# Products and services

<p class="lead">Set up products and services once, with price, tax, category, and unit, and reuse them in proposals, invoices, purchases, and the POS.</p>

The **Product & Service** module is your company's central catalog. Everything you sell or buy needs to be here: physical items, which move inventory, and services, which do not. This catalog feeds [Proposals](#/proposal), [Quotations](#/quotation), [Sales invoices](#/sales-invoice), [Purchasing](#/purchase), and the [POS](#/pos). It is worth investing time in it right from the start.

[[roles: Company, Employee]]

!image[Item list in Product & Service with SKU, prices, category, type and stock](/assets/img/erp/product-service.webp)

## Before you start

Item setup depends on three supporting tables, found in *Product & Service > System Setup*:

| Supporting table | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Categories | Group items and organize reports |
| Units | Define how the item is measured (unit, hour, kg, box) |
| Taxes | Rates applied automatically on documents |

It also helps to have **warehouses** created in *Purchase > Warehouses* if you track inventory. See [Purchasing and inventory](#/purchase).

## Product or service: which to choose

| Type | When to use | Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Physical goods you buy, store, and sell | Tracked by warehouse |
| Service | Labor, technical hours, monthly fees, consulting | Does not move inventory |

:::tip
When in doubt, ask: "does this take up space on a shelf?". If yes, it is a product. If not, it is a service.
:::

## Set up categories, units, and taxes

Do this before your first item. That way the item form fields already have options.

**Menu path:** *Product & Service > System Setup*

<ol class="steps">
<li>Open <strong>Product & Service > System Setup</strong>. The screen opens on categories, with the other settings in tabs or side links.</li>
<li>Under categories, click <strong>Create</strong> (or the <strong>+</strong> icon), enter the name (e.g., "Electronics", "Technical services"), and click <strong>Save</strong>.</li>
<li>Under units, add the measures you use, such as "Unit", "Hour", and "Kg".</li>
<li>Under taxes, add each rate with a name and percentage.</li>
<li>Go back to items: categories, units, and taxes now appear as options.</li>
</ol>

:::note
Confirm the tax rates with your accountant. ERP Instfy applies the percentage you set up, but deciding which tax applies to each item is a tax decision for your company.
:::

## Create an item

**Menu path:** *Product & Service > Items*

<ol class="steps">
<li>Open <strong>Product & Service > Items</strong>.</li>
<li>Click <strong>Create</strong> (or the <strong>+</strong> icon).</li>
<li>Enter the item name and a code (SKU), if you use one.</li>
<li>Choose the type: product or service.</li>
<li>Fill in the sale and purchase prices.</li>
<li>Select the category, unit, and tax.</li>
<li>If you like, add a description and an image.</li>
<li>Click <strong>Save</strong>. The item appears in the list and can be used in all documents right away.</li>
</ol>

:::tip
Standardize names and codes from the very first item (e.g., "TSH-001 White T-shirt S"). Search, the POS, and reports become much faster.
:::

## Edit an item's price or tax

When the price changes, update the record: the next documents will go out with the new amount.

**Menu path:** *Product & Service > Items*

<ol class="steps">
<li>Open <strong>Product & Service > Items</strong> and find the item.</li>
<li>Click edit (pencil icon).</li>
<li>Change the price, tax, or other details.</li>
<li>Click <strong>Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>

:::note
Documents already issued keep the amounts from that time. The change applies to proposals, quotations, invoices, and sales created afterward.
:::

## Check a product's inventory

Product inventory is built from purchases, sales, returns, and transfers, separated by warehouse.

**Menu path:** *Product & Service > Items* and *Purchase > Warehouses*

<ol class="steps">
<li>Open <strong>Product & Service > Items</strong> to see the items and the quantity information shown in the list.</li>
<li>For the balance by location, open <strong>Purchase > Warehouses</strong> and look up the warehouse you want.</li>
<li>If stock is short, record the incoming stock with a purchase invoice or move it from another warehouse with a transfer.</li>
</ol>

## Complete flow

**System Setup > Item > Purchase (stock into the warehouse) > Sale (proposal, quotation, invoice, or POS) > Reports**

1. Set up categories, units, and taxes in *System Setup*.
2. Create the item in *Items*.
3. Products enter inventory through a [purchase invoice](#/purchase).
4. The item is sold through [Proposals](#/proposal), [Quotations](#/quotation), [Sales invoices](#/sales-invoice), or the [POS](#/pos).
5. The amounts reach the [Accounting](#/accounting) reports.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where do I set up categories, units, and taxes?

In *Product & Service > System Setup*. Set up these tables before your items, so the item form fields already have options.

### Do services track inventory?

No. Only product-type items move inventory, separated by warehouse. Services go into sales and purchase documents without affecting quantities.

### If I change an item's price, do old invoices change?

No. Documents already issued keep their original amounts. The new price applies to documents created after the change.

### Why does the item not appear in the POS?

The POS shows products with stock in the selected warehouse. Check that the item is a product type and that there is a balance in the warehouse chosen in *POS > Add POS*.

### Do I need to set up the same item separately for purchasing and for sales?

No. A single record holds both the sale price and the purchase price and is used in both sales invoices and purchase invoices.

## Next steps

With your catalog ready, stock your inventory and start selling.

:::related
purchase, pos, sales-invoice, quotation, proposal
:::