Creating a Product
Products are the core of your TimberCloud catalog — a product is the thing a customer orders, whether that's a shaker door, a dovetailed drawer box, or a finished countertop. This guide covers the three ways to add a product, the settings you'll choose along the way, and how products are organized into categories.
Once a product exists, you configure it in the tabbed Product Builder — start there for the full tab tour.
Ways to Add a Product
On the Catalog page, click "Add New Product". A modal opens with three ways to start:
| Option | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Create New | Start with a blank product and configure everything by hand. | A product that doesn't resemble anything you have yet |
| Templates | Start from a pre-built product type from the global template library. | Common cabinet-shop items (doors, drawer boxes, panels) |
| Copy Existing | Duplicate one of your own products; the copy's name gets "Copy" appended. | A variation of a product you already built |
Note: Copy Existing carries over the product's structure — attributes, line items, pricing, parts and settings — but it does not copy order history, uploaded media/photos, or inventory. Those stay with the original.
Tip: For a common product type, a Template is usually the fastest start because it comes with attributes, line items and pricing already sketched in. For a true one-off, Create New keeps things clean.
Creating a New Product
Step 1: Open the Catalog
From your dashboard, go to Catalog in the sidebar. Your existing products appear in a grid.
Step 2: Click "Add New Product"
Click the "Add New Product" card and choose Create New, Templates, or Copy Existing.
Step 3: Enter the details
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Product Name | The display name customers and your team see |
| Categories | One or more categories (shown grouped) — see Categories below |
| Description (optional) | A short description shown to customers |
| Lead Time (optional) | Average production time in days, used to suggest due dates |
Once you save, the product opens into the Product Builder, where you add attributes, line items, pricing and the rest.
Product Settings
Open Advanced Settings in the product modal to control how the product behaves. Most defaults are right for most products.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable for Customer | Show the product in your storefront. Turn off for internal-only or discontinued products (it stays available to your team on orders and quotes). | On |
| Discounted | Order-wide customer discounts reduce this product's price. Turn off to always bill it at full price even when the rest of the order is discounted. | On |
| Included in Shipping Cost | This product's weight counts toward calculated shipping. Turn off for services or labor that never ship (design fees, installation). | On |
| Multi Line Item | Allow several separately configured lines of this product on one order — the usual choice for custom work. Off means one line only, best for simple retail-style products. | On |
| Exclusive Product | Only the customers you pick can see and order this product. Use it for products built for one dealer or account. | Off |
Note: On the Free (inquiry-only) plan, most of these toggles are hidden because they only matter once you take payments and calculate shipping. Free products stay visible so they can collect inquiries, and Multi Line Item is still available. Pricing, discounts, shipping and exclusive customers unlock at Commerce.
Measurement Units
Each product carries its own unit setting, pre-filled from your company's onboarding choice and overridable per product.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Measurement | Imperial or Metric |
| Unit Type | Inches, Feet, Yards (Imperial) or mm, cm, m (Metric) |
These units are what dimensions on the order form, pricing measurements (like Square Feet), parts and build sheets are measured against — so a shed sold by the foot has to be set up in feet from the start.
Unit scaling for Feet / metric products
Here's the important part. Out of the box, TimberCloud reads every dimension you type into the builder as inches, no matter which unit the picker shows. The built-in field defaults (96, 3.5, 0.75, 2.25 …) are all inch numbers. To actually measure and price a product in feet or centimeters, you turn on "Measure in ‹unit›" in the product's settings.
Because that switch re-reads every static length already stored on the product (it doesn't silently convert them), TimberCloud treats it as a deliberate decision:
- On a new product, flip to a non-inch unit and you'll see a note reminding you the field defaults are still inch numbers — re-enter them in your unit, then turn scaling on.
- On an existing product, turning "Measure in ‹unit›" on (or changing the unit type on a product that already scales) opens a confirmation modal that lists exactly which numbers will change before anything is saved. Nothing moves until you confirm.
Important: Unit scaling is never an automatic conversion. It changes what your stored numbers mean, so always re-check dimensions and pricing after enabling it or changing the unit.
LTL / Freight Shipping
For products that ship by freight (LTL), the Shipping tab adds package and freight settings.
Availability: Shipping and Carrier Services are Commerce and up.
Package settings
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Package Type | Auto Generate, Box, Pallet | Auto Generate uses smart packaging (recommended) |
| Stackable | On / Off | Whether packages can be safely stacked |
Freight class
Freight class is set by density — lower class means heavier/denser items, which usually ship cheaper:
| Class | Density (lbs/ft³) | Example items |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50+ | Heavy machinery, metal |
| 70 | 15–22.5 | Solid wood furniture |
| 100 | 9–10.5 | Standard cabinets |
| 150 | 6–7 | Lightweight assemblies |
| 250 | 3–4 | Panel goods |
| 500 | Less than 1 | Very light items |
Special service options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials | Shipment contains hazardous materials |
| Over Dimensional | Exceeds standard limits (width > 8.5 ft, height > 13.5 ft, length > 53 ft) |
| Excessive Length | Length exceeds 53 feet |
| Protective Service Coverage | Additional protection coverage |
| Additional Insurance | Extra insurance beyond standard liability |
| Marking / Counting | Special marking and piece-counting service |
Note: Carrier rate-shopping and freight booking run through TimberCloud's integrated Carrier Services network — you don't connect your own carrier accounts. See Shipping.
Categories
Categories organize your catalog and drive how customers browse your storefront.
Creating categories
Categories are created in Settings, not on the product itself:
- Go to Settings → Products.
- Click "Create Category".
- Enter a name and optional description.
- Assign it to a group (optional, for organization).
Category groups
Categories can be gathered into groups for cleaner management. When you assign categories to a product, they appear grouped in the picker.
Example groups: Doors · Drawer Boxes · Accessories · Hardware
You then assign one or more categories to a product from the product modal.
Reordering products
Drag and drop products on the Catalog page to change the order they appear in — for your team and in the customer storefront.
Note: Reordering requires the "Manage Product Order" permission.
A note on AI
There is no one-click "AI builds my whole catalog" importer, and no AI that constructs a whole product from a spreadsheet. What TimberCloud does offer are targeted AI helpers you use while building a product:
- Catalog Photos — upload a PDF catalog and let AI match its photos to your attribute options.
- AI Pricing Assistant — describe a price rule in plain English and AI writes the formula.
Both are Commerce and up. See the AI overview for the full picture.
Next Steps
- The Product Builder — tour the seven tabs
- Attributes — define selectable options (materials, finishes)
- Line Items — configure the order-form fields
- Pricing — build a pricing formula (or use the AI Pricing Assistant)
- Match Photos from a Catalog — the AI photo matcher
- Parts & Cut Lists — define components for shipping and production