Tags are powerful for improving filtering, reporting capabilities, promotions, or stock takes.
- Keep Information Updated. Regularly review and update product information as needed to reflect changes in pricing, suppliers, or product specifications.
Product Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The product name appears on sales documents, reports, and the Sell screen. Use the format: [Brand] [Product title] / [Size]. |
| Brand | Select a brand from the dropdown or add a new one. |
| Description | Provide details about the product, including key selling points or care instructions. |
| Tags | Assign tags for filtering, reporting, promotions, or stock takes. The character limit for tags is 255. Semicolons cannot be used in tag names. |
| Product Category | Categorise the product for easier management and reporting. |
| Sell on-point-of-sale | Check this box to make the product available for sale. This action also makes the product active in your system. |
| Product Type | Select the product type: Single SKU, Variant, or Composite. Refer to the Understanding Product Types guide for more details. |
| SKU Code | The unique identifier for the product. It can be a code you create yourself or an existing product code, such as a barcode. Options include: Auto-generated; UPC, EAN, ISBN, ITF, JAN; or Custom code to create your own SKU code. You can add multiple codes by clicking "+ Add another code." |
| Supplier | Select or add a supplier for the product. You can add additional suppliers by clicking "+ Add another supplier" and entering their codes and prices. |
| Supplier Code | Enter the supplier's code for the product, if required for purchase orders. |
| Supplier Price | Enter the price you pay per unit. This is essential for accurate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) calculations. It is recommended to add this before adding inventory or selling the product. |
| Track Inventory | Enable or disable inventory tracking for the product; it is enabled by default. |
| Current Inventory Levels | Do not add or amend any inventory values here. Add inventory via purchase orders to ensure accurate reporting and the recognition of average cost. |
| Tax | Specify the tax rate for the product per outlet. |
| Price Points | The General Price Book will be added by default. Additional price books (e.g., a Field Price Book for Vital) can be added as needed. |
| Account Code | Default account codes are automatically used according to the Xero Integeation, unless specified otherwise. These codes are important for financial reporting and integration with you Xero. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Product Title | The name of the product as it appears in Vital, synced from LightSpeed. |
| Category | The category assigned in LightSpeed, used for organisation within Vital. |
| Price | The price of the product, synced from LightSpeed's price books. This is the default price presented to technicians. For client-specific pricing, adjustments can be made on the job recurrence. |
| GST Included | Indicates whether GST is included in the product's price. Always toggled on. |
| Active | Controls whether the product appears as an option for technicians to add to invoices in the Vital app. You can set products to inactive in Vital without affecting LightSpeed |
| SKU | The unique identifier for the product, synced from LightSpeed. |
| Barcode | The barcode for the product, this is the same as the SKU. |
| Volume | Always set to '1'. |
| Unit | Always set to 'each'. |
| External ID | This field displays the LightSpeed ID for the product and includes a link directly to the product record in LightSpeed for easy cross-referencing. |
LightSpeed is the primary source of truth for product data. When you create or update product fields in LightSpeed, most relevant fields automatically sync to Vital, usually within 15 minutes. This ensures consistency across your in-store and field operations.
| LightSpeed | Vital | Sync Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Product Title | The LS Name field will directly sync to the Vital Name field. |
| Product Category | Category | The LS Product Category field will directly sync to the Vital Category field. |
| Brand | Brand | The LS Brand field will directly sync to the Vital Brand field. |
| Price Book | Price | The price in the price book selected in the LightSpeed integration page will sync here. |
| Sell-on-Point-of-sale | Active | Do these sync?? |
| SKU | SKU & Barcode | The first SKU in LS will directly sync to the Vital SKU and barcode fields. |
Related Guides & Next Steps
By understanding and utilising these key product fields, you can optimise your inventory management, sales processes, and reporting capabilities in the Evolution Platform.
What's Next:
- Adding a New Product guide
- Managing Price Books in LightSpeed guide
See Also:
- ANZ Current System Limitations (Provides insights into data flow limitations that may affect product field updates).
- Evo Platform | Essential Actions to Perform (Review the "Suppliers" section for related data management practices that touch upon product fields).