Products - Adding products, keeping count of stock and selling from an invoice

Products is for businesses that sell goods — things you buy in and sell on, like a box of sunglasses sold one pair at a time. Add each product once, and from then on you can drop it onto an invoice in a click: the wording, price and VAT fill themselves in. If you like, Joy Pilot will also keep count of how many you have left.

Products is switched off to begin with, so it stays out of the way of businesses that don't need it.

💡 You can turn Products off again at any time from the same panel. Nothing is deleted — your products, stock counts and history are kept, and come straight back if you turn it on again.

💡 The price is only a starting point. You can always change the price, wording or VAT on an individual invoice without affecting your product list.

💡 More options at the bottom of the form lets you add your own product code, or choose a different income category. Most people never need these.

When you buy more of something you keep count of, record it as an expense in the usual way — with one extra step.

Once the expense is saved, your stock count goes up. Bought 20 pairs? In stock goes up by 20.

💡 You won't be asked to choose a category for stock you buy — Joy Pilot puts it in the right place in your accounts for you.

💡 Extra costs on the same receipt — delivery, import duty and so on — can go on their own lines without a product. They're recorded as normal expenses.

This is where it pays off.

Don't want to use a product on a particular line? Just type your own description and carry on — nothing changes. Picked the wrong one? Click the × on the tag to unlink it.

💡 Quoting first? Products work the same way on quotes. A quote never changes your stock — but when you click Convert to invoice, the products come across with it, and your stock goes down when that invoice is saved as final.

💡 If you try to sell more than you have, Joy Pilot warns you but won't stop you. You might have stock you haven't recorded yet — just remember to record the purchase afterwards so your count catches up.

Plenty of sales never get an invoice — a customer pays by card, taps their phone, or sends a bank transfer for a yoga mat after class. When that money shows up on your bank feed, you can record the sale in a few seconds.

That's it. The items come out of your stock, the sale is recorded, and the bank line is reconciled.

💡 The total always equals the money you received, so you never have to make the numbers add up. The customer is filled in as Cash sales — you can change it if you know who bought it.

💡 No bank feed? You'll find the same Cash sale option, with the same product buttons, at the top of the Sales tab on the Quick reconcile page. Both are covered in Bank reconciliation - Recording a cash sale (no invoice needed).

Real life doesn't always match the numbers. If a pair gets broken, goes missing, you give a few away, or you find some you'd forgotten about:

That's it. Your sales and purchases aren't changed — Joy Pilot simply records the difference.

Once Products is turned on, Product reports appears under Reporting. It has two tabs — click a tab to switch between them:

💡 Product margin is there to help you run your business — it shows which products actually make you money. It isn't your tax calculation, so the figures may differ from your tax reports.

I can't see Products in my menu.
It's switched off until you need it. Turn it on from Business Profile — see Step 1.

I only sell my time. Should I turn this on?
No need. Save your usual description and rate against each customer instead (under Contacts) and your invoices will fill in automatically.

Do I have to count stock to use Products?
No. Leave Keep count of my stock unticked and a product simply works as a saved price you can drop onto invoices and quotes.

Can I put products on a quote?
Yes — start typing in the description, exactly as on an invoice. The quote doesn't change your stock. Converting it to an invoice keeps the products on it.

If I change a product's price, do my old invoices change?
No. Each invoice keeps its own copy of the wording and price from the moment it was created.

I forgot to say how many I had when I added the product.
No problem. Click the boxes icon (Stock you already had when you started) next to the product and enter how many you had and roughly what each one cost.

My stock count is showing a minus number.
You've sold more than Joy Pilot knew you had. Usually that means a purchase hasn't been recorded yet — add the expense (Step 3) and the count will correct itself.

I've saved an invoice but my stock hasn't gone down.
Check the invoice isn't still a draft. Stock only moves when the invoice is saved as final. Also check the line shows the product tag — if it doesn't, the line is just text and isn't linked to a product.

A customer paid me in notes and coins. How do I record that?
Pay it into your business bank account, then record a Cash sale once it's there — that records the sale and takes the items out of your stock. Money you take for your business should always go through your bank account, so that your books show everything you've earned.

Can I switch off stock counting for a product later?
Only if it hasn't been bought or sold yet. Once a product has stock history, archive it instead and add a new one.

Can I use products on recurring invoices?
Not yet. Recurring invoices use typed descriptions, so they don't change your stock.

How does Joy Pilot work out what my stock cost?
It uses the average of what you've paid. If you bought 10 at £8 and then 20 at £10, each one is treated as costing about £9.33. If you can't claim VAT back, the VAT you paid is counted as part of the cost.

I buy stock in a foreign currency. Anything I should know?
Record the expense in the currency you paid in, as normal. Joy Pilot converts the cost into your own currency for you.