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Marlin GTX enables you to add new products by entering key details for identification, costing, and reporting.
When you add a product to the system, you need to enter the information that will help distinguish it from the other products and services you sell.
Completing all of the fields is not necessary but you must complete the mandatory fields (displayed in bold with an asterisk) such as product codes used for identification, costing details and reporting information.
Items can be added at the head office only.
Adding Products
From the Main menu, select Products > Manage Products.
The Product Maintenance screen will open.
Click on the Add button.
The Add Product screen will open with the Details tab active.
For information about the settings on the Details tab, see the Details Tab section below.
If most settings for the new product are the same as those for an existing product, you can save time by copying the existing product and changing the copy as needed.
To copy a product, select it on the Product Maintenance screen, then click on the Copy icon or press F5.
Complete the mandatory fields:
- Type a unique code for identifying the product.
- Define the product type by selecting from the drop-down.
- Click on the lookup and select a product group.
These fields are displayed in bold text with an asterisk
To further differentiate the product:
- Add a description for the product.
- Ensure the Active checkbox is selected.
- Indicate whether the product is stocked.
- Indicate whether employees are allowed to edit the selling price.
- Add the supplier’s code used to identify the product (sometimes called a product code, article number, or supplier part number).
- Type a code for looking up the item in the Search Code field.
- For tyres, use the size without letters or slashes (e.g. 2055516).
- For non-tyre products, use a code that is easy to remember (e.g. LAB for labour items, WHEEL178 for 17x8 size wheels).
- Type the tyre's aspect ratio and rim size.
- Enter information in the remaining fields as needed.
- Define the product's selling prices for each customer type as needed.
- Define your cost, the supplier's list cost, and a special cost as needed.
Click on the Options tab.
For information about the settings on the Options tab, see the Options Tab section below.
Complete the required costing entries:
- Select a costing method from the drop-down.
- Click on the lookup and select the product class.
- Click on the lookup and select the tax code.
- Click on the lookup and select the claim group.
- If required, assign an add-on package group, commission, and incentive.
- Define how to handle reordering the item as needed.
Details Tab
The Product screen's Details tab includes an item's general, price, cost, and quantity information.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | Defines a unique identifier for the item. This setting is required. |
| Product Type | Not used. |
| Description | Provides a primary description. |
| Long Description | Provides an additional, detailed description. |
| Allow Description Override | Enables changing the item's description on an order, regardless of whether the item is purchased or sold. |
| Active | Indicates that the item can be sold. |
| Stocked | Defines whether the item is counted as inventory. Depending on whether Stocked is selected, the following occurs: Stocked Items: The quantity on hand and average cost are continually maintained. Sales of stocked items post to the Sales Of Stocked Items account, and the average cost posts to a user-defined COGS account. Nonstocked Items: The quantity on hand is not tracked and the cost is always $0. Sales of nonstocked items post to user-defined Sales Revenue and Purchase Expense accounts. Because the cost of nonstocked items is always $0, sales of these items always results in a 100% gross profit. |
| Edit Sell Price | Enables changing the item's selling price at point of sale. |
| Second Hand Item | Defines whether the item can be used as a trade-in credit on a sales invoice. When an item is designated as second hand, its costing method must be set to specific cost. Therefore, when the item is traded-in (purchased from a customer on a sales invoice), its cost posts to a separate, specific-cost bucket. |
| Preferred Product | Indicates that the item is one you prefer to sell. In other words, when you want to promote specific brands, you can designate items from those manufacturers as preferred products. This setting can be used to limit inventory searches to only preferred items. |
| Inquiry Rank | Controls the order in which items are displayed in inventory search results. You can assign the following: 0 places the item at the bottom of the list. 1 places the item at the top of the list. 2+ provides subsequent rankings, in which the lower the numbers result in higher rankings. |
| Supplier Catalog Code | Defines the code the vendor uses to identify the item. |
| Manufacturers Code | Defines the code the manufacturer uses to identify the item. |
| Barcode | Assigns a barcode to the item. |
| Product Group | Defines the primary method of organizing and classifying items on both inventory and sales reports. This setting is required. |
| Search Code | Defines a code that’s used for looking up items. For tires, it’s often the size without letters and slashes, such as 2357515. For other items, it’s generally a combination of letters, numbers, or both that’s easy to remember. For example, LAB for labor items and WHEEL178 for 17x8 size wheels. Looking up items with a search code retrieves all items that start with the characters you’re using. For example, if you type 20565 all items whose search code begins with 20565 will be retrieved. |
| Aspect | Defines the aspect ratio for tires. |
| Diameter | Defines the rim size for tires. |
| Brand | Defines the item's brand. |
