Product Lines
In QAD EE, a product line is a group of items or products with similarities in manufacture or application. While product line codes can be related to a marketing concept, they are more accurately considered an accounting concept since the product line code links items to GL accounts. This link is the way the system ensures that all transactions for an item have GL consequences. All items must belong to a product line; otherwise, no GL transactions associated with them could be recorded.
While product lines are primarily a financial construct, they should not be assigned by finance. While finance will play a role in defining product lines, both manufacturing and marketing will want to understand the structure and the ability to track costs and revenues for their items.
Note: Many browses, inquiries, and reports in QAD can be sorted on product line. So some thought should be given to how you want to organize various reports.
The example in the slide shows three different types of ultrasound devices in one product line, so that all costs and revenues for these items is collected in the same set of GL accounts. Your company could decide that the nature of the materials and the manufacturing processes used for these items are different enough to require three product lines. Then you could use different accounts or sub-accounts to track costs and revenues.
Some companies would want different product lines for purchased materials or manufactured components. You must have at least one product line code but you can have as many as you need. After the product line has been set up, the method of updating the current costs of items is selected, discussed next.
