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Product Catalog and Inventory Management

15 minutes

Tutorial 7.2: Product Catalog and Inventory Management

Introduction

Managing product inventory helps you track retail items sold to clients and professional supplies used in services. Luminate's inventory system tracks stock levels, displays low stock alerts, calculates profit margins, and records adjustments when stock changes.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin What you'll learn:

  • Add products to your catalogue
  • Set up pricing, SKUs, and barcodes
  • Track stock levels and low stock alerts
  • Adjust stock for deliveries and discrepancies
  • Activate and deactivate products

Time to complete: 15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Logged in as Owner or Admin with manage-products permission
  • Complete Tutorial 1.1 (Initial Salon Setup)
  • List of products with pricing information

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Product Management

  1. Click Products in the sidebar
  2. The Products page displays your current inventory
  3. Click Add Product in the top-right corner

Low Stock Alert: If any products are below their low stock threshold, a yellow alert banner appears at the top of the page. Click View Low Stock to filter to those products.

Step 2: Enter Basic Information

The first form section captures product identification:

Product Name (required): Enter the full product name as it appears on packaging.

Example: "Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector 100ml"

SKU (optional): Enter a unique stock keeping unit code.

Example: "OLAP-003-100"

Barcode (optional): Enter the product barcode from packaging. If you have a barcode scanner connected, scan the product to auto-fill this field.

Categories: Type to search existing categories or create new ones. Categories help filter and organise products. See Tutorial 7.3 for category management.

Brand (optional): Enter the product brand. Previously used brands appear as suggestions.

Example: "Olaplex"

Description (optional): Add details about the product for staff reference.

Step 3: Set Pricing

The Pricing section captures cost and sale information:

Cost Price (required): Enter what you pay your supplier for this product.

Retail Price (required): Enter the price you charge customers.

Commission Rate (optional): Enter the percentage staff earn when selling this product. Leave blank to use the staff member's default commission rate.

The system automatically calculates profit margin (displayed on the product list and detail pages).

Step 4: Configure Stock Management

The Stock Management section tracks inventory:

Current Stock: Enter the number of units currently in stock. Default is 0.

Low Stock Alert: Enter the threshold at which you want a low stock warning. When stock falls below this number, the product shows a "Low" badge.

Example: 5 (warn when fewer than 5 remain)

Reorder Quantity: Enter the typical quantity you order from suppliers. This is for reference when reordering.

Unit of Measure: Enter how the product is measured (e.g., "unit", "bottle", "box"). Default is "unit".

Expiry Date (optional): Select a date if the product expires. Expired products show an "Expired" badge.

Step 5: Configure Settings

The Settings section contains two checkboxes:

Product is active:

  • Checked (default): Product appears in transactions and lists
  • Unchecked: Product hidden from new transactions

Product is taxable:

  • Checked (default): VAT/tax applies to this product
  • Unchecked: Product is tax-exempt

Step 6: Save the Product

  1. Review all entered information
  2. Click Create Product
  3. You're redirected to the Products list
  4. A success message confirms the product was created

Managing Existing Products

View Product Details

  1. Click any row in the Products table
  2. The product detail page shows:
    • Pricing & Margin card (retail, cost, margin %, commission)
    • Stock Information card (current stock, threshold, reorder qty, expiry)
    • Product Details card (SKU, barcode, taxable status, timestamps)

Edit a Product

  1. From the Products list, click Edit next to the product
  2. Or from the product detail page, click Edit
  3. Make your changes
  4. Click Update Product

Adjust Stock

When stock levels change (deliveries, stock takes, damage):

  1. From the product detail page, click Adjust Stock
  2. In the dialog, select:
    • Increase (for deliveries or corrections up)
    • Decrease (for damage, loss, or corrections down)
  3. Enter the Quantity to add or remove
  4. Enter an optional Reason (e.g., "Stock delivery invoice #123")
  5. Click Adjust Stock

The stock level updates immediately.

Deactivate a Product

To hide a product from new transactions without deleting it:

  1. From the Products list, click Deactivate next to the product
  2. Or from the product detail page, click Deactivate

Deactivated products don't appear in transaction product selections but remain in historical records.

Activate a Product

To restore a deactivated product:

  1. Filter the list to show Inactive Only
  2. Click Activate next to the product

Filtering and Searching Products

Use the filters at the top of the Products page:

Search: Type to search by product name, SKU, or barcode

Status Filter:

  • All Products
  • Active Only
  • Inactive Only

Categories: Select one or more categories to filter by

Additional Filters (checkboxes):

  • Low Stock Only: Show products below their low stock threshold
  • Out of Stock Only: Show products with zero stock

The table can be sorted by clicking column headers:

  • Product name
  • SKU
  • Retail price
  • Stock quantity

Understanding Stock Indicators

Indicator Meaning
Low (yellow badge) Stock is below the low stock threshold
Out (red badge) Stock is zero
Expired (red badge) Product has passed its expiry date

Stock count shows in the Stock column. Products flagged as low stock appear with yellow text highlighting.

Common Pitfalls

"Product doesn't appear when adding to transactions"

Check that the product is marked as Active. Filter to Inactive Only to find and reactivate it.

"Stock level is incorrect"

Use Adjust Stock to correct the level. Enter the difference (not the final count) as an increase or decrease with a reason for the audit trail.

"Low stock alert isn't showing"

Verify the Low Stock Alert threshold is set. If the threshold is blank or 0, no alert will trigger.

"I can't scan barcodes"

Barcode scanning works automatically if you have a compatible USB barcode scanner connected. The scanner types the barcode into the active field. Place your cursor in the Barcode field before scanning.

Tips and Best Practices

  1. Set accurate thresholds - Calculate based on how quickly products sell and how long suppliers take to deliver
  2. Use consistent SKUs - Create a naming convention (e.g., BRAND-PRODUCT-SIZE)
  3. Check expiry dates - Set expiry dates for products that expire to avoid selling expired items
  4. Adjust stock promptly - Record deliveries and adjustments immediately to maintain accuracy
  5. Regular stock takes - Count physical inventory monthly and adjust any discrepancies
  6. Deactivate, don't delete - Deactivate discontinued products to preserve sales history

Related Tutorials

  • Tutorial 7.1: Creating and Managing Your Service Menu - Managing services
  • Tutorial 7.3: Using Tags to Organize Services and Products - Creating categories

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bulk import products from a spreadsheet?

Currently, products must be added individually through the form.

How do I handle products with multiple sizes?

Create separate product entries for each size (e.g., "Shampoo 300ml" and "Shampoo 500ml"). This allows accurate stock tracking per size.

What happens when I sell a product?

When a product is added to a completed transaction, the stock level decreases automatically.

Can I track professional products used in services?

Yes. Add them as products with the retail price set to your cost price (no markup). Use Adjust Stock to decrease when you use them, or estimate usage periodically.

How do I record a stock delivery?

Use Adjust Stock with Increase and enter the quantity received. Add the invoice number in the Reason field for reference.

Do price changes affect existing transactions?

No. Price changes only affect future transactions. Historical transactions retain their original prices.

What's the difference between Low Stock and Out of Stock?

Low Stock: Stock is below your threshold (time to reorder) Out of Stock: Stock is zero (no units available)

Last Updated: January 2026