Why bother
Adding a product or service
1
Open Products and choose New product
From the Invoicing sidebar.
2
Enter the basics
3
Set the price
Your standard selling price. It can be overridden on any individual invoice line.
4
Set the tax rate
Which of your configured rates applies. Get this right at the product level and every future
invoice is correct without thought.
5
Set the unit
Each, hour, kilogram, box, day. Appears on the invoice line.
6
Link to inventory if it is a stocked item
Match the SKU to the inventory item so selling it moves stock. See
Inventory overview.
7
Save
It is now selectable on invoices, quotes and purchase documents.
Pricing
Changing prices
Editing a product’s price changes it for future invoices only. Invoices already issued keep the price they were issued at — as they must, since the customer has a copy. If you are increasing prices:1
Tell customers first
Particularly those on recurring invoices.
2
Update the catalogue
Change the price on the product.
3
Check your recurring invoices
They pick up the new price at their next run. See
Recurring invoices.
4
Check open quotes
A quote already sent at the old price should be honoured. Do not silently reprice it.
Organising the catalogue
As it grows, structure helps:- Categories — group by type of work or product family
- SKU conventions — a consistent code structure makes searching fast
- Archive rather than delete — archiving keeps historical invoices intact; deleting breaks them
Services versus products
Consultancy, delivery charges, installation, monthly retainers — all services. Set them up
properly rather than typing them freehand each time.
One-off lines
You do not have to catalogue everything. On any invoice you can type a description, quantity, price and tax rate directly without creating a product. Use this for genuinely one-off items. If you find yourself typing the same description for the third time, put it in the catalogue.Tax rates on lines
The product’s rate is applied by default and can be changed per line. Change it when:- You are exporting, and the supply is zero-rated
- The specific supply is exempt
- The customer’s circumstances change the treatment
Related: Setting up invoicing for configuring the tax rates themselves,
and Create and send an invoice for using the catalogue.