Feature Playbook

Track stock and catalog items with Products

Bring your product catalog into Budget Buddy to follow every item from purchase to sale. This guide explains how to enable the Products feature, keep your inventory accurate, and surface insights that help you restock with confidence.

Hint

Embed screenshots beside each section once the UI is finalised. The copy below already mirrors the production layout so you can drop visuals in without rewriting the text.

Warning

Inventory accuracy depends on disciplined logging. Set ownership for keeping counts fresh before launching the feature to your whole team.

Quickstart overview

Products unlocks a dedicated workspace for the items you buy, stock, and sell. Follow this high-level sequence to get value fast.

  1. Turn on Products from Settings → Features.
  2. Confirm the default cost currency so valuations match your books.
  3. Import your current catalog and attach photos, links, and SKU notes.
  4. Record opening balances so the stock dashboard starts accurate.

The rest of this guide mirrors the in-app flows. Replace placeholder screenshots with real captures once the feature ships to production.

What Products unlock

The Products tab keeps your catalog, suppliers, and sales history in one place. Use it to monitor running stock counts, highlight low inventory, and trace which transactions moved each unit.

  • Centralise item details with names, photos, purchase URLs, and notes.
  • Track active, archived, and draft products without losing history.
  • Expose margins by comparing purchase cost, sale price, and fees.
  • Share consistent data across mobile and web clients instantly.

Enable the Products feature

  1. Open Settings from the bottom bar.
  2. Tap Features to review available modules.
  3. Switch on Products and confirm the prompt.
  4. A new Products tab appears beside Transactions, ready for setup.
Note

Features like inventory reports and low-stock alerts only trigger once Products is enabled. Keep this toggle on in every workspace that relies on physical stock.

Build your catalog

Start by recreating your current inventory. Budget Buddy treats each product as a rich record you can enrich over time.

Add a product

Press Add Product to open the catalog form. Supply a clear name, optional SKU, and category so the list groups similar items together.

Capture rich context

Attach reference photos, purchase links, supplier contacts, and internal notes. These fields surface when you log transactions, keeping context close at hand.

Set preferred pricing

Record target sale prices and default costs. Budget Buddy uses these values to suggest totals during checkout and to calculate expected margins in reports.

Importing a CSV? Match your column headers to the fields above and the uploader maps everything automatically.

Keep stock levels accurate

Stock accuracy powers reliable reporting. Budget Buddy records adjustments with full audit trails so you always know who changed what.

  1. Use Adjust Stock to capture counts outside sales flows.
  2. Choose whether the movement is a manual correction, shrinkage, or restock.
  3. Add a note for future you—describe the audit, delivery, or reason behind the change.
  4. Save to update current quantity, historical ledgers, and future forecasts at once.

Link products to transactions

When Products is enabled, transaction forms gain dedicated switches for selling and restocking items.

  • Turn on Sell Product for supported accounts to reduce stock automatically.
  • Pick the catalog item, quantity, and sale price. Budget Buddy subtracts units the moment you save.
  • Use Add Product on purchase entries to restock and attach supplier invoices.
  • Every linked transaction appears in the product timeline so you can audit sales later.

Review sales insights

The Products dashboard highlights what deserves attention.

  • Filter by category, supplier, or status to focus on a slice of the catalog.
  • Monitor gross margin, sell-through velocity, and aging stock at a glance.
  • Export the data for deeper spreadsheet analysis or external reporting.

Tips for teams

  • Create a shared ritual to reconcile stock weekly before syncing numbers elsewhere.
  • Segment permissions so only trusted teammates adjust quantities or archive items.
  • Pair this guide with the Transactions walkthrough so sales staff follow the same steps.
  • Review low-stock alerts during planning meetings to avoid emergency restocks.