The Catalog module provides search and filtering tools to quickly locate products and services.

Actions available from the Catalog list view for managing products and services.

Quick Actions

Gear Icon Options

Column headers display key information about products and services in the list view.

Pricing Mode displays pricing information for the selected catalog item. Products can be configured as Material, Labor, or Percent types, with each type having specific pricing fields. Only one pricing type can be selected at a time.

Pricing Type Toggle

Details Section

Pricing Fields (Materials)

These fields appear when the item is configured as a Material type:

Pricing Fields (Labor)

These fields appear when the item is configured as a Labor type:

Pricing Fields (Percent)

These fields appear when the item is configured as a Percent type:

Based On:

Components Mode shows product components for items configured as assemblies. Assemblies allow you to create catalog items made up of multiple sub-items, useful for kits, bundles, or complex products.

Accounting Mode provides accounting-related information for the catalog item, including General Ledger account assignments, cost codes, and configurator settings.

QuickBooks Mode offers QuickBooks integration options for the catalog item, including account mapping and special product designations for down payments, retainage, and credit card fees.

Additional features available for catalog items including product images, file attachments, custom attributes, and inventory tracking indicators.

Only the Description field is required when creating a catalog item. All other fields (ID, SKU, pricing, categories, etc.) are optional, providing maximum flexibility for different business workflows.

Why So Few Requirements?

The system is designed for flexibility to accommodate diverse business models and workflows:

• Quick entry: Add items rapidly without extensive data collection
• Phased implementation: Start with basic info, add details later
• Different use cases: Some items need full details, others just need description
• Workflow variation: Different industries have different catalog requirements

Recommended Fields (Though Optional)

While not required, these fields are highly recommended for most businesses:

• ID: Internal product identifier for organization and searching
• Category: Hierarchical categorization for filtering
• Unit of Measure (UOM): Defaults to "each" if not specified
• Pricing: At least one price or pricing code for quoting
• GL Accounts: For TRUE Accounting integration and financial reporting

Common Workflow

1. Create catalog item with description (minimum requirement)
2. Add ID and category for organization
3. Set up pricing (codes or direct pricing)
4. Configure inventory settings if tracking stock
5. Add GL accounts for accounting integration

Yes, catalog items have description override capability. When you add a catalog item to a job, you can customize the description for that specific job without changing the master catalog description.

How Description Override Works

1. Add catalog item to quote or job
2. Item appears with default catalog description
3. Edit the description field for that specific line item
4. Custom description appears on this job only
5. Master catalog description remains unchanged

Common Use Cases

• Customer-specific language: Adjust terminology to match customer's expectations
• Project-specific details: Add location, room, or installation notes
• Proposal customization: Make descriptions more or less technical for different audiences
• Specification variations: Note custom sizes or modifications
• Bundled items: Describe how items work together in this specific project

Example

Important Notes

• No catalog impact: Changes only affect the specific job item
• Future jobs unaffected: Next time you use this catalog item, it shows original description
• Per-line customization: Each job line item can have unique description
• Appears in proposals: Custom descriptions show on customer-facing documents

Pricing codes enable sophisticated tiered pricing strategies, allowing you to set multiple price points for the same catalog item and automatically apply the correct price based on customer type or project category.

What Are Pricing Codes?

Pricing codes are named price tiers that let you define multiple prices per catalog item. Common examples:

• AAA/Premiere/Platinum: Premium customer pricing
• Contractor: Trade professional pricing
• Wholesale: Volume discount pricing
• Retail: Standard consumer pricing
• Government/Non-Profit: Special discount categories

How to Set Up Pricing Codes

Step 1: Configure Pricing Codes (One-Time Setup)

1. Navigate to Settings or Configuration
2. Create pricing code names (e.g., "Contractor", "Wholesale")
3. Set up markup or margin percentages for each code

Step 2: Apply Pricing Codes to Catalog Items

1. Open catalog item
2. Define price or markup for each pricing code
3. Save - item now has multiple price points

Step 3: Assign Pricing Codes to Clients

1. Navigate to Contacts or Clients module
2. Open client record
3. Select appropriate pricing code (e.g., "Contractor" for trade customers)
4. Save client record

Automatic Price Application

Once configured, pricing works automatically:

1. Create quote for a client
2. System checks client's assigned pricing code
3. Add catalog items to quote
4. Prices automatically populate based on client's pricing code
5. No manual price lookup needed

Example Scenario

Markup vs. Margin Distinction

Advanced: Client-Specific Pricing

Beyond pricing codes, you can set client-specific prices:

• Override catalog pricing for specific client relationships
• Useful for long-term contracts or special agreements
• Priority: Client-specific pricing overrides pricing code pricing

Always archive, never delete. Archiving preserves historical data integrity while removing items from standard views. Deleting catalog items can break historical records and create reporting errors.

