A Product is a piece of equipment you will add to projects, tasks, service orders, and purchase orders.

SI has three types of products: Equipment, Speakers, and Wire. This is determined by the category type set for the Category in the Categories setting in the Control Panel.

The New Product or Edit Product form in the SI catalog has the following tabs.

General

The following are the fields in the General tab.

Field	Description
Manufacturer	The dropdown menu lists all the manufacturers in your catalog. Click the New link to create a new manufacturer. This is a required field.
Model	This displays the model number of the product. This is a required field.
Category	The dropdown menu lists all the categories in your catalog. Click the New link to create a new category. This is a required field.
Phase	Here, you can set a phase for a product. Phases track the general "time" when a product will be needed or used in a project. Examples are Pre-Wire, Trim, Finish, etc. This is an extremely powerful filter for determining what products should be ordered or installed at a particular time in the project's progress.
Part Number	Here, you can enter something other than the model number to identify a product.
URL	Here, you can set the link to a webpage for the product.
Accounting Item Name	This field will display the QuickBooks item number when using our QuickBooks integration. You can also manually enter an "accounting ID" from your own accounting software.
System	Here, you can assign a system to the product. When adding the product to a project, if the assigned system does not exist in the project, the system will be added to the project. System selections in the Drop Zone within a project will override this setting.
Status	Here, you can mark a product as Discontinued or Approved. Discontinued can be used to keep a product in your catalog, but not have it display on forms by default. Approved data automatically synchronizes to your SI Server for use by all users; unchecking this setting keeps your data changes local to your machine.
Bulk Item	Here, you can designate a product as a "bulk item." Bulk items will maintain their quantities when a project is converted from a Quantity-Based Project to a Unit-Based Project.
Show in Product Details Report	Here, you can choose whether to display this item in the Product Details report. You will likely only want to check "primary" equipment, e.g., check this for Amplifiers or Projectors, but don't check this box for wire and cable or brackets.
Include in Service Plan	When this box is checked, you will be prompted to add the product as a project item when creating a service plan. Within a project, this option will be on the Service Plans tab.
Include in Submittals	When this box is checked, the product will be included, by default, on any Submittal report you generate.
Publish to Mobile Install	When this box is checked, the product will be included in the list of products and labor items you can publish to Mobile Install for use with Site Items.
Image	Here, you can add an image to a product. You can use the Add, Paste, and Clear functions or drag and drop images directly into the field.

Description

Field	Description
Short Description	Here, you can enter a brief description of a product for use on Internal vs. Client reports. The maximum allowed is 255 characters.
Long Description	Here, you can enter a longer description for a product. The maximum allowed is 2000 characters.
Tags	Here, you can add tags to help identify products while searching.

You can change the setting on whether or not to use the Long Description field on Client Reports via Report Settings in the Control Panel.

For the Description fields, you have the following options.

You can insert Snippets.
You can also use the spell-check feature to fix spelling errors.

You can change the case of whatever you have selected in the Long Description field. Your options are Upper, Lower, Title, and Sentence.

Price

Here, you can use the Standard or Calculated option to set your cost and price.

The following are the fields in the Price section.

Field	Description
MSRP	Here, you can enter the "manufacturer suggested retail price." This does not add any value to the product. Use this as a reference point for setting your unit cost and unit price. The MSRP field is commonly used in Price Rules.
Owner Furnished Equipment	Checking this option will zero out the unit cost and unit price for a product for all Price Types. If charging for labor using labor types and labor hours, the labor will still be charged for the product.
Price Type	There are 50 Price Types available. The screenshot above shows three Price Types: Retail, Builder, and Custom. Many users just set one unit cost and unit price per product.

The following fields are available for each Price Type.

Field	Description
Partner Set Cost	This field will display a checkmark if you are connected to a vendor partner and the unit cost was set via an update.
Unit Cost	How much does the product cost you?
Unit Cost (With Tax)	This displays the unit cost with tax if a Use tax is set for the product.
Unit Price	How much do you sell the product for?
Margin	Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100. This field calculates automatically based on the unit cost and unit price.
Markup	Markup = (Unit Price - Unit Cost) / Unit Cost * 100%. This field calculates automatically based on the unit cost and unit price.

You also have the following options.

Price Settings - Here, you can choose the behavior of other price fields when you change the Unit Cost field.
Price Rules - Clicking this link allows you to use Price Rules to set the pricing fields for your product.
Manage Product Price Types - Clicking this will allow you to manage your 12 available Price Types.

