Vend caters for many different types of retailers, each with specific goals and needs; which is why we offer a range of data fields to capture your product catalogue. Adding your product catalogue into Vend is essential, however entering data into every field isn’t. Each field has its own purpose in Vend and is used to achieve different goals.
To make setting up your product catalogue as simple as possible and to ensure you achieve your goals, we've broken down exactly what each field is used for and how you can get the most from it.
We've broken this down into three goals:
We understand the desire to get selling fast, so here's all the information you'll need, and how it will benefit you, if you want to Just Get Selling.
Click the field name to quick jump to: Name, SKU Code, Handle, Classification, Supply Price, Current Inventory, Tax, Retail Price, Attribute, and Value.
Field Name | Description | Requirements |
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Name |
This what your product is called; e.g "Tiger T-shirt". The Name will form the cashier-facing product name on the sell screen. It will also be displayed on customer-facing material, such as receipts and printed on labels. It is also used for Admin-facing functions, i.e reporting and stock orders/transfers. |
The Name can have letters, numbers, and symbols in this field but do not include #, $, or & symbols. Each standard product name must be unique.
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SKU Code |
The SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) Code for your product. One of the biggest benefits to retailers is the ability to use a scannable product barcode as the SKU, which allows you to scan the barcode on the sell screen in order to add it to a sale. The SKU also adds a uniquely identifiable metric in reporting that allows you to drill down to a specific product. |
Every product must have a unique SKU. Make sure it only has letters and numbers. You cannot have spaces or symbols in here. This can be your own existing identifier or an existing barcode number on the product. If you don’t have existing SKUs, Vend can automatically generate unique SKUs for your products. Multiple SKUs can be captured on one product, see the + Optimize Inventory Management tab for more.
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Handle |
The Handle is an important identifier for variant products. The handle is also important when it comes to e-Commerce integrations and SEO, which you can read more about under the + Sell Online tab. |
The Handle is unique from the SKU. If you are adding products individually via the Add Product page, the handle is automatically generated by Vend and will not be visible or editable. If you are using a CSV/XLSX to bulk import your products, the handle field is visible. When adding variant products, the Name and Handle MUST be the same — this is how Vend recognises the products are variants within the same family. If you aren't creating variant products, but are using a CSV/XLSX to add products, we advise you to leave the handle field blank.
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Classification |
This is the type of product that you are creating.
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For more on Standard Products For more on Variant Products For more on Composite Products |
Supply Price |
The regular Supply Price for your product. The Supply Price is added when creating a product. This is the value that you purchase the item for per unit. It can be tax exclusive or inclusive, depending on your accounting needs. If your product price fluctuates, you can specify the exact supply price for each order when you complete a stock order.
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It is strongly recommended to include a Supply Price when creating products. This enables accurate reporting/accounting as Supply Price directly affects both Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Average Cost. If the Supply Price isn't added before an inventory movement/sale is made with the product, the COGS will be calculated at $0, affecting the Average Cost and reporting. |
Current Inventory |
The Current Inventory is the quantity of each product available at an outlet. This allows you to monitor stock levels within Vend for accurate sale and replenishment data. |
Current Inventory MUST be added at the same time as, or after, a Supply Price is added. Use the Adding inventory to your products guide to learn how this should be achieved. |
Tax |
The Tax rate allows to charge tax at the product level. |
The Tax rate will need to be created before applying it to a product. These can be added/managed by navigating to Setup -> Sales Taxes |
Retail Price |
This is the dollar value that a product will be sold for. It offers the ability to set, edit and maintain the price your customers will be charged for a product. |
Tax exclusive stores: Tax inclusive stores: |
Attribute (variants only) |
The Attribute (for Variant Products) allows you to create and sell products that fall within the same family but are offered in variations. This makes adding a variant product to the sell screen quick and accurate. It also streamlines product management and reporting. |
The Attribute needs to define the type of variation that the product is offered in. E.g. "colour", "size", or "flavour". A variant product can have up to three individual attributes. |
Value (variants only) |
The Value (for Variant Products) allows you to create and sell products that fall within the same family but are offered in variations. This makes adding a variant product to the sell screen quick and accurate. It also streamlines product management and reporting. |
The Value needs to define the type of variation for the selected attribute. E.g. "red", "large", or "strawberry". Each variant product can have up to 200 values total. |
Want to optimize your inventory as well as get selling with Vend? These are the additional fields required to Just Get Selling + Optimize Inventory Management.
Click the field name to quick jump: SKU Code, Brand, Product Type, Tags, Sell on Point-of-Sale, Supplier, Supplier Code, Track Inventory for this product, Re-order point, Re-order quantity, Markup, Composite Products
Note
If you have an existing Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce platform, we strongly advise you to integrate and import your products into Vend BEFORE creating and editing any products within Vend.
After the initial import of your products from the e-Commerce platform, Vend becomes the master record and products must be managed within Vend.
If you have additional products which are sold in-store, but not online, these can be added into Vend at any time using the Add Product function or by importing a CSV/XLSX.
Vend's Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce integrations are the perfect way to manage selling online. To Sell Online, here's the information your products need.
Click the field name to quick jump: Description, Handle, Upload Image