The Power of a Product & Service Catalog for Tradespeople

How much time do you spend writing up quotes and invoices? If you're manually typing in service descriptions, trying to remember prices, or digging through old documents to find part numbers, the answer is "too much."

One of the most powerful but often overlooked features of a field service management platform is the Product & Service Catalog. This simple database is a game-changer for day-to-day efficiency.

What is a Product & Service Catalog?

It's a centralized list of every part, material, and labor item you sell. For each item, you can pre-define:

• Name: (e.g., "Standard Service Call Fee")
• Description: (e.g., "Includes travel and first hour of diagnostic labor")
• Unit Price: (e.g., $125.00)
• SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): (e.g., SVC-DIAG-01)
• Category: (e.g., "Labor", "Filters", "Piping")

Why is This So Powerful?

1. Speed Up Quoting and Invoicing: Instead of typing, you simply select items from a dropdown list. The description and price are filled in automatically. This can turn a 15-minute invoicing task into a 2-minute one.
2. Ensure Pricing Consistency: A catalog ensures that every customer is quoted the same price for the same service, regardless of which team member creates the estimate. This consistency is key to building trust and appearing professional.
3. Reduce Errors: Manual data entry is prone to typos. A forgotten zero or a misplaced decimal point can be a costly mistake. A catalog eliminates this risk.
4. Better Reporting: When you use consistent item names and categories, you can generate more powerful reports. You can easily see which services are your most profitable or which parts you sell the most of, helping you make smarter purchasing and marketing decisions.
5. Empower Your Team: Technicians in the field can add services to a job or invoice with confidence, knowing the pricing is correct. This allows them to upsell services or add parts to an invoice on-site without having to call the office to confirm pricing.

Setting up your catalog in TradeCraft takes a little time upfront, but the daily time savings and increased accuracy it provides will pay dividends for years to come. It's a foundational step in streamlining your business operations.