Defining Packaging Groups
Defining Packaging Groups
A packaging group is the recipe for something you sell: a collection of inventory items, such as the cans, lids, labels and cardboard that make up a flat of beer, or a keg shell with its cap and collar. When you package a batch, BarSight uses the group to know how much beer each unit holds, which items to take out of your inventory, and what price and SKU to put on the finished product.
You can create as many groups as you need, from a single can to a full flat, a 20L keg or a serving tank.
Before You Start
- Managing packaging groups needs edit access to packaged products (Access Level 47).
- Your containers and packaging materials should be in your inventory, although you can create a missing can, lid or keg shell on the fly while building the group (see Creating an Item on the Fly). To set up pricing, vendors and stock levels, see Adding Items To Your Inventory.
- Every group needs exactly one Container item with a volume, such as a can sleeve, bottle or keg shell. This is how BarSight knows how much beer goes into each unit. If you have no containers yet, BarSight sends you to the inventory page to create one first.
Finding the Packaging Groups Page
- Go to Brewery → Packaged Products.
- Click Settings in the top toolbar, then Configure Package Groups.
The list shows every group with its reporting group, container, volume per unit, average price, SKU multiplier, and whether it has deposits or tracked items. Use the Active and Removed buttons to switch between current and removed groups, and Filter Groups to search.
A group shaded red has a problem, most often a missing or invalid container. Open it and fix the items. A small alert icon beside a price means one product in the group is priced well outside the typical price for that group, which is usually a typo, such as a single can price entered on a flat.
[SCREENSHOT: The Packaging Groups list showing a few groups, with the Add Group button highlighted]
Creating a Packaging Group
Step 1: Name the Group and Add Items
- Click Add Group.
- Enter a Title that your team will recognize, such as
355mL Can - Flat of 24. - In the Items in Group box, choose an Inventory Item. BarSight shows its type so you can confirm it is set up correctly. If the item does not exist yet, keep typing its name and BarSight offers to create it for you (see Creating an Item on the Fly).
- Enter the Quantity of that item used for one unit of this group. For a flat of 24 cans, the can item would be
24, the lid item24, and the tray item1. - Set Consume (see below), then repeat for each item.
Only one container is allowed per group, and its quantity has to be at least 1. A group can also hold one tracked item at most, such as serialized kegs (see Track Every Keg with Serial Numbers).
[SCREENSHOT: Items in Group box with a container, lids, and labels entered and the Consume dropdown visible]
Creating an Item on the Fly
You do not have to leave the group to add a new lid, label or keg shell to your inventory. Type the name of the item in the Inventory Item box and, if nothing matches, BarSight asks whether you want to create it. This confirmation is there to catch typos, so check the spelling before you click Create Item.
- Confirm the Title. It is prefilled with what you typed.
- Choose the Type. Consumable is packaging material such as lids, labels or trays. Container is anything that holds beer, such as a can, bottle or keg shell.
- For a Container, enter the Volume one unit holds and pick its UOM, for example
20andLfor a 20L keg. - Click Create Item. The new item is filled into the row and you can carry on with the quantity and Consume setting.
Items created this way use Each as their stock unit and have no price or vendor yet. Open them from Brewery → Inventory later to fine tune pricing, vendor and tracking. Creating items needs edit access to inventory (Access Level 48), and BarSight will not create a second item with the same name as one already in your inventory.
[SCREENSHOT: Create Inventory Item modal with Type set to Container and the Volume and UOM fields showing]
Step 2: Decide What Gets Consumed
The Consume setting on each item controls whether packaging this group takes that item out of your inventory.
- Yes means every time you package the group, BarSight removes the quantity from your inventory and asks you to select the stock (and lot) you are using. If you don't have enough, the group isn't ready to package.
- No means the item stays part of the group's definition but is ignored when packaging. It is not required to be in stock and nothing is deducted.
Example: a third party cans for you. Suppose your canning is done by a mobile canning company. They bring their own cans and lids, and you only supply the labels. Build the group with cans, lids and labels, then set Consume to No for the cans and lids and leave it Yes for the labels. When you package a batch, BarSight only asks you to select labels, and your can and lid stock is never touched or required.
The container still defines how much beer is in each unit, so the volume taken from the batch is calculated exactly the same way even when the container isn't consumed.
[SCREENSHOT: Cans and lids set to Consume = No, labels set to Consume = Yes]
Step 3: Choose the Advanced Settings
The Package Group box on the left has a few settings that change how the group behaves.
