The Products form consists of a main top panel and several tabs. See Creating a Products Record for information on creating a new product in Aptify.
Top Panel
Name (Required)
The Name field contains the name of the product. It is recommended that each product be named differently to avoid confusion during the order entry process.
Category (Required)
The Category field links the Products record to a specific product category. General ledger (GL) accounts and other attributes defined at the product category flow down to the product to streamline product setup. Note that you cannot change a product's category once the Products record has been saved for the first time.
Type (Required)
The Type field links the Product record to a specific product type. This product type defines whether the product is of an extended type, and may result in an additional tab appearing on the Products record. The list includes all active Product Types set up within the system. Note that you cannot change a product's type after the Products record has been saved for the first time.
Aptify is delivered with the General, Expo, Meeting, Publication, and Housing product types pre-defined. Selection of Expo, Meeting, Publication, or Housing results in the addition of a tab on the Products record. These types are described in Aptify's documentation (see General Product Setup for more information). Any tabs that result from product types configured for an organization's specific business rules may not included in this documentation.
Parent Product
The Parent Product field links the current Products record to another Products record in a parent-child relationship. Assigning a parent to a product structures an organization's products in a hierarchical fashion.
Accounting Tab
This tab displays information related to the impact the product has on an organization's accounting procedures.
Cost Details Sub-Tab
This tab stores the actual and forecasted costs associated with this product. See About the Costs Form.
Cost Planning Sub-Tab
This tab stores information on costs for planning purposes associated with this product.
Cost Summary Sub-Tab
This tab displays product cost summary details in a pivot table.
General Sub-Tab
Invoice Type (Required)
Specifies which invoice form is used to print an invoice for an order. Options include: Standard, Meeting Registration, Expo Space Contract, and None. This field is for informational purposes only.
Taxable (Required)
Selecting the Taxable option instructs the Aptify Order Entry system to add an appropriate tax to the product on the order line when it is purchased. See Managing the Sales Tax Infrastructure for information.
Deferred Income (Required)
The Deferred Income option indicates that the sale of the product is recognized at a future date or dates. Deferred income products must have a deferred income GL account so that scheduled transactions can be generated when the product is ordered. This field is only available when the Subscription Item box is selected on the Subscription tab. See Creating Subscription Products for more information.
Cash Basis Acctg (Required)
For organizations using a cash basis accounting method, selecting this option generates revenue recognition entries at the time of payment rather than the time of order.
Aptify supports two accounting methods for a product: Accrual Basis or Cash Basis. For Accrual Basis accounting, revenue is recognized at the time an order is shipped. For Cash Basis accounting, revenue is recognized at the time payment is received. By default, this box is cleared and a product uses Accrual Basis accounting. If your organization uses cash basis accounting, select the option.
Discuss this selection with your accounting department before specifying that a product should use Cash Basis accounting. If using Cash Basis accounting, be sure to add an unearned revenue account to the product's GL Account tab. See Managing Accounting and Financial Systems Integration for more information on Aptify's accounting functionality.
Rev. Recognition Date
This field is for meetings and other products where all revenue from sales is recognized on a specific date in the future (such as the date of the meeting/event) and not on the date the order is shipped.
This field is not intended to be used with the Deferred Income field; use one or the other
GL Accounts Sub-Tab
The GL Accounts tab lists the GL accounts associated with the product. Initially the tab populates with the GL accounts listed on the product's Product Categories record. GL accounts are used at the product level for accounting purposes. If a product category's GL accounts are modified, the product's GL accounts must be updated manually if necessary to avoid unintentional changes to GL accounts at the product level.See About the GL Accounts Form for Products for more information.
Assembly Tab
The Assembly tab lists all the Parts records used to create this product when ordered. Products in the Parts records make up the kit/assembled product. See About the Parts Form from Products.
Assemble using Inventory from Sub-Products (Required)
The Use Assembly Inventory option indicates to the inventory system that the current product is either a kit or group of other products. See Creating Kit Products and Product Groupings for details.
