Home > SI Documentation (v16) > User Guide > Catalog > Product Explorer > Products

Products

A Product is a piece of equipment that you will add to Projects, Tasks, Service Orders, and Purchase Orders. There are three types of Products in SI: Equipment, Speakers, and Wire, determined by the Category Type set for the Category assigned to the product.

Equipment

General Tab

 

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Manufacturer

The dropdown menu lists all the Manufacturers in your Catalog. Click the "New" link to create a new Manufacturer. This is a required field.

Model

This displays the Model number of the Product. This is a required field.

Category

The dropdown menu lists all the Categories in your Catalog. Click the "New" link to create a new Category. This is a required field.

Subcategory

The dropdown menu lists all the Subcategories in your Catalog. Click the "New" link to create a new Subcategory.

URL

Here you can set the link to a webpage for the product.

Part Number

Here you can enter in something other than the Model number to identify a Product.

System

Here you can assign a System to the Product. When adding the Product to a Project, if the assigned System does not exist in the Project the System will be added to the Project. System selections in the Drop Zone within a Project will override this setting.

Accounting Item Name

This field will display the QuickBooks Item Number when using our QuickBooks Integration. You can also manually enter an "accounting ID" from your own accounting software.

Status

Here you can mark a product as Discontinued or Approved. Discontinued can be used to keep a Product in your Catalog, but not have it display on forms by default. Approved data automatically synchronizes to your SI Server for use by all User, unchecking this setting keeps your data changes local to your machine.

Image

Here you can add an image to a Product. You can use the Add, Paste, Clear functions or you can drag and drop images directly into the field.

Show in Product Details Report

Here you can choose whether or not this item will display in the Product Details report. You will likely only want to check "primary" equipment, e.g. check this for Amplifiers or Projectors but don't check this box for wire and cable or for brackets.

Include in Service Plan

When this box is checked you will be prompted to add the Product as a Project Item when creating a Service Plan. Within a Project, this option will be on the Service Plans tab.

Publish to Mobile Install

When this box is checked, the Product will be included in the list of Products and Labor Items that you can Publish to Mobile Install for use with Site Items. Click here for details.

Description Tab

 

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Short Description

Here you can enter a brief description for a Product for use on "internal" vs. client reports. Maximum of 255 characters.

Long Description

Here you can enter a longer description for a Product. When this field is populated, all client reports will use this description. If this field is blank, client reports will use the Short Description field.

 

You can change the setting on whether or not to use the Long Description field on Client Reports via Report Settings.

 

You can insert Snippets.

 

You can Check Spelling:

 

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You can change the case of whatever you have selected in the Long Description field. Your options are: Upper, Lower, Title, and Sentence.

 

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Tags

Here you can add tags to help identify Products while searching.

Price Tab

 

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Here you can choose to use the Standard (see below) or Calculated option for setting your cost and price.

 

MSRP

Here you can enter the "manufacturers suggested retail price". This does not add any value to the Product. Use this as a reference point for how you set your Unit Cost and/or Unit Price. The MSRP field is commonly used in Price Rules.

Owner Furnished Equipment

Checking this option will zero out the Unit Cost and Unit Price for a Product for all Price Types. If charging for labor using Phase and Labor Hours, the labor will still be charged for the Product. See Labor Considerations.

 

Price Type

There are 50 Price Types available. In this example there are three displaying and they are named: Retail, Builder, and Custom. Many users just set one Unit Cost and Unit Price per Product.

 

There are six fields available for each Price Type:

 

Partner Set Cost

This field will display a checkmark if you are connected to a Vendor Partner and the Unit Cost was set via an update.

Unit Cost

How much the Product costs you

Unit Cost (With Tax)

This displays the Unit Cost with tax if a Use Tax is set for the Product.

Unit Price

How much you sell the Product for

Margin

Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100. This field calculates automatically for you based off of the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below.

