Product types: inventory product, service, group product

Usystems recognizes three main product types, each suited to different business needs. Choosing the right type helps you track, price, and report on your products correctly.

Inventory Product

An inventory product is a physical item that you stock in a warehouse and sell by quantity. Use this type for:

• Physical goods (spare parts, materials, merchandise)
• Items where you track stock levels and reorder points
• Products that deplete as you sell or use them

When you create an inventory product, you can set a default warehouse and tell Usystems to track stock levels. You can record purchases, sales, and inventory movements, and run reports on stock levels.

Service

A service is something you provide (not a physical product). Use this type for:

• Labor or professional services (installation, consulting, repair)
• Delivery or handling fees
• One-time activities where stock tracking doesn't apply

Services don't have a warehouse or stock level. You create them once with a name and price, then add them to invoices. They're useful when you want to charge for work, not goods.

Group Product

A group product is a bundle of smaller products sold as one unit. Use this type for:

• Kits combining multiple items (e.g., a "Starter Kit" with drill, bits, and case)
• Bundles you regularly sell together
• Products where you want to track component cost separately from bundle price

When you add a group product to an invoice, Usystems expands it into its component products automatically. This lets you track individual item stock and cost, while billing the customer for the bundle as a single line.

How it works in Usystems

When you create a product, you must declare its type immediately. The type determines:

• Warehouse tracking — only inventory products can be stored and tracked in warehouses
• Stock levels — only inventory products warn you when stock runs low
• Component expansion — only group products can be broken into multiple line items on a document

Where you see it

You select the product type when creating a new product:

Products → New Product → choose your type under Basic Information. Open in Usystems

When you add products to an invoice or purchase order, the type determines whether you see a quantity field (inventory), a one-time entry (service), or an automatic expansion into components (group).

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