If the catalog is wrong, every quote is wrong. For quote-based South African businesses, the catalog is not a nice-to-have web shop — it is the price memory of the company.
Part of running the business from your phone.
Direct answer
Build a catalog of the products and services you actually sell, with ZAR prices you trust. Build every quote from those lines. Update the catalog when suppliers change — not only the last WhatsApp message.
What to store per item
- Clear name (customer language, not only supplier codes)
- Unit (each, m, kg, hour)
- Sell price in ZAR
- Optional cost (for your margin sense)
- Variations / packaging if price or stock differs
- Stock quantity if you hold inventory (stock guide)
Catalog hygiene rules
- One item, one meaning — do not create “Cable”, “cable”, and “CAB-6” as three truths.
- Retire dead items instead of leaving ghost prices.
- Review top movers monthly when copper, cement or imports move.
- Never let a one-off chat discount silently become the new list price without a decision.
From catalog to quote
With a clean list, writing a professional quote is assembly, not invention. That is how you stay fast on site.
Shipping and packaging notes
If you sell packed goods, store pack size on the item so you do not quote single-unit prices for bulk packs by mistake.
Vlyt is built around a catalog you reuse on every quote, with stock visible on items — priced once, quoted many times.