Products and Services (Price Book) in Orcatec: A Complete Beginner's Guide

Reading time: ~9 min

Products and services is your price book: the parts, equipment, labor and flat-rate services your team picks from when building estimates and jobs. A clean price book means every tech quotes the same price for the same work, and every job carries its real cost so you can see profit.

This guide is for owners and admins setting up or cleaning up a price book. It covers the Items, Discounts and Rebates tabs, every field of a new item, how the Gross margin field calculates (read this part even if you skip the rest), bulk editing with Import and Export, and a quarterly review routine.

Where the price book is used

When you build a project, you add items from the price book instead of typing names and prices by hand. Items added this way keep their cost, so project profit numbers stay accurate. The Projects guide shows how to add price book items to a project.

The Products and services page

Click Products and services in the top menu. The page has three tabs: Items, Discounts and Rebates.

Products and services Items tab with Add New Item, Import Table and Export Table buttons

On the Items tab you have:

• Add New Item, Import Table and Export Table buttons
• A ? button with a short FAQ on importing
• Search, a column settings gear and an export icon
• Two views, switched with the icons at the top right: List (one flat table) and Categories (items grouped in folders)

Categories view showing folders and subfolders

Adding a new item, field by field

Click Add New Item. A window opens with these fields.

Add New Item modal with all fields and toggles

Click Save to add the item, or Cancel to close without saving.

When should I turn on Serial number required? Advanced

Turn it on for equipment you install and warranty one unit at a time: furnaces, water heaters, condensers, smart locks, garage door openers. Leave it off for consumables like fittings, belts or wire nuts. It matters only if you use the optional Inventory add-on.

How the Gross margin field calculates

In Orcatec, the field labeled Gross margin adds that percentage on top of cost. In accounting terms, that is markup, not margin. Cost $100 with 50% entered gives a Retail price of $150, which is a 33.3% true margin. To get a true 50% margin you enter 100%, which gives $200.

Add New Item with Cost 100, Gross margin 50% and Retail price 150

Use this table to enter the right number for the margin you actually want:

The formula behind it: number to enter = target margin / (1 - target margin). For 40%: 0.40 / 0.60 = 66.67%.

Import and Export: bulk editing safely

With hundreds of items, editing one at a time is slow. Export, edit in a spreadsheet, and import.

How it works, from the ? FAQ on the page:

The ? FAQ popover explaining Export, Cat 1 - Cat 10 columns and Import

1. Click Export Table to get a sample file with your current items.
2. The Cat 1 to Cat 10 columns define folders and subfolders. Cat 1 is the top folder, Cat 2 a subfolder inside it, and so on.
3. Paste or edit your items in the columns.
4. Upload the file with Import Table. Only .xlsx files are allowed.

Two rules to know before you import:

• Changes in the file overwrite current data. If a cell is wrong in the file, it is wrong in your price book.
• Changing the Item Ref creates a new item. The old item stays, and you get a duplicate. Never edit Item ref when you mean to update a price.

Import Table button and the .xlsx file upload

A safe bulk-edit routine

1. Click Export Table and save the file as a backup with today's date. Do not edit this copy.
2. Export again, or copy the backup, and work in the copy.
3. Change only the columns you mean to change (usually Cost). Leave Item ref alone.
4. Spot-check five items: cheap part, expensive part, a service, a taxable item, a non-taxable item.
5. Import with Import Table.
6. Open the same five items in Orcatec and confirm Cost, Gross margin and Retail price.
7. If a value is wrong, fix it in the file and import again, or import your dated backup to restore the old values. Extra items created by a changed Item ref still need to be cleaned up by hand.

Organizing folders for mixed trades Optional

If you run more than one trade, make the trade your Cat 1 folder (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Locksmith), the type Cat 2 (Parts, Equipment, Services), and the brand or size Cat 3. Techs find items faster in the Categories view.

Discounts and Rebates

The Discounts tab holds discounts your team can apply to projects. The Rebates tab holds rebates, such as a utility rebate. Both use the same columns.

Click Add New Discount or Add New Rebate to create one. The Add Discount window asks for a Name, a Discount Amount (choose $ or % in the small dropdown, then type the value), an Expiration (it starts at No expiration) and optional Attachments. Click Save when you are done.

Rebates tab with Add New Rebate button and a $300 utility rebate row

Quarterly price review

Supplier costs change. Once a quarter, and any time a supplier announces an increase:

1. Export the price book and save a backup.
2. Update Cost for your 30-50 most used items from current supplier invoices.
3. Check that Gross margin values match the table above for your target margin.
4. Import and spot-check.
5. Remove or update expired discounts and rebates.

Frequently asked questions

Why does 50% in Gross margin not give me a 50% margin?

Because the field adds the percentage on top of cost, which is markup. Enter 100% for a true 50% margin. Use the conversion table in this guide for other targets.

What file type does Import Table accept?

Only .xlsx. Export first so you have the right column layout.

I changed an Item ref and now I have two items. Why?

Changing the Item Ref in an import creates a new item. Clean up the extra item, and change prices, not Item refs, in future imports.

Can I type the Retail price directly?

Yes. Leave the Gross margin checkbox off (it shows N/A) and type the Retail price.

Where do I set sales tax?

Turn on Taxable on each taxed item, and set the rate in the project tax settings. Never add tax to Gross margin.

Checklist for your first price book

• Folder structure decided (Cat 1 = trade or type)
• Top 20 items added with Item ref, Cost and correct Gross margin from the conversion table
• Taxable set on every taxed item
• Serial number required on equipment you install and warranty, if you use Inventory
• Backup export saved with today's date
• First bulk import tested and spot-checked
• Discounts and rebates added with expiration dates
• Quarterly review on the calendar

For a deeper look at pricing math and flat-rate pricing, read Markup vs Margin: The Price Book Mistake That Quietly Costs Service Businesses Money. You can also see how customers view prices in the price pages tutorial.