> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Products and prices

> Building a catalogue of what you sell so invoicing is fast, consistent and correctly taxed.

Your catalogue holds everything you sell — goods and services alike. Building it turns invoicing
from typing descriptions into selecting items, and it makes your revenue reports meaningful.

## Why bother

| Without a catalogue                         | With one                            |
| ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Descriptions typed differently every time   | Consistent wording on every invoice |
| Prices remembered or looked up              | Applied automatically               |
| Tax rate chosen per line, sometimes wrongly | Correct rate applied every time     |
| Revenue reports show nothing useful         | Revenue by product or service       |
| Cannot link to stock                        | Stock deducted as you invoice       |

## Adding a product or service

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Products and choose New product">
    From the Invoicing sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the basics">
    | Field           | Notes                                                                |
    | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Name**        | What appears on the invoice. Write it as the customer should read it |
    | **SKU or code** | Your internal reference. Required if it links to inventory           |
    | **Description** | Longer detail, shown under the name on the invoice                   |
    | **Type**        | Product (physical goods) or service                                  |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the price">
    Your standard selling price. It can be overridden on any individual invoice line.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the unit">
    Each, hour, kilogram, box, day. Appears on the invoice line.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Link to inventory if it is a stocked item">
    Match the SKU to the inventory item so selling it moves stock. See
    [Inventory overview](/inventory/overview).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    It is now selectable on invoices, quotes and purchase documents.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Pricing

| Field                          | Use                                               |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Selling price**              | What you charge                                   |
| **Cost price**                 | What it costs you — used for margin reporting     |
| **Tax rate**                   | Applied automatically to lines using this product |
| **Tax inclusive or exclusive** | Whether the price shown already contains tax      |

<Warning>
  Be consistent about tax-inclusive versus tax-exclusive pricing across your whole catalogue.
  Mixing the two produces invoices where some lines behave differently from others, and totals that
  customers query.
</Warning>

## 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:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tell customers first">
    Particularly those on recurring invoices.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update the catalogue">
    Change the price on the product.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check your recurring invoices">
    They pick up the new price at their next run. See
    [Recurring invoices](/invoicing/recurring-invoices).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check open quotes">
    A quote already sent at the old price should be honoured. Do not silently reprice it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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

<Warning>
  Never delete a product that appears on issued invoices. Archive it. Deleting removes the link
  and leaves historical documents referencing something that no longer exists.
</Warning>

## Services versus products

|                    | Service               | Product             |
| ------------------ | --------------------- | ------------------- |
| Physical stock     | No                    | Usually yes         |
| Links to inventory | No                    | Yes, if stocked     |
| Typical unit       | Hour, day, month, job | Each, kilogram, box |
| Cost price         | Optional              | Useful for margin   |

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

If you are changing the rate on most lines, the product's default rate is wrong. Fix it at source.

<Note>
  Related: [Setting up invoicing](/invoicing/setting-up) for configuring the tax rates themselves,
  and [Create and send an invoice](/invoicing/create-and-send-an-invoice) for using the catalogue.
</Note>