Markup

Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%. This field calculates automatically for you based off of the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below.

 

Phase

Here you can assign a Phase to a Product, generally something like: Rough-In, Trim, or Finish. Phases can determine what labor rate should be applied to the Product multiplied by the Labor Hours (see below). See Labor Considerations for more information regarding charging for labor this way. See Phases for labor rate settings.

Labor Hours

Here can add the number of hours you estimate (or know) that it will take to install a Product. When used in conjunction with the Phase field, labor may be calculated depending on how you have chosen to charge for labor in SI. See Labor Considerations for more information.

Taxable

This determines whether a Product is taxable. This field will be replaced with two dropdown fields, Tax and Labor Tax, depending on your Tax Settings.

Use Tax

This allows you to apply tax to the Unit Cost of a Product. Click here for details.

Price Settings

Here you can choose the behavior of other price fields when you change the Unit Cost field. Click here for details.

Price Rules

Clicking this link will allow you to use Price Rules to set the pricing fields for the Product. See Price Rules.

Manage Product Price Types

Clicking this will allow you to manage your 12 available Price Types.

Check Partner Pricing

If the Product is from a Vendor Partner you can click this link to update the Unit Cost to the current value from the Vendor.

Estimated Installation Price

Clicking the "View" link in this column will show you the estimated installation price for the Product which will include labor, taxes, and Price Adjustments if applicable.

 

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Order Tab

 

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Do Not Order

This option will filter out the products when creating Purchase Orders.

Preferred Vendor

This field will display the QuickBooks Vendor when using our QuickBooks Integration. You can also manually enter a vendor from your own accounting software.

Order this product in a different unit than you sell

This option allows you to identify products in your catalog that are bought in different units than they are sold. This is useful for creating Purchase Orders so that accurate quantities are calculated. Examples are speakers that you buy in pairs, but sell as singles. This method is recommended in SI if you are utilizing the drawing functionality in Visio/AutoCAD. This way you will get a unique shape (and Component ID) for each speaker. Also bulk wire is another example of something that we recommend you sell by the foot, but you buy the wire on spools of some length.

Order UOM

Here you can enter your Unit of Measure for the product.

Number of units in Order UOM

Here you can enter the number of units in your Unit of Measure.

Specifications Tab

 

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Height

Here you enter the Height of the Product. Enter in any field to calculate inches, millimeters and centimeters.

Width

Here you enter the Width of the Product. Enter in any field to calculate inches, millimeters and centimeters.

Depth

Here you enter the Depth of the Product. Enter in any field to calculate inches, millimeters and centimeters.

Weight

Here you enter the Weight of the Product. Enter in any field to calculate pounds, kilograms and ounces.

Rack Mounted

Checking this box change the look of the Elevation shape/block for the Product.

Rack Units

This must be filled in for racks in your Catalog in order to use the SI Elevation Rack shape in the Visio interface. You can certainly fill this in for any other Products where you want to track the height in rack units in addition to actual height, or use the [Compute] button to calculate it for you based on Height.

Amps

Here you enter the Amperage of the Product.

Volts

Here you enter the Voltage of the Product.

Watts

Here you enter the Wattage of the Product.

BTU

Here you enter the BTU / hour of the Product.

I/O's Tab

 

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This displays the Inputs and Outputs (I/O's) assigned to a Product. There are buttons for adding/deleting/etc. For details on all of the functions, click here to see the I/O Studio page. I/O's are used to populate the Schematic shape/block in our Visio and AutoCAD interfaces.

Custom Fields Tab

 

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Here you can set Custom Fields for a Product. There are five Short Text fields, three number fields, three date fields, and three long text fields. Clicking the Manage Custom Fields link will allow you to name these fields.

Accessories Tab

 

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Here you can add Products and/or Labor Items to a Product. Click here to learn about Accessories.

Alternates Tab

 

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Here you can add Alternate Products to a Product. Click here for details.

