Item Ref Convention User Manual

CONTENTS

Introduction

Access and Setup

Standard 3 Alpha + 3 digit ref

Category refs + 4 digits + style refs

Category refs + 3 digits + style refs

AlphaDigitDigit + 2 digits + style refs

Data Import Manager and item reference convention

Introduction

The Item reference convention setting allows you to dictate how you would like your Item references to be formatted when creating new products either through Admin > Products and Categories or using Data Import Manager.  

There are 5 different setting options available in this menu which will apply your rule to all new product and items as you create them ensuring you have uniformity throughout all your product codes. 

Access and Setup

You will need to have user access to the Admin menu. 

• Select the Admin menu and then navigate to the Default Settings menu at the bottom of the screen.  

• Click on Default Settings and then select the General tab at the top of the screen. 

You will now have a list of ‘General Settings’. 

• Scroll down the list of General Settings until you locate the Item ref convention setting. 

Here you will notice a dropdown menu which allows you select your required settings option from the list. 

• Click to highlight the setting you wish to choose, then select the Save option located to the bottom left of your screen. 

 

Standard 3 Alpha + 3 digit ref

 

The Standard 3 Alpha + 3 digit ref setting is the default setting that comes with your Cybertill system. If you decide to use this format, then no changes should be required in your Default Settings menu. 

The Standard 3 Alpha + 3 digit ref will produce Item references like the following which will simply begin with 3 Alpha characters followed by 3 numbers.  

When you select Add New Product Option from the ‘Edit product’ within Admin > Products and Categories, the system will automatically generate an Item Reference in this format. 

In the example below Cybertill has randomly generated UKD001 which is a unique Alphanumeric code consisting of 3 Alpha characters and 3 numerical characters added together. 

Category refs + 4 digits + style refs

The Category refs + 4 digits + style refs setting allows you to generate item references incorporating specific category codes and any associated style values. This setting works well if you have a product code naming convention which uses Category ID numbers to identify the type of product you are selling.  

It is important that your Categories and Product Styles are set up specifically to accommodate this item reference convention setting. 

• Firstly, navigate through the Admin menu and select the Products and Categories menu. 

• Select the edit option for the Primary Category you wish to add you new product into. 

In the example below, we have chosen a primary category called ’02 Wedding ring’. 

• You will need to type in a number into the Ref* field that corresponds to your category. 

Note: In this example we have said that ‘02 Wedding Ring’ has a reference known as ‘02’. 

Once you have entered your Primary Category reference, 

• select the Save button located to the bottom left of the screen.  

All of your Categories will need to have a Category reference if you wish to use the Category refs + 4 digits + style refs convention setting for your products. 

In the example below, we have drilled down a Category level from ‘02 Wedding ring’ to ‘plain 9ct yellow gold’ Sub Category. 

Again, if we select the edit option we can then add a Sub Category reference. In the example below, we have decided that ‘plain 9ct yellow gold’ sub category has a reference of ‘01’. 

• Type in your Reference number & select the Save button located to the bottom left of the screen. 

We must now navigate to our Product Styles menu to ensure the associated Product Style values are included in our Category refs + 4 digits + style refs convention products. 

• Select the Admin menu then scroll down to Product Styles.  

In the example below we have 2 separate styles listed as ‘Ring Size’ and ‘Carat’. 

• Select the edit option to open your Product Style. 

It is imperative that you add either a number ‘1’ or ‘2’ to the ‘Ref’ field of your Product Style as the Category refs + 4 digits + style refs convention won’t be able to include refs at the end of your Item References without. 

In the example below we have added ‘1’ to the Ring Size product style. 

In the following product creation example, we have also added a ‘2’ to the ‘Carat’ Product Style ‘Ref’ field.  

You can only have 2 style values for these types of products, so it is recommended that you have 2 product styles maximum and that they have a ‘Ref’ of either 1 or 2. 

Note: please be aware that you are unable to have different product styles with the same ‘Ref’ number. 

In the example below, we have navigated through our category structure until we are creating a new product in the ‘plain 9ct yellow gold’ category. 

• Continue to create your products like you would normally ensuring that you select the correct style values for the product you are creating. 

Below we would like to create a ‘Gold Ring’ product that comes in 3 different sizes using our product styles to add the individual values. 

You will notice that at the stage when you select the Add new product option in your new product the first of your item references will be partly generated.  

In the example below we see that 02010003 has been generated. However, we don’t have any style values allocated yet. 

In this example we are going to say that ‘02010003’ will be an ‘R ring’ size item style. Once you select the Save button the first of your product styles will be complete. 