| Sales GL Account | Defines the GL account for posting sales of the item, if the item is classified as nonstocked. This setting is not available for stocked items. It’s recommended that you assign a Sales GL Account to nonstocked items. When this account is not defined, sales of nonstocked items post to the Default Revenue account instead. |
| Purchases GL Account | Defines the GL account for posting the cost of the item, if the item is classified as nonstocked. This setting is not available for stocked items. It's recommended that you assign a Purchases GL Account to nonstocked items. When this account is not defined, the cost of good sold for nonstocked items posts to the Default Expense account instead. |
| GL Posting Group | Not used. |
| Capture DOT Numbers | Requires the entry of DOT numbers when the item is sold. |
| Item Type | Assigns additional user-defined attributes to the item. |
| Prices (fields) | Defines various selling prices for the item, such as retail, wholesale, and national fleet. Price field names are user-defined. Up to six prices can be assigned to items, however, the number of price fields available to you depends on how pricing for your TireMaster GTX system is set up. |
| Normal Cost | Defines your normal cost for the item. |
| Special Cost | Defines a cost to use instead of an item's normal cost. Special cost replaces normal cost in various calculations (such as markups and discounts) when it's the lower of the two costs. If the special cost is $0 or greater than the normal cost, it's ignored. |
| Supplier List | Defines the vendor's recommended selling price. |
| Last Cost | Displays the cost of the item the last time you purchased it from a vendor. |
| Average Cost | Displays the item's cost, which is a system-calculated average of the various costs at which an item received. |
| Average Claims | Displays the item's claim stock value, which is a system-calculated average of the various credit amounts you expect to receive for warranty claims you've submitted for the item. |
| Average Consignment In Cost | Displays a system-calculated number that's used to determine your liability to the supplier whose consignment stock you're holding. |
| Last FET Cost | Displays the amount of federal excise tax assessed on the item the last time you purchased it from a vendor. This amount is used to reduce the item's selling price when it's sold to FET-exempt customers, and it's used to accumulate a tax credit for FET-exempt sales. |
| On Hand | Displays the quantity present in the store. The system recalculates this number when the item is sold to customers, purchased from vendors, or adjusted. The quantity on hand is multiplied by the average cost to calculate the item's value. Adding an item to a work order does not affect its quantity on hand. |
| Reserved | Displays the quantity that has been added to work orders and invoices that haven't been completed. Putting an item on reserve ensures that there is enough to sell. When an invoice with the item is completed, the system updates this number. |
| On Work Order | Displays the quantity of allocated stock on work orders. When items are unallocated, the order is treated as quote, which does not affect the work order quantity. Items are allocated when the Allocate Stock check box is selected on the Enter Work Order screen. |
| On Purchase Order | Displays the quantity that has been ordered. |
| On Shipment | Displays the quantity on one or more Shipping Advice documents (used when importing items). The system recalculates this number when the items are brought into stock. |
| On Transfer In | Displays the quantity your store will receive from transfers. |
| On Transfer Out | Displays the quantity your store is sending to another location. |
| On Transfer Request | Displays the quantity requested from other stores (also referred to as branches). |
| On Consignment Out | Displays the quantity held by customers to whom you've consigned the item. Although this number is part of the inventory calculation, it's excluded from the quantity on hand because it's not available for you to sell. |
| On Consignment In | Displays the quantity you've agreed to hold on consignment from a supplier. In the event that the items are damaged or destroyed, you must reimburse the consignor. |
| Held On Claims | Displays the quantity on warranty claims pending with one or more vendors. This quantity is multiplied by the average claim cost amount to calculate the balance of the Inventory Claim Stock asset account. |
| Available Stock | Displays the system-calculated quantity available for you to promise to customers. Available Stock = (Quantity On Hand - Quantity on Work Order - Quantity Reserved). If you have insufficient stock, this number will be negative. |
Options Tab
The Product screen's Options tab includes additional settings that affect costing, sales tax handling, and inventory replenishment.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Costing Method | Defines how the cost of the item is calculated. This setting is required. |
| Sell By | Defines the following: Select Quantity for item is sold as individual units. (Examples: tires, batteries, and parts.) Select Value if the item's quantity is calculated based on the unit price. (Example: gasoline.) |
| Stock Unit | Defines the unit of measure used for the item. (For example: EA, QTS, and Set.) This entry is for informational purposes only. It can be printed on purchase orders and sale invoices. |
| Product Class | Assigns an additional method of organizing and classifying items that's similar to Product Groups on the Details tab. The Product Class setting can be configured as required or optional, or you can choose to disable it. |
| Tax Level | Defines whether an item is not taxable, fully taxable, or taxed at a percentage. (Example: A dealership could be located in a state that tax retreads at 40% of the normal tax rate.) This setting is required. |
