Setting up product brands and categories
How to add, rename and archive the brands and categories you use to group products, and how to bring many in at once from Excel.
Brands and categories keep a long product list easy to search. A category says what a product is (Shampoo, Hair Colour, Nails); a brand says who makes it. Both are optional, but once you have more than a few dozen products they make filtering much faster.
Where to find them
Both live under Inventory in the sidebar: Categories and Brands. Each page lists the names with their Status, a search box and an Import from Excel button.
Add a category or brand
- Open Inventory → Categories and press Add Category (or Inventory → Brands and Add Brand).
- Type the Category Name or Brand Name.
- Press Save Category or Save Brand. The new name appears in the list straight away.
StyleDesk does not stop you creating the same name twice from this form, so search the list first if you are not sure.
Add one while you create a product
You do not have to set these up in advance. In the product form, open the Category or Brand list and choose + Add New Category or + Add New Brand. Type the name and press Save; it is created and selected for that product. See adding products.
Rename
Open the row's menu and choose Edit, change the name and save. Every product in that category or brand shows the new name, because the products are linked to it rather than holding a copy.
Archive
Choose Archive from the row's menu and confirm. An archived category or brand disappears from the list, from the product filters and from the choices in the product form. Use it for brands you no longer carry; there is no need to archive one just to tidy up a name, use Edit instead.
Bring many in at once
If you already keep a list in a spreadsheet, press Import from Excel on either page. You download a one-column template (just the name), fill it in and upload it. A name that already exists is not added twice, and you see a preview before anything is saved. Brands and categories typed on product rows in the main product import are also created for you automatically. See importing inventory from Excel.
Who can do this
Owners and managers can add, rename and archive brands and categories. Receptionists can see the lists.