Large Image Tab

 

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Here you can add a larger image than the thumbnail image that displays on the General Tab. This image is what will be used in Visio when creating a Line View Page. You can use the "Find in D-Tools Library" or "Find in Google Images" links to help you find an image. Use the Add, Paste, and Clear links to manage your image.

 

Generate thumbnail from large image - This will generate a smaller image on the General Tab that will be used in some Proposal Reports. If you want to maintain separate images, uncheck this box. Default is checked.

Shapes and Blocks Tab

 

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Here you can set overrides for the default Visio Shapes and AutoCAD Blocks that drop on pages in our Visio and AutoCAD interfaces. You can override the defaults for all Page Types: Line, Elevation, Plan, Schematic, and the side view that displays on Elevation pages. You can use other SI Visio Shapes/AutoCAD Blocks or your own custom shapes/blocks. You can use the [Assign] and [Clear] buttons to manage your selections.

 

Another way to manage your shape assignments is directly in the Visio Interface: Assign Shapes to Categories, Assign Categories to Shapes, Assign Product and Category.

Find in Projects

 

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This will find all usages of the product in your existing Projects. Click here for details.

Web Tab

 

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The Web tab allows you to search online for more information about a product.

 

URL

This opens a browser to whatever link you have in the URL field on the General tab. 

Library

This opens a browser to this product within the D-Tools Library viewer.

Google

The search is based on the Manufacturer and Model fields. You can choose between Search, Products, or Images.

Amazon

This searches Amazon based on Manufacturer and Model.

Speakers

 

Products of Category Type "Speaker" have an additional field on the Specifications tab for Dispersion. This field doesn't calculate from anything but can be populated if desired for your reference.

 

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If you are doing drawings in Visio and/or AutoCAD, speakers should be entered as singles even if bought in pairs. Divide the cost and price by two and if using Phase labor, set the labor hours for that of a single speaker. The Order tab will allow you to enter a Unit of Measure and units for Purchase Order functionality.

Wire

 

Products of Category Type "Wire" have a completely different fields on the Specification tab:

 

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Diameter

Here you enter the Diameter of the Wire. Enter in any field to calculate inches, millimeters and centimeters.

Bulk Wire

Checking this box will treat the wire on a per foot/meter basis (based on your Windows settings). When using this option you will enter your Unit Cost, Unit Price, and Labor Hour by the foot/meter. Use this option for wire that comes on a spool. Wire that is marked as "Bulk Wire", when added to a Project, will trigger a prompt for the Head End and Wire Length. See Bulk Wire.

Start Terminal

Here you can set the terminal type of the start or "source" of the wire.

End Terminal

Here you can set the terminal type of the end or "destination" of the wire.

 

The Start/End Terminals are used on the Wire Terminal Count report. These fields can also be used to display specific images on the ends of Finish Wire shapes in Visio.

Additional Fields Within Projects

 

When a Product has been added to a Project, there are additional fields added.

General Tab

 

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Component ID

This will display the auto-generated Component ID for the Product. This is a unique number given to every Product and Labor Item added to a Project. Click here to see how to set your Component ID. You can override this number by typing in the field.

Serial Number

Here you can enter the Serial Number for a Product. This can be useful for reference and on Service Orders.

IP Address 1

Here you can enter the IP Address for a Product.

IP Address 2

Here you can enter a secondary IP Address for a Product.

MAC Address 1

Here you can enter the MAC Address for a Product.

MAC Address 2

Here you can enter a secondary MAC Address for a Product.

Optional

This will mark the Product as Optional. Click here for details.

Price Tab

 

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Discount

Here you can enter a discount percentage for the Product. By default, this discount field changes the price that is displayed on Proposal reports and not discount amount is displayed. There is a Report Setting that allows you to display the discounted amount in the Project Summary section of the Proposal.

Net Unit Price

This field will show the unit price after the discount is applied.