| Tax Category | Defines the type of item for tax reporting purposes. Tax categories can be used if your sales tax reports for the IRS need to include a breakdown of sales by type of item. (Example: Parts and labor could be reported separately.) This setting is required. |
| Markup Set | Defines the markup that will be used to calculate the item's selling price (for each of the different price types, such as retail and wholesale). |
| Supplier Discount | Defines how to calculate your cost for the item, if the vendor has given you a discount off of the list price. When there is no entry in this field, you can buy the item at the lower of either the normal cost or the special cost (if it's not $0.00). |
| Standard Remark | Assigns a predefined comment to the item. This comment prints on quotes, work orders, and invoices. |
| Claim Group | Not used. |
| Add-on Package Group | Defines which group of add-ons to include on orders when selling the item. Add-ons are additional products and services sold with an item. For example, an add-on group for tires could include valve stems, a computer balance, disposal fees, and warranties. |
| Commission | Assigns a product commission type to the item. This setting is used along with a customer commission type and a commission calculation rule to determine the amount of commission employees receive when they sell the item. |
| SPIFF | Assigns a code that defines the spiff amount paid to employees when they sell the item. This setting is active only when a product commission code is assigned to the item. |
| Shop Supplies | Assigns a shop supplies level, which defines how shop charges are calculated when the item is sold. |
| Normal Supplier | Defines which vendor typically sells the item to you. |
| Allow Decimal Quantity | Defines whether the item's quantity must be a whole number. Typically, the decimal quantities are used for items such as oil, coolant, and other fluids. |
| Reorder Level | Defines the quantity at which the item should be replenished. This number is used by the Reorder Levels module to calculate proposed ordering levels based on sales history. |
| Reorder Quantity | Defines the quantity to order when replenishing the item. This number is used by the Reorder Levels module to calculate proposed ordering levels based on sales history. |
| Safety Quantity | Defines a quantity you always want to have on hand, regardless of an item's sales history. This number is used by the Reorder Levels module to calculate proposed ordering levels based on sales history. |
| Warranty Limit | Defines the duration for the item's warranty. (Example: Mileage for tires and months for batteries.) |
| Last Purchase Date | Shows the date of the last time the item was replenished. |
| Last Purchase Reference | Shows the document number for the Supplier Tax Invoice generated the last time the item was replenished. |
| Discontinued | Marks the item discontinued. |
| Discontinued Date | Defines the date on which the item was discontinued. |
Additional Tabs
The remaining tabs on the Product screen provide information for research purposes and include the means to add images and additional details about an item.
Transactions Tab
Provides transaction history for the item.
The upper half of the screen lists basic information such as date, transaction type, and quantity.
When you select a transaction on this list, the details (such as purchase and selling prices) appear on the lower half of the screen.
Last Year Transactions
Provides transaction for the item that is limited to the previous year.
This tab is organised in the same manner as the Transactions tab, with basic information at the top and detail at the bottom.
Items
Lists item's specific cost buckets (only for items assigned the specific cost costing method).
If Stock Catalog Items are enabled, the alternative equivalent catalog items are shown.
Pending Transfers
Shows transfer dates, quantities, and carrier information when the item is being moved from one store to another.
Pending transfers are organised by transfers going out, transfers coming in, and transfer requests.
Unit Sales History
Shows the quantity sold each month, beginning with the previous month's sales going backwards for a year.
If you need to see sales for the current month, refer to the month-to-date units on the Statistics tab.
Price History
Lists the date and times when one or more prices for the item were changed.
Consignment Out Transactions
Lists delivery and return transactions for items being held on consignment by customers.
Consignment Out Summary
Lists the item's current consignment quantity, regardless of when it was delivered to customers.
Special Prices
Lets you put the item on sale by offering it for a special price during a user-defined date range.
Statistics
Provides a snapshot of various details about the item (such as units sold, sales, and gross profit) for today, this week to date, this month to date, and this year to date.
Web Fields
Lets you add the item to your business web site.
This functionality is available only at the head office.
Image
Lets you add an image to the item.
This functionality is available only at the head office.
Equivalents
Lets you define items (equivalent products) that could be substituted for this item when there are enough on hand to sell.
Additional Fields
Lets you record additional information about the item.
These settings, which include vendor article number, lettering style, uniform tire quality grade (UTQG), tread depth, volume, and weight, are available on three different tabs.
Audit Log
Describes changes made to the item, along with the date, time, and user who made the changes.
Maintainers
Lets you see who is responsible for maintaining the item.
Field maintenance is divided into three categories.
System Maintained: Fields can be altered only by the program. (Examples: Average Cost and Quantity on Hand.)
Locally Maintained: Fields can be updated by users who have been granted edit access.
Non-Locally Maintained: Fields are managed by authorised external systems, such as the head office.