Product Setup

Product types in NetForum are usually the types of good or services that your organization will sell to your customer. For example, some baseline Product Types are Merchandise, Publication, Kits, and Bundles which are documented extensively on the Help. Product types can also be associated with Events and Exhibits such as exhibit sponsorships and event fees.

Product Tab

The following sections describe the child forms on the Product tab.

Product Types Childform

NetForum provides you with an extensive array of baseline product types as you can see by the screenshot below. One of the most common products used in NetForum is highlighted: the Merchandise product.

When you expand and view the available baseline product types, you are able to see the following:

• Product Type - What name has been designated for the product type. In the example above, the Merchandise product type that allows you to enter merchandise products into inventory is highlighted.
• Sell Online - When entering a new Product Type, selecting this checkbox will place a '1' in this column indicating that you are able to sell this product online if you choose.
• Online Code - The description that will be used online for this particular product type
• Order - The order that a product type will be paid for on an invoice. Lower order numbers will be paid first while order fields that are left blank will be paid last. Many organizations prefer that Membership product types are paid first. For example, in the screenshot above, Membership Dues would be paid first, then the Membership Bundle, while the Merchandise product type would follow.
• Discountable - When ordering a new product type, selecting this checkbox indicates that this Product Type will allow discounts to be applied.

Finally, to the left of each Product Type are the Expand/Collapse button, the Edit Record button, and the Delete Record button. Notice that the Expand/Collapse button is a different color for Merchandise indicating that the Merchandise Product Type contains a Product Category.

The Product Type childform enables you to specify additional product categories within NetForum as well. For example, within your Merchandise product type, you may want to further categorize it by adding product categories for members only, conference items, and office supplies. Setting up new product categories and how to do this on the Inventory Setup is documented on the Product Category page.

System Options Childforms

There are two system option childforms under the Product tab; product type system options and invalid product type system options.

The system options childforms are associated with the back-end values of the database and tied to the Product Types. It is not recommended that you modify these values or you risk unexpected results with your product types or even risk them not working altogether.

Price Terms Childform

The price terms childform enables you to set-up time periods for your term-based products such as subscriptions and membership dues. You might specify values such as one year, lifetime, and 30-day trial, for example. The price terms define the period of time that a product price is valid. The sample screenshot below details Price Terms that have been arranged for Lifetime, Quarterly, and Yearly.

To add new price terms, click the Add Record button. The Add Price Term dialogue form appears as depicted below.

Click Save to add the new Price Term.

Product Affiliation Role Childform

The product affiliation role child form is used to set-up roles that are associated or affiliated with a product if desired such as an author or editor. It is currently only used in conjunction with the Publication module. The sample screenshot below details a Distributor role that has been arranged as a Product Affiliation Role.

To add new affiliation roles, click the Add Record button. The Add Price Term dialogue form appears as depicted below.

In the screenshot above, a new Product Affiliation Role is being defined for those organizations who want to associate a manufacturer with a product type.

Click Save to add the new role.

Product Format

The Product Format childform enables you to set up codes like DVD, Book, CD-ROM, etc., to classify your products. This field is not required and has no functional impact elsewhere in NetForum , but you can use it if desired.

Deleting Values

To Delete a Value From a Drop-down List:

1. On the appropriate childform, find the record you would like to delete and click the Delete button.
2. You will receive a warning message. Click OK to delete the item from the child form.

Note: After a record has been used elsewhere in NetForum through a drop-down list, you will not be able to permanently delete the item. However, you can hide the record so that it does not show in the list by disabling it.

Hiding/Disabling Values

To disable a record, check the hide/disable record? checkbox. For example, if your product affiliation role Distributor has been used, you will be unable to delete it so that it cannot be used again. You can, however, hide it from future use so that it does not appear in any drop-down menus. You do this by first editing the Distributor childform and then selecting the hide/disable record checkbox and clicking Save.

To Hide/Disable a Value From a Drop-down List:

1. On the appropriate child form, find the record you would like to hide and click the Edit button.
2. Select the hide/disable record? checkbox and click Save. This removes the value from all of the drop-down lists.

Note: There is no show option to reverse the hide option. If you need the value again, you must add it again.