UOM for Partner Cost - Default = Use Partner UOM. If a product has a unit of measure (UOM) from a Vendor Partner, the unit cost of the product will be divided by the UOM when you update pricing from the vendor partner. If, for any reason, you prefer to manually set your UOM Units in SI vs. relying on the vendor partner data, choose the "Use SI UOM" option. Lastly, if you do not want the unit cost from a vendor partner to be divided by UOM, choose "Ignore UOM".

The UOM field is stored on the Order tab and is used when products are added to purchase orders.

Estimated Installation Price

Clicking the View link in this column will show you the estimated installation price for the chosen Price Type for the product.

This view includes all product pricing, labor, taxes, and price adjustments, if applicable.

Labor Types Section

This section of the Price tab allows you to add multiple labor types to a product and set a value for labor hours for each labor type.

Here, you can assign multiple labor types to a product. Labor types determine what labor rate should be applied to the product multiplied by the labor hours you set.

Tax Section

This section of the Price tab will vary based on your Tax Settings.

Taxable

This checkbox determines whether a product is taxable and displays when taxes are the same for all taxable products and labor.

Tax and Labor Tax

These fields will display when taxes are set specifically for each product and labor.

Use Tax

This allows you to apply tax to the unit cost of a product. This field only displays if you have enabled Use tax in your Tax Settings.

Order

This tab allows you to associate multiple vendors with a product. Vendors are used on purchase orders.

You can set one vendor as "Preferred"; if only one vendor is added to a product, it will default to "Preferred."

Fields that Apply to All Vendors

The following are the fields that apply to all vendors.

Field	Description
Do Not Order	This option will filter out the products when creating purchase orders.
Vendors	Here, you can add the vendors who supply this product. Click Add to add the vendor and select the vendor name from the Vendor field on the right.
Order this product in a different unit than you sell	This option allows you to identify products in your catalog bought in different units than those sold. This is useful for creating purchase orders, ensuring accurate quantities are calculated. Examples are speakers that you buy in pairs but sell as singles. This method is recommended in SI if you utilize Visio or AutoCAD's drawing functionality. This way, you will get a unique shape (and Component ID) for each speaker. Also, bulk wire is another example that we recommend you sell by the foot, but you buy the wire on spools of some length.
Order UOM	Here, you can enter your Unit of Measure for the product.
Number of units in Order UOM	Here, you can enter the number of units in your Unit of Measure.

Vendor-Specific Fields

Each Vendor that you add to a Product will have the following fields.

Field	Description
Vendor	This is the name of the vendor.
Preferred	One vendor must be marked as "Preferred" and is your default vendor. If this vendor is a vendor partner that you receive pricing updates from, your unit cost for the product will be set based on your Unit of Measure set for the product and your setting for the UOM for the Partner Cost field.
Purchase Cost	This field is where you can enter the purchase cost for a product if it varies from your unit cost. When populated, this value will be used for the unit price when products are added to a purchase order, overriding the unit cost of the product. This can be for bulk wire to avoid rounding issues, or it can be used if you purchase a product in a different currency than your default currency. If you are getting your pricing from vendor partners, this field will automatically be set for you for bulk items with the unit cost not divided by the unit of measure (if set). Also, if additional vendors (not "Preferred") are vendor partners, this field will be populated for those vendors.
Partner Set Purchase Cost	This field will automatically be set if the purchase cost was provided by a vendor partner.
Partner Updated On	The time the cost was last updated by the vendor.
Partner Checked On	The time the cost was last checked by the vendor.
Purchase Currency	If you purchase a product in a currency different from your default currency, designate the currency here.
Inactive	This field indicates whether a Vendor has been marked as "Inactive."

Specifications

The fields in this tab depend on the Category Type of the product.

Equipment

The following example is of an Equipment-type product.

The following are the fields in the Specifications tab for Equipment.

