Creating a Product

Products are the core of your TimberCloud catalog. This guide covers creating products from scratch, copying existing products, using templates, and the fastest path of all — letting AI build a product (or import a whole catalog) from your existing spreadsheets, PDFs, and photos.

Ways to Add a Product

When you click "Add New Product" on the Catalog page, you can:

There's also a separate AI Catalog Import path for bulk-creating many products and categories at once — see Build Products with AI below.

Tip: For migrating an existing catalog or standing up a complex product quickly, the AI paths are usually the biggest time-savers. For one-off simple products, Create New or a Template is often fastest.

Creating a New Product

Step 1: Navigate to Catalog

From your dashboard, go to Catalog in the sidebar. You'll see your existing products displayed in a grid view.

Step 2: Click "Add New Product"

Click the "Add New Product" card to open the product creation modal, then choose Create New, Templates, Copy Existing, or AI Product Setup (see the table above).

Step 3: Enter Product Details

Fill out the basic product information:

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Build Products with AI

Instead of hand-building every attribute table, you can upload your existing catalog materials and let AI do the first pass. TimberCloud's AI proposes an editable mapping that you review and approve — nothing is created until you confirm.

There are two modes:

Supported file types

Upload one or more of the following:

• Spreadsheets: .csv, .xlsx, .xls
• Documents: .pdf
• Archives: .zip
• Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, .heic, .tiff, .tif, .bmp

How it works

1. Upload your files (drag-and-drop or browse).
2. Add optional instructions to guide the AI (for example, terminology or which sheet holds which attribute).
3. Run the analysis — AI reads your files and proposes attributes, options, categories, photos, and a suggested pricing formula.
4. Review the proposed mapping and toggle items on or off, rename them, or edit values before anything is saved.
5. Create — AI builds the catalog entries you approved.

AI can also match photos from a PDF catalog to the right attribute options, and propose a starting pricing formula based on the pricing context it detects. After import, always double-check attribute options, photos, and especially pricing before you publish.

For the full walkthrough, modes, best practices, and what to verify after import, see AI Product Builder.

Product Configuration

After entering basic details, configure additional settings:

Visibility & Pricing

Shipping Configuration

Customer Restrictions

When enabled, you can select which customers have access to purchase this product.

LTL Shipping Options

For freight shipments, configure these additional settings:

Package Settings

Freight Class

Freight class determines shipping costs based on density. Lower class = heavier/denser items (lower cost):

Special Service Options

Note: Carrier rate-shopping and freight booking run through TimberCloud's integrated carrier network — you don't connect your own carrier accounts. Carrier Services are included on Build, Production, and Enterprise, or available on Commerce via the Carrier & Freight Services add-on. See Shipping.

Categories

Categories help organize products and make them easier for customers to find.

Creating Categories

1. Go to Settings → Products
2. Click "Create Category"
3. Enter a name and optional description
4. Assign to a group (for organization)

Category Groups

Categories can be organized into groups for better management. When selecting categories for a product, they appear grouped in the dropdown.

Example Groups:

• Doors
• Drawer Boxes
• Accessories
• Hardware

Measurement Units

Each product can have its own measurement configuration:

These settings affect:

• Line item input fields
• Pricing calculations
• Parts specifications
• Build sheet output

Using Templates

Templates are pre-configured product definitions that speed up product creation.

What Templates Include

• Line item configuration
• Attribute structure
• Pricing formulas
• Parts specifications
• Build sheet layouts

Selecting a Template

1. Click "Add New Product"
2. Choose the Templates tab
3. Browse by category or search
4. Click a template to create a product based on it

Templates appear with a blue "Template" badge and are organized by category for easy browsing.

Template vs. Product Copy

Product Order

Products can be reordered by dragging and dropping on the Catalog page. The order affects how products appear in your shop and customer portal.

Note: Reordering requires the "Manage Product Order" permission.

Next Steps

After creating your product, configure:

1. Attributes — Define selectable options (materials, finishes, etc.)
2. Line Items — Configure the order form fields
3. Pricing — Create pricing formulas (with help from the AI Pricing Assistant)
4. Parts — Define components for shipping and production
5. Exports — Set up CSV and ORD export files

Want to skip the manual setup? Let AI Product Builder draft attributes, options, categories, and a starting price for you.