Product & SKU management
One catalogue for everything you sell: names, categories, prices, taxes, SKUs, barcodes, variants and serial numbers. Billing, inventory and reports all read from it, which is what keeps them consistent.
What is product management in POS software?
Product management is the store's catalogue: a record for every item with its name, category, price, tax setting, SKU and barcode, plus variants (size, colour) and serial numbers where needed. In Vanikra, billing, inventory, customer history and reports all read from this catalogue, so a change made once applies everywhere.
What a product record holds in Vanikra
Name and category
Finding the product by search; grouping in reports.
Price and tax setting
The selling price and the tax applied automatically on the bill line.
SKU
Your internal code for the product or variant, used in search, inventory and reports.
Variants
Size, colour or other options, each with its own stock and barcode.
Serial numbers
Identity of individual units for high-value items, in stock and on the bill.
Variants: one product, many stock counts
A fashion store does not sell "a shirt"; it sells a blue shirt in size M. One product carries variants, each with its own stock and barcode. At the counter the cashier picks or scans the variant, and only that variant's stock is reduced. Fashion POS →
Serial numbers: tracking the individual unit
For mobiles, laptops and appliances, two units of the same model are not interchangeable once sold: warranty, returns and service depend on which unit went to which customer. Serial number tracking records the unit's identity in stock and on the bill. Electronics POS →
Setting up a catalogue that stays manageable
- Step 1
Agree categories first
A small, stable category list makes reports readable ("Beverages", "Snacks", "Personal care"); a category per brand does not.
- Step 2
Adopt a simple SKU scheme
Readable codes such as
SHT-BLU-Mbeat random numbers when someone has to search. SKU guide → - Step 3
Use manufacturer barcodes where they exist
Scan the EAN into the barcode field. Assign your own only where there is no label.
- Step 4
Set tax on the product, not the bill
This is what keeps GST handling consistent at the counter. POS billing →
- Step 5
Enter opening stock as you go
Count the shelf and record it per product or variant; the number then maintains itself through bills.
Why the catalogue is the centre of the system
Every other feature depends on it. Billing reads price and tax from it. Inventory is a quantity on it. Barcode billing looks it up by barcode. Reports group by its categories and rank its products. Time spent setting the catalogue up properly is repaid at every bill.
Product management questions
What is product management in POS software?
Product management is the catalogue: the record of every item the store sells, with its name, category, price, tax setting, SKU, barcode and, where relevant, variants and serial numbers. Billing, inventory and reports all read from it.
What is the difference between an SKU and a barcode?
An SKU is your own internal code for a product or variant. A barcode is the machine-readable label (often the manufacturer's EAN) that a scanner reads. A product can have both; the SKU is for your organisation, the barcode is for scanning. See the SKU management guide.
Can POS software manage product variants?
Yes. In Vanikra a product can have variants such as size and colour, each with its own stock, so a shirt in three sizes is tracked as three counts under one product.
Can POS software track serial numbers?
Yes. Vanikra supports serial number tracking so that individual units of items like mobile phones and electronics can be identified in stock and on the bill.
How are prices and taxes set?
On the product record. Changing the price or tax there changes it on every bill from then on, at every counter.
See variants and serial numbers on a demo
We will set up a product the way your store sells it and bill it.
Book a DemoSee Pricing