Kit Type (Required)
This field is only available when Use Assembly Inventory is selected and lets a user select the kit type for the product. The drop-down list displays the set of records from the Product Kit Types service (see About the Product Kit Types Form). The standard options include:
- Standard Product: This option corresponds to a standard product that is not a kit or group of other products. The Kit Type is set to Standard Product when Use Assembly Inventory is not selected.
- Kit Product: When selected, the system identifies the product as a kit of the products specified in the assembly sub-product list.
- Product Grouping: When selected, the system identifies the product as a grouping of the products specified in the assembly sub-product list.
Attachments Tab
The Attachments tab lists any files relevant to the Products record.
Comments Tab
The Comments tab contains any comments relevant to the Products record.
Details Tab
Attributes Sub-Tab
The Attributes sub-tab displays a list of Attribute records, and whether they are presently active or not. Product attributes are not commonly used. This is a generic feature that allows product-specific logic to be implemented by an organization. See About the Attributes Form for Products.
General Sub-Tab
Topic
The Topic field is a legacy field and currently has no functionality.
Code
The Code field lists an ID or product code for referral to a legacy system.
Organization
This field links to the Organizations service and associates this product with a particular organization. Note that this setting has an impact on systems that have multiple functional currencies (assigned on a per-organization basis) as it will associate a product with a particular functional currency when determining the currency type for the product's Minimum Price field.
Committee
This field links to the Committees service and associates this product with a particular committee.
Prev. Version
This field can be used to link this product to an earlier version product for the Standing Orders module. The New Product Version wizard populates this field automatically. See Creating New Product Versions.
Base Product
The Base Product field is used in conjunction with Prev. Version field to link products together (such as specific instances of an annual event or new editions of a publication). It identifies the baseline or first version of a particular product series. See Creating New Product Versions.
Chapter Assignment Rule
This field is used in conjunction with the Chapter Management add-on application for e-Business to specify the logic to use when automatically assigning a person to a chapter (when that person orders a Chapter membership product).
Order Line Description
This field identifies a culture string that will serve as the Order Line Description for this product/products in this category/products of this type. The Order Line Description contains a series of placeholders (identified by numbers enclosed in brackets, for example, {0}, {1}, etc.). These placeholders correspond to the fields identified in the Order Line Fields field.
Note that this description is only applicable to products that are not subscriptions; subscription products use the Subscription Description instead.
Order Line Fields
This field contains a comma separated list of field names that plug into the Order Line Description placeholders. The order in which you enter the field names must match the order in which they should appear within the Order Line Description. The number of field names you enter should also match the number of placeholders in the Order Line Description. For example, the default Order Line Description for the Class Product Type is Registration for {0} at {1}. This description includes two placeholders - the first identifies the student and the second identifies the class name. Therefore, the default Order Line Fields for the Class Product Type is Student_FirstLast,ClassName.
The Order Line Fields placeholders can reference any field in the Order Lines service and, for extended products, any field in the extended order line service. So, in the case of a Class product, the Order Line Fields can reference any field in Order Lines and any field in Class Registrations. For Meeting products, the Order Line Fields can reference any field in Order Lines and any field in Meeting Registrations (AKA Order Meeting Detail). For Expo products, the Order Line Fields can reference any field in Order Lines and any field in Order Booth Detail.
Open Order Line on Add
When selected, the product's order line to automatically open when adding the product to the order.This option is appropriate for products that require additional details to be verified or added to the order line. For example, subscription, meeting, and expo products.
Allow Description Override
When selected, the product's order line description can be changed. This option allows users to customize details for situations where one Order may contain registrations for multiple Persons or events.
Part Of Sub-Tab
If the current product is a sub-product in one or more kits, the kits are listed on this sub-tab.
Prerequisite Sub-Tab
The Prerequisite sub-tab is used to configure any prerequisite conditions in which must be met before the product can be added to an order. See Specifying Product Prerequisites for more information.
Related Products Sub-Tab
The Related Products sub-tab displays the Related Products records that are offered to customers as accessory or substitute products when the product in this Products record is ordered.
The information about a product listed on this tab is displayed in a prompt dialogue box on the order entry screen at the time of placing an order, for the service representative to read to the customer. See About the Related Products Form for more information.
