Building Your Product Catalogue in AskBiz POS
A complete walkthrough for adding products to AskBiz POS — setting names, SKUs, barcodes, cost prices, selling prices, and stock quantities from scratch.
Key Takeaways
- Every product needs a Name, Selling Price, and at least one unit of measure before it can be sold at the till.
- Adding a cost price unlocks gross margin tracking — without it the POS cannot calculate profit.
- Barcodes link physical products to the system so cashiers can scan rather than search.
Getting to the product catalogue
From the top navigation, go to POS > Operations > Retail > Products. This is the master list of every item your business sells. New installations show an empty list with an Add Product button in the top-right corner. Existing businesses with products already loaded will see their catalogue here, searchable by name, SKU, or barcode.
Adding a new product — basic details
Click Add Product. The form has several sections. Start with the basics: Product Name (what appears on receipts and the till screen), Category (which department or product group this belongs to), and Unit (the selling unit — Each, Kg, Litre, Box, etc.). The unit tells the till how to count this item: Each means one discrete item per scan; Kg means the cashier enters a weight; Box might contain multiple units. Choose carefully — you can't easily change the unit after stock has been recorded against a product.
Setting prices and cost
Enter the Selling Price (the price your customers pay, inclusive of VAT if applicable). Then enter the Cost Price — what you paid your supplier for one unit. The margin percentage is calculated automatically: (Selling Price − Cost Price) ÷ Selling Price × 100. If you leave Cost Price blank, AskBiz cannot calculate profit or margin for this product. Set the VAT rate from the dropdown: Standard (20%), Reduced (5%), or Zero Rated. Most retail goods are standard-rated; food, children's clothing, and books are common zero or reduced-rate categories.
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See this in action for your business
AskBiz tracks these metrics automatically — just connect your data and start asking questions.
Start for free →Adding a barcode or SKU
The SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is your internal product code — it can be whatever format you use. The Barcode field accepts EAN-13, EAN-8, Code 128, and QR codes. Scan your product's barcode using a USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner while the Barcode field is active and it populates automatically. If the product doesn't have a printed barcode, you can generate one: click Generate Barcode and AskBiz creates a unique code you can print and attach. Multiple barcodes per product are supported — useful if the same product is sold in different pack sizes.
Setting opening stock quantity
In the Stock section, enter your Current Stock (the quantity you have right now). If you're setting up a new business, count your physical stock and enter that number. If you're migrating from another system, use the figure from your last stock count. Also set the Minimum Stock Level — the threshold that triggers a low-stock alert in the POS Overview. A common rule of thumb is to set the minimum at roughly two weeks' worth of sales, giving you time to reorder before running out.
Saving and verifying
Click Save Product. The product now appears in your catalogue and is immediately available at the till. Test it by going to Open till, searching for the product name, and confirming it appears with the correct price. Also scan the barcode if you added one — it should locate the product instantly. Any changes to price or stock can be made by clicking the product row in the catalogue and editing the relevant field.