Sub-Products Utility

Instructions
If you sell clothing, or other items that are essentially identical except for their size, color and other descriptors (e.g., brand, flavor, pattern, etc.) you can use the Sub-products feature to make managing your inventory, and entering orders easier.

This utility makes entering these Sub-products faster and easier. With it you can specify an unlimited number of variations for a single product then create all of them with a single click. Before committing them to your inventory you can delete any combinations that you do not sell.

1. To access the Sub-products screen click on the setup tab in the Mailware Explorer.
2. Then select the Sub-products icon NOTE: You can also access the Sub-products  screen from the Setup option in the top navigation bar.
3. This will open up the Setup Subproducts screen
4. Enter the following fields as described below:
   1. Required Fields
      1. Master Code – Enter the alphanumeric code you wish to use to group your SubProducts. This code will be used on the Order screen to lookup products. You should enter this field in UPPERCASE letters.
      2. Product Prefix – The code you enter here will be used as the prefix for each of the created sub-products (e.g., a prefix of 123 will create Product Numbers of 123-00001, 123-00002 etc.). Use as short a code as possible. This is usually the same as the Master Code. You should enter this field in UPPERCASE letters.   Note: Make sure your Prefix ans Suffix are no longer than 15 characters.
      3. Suffix Width – Specify the number of characters that will follow the Product Prefix.
   2. Optional Fields – Optionally enter as much product information as you wish. These fields are identical to the fields found on the main Product screen as described in the Product help topic.  The following fields are recommended as the minimum to be entered:
      1. Description – Enter up to 255 characters to help you identify this product when viewing your inventory.
      2. Retail Price – This is the amount that will be charged to customers with a Pricing Level of Retail (or none) when taking an order. You may override this price on the order entry form for any item by simply typing the new price.
      3. In Stock – Enter the current number of items you have on hand.  Or you can make the master product a Non Inventory Item by checking this field if you do not track stock levels for the product.  This will also prevent backorders during order entry.
      4. Supplier – Select a vendor from the Supplier field pull down list to associate the product with its supplier. If you have not added the supplier yet, you can make the association later by editing the product.  Note: If you have multiple suppliers for these products you can edit them in the Suppliers tab in the Products screen.
   3. Click on the button to enter a new sub-product entry. Or, you can simply alter the fields for the next entry.
5. Next, click the to enter your product options and their variations. The following dialog will open.
   1. Options – Enter Options by typing each one and pressing the Enter key to drop to the next line (Note: you can also type an Option then press the Tab key to type its Values. Use the mouse or Shift-Tab to return to the Options column to add more options.)
   2. Values – For each Option you can add an unlimited number of Values. Highlight any option then press the Tab key to move to the Value column. Enter as many values as are appropriate (e.g., for an Option of Color, enter values of Blue, Red, Yellow etc.).
   3. You can click the button to save your list of Options and Values. In the dialog that opens type a name for the list and click OK. This is useful if you have products with similar options. You can create a SubProduct in the Product Info tab then use the Open List button to load the Options from the similar product.
   4. Click the button to create a Preview of all the possible combinations of this SubProduct. Note: The products will not be created in Mailware at this step. You can view them in the Preview tab and make changes and/or delete items before committing them to your inventory list.
6. Next, click the tab.  The following screen will appear.
   1. All the items you created in the previous steps are listed here. You can make changes to any field by simply typing your changes. You can also delete entries you do not need by holding Ctrl and pressing Delete while the entry is highlighted.
      1. Note: You can drag column headers to different positions. The column order you create will be saved automatically. This is useful if you consistently edit the same fields.
   2. Click on the to open the following dialog for the selected entry where you can change product information.  
   3. Click on the button when done making changes to your sub-products.  This will add the items in the preview table to the Products table.  Once added they may be edited, deleted etc. from the Products table.
7. When entering orders you can lookup sub-products by their options. This makes locating items easy and intuitive. For more details on this feature see the help topic here.