Standing Orders Sub-Tab
The Standing Orders sub-tab displays a list of Standing Orders records for the product. See Entering and Fulfilling Standing Orders for more information.
Tasks Sub-Tab
This Tasks sub-tab displays the tasks linked to this product. See Managing Tasks for more information.
Topic Codes Sub-Tab
Topic codes can be associated with the Products service as determined by an organization. Each product can then associate with a topic code by selecting the appropriate topic code on the Topic Codes tab. See Selecting Topic Codes for information on working with Topic Codes in Aptify.
Expos Tab
The Expos tab is only displayed if the product type selected is Expos. The Expos tab contains product information specific to expo products. For detailed information on the fields and functions on this tab, see Using Expo Management.
General Tab
Version Number
The version or release number of the product.
Distribution Type (Required)
Identifies the distribution option used for this product. Standard options include: Hard Shipment, Email, Fax, and Drop-Ship Product. The options displayed are from the Product Distribution Types service. See About the Product Distribution Types Form.
Top Level Item (Required)
The Top Level Item option (selected by default) makes the product available for sale on its own through the Aptify Order Entry system. If the product is part of another product and is never sold individually, clear this option.
Currently Sold (Required)
The Currently Sold option (selected by default) indicates that the product is available for sale in the Aptify Order Entry system. If not selected, the product cannot be purchased through the system.
Available On
The Available On field is a date field which indicates when a product is available for sale in the Aptify Order Entry system.
Available Until
A date field that indicates when a product is no longer available for sale in the Aptify Order Entry system.
Description
A description of the product. This description appears in the order line on an Orders record.
Hierarchy Tab
This tab displays the hierarchy browser of products and product categories related to the current product. See Reviewing Product Category Relationships for details.
Housing Tab
The Housing tab displays for products whose type is Housing. For more information about Housing Management, see Using Housing Management.
Inventory Tab
Inventory Tab Top Panel
Quantity On Hand (read-only)
The Quantity On Hand field displays the total number of units on hand in the inventory warehouses. Units are included in this figure whether or not they have been reserved for sale.
Quantity On Hand - Quantity Reserved = Quantity Available
Quantity Reserved (read-only)
The Quantity Reserved field displays the total number of units sold but not shipped to the customer. These units are typically still physically in the organization's warehouse, but have been sold to a customer through an order. Quantity reserved is controlled by the Order Status field on the Orders record, which indicates if an order has been Taken, Shipped, Cancelled or Back Ordered. Quantity reserved includes the quantities for Order records with an order status of Taken or Back Ordered.
Quantity Reserved = Units Ordered - Returned Units + Exchange Units
Units Ordered = number of units where order status is Taken or Back Ordered
Returned Units = number of negative quantity units in cancellation orders linked to orders that calculate Units Ordered
Exchange Units = number of positive quantity units in cancellation orders where order status is Taken or Back Order
Quantity Shipped (read-only)
Quantity Shipped is the total number of units of a product that have been shipped to customers, life-to-date. This is a statistic Aptify provides to determine overall product volume.
Quantity Shipped = Units Shipped - Returned Units + Exchange Units
Units Shipped = number of units where order status is Shipped
Returned Units = number of negative quantity units returned in cancellation orders linked to orders that calculate Units Shipped
Exchange Units = number of positive quantity units in cancellation orders where order status is Shipped
Quantity On Order (read-only)
The QuantityOnOrder field displays the total number of product units presently on order. This total comes from the Inventory On Order records listed on the On Order sub-tab on the Inventory tab.
Dimensions Sub-Tab
The fields on the Dimensions sub-tab track the physical size and width information that can be used to calculate shipping charges or for reserving adequate warehouse space.
Unit Weight
Number representing the weight of a unit.
Unit Height
Number representing the height of a unit.
Unit Width
Number representing the width of a unit.
Unit Depth
Number representing the depth of a unit.
Weight Units (Required)
A list of weight types that indicate how units are weighed. Options include: Ounces, Pounds, Grams, Kilograms. The default is Pounds.
