Unlocking Your Price Books: A Quick Guide to Transitioning to The Layer

Welcome aboard! If you’re new to The Layer, you might be wondering about Price Books and how they fit into your business operations. On The Layer, your inventory is referred to as Price Books, where all your products, services, and pricing are stored. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered! In this guide, we’ll break everything down into simple, engaging terms. Let’s dive in!

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s start with the basics. Price Books are where you’ll store everything about the products and services you sell. Think of them as your business catalog, but with superpowers!

What’s in your Price Books?

Your Price Book is central to everything—so getting it right is key to smooth sailing.

Now it’s time to set up your Price Books to make them work for you. Here’s a detailed approach to getting everything organized:

Base Categories are the broad groupings of products or services in your Price Book. These top-level categories will help your team quickly navigate and access different offerings.

Start by identifying the key areas of your business. For example:

You should aim for 6-8 Base Categories. Keep it simple so that navigation remains intuitive for your team and customers. Too many categories can overwhelm the system, while too few can make it harder to differentiate your products.

Once you have your Base Categories, it’s time to get more granular with Sub-Categories. These are the more specific types of products or services under each Base Category. Think of Sub-Categories as the fine print or specialized sections of your offerings.

For instance, under the ‘Connectivity’ category, you could have sub-categories like:

Organising your products lets your team quickly find what they need and apply specific processes for each service or product type.

The flexibility of The Layer allows you to personalize your Price Book. You can adjust the terminology used within each category and sub-category to match your business’s specific needs. For example:

This level of customization ensures that your system is aligned with your business operations and language.

Need help setting up Base Categories? Check out our guide on How to create a new base category or product category. 🛠️

Sales Order Checklists are one of the most powerful features of The Layer. They automate the steps required for each specific product or service, ensuring your team follows a standardized process every time.

Here’s how to make the most of them:

Each Sub-Category can have its own set of tasks that are triggered when a Sales Order is created. These tasks outline everything that needs to be done in order to provision and activate the service successfully.

For example:

For a ‘Mobile Data Plan’ order, your checklist might look like this:

By linking specific tasks to each Sub-Category, you can ensure that nothing gets overlooked and your team completes all necessary steps efficiently. The Layer will automate this process, saving you time and reducing the chance of errors.

These checklists not only help with task management but also streamline your workflow. By structuring the process according to each service type, your team doesn’t need to manually remember every step. The Layer handles it for you, making the entire provisioning and activation process seamless.

⚙️ Want to learn more about these tasks? Check out Working with sales order checklist tasks.

Reporting is one of the most valuable tools in The Layer. It allows you to track and measure your business performance in real time. Here’s how you can take full advantage of it:

With the right structure in place, you can filter reports by Base Category or Sub-Category to get granular insights into your business performance. This is especially useful if you want to track which products or services are performing well or identify any gaps in your sales pipeline.

For example:

Having this level of detail helps you make data-driven decisions and optimize your offerings.

The Layer gives you access to customized reports to fit your specific business needs, also available as Dashboard widgets for a more suitable view. Whether it’s tracking sales trends, inventory, or customer satisfaction, you can tailor the reports to give you the insights you need.

The best part? Once you have your reports, you can take action. If you notice a trend or a specific category that needs attention, you can easily adjust your strategy and improve your business performance.

Want more tips on custom reports? See Accessing custom reports.

Creating quotes is a vital part of the sales process. The Layer lets you make your quotes more personalized and customer-friendly, ensuring you stand out from the competition.

When generating a quote, you can choose to display different Base Categories or Sub-Categories separately. This makes it easier for your customers to understand and compare your offerings. For instance, you might want to highlight your ‘Mobile’ products separately from your ‘Connectivity’ services.

This customizability not only improves the clarity of the quote but also makes it more visually appealing, which can increase customer satisfaction and trust.

You can also create bundles within The Layer. For example, if a customer wants both a mobile plan and a data package, you can create a bundle that includes both items. The beauty of The Layer is that bundles can be displayed neatly in your quotes, making it easier for customers to see the value they’re getting.

Bundles can also be customized, with pricing specific to the combination of products and services you offer.

If you would like more on bundles, look at Managing product bundles.

You’re Ready to Go! Follow these steps, keep exploring, and soon you’ll be an expert in Price Books and more. Let’s make your business smoother, smarter, and more efficient. Happy onboarding! 🥳