When to Archive

• Vendor discontinuation: Manufacturer no longer produces the item
• Catalog refinement: Moving from generic to specific items (e.g., "glass" → "tempered glass" + "annealed glass")
• Configuration changes: No longer offering that particular specification
• Business model shift: Exiting a product category
• Seasonal items: Products only relevant during certain times
• Duplicate cleanup: Consolidating similar items

Benefits of Archiving

• Historical accuracy: Past jobs and invoices display correct item names
• Reporting integrity: Reports for previous years remain accurate
• Audit trail: Complete transaction history preserved
• Clean working catalog: Archived items removed from standard searches
• Reversible: Can un-archive if item returns to active use

How to Archive

1. Navigate to Catalog module
2. Locate item to archive
3. Open catalog item record
4. Click Archive action
5. Item removed from standard views, historical data preserved

Accessing Archived Items

1. Navigate to Catalog module
2. Select Archive search filter
3. View all archived items (still searchable and viewable)

Example Scenario: Refining Catalog

GL (General Ledger) account mapping for catalog items follows a hierarchy that allows flexible financial reporting while maintaining default settings. This feature is primarily for TRUE Accounting users, with limited QuickBooks integration.

GL Account Hierarchy (Priority Order)

The system applies GL accounts in this order, with higher priority overriding lower:

1. Catalog item override (highest priority) - Specific GL account assigned to this item
2. Default settings - Company-wide default GL accounts
3. Class-based codes (lowest priority) - GL accounts based on job class or division

GL Account Types for Catalog Items

When using TRUE Accounting, configure these accounts:

• Revenue Account: Where sales revenue is recorded
• COGS Account: Cost of Goods Sold when item is sold
• Bill Account: Where vendor bills are recorded
• Inventory Account: Asset account for inventory value

When to Use Catalog-Level Overrides

• Special revenue categories: Items requiring different income account tracking
• Unique COGS treatment: Materials with special expense categorization
• Department-specific items: Products tied to specific P&L centers
• Tax treatment differences: Items with special tax or accounting requirements

QuickBooks Integration Limitation

TRUE Accounting vs. QuickBooks

TRUE Accounting:

• Full inventory movement journal entries
• Automatic GL postings for reserves, depletions, transfers
• Complete COGS tracking with WHAC
• Inventory asset account updates in real-time

QuickBooks Integration:

• Invoices sync with revenue accounts
• Bills sync with expense accounts
• Inventory movements NOT synced
• Best for businesses not tracking detailed inventory in QB

Cost Code Overrides

Related to GL accounts, catalog items can also have:

• Cost code overrides: Job costing category assignments
• Default cost codes: Automatic categorization for job tracking

Pricing codes and client-specific pricing are two complementary systems. Pricing codes create standard price tiers for groups of customers, while client-specific pricing overrides those tiers for individual customer relationships.

Pricing Codes (Group-Based Pricing)

• Purpose: Standard price tiers for customer segments
• Scope: Applied to multiple customers in same category
• Examples: Retail, Contractor, Wholesale, Government
• Setup: Configured once, applied to many customers
• Use Case: Volume discounts, trade pricing, customer type discounts

Client-Specific Pricing (Individual Pricing)

• Purpose: Unique pricing for specific customer relationships
• Scope: Applied to one customer only
• Examples: Long-term contracts, negotiated rates, VIP customers
• Setup: Configured per customer-item combination
• Use Case: Contract pricing, special agreements, relationship-based discounts

Priority Order

When creating quotes, the system applies pricing in this order:

1. Client-specific pricing (highest priority) - If exists for this customer + item
2. Pricing code - Based on customer's assigned pricing code
3. Default catalog price (lowest priority) - Standard price from catalog

Example Scenario

When to Use Each Approach

Use Pricing Codes When:

• Creating standard price tiers for customer segments
• Setting up volume discounts for all contractors
• Implementing retail vs. wholesale pricing
• Applying consistent pricing across customer types

Use Client-Specific Pricing When:

• Negotiating long-term contract rates
• Providing special pricing for VIP customers
• Honoring unique pricing agreements
• Overriding standard pricing for strategic relationships

TRUE supports bulk importing catalog items using CSV files. Excel files (.xlsx) are not directly supported - you must use the CSV template provided by the system.

1. Navigate to Settings → Catalog
2. Click the Gear icon (⚙️)
3. Select CSV Template to download the required format
4. Open the template and add your product data, ensuring column headers remain unchanged
5. Save your file as CSV format (not Excel .xlsx)
6. Return to the Catalog module
7. Click the Gear icon (⚙️) and select Import Records
8. Upload your completed CSV file and review the import results

Access to the Catalog module is controlled by user permissions. If you cannot see or access this module:

1. Contact your system administrator
2. Request the Module Access (Catalog) permission (ID #356)
3. Once granted, you'll find the module in Workflows → Procurement → Catalog

Creating new catalog items requires a specific security permission in addition to module access. If you can view the Catalog but cannot add new items:

1. Contact your system administrator
2. Request the New Catalog Items permission (ID #357)
3. This permission is found in the Catalog section of user access settings

Why This Matters:

• Catalog items affect pricing across quotes, jobs, and contracts
• Limiting creation permissions helps maintain data quality
• Prevents duplicate or incorrect items from entering the system

Deleting catalog items requires a specific security permission. This permission is typically restricted because deleting items can affect historical records.

1. Contact your system administrator
2. Request the Delete Catalog Items permission (ID #770)
3. This permission is found in the Catalog section of user access settings

Alternative to Deletion:

• Disable the item: Mark as inactive instead of deleting to preserve history
• Archive: Move to an archive category for discontinued items
• Inactive items won't appear in searches but remain for reporting