Field	Description
Height	Here, you enter the height of the product. Enter the height in inches, millimeters, or centimeters.
Width	Here, you enter the width of the product. Enter the width in inches, millimeters, or centimeters.
Depth	Here, you enter the depth of the product. Enter the depth in inches, millimeters, or centimeters.
Weight	Here, you enter the weight of the product. Enter the weight in pounds, kilograms, or ounces.
Rack Mounted	Checking this box changes the look of the elevation shape or block for the product.
Rack Units	This must be filled in for racks in your catalog to use the SI Elevation Rack shape in the Visio interface. You can certainly fill this in for any other products where you want to track the height in rack units, in addition to the actual height, or use the Compute button to calculate it for you based on Height.
Amps	Here, you enter the Amperage of the product.
Volts	Here, you enter the Voltage of the product.
Watts	Here, you enter the Wattage of the product.
BTU	Here, you enter the BTU / hour of the product.
PoE (Power over Ethernet)	These fields are used in the PoE View within the Project Editor to help make associations between Power Source Equipment (PSEs) and Powered Devices (PDs).
PoE Type	By default, this is set to "None" for all products, but here is where you can set a product as a PSE (Power Source Equipment) or a PD (Powered Device).
Power Budget	Set the power budget in Watts for a PSE. This is a required field for products marked as a PSE.
Available Ports	Read-only field that displays how many PoE ports the device has available, i.e., those not associated with a PD.
Min. PoE Class	Set the minimum PoE class for a PD. This is a required field for products marked as PD.

Speakers

The products of Category Type "Speaker" have an additional field for dispersion on the Specifications tab. This field doesn't calculate from anything but can be populated if desired for your reference.

Wire

The products of Category Type "Wire" have completely different fields on the Specification tab.

Field	Description
Diameter	Here, you enter the diameter of the wire. Enter the diameter in inches, millimeters, or centimeters.
Bulk Wire	Checking this box will treat the wire on a per-foot/meter basis (based on your Windows settings). When using this option, you will enter your unit cost, unit price, and labor hours per foot/meter. Use this option for the wire that comes on a spool. The wire that is marked as "Bulk Wire," when added to a project, will trigger a prompt for the head end and wire length.
Start Terminal	Here, you can set the terminal type of the start or "source" of the wire.
End Terminal	Here, you can set the terminal type of the end or "destination" of the wire.

The Start and End terminals are used on the Wire Terminal Count report. These fields can also be used to display specific images on the ends of Finish Wire shapes in Visio.

I/O's

This displays the Inputs and Outputs (I/O's) assigned to a product. There are buttons for adding and deleting I/Os.

I/O's are used to populate the Schematic shape or block in our Visio and AutoCAD interfaces.

Custom Fields

Here, you can add the values for the Custom fields of the product. There are 26 custom fields you can add for products in the Item Custom Fields setting in the Control Panel.

Check out this article for more details.

Accessories

Here, you can add products and labor items to a product.

Alternates

Here, you can add alternate products to a product.

Large Image

Here, you can add a larger image than the thumbnail image displayed on the General Tab. This image will be used in Visio when creating a Line View page.

You can use the "Find in D-Tools Library" or "Find in Google Images" links to help you find an image. Use the Add, Paste, and Clear links to manage your image.

Generate thumbnail from large image - This will generate a smaller image on the General Tab that will be used in some Proposal reports. If you want to maintain separate images, uncheck this box. The default is checked.

Shapes and Blocks

Here, you can set overrides for the default Visio shapes and AutoCAD blocks that drop on pages in our Visio and AutoCAD interfaces.

You can override the defaults for all Page types: Line, Elevation, Plan, Schematic, and the side view displayed on Elevation pages. You can use other SI Visio shapes, AutoCAD blocks, or your own custom shapes or blocks. You can use the Assign and Clear buttons to manage your selections.

Another way to manage your shape assignments is directly in the Visio interface: Assign Shapes to Categories, Assign Categories to Shapes, and Assign Product and Category.

Check out this collection of articles for more details.

Files

The Files tab allows you to add files or links to files for products. These files and links are used for Submittal reports.

The default file categories are Spec Sheets, User Guides, Install Manuals, Images, and Back Panel Images, which correspond to files that may be available for the product in the D-Tools Library. You can add additional categories or subcategories if needed.

Check Partner Price

If the product is from a Vendor partner, you can click this button to update the unit cost to the current value from the Vendor.

Find Usages

Here, you can find all usages of the product in your existing projects, purchase orders, and service orders.

Web

The Web tab allows you to search online for more information about a product.

Option	Description
URL	This opens a browser to whatever link you have in the URL field on the General tab.
Library	This opens a browser to this product within the D-Tools Library viewer.
Google	The search is based on the manufacturer and model fields. You can choose between Search, Products, or Images.
Amazon	This searches Amazon based on manufacturer and model.

Additional Product Fields

When a product has been added to a project, additional fields are added to the product.