Package By Volume (Fill by Volume)
Normally you package a number of units, like 120 flats. Turn on Package By Volume when you want to enter the total volume of beer instead of a quantity. It is ideal for filling a partial keg, or for packaging beer into a serving tank that stays on site.
- When you package this group, you enter a volume in the container's unit, rather than a count.
- The container is not consumed. BarSight sets this to No for you and tells you why when you tick the box.
- Other items in the group are not required to be in stock when packaging.
Sell as Volume
Once Package By Volume is on, Sell as Volume sets how much volume makes up one sale unit, in the container's unit. For example, some regions require every sale to be a 50L equivalent. If you enter 50, orders for this group can only be placed in multiples of 50, and BarSight stops anything else with a message.
Count as Tank Volume
Turn this on for kegs and firkins. Outstanding stock of the group (kegs filled but not yet returned) continues to show as volume in its source tank. Leave it off for cans, bottles and serving vessels.
SKU Multiplier
The SKU Multiplier lets you sell a group in one unit while pricing it by a smaller unit. The price you enter for a product is multiplied by the SKU Multiplier to get the price of one sellable unit.
Example: You sell a flat made of six 4-packs. Set the SKU Multiplier to 6, then enter your price per 4-pack, say $15.00, in the product defaults. Ordering one flat charges $90.00, and the product shows Multiplier: 6 on your Packaged Products page. Leave the multiplier at 1 if the price you enter is already the price of one sale unit. Values of 1 or lower are treated as 1.
The multiplier only affects pricing. It does not change how much beer or how many items the group uses.
Production Report Group
Choose Cans, Bottles, Kegs or Bulk to place this group in the matching column of your Production Stock report and Google Sheet. Groups left as None show as Unreported. See Connecting Google Sheets.
Step 4: Set the Product Defaults
The Product Defaults box at the bottom lists every active product so you can set the starting values to use whenever that product is packaged in this group:
- SKU and UPC
- Default Price and Default Tax
- Gov. Deposit and Recycling Fee
- Weight, used on Bill of Lading shipping documents
- Visible, which lists the product on your sales portal and sales sheets
- Holdback, which reduces the stock available to order online so you can keep some for your own store
Use Filter Products to find a product quickly. If a group has no prices at all, BarSight highlights the first price box to remind you.
Heads up: saving the group also applies these values to product that is already packaged in this group, overwriting any custom price, tax or SKU on those lots. If you gave a lot a special price, check it afterward (see The Packaged Products Page).
When you are done, click Save & Back. The arrow beside it also offers Save & New and Save & Duplicate Item for creating several similar groups quickly.
Editing a Group After It Has Been Used
Once a group has been used to package a batch, its items are locked so your history stays accurate. You can still:
- Change the Title, SKU Multiplier, Production Report Group and Count as Tank Volume.
- Update the Product Defaults.
- Use Add Item in the Items in Group box to add a new item. This also applies to everything packaged previously, so use caution as it changes historical data.
You cannot change the quantity, consume setting or items already in the group, or switch Package By Volume and Sell as Volume. If you need something different, use Copy Group and make a new group.
Copying, Merging and Removing Groups
- Copy Group makes a new group with the same items and product defaults. This is the fastest way to create a 4-pack after you have built a flat.
- Merge Group moves all of the product previously packaged in this group into another group you choose. Use it to clean up duplicates. This cannot be undone.
- Remove Group deletes a group that has never been used. A group that has been used is instead moved to the Removed list so its name stays in your history, and it can no longer be edited.
Tips and Best Practices
- Use clear titles that include the size and count, so they are easy to pick when packaging.
- Only mark an item Consume = Yes if you actually keep it in inventory. Otherwise you will be blocked at packaging for stock you don't track.
- Set the SKU Multiplier and prices before your first batch, then check the average price alert in the list.
- For the full walkthrough of a typical can flat, see Setting Up A Packaging Group Can Flat.
Troubleshooting
Problem: I can't save my group.
Solution: Check that the group has exactly one Container, that its quantity is above zero, and that you haven't added more than one tracked item.
Problem: The group shows in red in the list.
Solution: The container is missing, or has no volume. Edit the container in your inventory so it has a volume and unit, then check the group.
Problem: I can't edit the items or quantities.
Solution: The group has already been used. Copy the group to make a new one with the changes.