Describe a product in your own words

Describe it is a way to add a product without filling in each field. You write how you buy the product and how you count it. Rinvy reads the sentence, fills in the form, and shows you the Review step. You check the details and save. Rinvy never saves a product before you tap Add product.

Describe a product

1. Go to Products and tap Add product.

2. On How would you like to set up this product?, pick Describe it.

3. In Your description, write how you buy and count the product. For example: "I buy cases of hot dogs from Sysco. They come in 2 bags, and each bag has 50 hot dogs."

4. Tap Set it up.
5. On Review, check each section. Tap Edit on a section to change it.
6. Tap Add product.

Rinvy shows the choice of setup methods only the first time you add a product on a device. After that, the Add product window opens on the method that you used last.

To change method while the form is still empty, tap Describe it instead at the bottom of guided setup, or Or describe it in your own words at the top of the quick form. Both links hide as soon as you type in the form, because Describe it fills the whole form again. On the Describe it screen, Switch to guided setup and Switch to quick form go the other way. Your description stays, so you can come back to it.

Describe it is only for new products. To change a saved product, open it on Products and edit it.

What to write

Write the facts that you would tell a new cook:

• The supplier, if you buy from one supplier.
• What you buy: a case, a bag, a tub.
• What is inside it, for example "2 bags of 50".
• The unit that you count in.
• The price, if you know it.

Rinvy multiplies the pack for you. "2 bags of 50" becomes a case size of 100. You can write up to 600 characters.

Suppliers pack goods in levels. GS1 US, the organization that issues product barcodes, names them each, inner pack and case (GS1 US packaging levels). Name every level between the case and the unit that you count. "A case of 4 bags" without the size of a bag gives Rinvy nothing to multiply, so you enter the case size on Review.

You do not need to explain standard conversions such as 1 lb = 16 oz or 1 gallon = 4 quarts. Rinvy already knows the standard weight and volume conversions, the US customary and metric factors that NIST publishes. Spend your words on the facts that only your supplier knows, such as how many hot dogs are in a bag.

Rinvy leaves a field empty if your sentence does not say it. It does not guess a price, a supplier or a storage area.

Example sentences

Rinvy can read a sentence differently from what you meant, so check each result on Review.

What if Rinvy gets a detail wrong?

Fix it on Review before you save: tap Edit on the section and change the detail. Nothing is saved until you tap Add product.

If Rinvy was not sure about something, Review shows a Here's what we understood box with up to 5 notes. For example, a note tells you when Rinvy could not find the case size or the counting unit. Fix each point before you save.

• If you named a supplier that is not in your list, the Supplier menu shows Create "name". Keep it to add the supplier when you save the product, or pick an existing supplier or No supplier. Rinvy matches supplier names ignoring case, so "sysco" finds Sysco.
• A new supplier counts toward your plan's supplier limit: 3 on Free and 10 on Standard. At the limit, pick an existing supplier or No supplier.
• If you named a storage area that you do not have, pick one of your storage areas. Describe it does not create storage areas.
• A unit that Rinvy does not have, such as "sleeve", is left out with a note. Pick a counting unit on Review.
• If something required is missing, Review shows One more thing before you can save with a Fix button.

When you save, Rinvy runs the same checks as for any other product. For example, it refuses a duplicate name and a unit that cannot convert.

How many products can you describe in a day?

Each kitchen can describe up to 100 products a day, on every plan. The day ends at midnight in your kitchen's time zone. Each description that Rinvy reads counts, also when you do not save the product. At the limit, try again tomorrow, or add the product with Guided setup or Quick form.

Owners and managers can use Describe it, because they are the roles that can add products. If Rinvy takes too long to read a description, it shows "Reading your description timed out. Please try again."

Related

• Products overview
• Units, case size, and costs
• Build your catalog from an invoice
• Set up suppliers