Non-Billable

Checking this option will zero out the Unit Price of the Product within the Project file, but not the Unit Cost. It also zeroes out any labor being charged for the Product, but not the cost of the Labor. Any labor hours associated with the Product are maintained. This option is useful for Products that you are providing but not charging your client for. Because these items retain their cost values, they do factor into your overall project margin/profit.

Example: A Product has the following: Unit Cost = $50 and Unit Price = $100. It has one hour of labor with a cost of $75/hour and a price of $150/hour. You add this to a project and it is marked as Non-Billable. Nothing will be charged to your client but the Project will incur a cost of $125 ($50 from the Product + $75 from the Labor associated with the Product) and this cost will affect the Project's margin/profit. If you do not want to incur a cost for the Product you can manually zero this field out within the Project. If you do not want incur a cost for the labor you can zero out the hours for the Product within the Project.

Exclude in Calculated Items

Checking this option will exclude the product's pricing from being used in Calculated Products, Labor Items, Allowances, Miscellaneous Items, and on Service Plans.

Change Product Price

This will allow you change to any one of your 12 available Price Types.

Location and System Tab

 

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This displays the Location and/or System that the Product is assigned to within the Project. You can edit your Locations and Systems here via the buttons. See Location and System Settings.

Accounting Tab

 

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Estimate Number

This field will display the QuickBooks Estimate number when using our QuickBooks Integration. This field is editable.

Order Number

This field will display the Purchase Order number when using Purchase Orders or creating a Purchase Order through our QuickBooks Integration.

Item Name

This field will display the QuickBooks Item Number when using our QuickBooks Integration. You can also manually enter an "accounting ID" from your own accounting software.

Specifications Tab

 

Products of Category Type "Wire" will have an additional field on the Specification tab for "Wire Length":

 

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Wire Length

This displays the wire length for Bulk Wire. This field is editable. For Wire not marked as "Bulk Wire", this value is not editable and is set to a value = 1.

Head End

This displays the Head End for wires that are marked as "Bulk Wire". This field is editable via the dropdown menu you can Manage Head Ends to add new ones. For Wire not marked as "Bulk Wire", this value is not editable.

Order and Install Tab

 

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Vendor

This field will display the Vendor that you have associated with the product. It is used when creating Purchase Orders..

Order Status

Here you can set the order status of the Product choosing from: Not Ordered, Ordered, and In Stock/Received or any custom Order Status that you have created.This field auto-populates and updates once on a Purchase Order.

Order Number

This field auto-populates and updates once on a Purchase Order.This can also be manually entered.

Ordered Date

This field auto-populates and updates once on a Purchase Order. This can also be manually entered.

Expected Delivery Date

This field auto-populates if set on a Purchase Order.This can also be manually entered.

Received Date

This field auto-populates when a Purchase Order Receipt is created. This can also be manually entered.

Tracking Number

This field auto-populates when items are updated from Purchase Orders. This can also be manually entered.

 

Task Number

This will list the Task Number to which the Product has been assigned.

Picked

Checking this box will mark the Products as "Picked". This auto-populates if the field is updated on a Task through Mobile Install. This can also be manually checked.

Picked Date

This field auto-populates if the field is updated on a Task through Mobile Install. This can also be manually entered.

Installed

Checking this box will mark the Product as "Installed" in the Project and on any Task this Product is a part of. This auto-populates if the field is updated on a Task through Mobile Install. This can also be manually checked.

Installed Date

This field auto-populates if the field is updated on a Task through Mobile Install. This can also be manually entered.

Install Notes

Here you can enter any installation notes for the Product. his auto-populates if the field is updated on a Task through Mobile Install

Service Plan Tab

 

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Include in Service Plan

If this box is checked, when you create a Service Plan associated with the Project you will be prompted to add the item to the Project Items on the Service Plan.

Service Plans

This field displays the Service Plans that the Product has been added to as a Project Item.

 

 

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