Linear Units (Required)
A list of linear types that indicate how units are measured. Options include: Inches, Feet, Yards, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters. The default is Inches.
General Sub-Tab
Re-Order Qty.
Contains the quantity of units usually ordered when reordering inventory.
Ave. Lead Time
The average time (in days) it takes to receive ordered inventory.
Minimum Stock
Indicates the minimum amount of inventory this product should always have on hand.
The Re-Order Qty and Minimum Stock fields determine which products appear in the Product Inventory Transfer wizard by default. See Using the Bulk Inventory Transfer Wizard for details. Otherwise, these are for informational purposes only; they will only prompt an action if the need to reorder is noted by a service representative, or if a specific tool for notification is developed.
Notification Employee
The employee who should be notified when reordering inventory for this product is necessary. This field does not provide automatic notification by default. Contact the system administrator to configure automatic email notification. The system administrator can create a process pipeline to handle this notification.
Default Inv. Location
Lists the Inventory Location from which this product is shipped by default. Note that if you modify the location for an existing product, you should close and reopen the Aptify application to ensure that the change takes effect immediately.
Require Inventory (Required)
This option indicates that the product must have sufficient inventory in order for the product to ship to the customer. An order can be placed for the product if inventory is not available, but a warning message is provided to indicate that the product is not in stock. See Requiring Inventory for a Product for more information.
Calculate COGS (Required)
The Calculate COGS option instructs the Aptify Order Entry system to track the cost of goods sold based on the method selected in the Cost Method field.
Cost Method (Required)
Indicates the cost method used for this product. Once the method is selected and the Products record is saved, the cost method cannot be changed. Options include:
- Average: Average costing methodology assigns each unit sold the average cost of all units currently in stock, regardless of when they were purchased. This is done by averaging the values in the Cost Per Unit field on the Product Inventory Ledger Entries records that are linked to the product sold.
- LIFO: Last-In-Last-Out methodology assumes that the most recently acquired goods are sold first, and that the ending inventory consists of old goods acquired in the earliest purchases. Thus, inventory is filled based on the price of the most recently acquired items.
- FIFO: First-In-First-Out methodology is based on the assumption that the first merchandise acquired is the first merchandise sold. In other words, each sale is made out of the oldest goods in stock and the ending inventory always consists of the most recently acquired goods. Inventory adjustments are prioritized so that the price of the oldest items is posted, regardless of current market cost.
Include in Shipping Calc. (Required)
When selected, this field indicates that the product should be included when calculating an order's shipping charges and costs. See Configuring Shipping Options for a Product for more information.
Drop Ship (Required)
The Drop Ship option indicates that the product is sent to the customer directly from an outside manufacturer. Aptify does not track inventory for this product if the Drop Ship option is selected. Note that you cannot select Drop Ship and Require Inventory for the same product.
To ensure that inventory records are not associated with products that do not track inventory, the Drop Ship attribute can only be set upon initial creation of the Product record.
Make Internally (Required)
The Make Internally option indicates the product is made in-house rather than manufactured by another company.
Require Fulfillment (Required)
Select this option if the product must be fulfilled and sent as part of a physical shipment. Orders that contain one or more products that require fulfillment cannot be shipped automatically.
Allow Backorders (Required)
Select this option ox to allow backorders to be created for this product.
Inventory Ledger Sub-Tab
This sub-tab displays a hierarchical list view of the Product Inventory Ledger records associated with this product and their associated Product Inventory Ledger Entries.
On Order Sub-Tab
The On Order tab displays the Inventory On Order records, which provide inventory information at the time of order if there is insufficient inventory to fulfill the order.
Purchases / Adjustments Sub-Tab
The Purchases/Adjustment tab displays all of the organization warehouse locations associated with the product's inventory. Only inventory locations that contain this product are shown in the tree list on the left. On the right, a list of Product Inventory Ledger records displays. Product inventory can be added or transferred between inventory locations from this tab. See Transferring Product Inventory Transfers Manually for details.
Vendors Sub-Tab
The Vendors tab stores information about product vendors in Vendors records. See About the Vendors Form for Products.
