How to populate the OpenBusiness Product Template

The OpenBusiness Product template is a spreadsheet that is used to capture all product details required to add all your products to OpenBusiness.

Each product is filled in each row and all details of the product filled in each column.

For the template columns, there are mandatory fields that must be filled in so that it uploads successfully. If these fields are not filled in properly then the template will fail to upload. Steps on how to do a bulk upload are provided here

1. Template requirements

To edit the template you will need spreadsheet editors like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, WPS Office to use in entering all product details. 

2. Template fields

The template contains two types of fields

a) Mandatory fields - These fields must be populated in the template and cannot be left blank. Failing to fill them properly will make the template fail to upload. 

b) Optional fields - These fields can be filled in if the details are available. If not available they can be left blank.

Mandatory Fields 

• • Product Name - A clear descriptive name of your product which you will use to identify your product in the system.
  • Unit of Measure - The magnitude of quantity used to measure your products and the values are selected from the list provided in the template varying from the following Weight, Volume, Length, Area, Time, Count
  • Unit of Measure Value - The specific unit of measure related to the product and is usually a part of the Unit of measure. Some of the values provided include  Kg, gms, Tonne, Litre, ML, Galon, Kilometre, Metre, Inch, Yard, Foot, Cm, Millimetre, Square foot, Square meter, Acre, Hectare, Minute, Hour, Day, Month, Year, Scoop, Box, Dozen, Piece, Case, Crate, Packet, Carton, Roll, Set
  • Category - The type of product or service used to generally organize products within OpenBusiness Mobile POS App. Some of the Categories include Agribusiness & Groceries, Agrovet, Automotive & Cars, Bags & Fashion, Bar & Restaurant, Beauty & Hair, Beverages, Books, Video & Music, Candies, Chemicals, Computers, Construction & Hardware, Electricals, Electronics & Appliances, Engines and Generators, Foods & Beverages, Home & Living, Kids, Baby, Toys, Men's Wear, Packaging & Labelling, Pharmaceuticals, Phones, Tablets & Accessories, Professional Services, Salon & Barber Services, Sanitary wares & Fittings, Shoes, Sports & Fitness, Stationery & Office Products, Water Works, Women's Wear, and Other Categories.

• • Subcategory - The subdivision of the various categories provided. Each Subcategory within OpenBusiness Mobile POS App is connected directly to a specific Category. Some of these subcategories include Accessories, Accounting and Audit Services, Aerated Drinks And Juices, African Fashion, Agro, Airtime and Digital Products, Alcohol Gift Sets, Animal Feeds, Apparel Fabrics, Bakeries & Cakes, Barber, Bathroom, Bathtubs, Batteries & Charge Storage, Books, Bottoms, Brandy, Bras and Panties, Breakfast, Cables and Wires, Calendars & Planners, Cameras & Accessories, Ceramic Toilets, Chaff cutters,  Chicken Foods, Cleaning, Coffee & Hot Drinks, Commercial Appliances, Dresses, Electric posho mills, Electrical Services, Grass trimmers & Accessories, Ink, Cartridges & Toners, Jua Kali, Millinery Bags, Office Equipment, Office Supplies, School Supplies, Servers, Storage & Organization, Storage Solutions, Suits, Underwear, Watches & Sunglasses, Water, Whisky, Wines. 

N.B: More subcategories are available in the template and in the application when adding a product. 

• • Product Type - This field contains two options where each product can be categorized as GOODS or SERVICES. For each product type, you select the specific  type based on the criteria
    • • GOODS - Countable products which have inventory/stock that can be managed
      • SERVICES - Products that cannot be counted or managed in inventory. Recurring products
  • Reorder Level - The lowest number at which the product is sold and reduces in inventory. It triggers a notification every day via your email to update or restock. OpenBusiness automatically sends reorder level emails every day at 5:00 pm for products that have reached their assigned reorder level values.
  • Active - This can be marked as YES or NO makes the product available on the selling screen when marked with YES.
  • Not for sale - Marked as YES or NO indicating whether the product is for sale or not. A product can be marked as not for sale if it is a giveaway that is tracked in inventory or any other reason that makes it not for sale.
  • Opening Stock - The initial stock when adding a product to OpenBusiness Mobile POS. For product type marked as Goods, a definite number is added and for product type marked as SERVICES, it is filled in as 0 as we don't track inventory for services.
  • Buying Price - The amount of money used to purchase this item. For product types marked as GOODS and opening stock is 0 the buying price is filled in as 0. For product type marked as SERVICES, the Buying price should be filled in as 0.
  • Default Selling Price - This is the default selling price of the three selling prices provided that is displayed on the selling screen but can be switched when selling. Usually selected from three options which are Retail Price, Wholesale Price, and Minimum Price.
  • Retail Price - This is the price for items sold on retail and is the highest selling price. This price can be more or equal to the Wholesale Price and Minimum price but not lower than the Wholesale price.
  • Wholesale Price - The price for items sold via wholesale. This price can be more than or equal to the Minimum price, less than or equal to the Retail Price.
  • Minimum Price - The lowest selling price set by the business owner to control and prevent losses. Usually OpenBusiness Mobile POS will not allow selling items at a price lower than this price even when applying discounts.
  • Tax 1 - The first sales tax value as a percentage. For products that are VAT Inclusive, this field is filled in with 0 and for products that are VAT exclusive, it is filled in as the percentage in relation to the Selling price.
  • Tax 2 - The second sales tax value as a percentage. For products that are VAT Inclusive, this field is filled in with 0 and for products that are VAT exclusive, it is filled in as the percentage in relation to the Selling price.
  • Commission - The commission paid to employees once this product is sold. This is calculated by the system and added to the salaries calculated when generating payroll.

Optional Fields

• • Gender - A descriptive variable for the product. Specified in the Template as Male, Female or Neutral
  • Brand - The name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies the product (good or service) as distinct from other products which could be similar
  • Style - The unique form of the product.
  • Size - The size used to identify the products
  • Colour - The specific color of the product.
  • Barcode - This is machine-readable code in the form of numbers and a pattern of parallel lines of varying widths, printed on the product.
  • SKU - The Stock Keeping Unit, a unique code or system of names used by the business to identify the product
  • Batch Number - The designation, in numbers or letters used to identify and trace a set of identical products that share certain characteristics of production (production time, production date, identification code) based on the supplier or manufacturer's supply.
  • Expiry Date - Usually added for products and is a previously determined date after which the product should no longer be used, either by operation of law or by exceeding the anticipated shelf life for perishable. Only added for items that have this expiration date.
  • Description - The marketing copy used to describe a product's value proposition to potential customers. It provides details around features, problems it solves, and other benefits to help identify the product.

3. Save the template and share it with the device with OpenBusiness Mobile POS App for uploading.

Steps to uploading the template are provided in the video below