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Products vs stock items

In TapaPOS, a Product and a Stock Item are not the same thing. A product is something you sell. A stock item is something you buy, receive, count, and use up.

What a product is

A product is the item that appears on POS and is sold to the customer.

Examples of products:

  • Latte
  • Pint of Lager
  • Ham Sandwich
  • Bottle of Water 500ml

Products are what appear on menus, buttons, reports, and sales screens.

What a stock item is

A stock item is the thing you purchase from your supplier and hold in stock.

Stock items often come in cases, boxes, bottles, bags, trays, or single units.

Examples of stock items:

  • Case of 24 bottles of water
  • Keg of lager
  • 1kg bag of coffee beans
  • Box of 48 chocolate bars

A simple way to remember it is: you sell products, but you purchase stock items.

Why the difference matters

If you confuse products with stock items, your stock control and reporting can become inaccurate.

Products are used for selling. Stock items are used for purchasing, stock counts, supplier ordering, and cost tracking.

How they work together

A product can be linked to one or more stock items.

For example:

  • Product: Latte
  • Stock items: Coffee Beans, Milk, Takeaway Cup, Lid

When the latte is sold, the linked stock items can be reduced according to the recipe or stock setup.

Retail example

In retail, sometimes the product and stock item look very similar, but they still serve different purposes.

  • Product: Bottle of Water 500ml
  • Stock item: Case of 24 Bottles of Water 500ml

You sell the product one bottle at a time, but you buy and count the stock item as a case or as individual bottles depending on how your stock is set up.

Restaurant example

In hospitality, the difference is usually much easier to see.

  • Product: Pint of Lager
  • Stock item: 50L Keg of Lager
  • Product: Chicken Curry
  • Stock items: Chicken, Rice, Sauce, Containers

You sell the finished menu item, but you purchase and count the ingredients or supply units behind it.

Single units and cases

Stock items may be purchased as cases but issued or counted as singles.

For example, you may buy a case of 24 cans, but still want to know how many individual cans remain. That is why stock item setup is important. It lets you track how purchased stock converts into saleable quantities.

Stock family, mass, unit and volume

When you set up stock items, you may also need to choose how that stock is measured. This is where Stock Family becomes important.

Stock Family

Stock Family is the measurement type used for the stock item. It tells the system whether the item is being tracked by quantity, weight, or volume.

The most common stock families are:

  • Unit: counted as individual items
  • Mass: measured by weight
  • Volume: measured by liquid volume

Unit

Use Unit when the stock item is counted as pieces or packs.

Examples:

  • 1 bottle
  • 1 can
  • 1 chocolate bar
  • 1 takeaway cup

This is usually the best choice for retail items sold as singles and for hospitality items such as packaging.

Mass

Use Mass when the stock item is measured by weight.

Examples:

  • 1kg coffee beans
  • 5kg rice
  • 500g cheese
  • 2kg chicken

This is commonly used for ingredients in kitchens, delis, or food preparation areas.

Volume

Use Volume when the stock item is measured by liquid quantity.

Examples:

  • 50L keg of lager
  • 750ml bottle of wine
  • 1L bottle of syrup
  • 2L milk carton

This is commonly used for drinks, bar stock, oils, syrups, and other liquids.

Kegs can be set up in more than one valid way. For example, you can track a keg as 50L in Volume, with a pint reducing stock by 568ml. Or you can track it in Unit terms as 88 pints per keg, with a pint reducing stock by 1 unit and a half pint reducing stock by 0.5 units.

A simple guide is: use Unit for countable items, Mass for weighted items, and Volume for liquids.

Best practice

  • Create products for the things your customer actually buys.
  • Create stock items for the things you actually purchase from suppliers.
  • Do not use stock items as if they are products on POS.
  • Where needed, link products to stock items so sales reduce stock correctly.
  • Think in terms of sale units for products and purchase units for stock items.
  • Choose the correct stock family so your stock counts and deductions are measured properly.

Quick test

If you are unsure whether something should be a product or a stock item, ask:

  • Is this something the customer buys from me? If yes, it is usually a product.
  • Is this something I buy from a supplier, count in stock, or receive in cases or units? If yes, it is usually a stock item.

FAQ

Can a product and a stock item have the same name?

Yes, especially in retail, but they still do different jobs. The product is what you sell, and the stock item is what you purchase and track.

Do all products need a stock item?

No. Only products that need stock control or cost tracking need to be linked to stock items.

Can one product use more than one stock item?

Yes. A product can use multiple stock items, especially in hospitality where a recipe may contain several ingredients or packaging items.

How do I know whether to use Unit, Mass or Volume?

Use Unit for countable items, Mass for weighted items, and Volume for liquids.