Primary Vendor
This field lists the name of the company who is the primary vendor from whom this product is purchased. The field is linked to the Companies service.
Manufacturer
Displays the name of the company that manufactures the product. The Manufacturer field is linked to the Companies service.
Meetings Tab
The Meetings tab displays for products whose type is Meeting. For more information about Meeting Management, see Using Meeting and Housing Management.
Prices Tab
The Prices tab displays the different Prices records associated with the product. The ability to override prices is controlled at the product level if it is not controlled at either the organization level or employee level. See Assigning Product Prices for information on product pricing.
Advanced Sub-Tab
Price Rule
This field identifies the Pricing Rule that is used to determine a product's prices. This field links to the Pricing Rule service (see Establishing Pricing Rules and About the Pricing Rules Form for details). When specified on a product's Prices > Advanced tab, this rule take precedence over any prices configured in the Pricing Matrix.
Pricing Object
If a developer has created a Pricing Object to determine a product's prices, enter the Object Repository location of the object in this field. See Specifying a Pricing Object for more information. Note that this field is populated automatically for new products if the product category for the product contains a pricing object.
Pricing Class
If specifying a Pricing Object, enter the object's class that implements the pricing behavior in this field.
Pricing Assembly
If specifying a Pricing Object, enter the object's .NET assembly name in this field.
Pricing Table Sub-Tab
This tab displays the Pricing Matrix for a product. See About the Prices Form for information on the Prices sub-type record.
Settings Sub-Tab
See Additional Product Pricing Functions for more information on the fields on this sub-tab.
Min Price
A price entered in the Min Price field prevents a price override during the order entry process for the product from being sold for less than this amount (unless the Allow Free option is also selected). This price is expressed in the functional currency for the Organization specified on the product's Details tab.
For orders in a foreign currency, the system converts the minimum price to the applicable foreign currency using the most recent Currency Spot Rate between the foreign currency and the organization's functional currency.
Min Selling Units
This field specifies the minimum quantity for each order line for this product.
Allow Free
The Allow Free option, if selected, allows the order entry personnel to offer the product at no cost, even if the Minimum Price field indicates a minimum price.
Allow Price Override
The Allow Price Override option, selected by default, allows the order entry personnel to override the price listed in the order line.
Allow Price Selection
The Allow Price Selection option, selected by default, allows the order entry personnel to select from a list of available product prices on the order line.
Publication Tab
This tab appears when the Product Type is set to Publication. See About the Publications Tab on the Products Form for details.
Subscription Tab
This tab displays information related to configuring a product as a subscription. See About the Subscriptions Tab on the Products Form for details.
Web Tab
Information listed on the Web tab of the Products record is used in conjunction with the Aptify e-Business Suite.
General Sub-Tab
Web Enabled
When selected, this option indicates that the product can appear and be ordered from an eBusiness website.
Web Name
The product name entered in this field displays on the web page, if the product is web enabled.
Web Page Type
The type of Web Page. Available options are as follows:
- Generated: Aptify automatically generates a Web page for this product based on the standard page for its product type. This corresponds to the functionality available in Aptify e-Business 3.5 and earlier.
- Template: Aptify generates a Web page for this product using the Web page specified in the Web Template field. See About the Product Web Templates Form for details. If you select this option, specify the Web Template in the field provided.
- Custom: Aptify uses a product specific Web page designed specifically for this product; it does not automatically generate a Web page. If you select this option, specify the URL of that Web Page in the field provided.
Web Template
If Web Page Type is set to Template, this field is available and specifies the template that the product's page should use. This field links to the Product Web Templates service.
Web Page
If the Web Page Type is set to Custom, this field identifies the URL of a web page designed specifically for this product.
Web Image
The URL of the image used for this product.
Web Product Content
The URL that points to a product download, if the product can be delivered electronically. This field is reserved for future use.
Web Description
A short description of the product for display on the web page, if the product is web enabled.
Long Description Sub-Tab
A more lengthy description of the product for display on the web, if the product is web enabled.
In general, for this product information to display on the website, its product category must also be web enabled. (Note that this requirement may not be applicable depending on how your organization has designed the e-Business website.)