Efficiently managing product categories in the Point of Sale (POS) system is essential for a smooth sales process. In Odoo 18, the POS Product Category feature allows businesses to organize products for quick access, improving checkout speed and user experience.
This guide covers the steps to configure and use POS Product Categories in Odoo 18, ensuring the POS interface is well-structured and easy to navigate.
What is a POS Product Category?
A POS Product Category in Odoo 18 is a classification that helps group products based on their type, usage, or business logic. Unlike standard product categories used in inventory, POS product categories are specifically designed to simplify product selection at the POS interface, ensuring that cashiers and sales staff can quickly navigate through available items.
To configure POS Product Categories in Odoo 18, navigate to the Point of Sale module and go to the Configuration menu, where the POS Product Categories option is available.
Clicking on it opens a new page displaying all existing product categories. To create a new category, click the New button.
The product category form appears.
The following fields have to be filled in to create a new product category:
* Category Name – Allows users to specify the name of the product category.
* Parent Category – Helps in structuring product categories by assigning a parent category, creating a hierarchy. Here, for example, if the ‘Soft drinks’ category has to come under the ‘Drinks’ category, it can be selected in this field.
* Available Between – Defines the time range during which this category will be available in the POS system (e.g., 00:00 to 24:00 for full-day availability).
* Color – Allows users to assign a color to the category, making it visually distinct in the POS interface.
* Image – Users can upload an image representing the category, enhancing identification and usability in POS.
Now, this POS Product category has to be linked to the products that should be available under this category. To do so, navigate to Products > Products.
The product page appears; from there, select the product that should be added under this category. From the product page, go to the Point of Sale tab, under which there is a field called Category. In that field, multiple categories can be added to the product so that the product will be available under that category and can be easily selected from the POs session.
Here, for the product ‘Fanta’, the categories ‘Drinks’ and ‘Soft Drinks’ have been added.
Also, the categories that will be shown in a POS session can be restricted. That is, for a POS session for a restaurant, the categories such as Desks, Chairs, etc, are not required. So the products that are shown in a POS session can be limited. To do so, navigate to Configuration > Settings.
Select the Point of Sale for which the configuration has to be set.
Under the Product & PoS Categories section, there is a feature called Restrict Categories. In that field, add the categories that need to be shown in the PoS session.
Now, navigate to the POS dashboard and go to the PoS session ‘Restaurant’ and click on Open Register.
Once the Pos session is opened, add the opening cash and click on Open Register.
Select a table, and the PoS interface will be shown.
At the top of the interface, all the Pos Categories that have been added for this session can be viewed. Go to the category ‘Soft drinks’ that was created.
All the products for which this category has been added in the Category field can be viewed over here. Also, to identify the products easily, this category feature can be very useful. Here, it can be seen that the products are grouped by the different categories that have been provided.
Sort Cart by Category
Under the Product & PoS categories section, there is a feature called Sort cart by category, which helps to group items in the cart according to their category. Enable that feature and save the settings.
Now, navigate back to the PoS session and add items to the cart.
Here, two items have been added to the cart, one from each category: Bacon Burger from the Food category and Coca-Cola from the Drinks category. Since the Sort by Category feature is enabled, when an item from the Food category is added to the cart, it is grouped under the existing Food category item (Bacon Burger) instead of appearing on a new line.
This grouping makes it easier to identify items in the cart that belong to the same category.
Configuring POS Product Categories in Odoo 18 helps organize products effectively, making it easier to navigate and improve checkout efficiency. By setting up categories, defining availability, and customizing visuals, the POS interface becomes more user-friendly. Implementing these categories ensures a well-structured system that enhances the overall sales experience.
To read more about How to Configure Combo Products in Odoo 18 POS, refer to our blog How to Configure Combo Products in Odoo 18 POS.