Product Types (or Categories as they were known in earlier versions of Hike) are a way to group similar products, together. This is to make products easier to find, through simple filter searches, during the checkout process.

How you arrange your product types is up to you, however they could be:

• A similar product or service, i.e. shoes, accessories, etc.
  
• The most popular products that are on sale.
  

Hike POS offers its users several ways in which to create a Product Type, with no restrictions on:

• What you name the Product Type
  
• How many Product Types can be assigned to the one product.
  

Consider Product Types as a streamlined way in which to organize your products, so that you can sell items faster and more efficiently.

• Product Types Overview
  
• How to Add Product Types in Hike
  
  • How to Add Product Types when creating a Product
    
• How to Edit & Delete Product Types in Hike
  
• Parent Product Types
  
  • Creating a Parent Product Type
    

Product Types Overview

Before we look at how to how to create your own Product Types, let’s look at the Product Types section in Hike, summarizing the main points of interest for when you begin to add your product types.

To begin, select Products on the Hike menu and navigate to the Product Types screen.

This is where you’ll find all your created product types, and where you’ll be able to add, edit or delete types, as per your business requirements.

Find

The search bar to search for any Product Type by its name

+ ADD TYPE

Select the +ADD TYPE button, to trigger a new dialog box to slide out, where you’ll be able to create a new Product Type

Product Type List View

The Product Type List View is in reference to the columns occupying this section. Below we’ll go through what each column means:

Display

The numerical order in which Product types will be displayed on the Enter Sale Screen, from left to right.

Note: If two or more Product types share the same Display order, they will then be sorted by which was created first.

Type Name

The name given to the Product type

Parent Type

An optional choice to link the Product Type under a main group, or main product type.

For example, you may wish to have a Parent Type called Hats. Under this parent type, you would have product types for different types of hats, i.e. Snapback, Fedora, Beanies.

Products

The number of products linked to this Product Type.

Active

Whether the Product type displays on the Enter sale screen. Toggle the tick button for yes, cross for no.

Once you have completed your changes, the Enter New Sale screen (Point of Sale > Enter New Sale) will display all your Products types, under the search bar.

Note: You may have to refresh your browser, for any changes to be applied.

How to add Product Types in Hike

Hike makes it easy for retailers to add, edit and manage their product types, directly on your point-of-sale register.

To begin, select Products on the Hike menu and navigate to the Product Types screen.

Click on the + ADD TYPE button to create a new Product Type.

From here, let’s work through the various parts of the Product Types Page, starting from selecting the Product Type’s name.

Product Type

Type Name

Enter the Product Type’s name.

e.g: Jackets, Jeans, Shorts etc.

Parent type

An optional choice to link the Product Type under a main group, or main product type.

Can be useful in creating a hierarchy e.g.: Men’s > T-Shirts

Display order

The numerical order in which Product types will be displayed on the Enter Sale Screen, from left to right.

Note: If two or more Product types share the same Display order, they will then be sorted by which was created first.

Add Image

You can add an image of the Product Type, by clicking on the box, as an internal reference, but it will not display anywhere else within Hike.

Click on the SAVE button once you’ve created your product type, to create it.

Assigned Products

You can also add existing products to your product types on the spot, by clicking in the Assigned Products tab.

Enter the product’s name that you want to add to the product type, into the Find Products search bar.

Tick the product before clicking on Add & Continue.

Click the SAVE button to finalize the Product Type and exit the screen.

How to Add Product Types when creating a Product

Another, quicker, way of creating Product Types is to do so when you’re creating a Product, as you might already be familiar with.

To summarize, when you create a new Product in Hike, under the Categorize section, you’ll be asked to enter various details related to your new product, including Product Types.

Whilst you’re able to search for existing Product Types in the Product Types field, you can also create a new type by simply entering a new name, and selecting ADD NEW or hitting ENTER on your keyboard.

This will then create the Backpack Product Type which can be viewed in the Product Types List View. To EDIT the Product Type to add things like extra products or parent types.

Find out more about adding Products into Hike

How to Edit & Delete Product Types in Hike

Controlling your various Product Types by editing or deleting them where necessary, is easily done on Hike, and can all be done directly from the Product Types Page itself.

To begin, select Products on the Hike menu and navigate to the Product Types screen.

Select the Product Type, you want to Edit or Delete, which will slide open a new window of your Product Type.

Edit Product Types

You’ll be able to EDIT the Product Type Fields, as well as add any new products you want associated with that Product Type by clicking on the Assigned Products tab.

Click on the SAVE button once you have finished.

Delete Product Types

To Delete the Product Type, click on DELETE THIS PRODUCT TYPE, located on the bottom left of the page.

A pop-up box will appear, asking you to Confirm the deletion. Select YES to proceed.

Parent Product Types

In creating a Product Type, we’ve also established Parent Product Types, which allows you to group similar product types together. This makes it easier to filter and find the products you want quicker, especially if there is a hierarchy system to each product.

To avoid complications, you can only group one Product type to one Parent type. You can create one or more Product Type(s) when you add a product, as mentioned in our Add a Standard Product to Hike article.

Or, you can add and manage Product Types from the Products Types page in Hike.

Using Parent Product Types

You would use a Parent Product type on the Enter New Sale screen, to group a number of Product Types together.

Think of this as being the reverse of having categories and sub-categories. You have all these categories that can be grouped under a parent category.

For example, you could have two separate Product Types for Banana & Apple. They both will fall under the Parent Product Type of Fruit.

To keep your Enter Sale Screen uncluttered, Hike will not display Product Types that belong to the Parent Product type. Instead, Hike will only display the Parent Product Type as a tab, at the top of the screen.

Note: If a Product Type does not have a Parent, the Product Type itself will display on the Enter Sale Screen.

On the Enter Sale Screen, click on the Parent Product Type, i.e. Fruit, will then display all the Product Types grouped underneath this. You would then click on the Appropriate Product Type to see all products listed under that type.

The folder in the middle of each Product Type will display how many Products are linked to that Product Type. Select the Product Type to view them.

Proceed as normal to complete your sale.

Creating a Normal Product Type

To use a Parent Product Type, you will need to have a typical Product Type that will later be grouped.

To avoid complicating matters, it may be best to not add any products to this Product Type, however there are no restrictions to stop you.

Create a Product Type from Products > Product Types via the Hike menu, and by clicking on the +ADD TYPE button. Do not add a Parent Type.

For more detailed instructions see our article on Add Product Types

Creating a Parent Product Type

To create a Parent Product Type, find a Product type that you wish to be grouped.

Click on that Product type to have the EDIT window slide out.

Under the Parent Type, choose the Product Type from the drop-down list you wish this to be grouped under.

Select the SAVE button and the Product Type will now have a Parent Assigned.

In the example above, there is a Product Type called Apples. This would be recorded against all the variations of Apples that are sold in the store. Because I want Apples grouped with similar entries, I’ve created a Product Type called Fruit which is now its Parent Product Type.

View Parent Product Type

You can easily see which Product Types are grouped under a Parent Tree.

Simply go to the Products > Products Types section in Hike. If a Product Type is grouped under a Parent Type, this will be displayed in the center column on screen.