In the example above we have selected size ‘H’ and the system has created a Product Style with the Item Reference incorporating the Primary and Secondary Categories that the product lives in followed by 4 unique numerical characters and the Product Style value. The Gold Wedding Ring has an Item Reference of ‘02010003H’. 

• Select the Auto product generator and all your other style combinations will also be generated. In this example we now have 02010003H, 02010003I and 02010003J which reflects the category references numbers that the product lives in. 

You may also create products with this Item reference convention with an additional style value such as the Carat example referenced earlier in this manual.  

In the example below, you might have sizes ‘H, I, J, K’ and carat ‘9,18 and 21’. If you generated the product in the same manner as above you would have Item references of 02010003H9, 02010003H18, 02010003H21, 02010003I9, 02010003I18, 02010003I21, 02010003J9, 02010003J18, 02010003J21, 02010003K9, 02010003K18 and 02010003K21. 

Category refs + 3 digits + style refs

If you set your Item Reference convention setting to Category refs + 3 digits + style refs, then the calculation and format of your item references will be almost identical to the above Category refs + 4 digits + style refs but will generate 1 less numerical value in the code. E.g. 0201003H9, 0201003H18, 0201003H21, 0201003I9, 0201003I18, 0201003I21, 0201003J9, 0201003J18, 02010003J21, 0201003K9, 0201003K18 and 0201003K21. 

AlphaDigitDigit + 2 digits + style refs

The AlphaDigitDigit + 2 digits + style refs setting will produce Item references like the following which will simply consist of 1 Alpha character followed by 2 numerical characters followed by a further 2 numerical characters and then a product style value.  

In the example below, we have selected product style ‘Ring Size’ and the values ‘I0’, ‘I5’ and ‘J0’ for this specific product. 

• Select the Add New Product Option from the ‘Edit product’ screen and the system will automatically generate an Item Reference in the AlphaDigitDigit + 2 digits + style refs format. 

In the example below Cybertill has randomly generated R5101 which is a unique Alpha numeric code consisting of 1 Alpha character and 4 numerical characters added together. You will notice the style value isn’t evident at this point. This is because we haven’t selected the corresponding style value yet. 

We then select the associated style values for the product we are creating. In this example we have specified that the ‘Gold Wedding Ring’ product comes in ‘Ring sizes’ I0, I5 and J0 and the first style value to be used is I0.  

• Select the Save button located to the bottom left of the screen and the first Item Reference will be generated including this style value. In the example below, we have created R5101I0. 

Finally, we can select the Auto Product Option Generator to create all the other style value options for the product. 

We now have R51010I0, R51010I5 and R51010J0 which are all Gold Wedding Ring products with various different ring sizes integrated into their individual item references. 

If you are creating linear products and don’t require product styles, then when you create your products you will simply have an Item Reference in the same AlphaDigitDigit + 2 digits + style refs format except there won’t be a product style value at the end of your item reference. 

In the example below we have created a Gold Bracelet product with no style values and Cybertill has generated a unique item reference of ‘U7001’ 

Cybertill will display an error message as below if you attempt to create a new item reference with a different format to what you have set up. 

In the example below we have attempted to create an item reference to read ABC123. You’ll notice the error message at the save stage highlights what the problem is as the convention is set differently to what has been typed into the field. 

If you already have several products on your Cybertill system before you change your Item Reference convention settings, then you can run the Invalid Item Reference List which will highlight all of your current Item references which do not conform to your new item reference convention. You will be able to click on these products and edit them accordingly if required. 

• Select the Admin menu then click on the Invalid Item Reference List menu. 

Cybertill should now display all examples of current Item References along with Product Names, Styles and Categories. 

• Click on an Item Reference in the ‘Ref’ column and the screen will refresh and display the Item Reference Edit option for that product where you can edit the Item Reference accordingly then Save. 
• Click in the Category Name link in the ‘Category’ column and the screen will refresh and take you to the Edit category screen where you can edit the Reference field if required. 

Data Import Manager and item reference convention

The Item Reference Convention functionality also links directly into the Data Import Manager module which is used to create or update Products from a spreadsheet upload. 

When you complete your spreadsheet for Data Import you will usually include a column title ‘Item Reference’ which you will populate with all of your required Item reference codes row by row for each Product and Product Style. 

It is important to note that if you try to include Item References in your spreadsheet that differ from the Item Reference Convention setting on your Cybertill system, then Cybertill will generate a warning message when you attempt to import your spreadsheet advising the Item Reference requirement.