Organising Your Products by Adding Tags

What you’ll learn#

After reading this guide, you’ll be able to:

• Organise your products into categories that make sense for your business (like separating drinks, food, and merchandise)
• Generate better sales reports that show exactly which product categories are performing well
• Set up kitchen printing so orders automatically print to the right preparation area

What you’ll need#

Before you start, make sure you have:

• Access to HQ (your Paimnt back office)
• Manager permissions or higher
• A plan for your categories - think about how you want to group your products for reports (e.g., Food > Mains > Burgers, or Drinks > Beer > Local Beer)

Understanding Product Tags#

Product tags are your way of organising products into categories. Think of them like folders on your computer - you can create main categories and then nest subcategories inside them to get as detailed as you need.

What product tags do#

Tags help you in four key ways:

How the tag tree works#

Tags are organised in a tree structure with multiple levels. Here’s what that means:

Example: The Beach Cafe’s tag structure

REPORTING (Level 1)
├── Food (Level 2)
│   ├── Breakfast (Level 3)
│   │   ├── Eggs (Level 4)
│   │   └── Pancakes (Level 4)
│   └── Lunch (Level 3)
│       ├── Burgers (Level 4)
│       └── Salads (Level 4)
└── Drinks (Level 2)
    ├── Coffee/Tea (Level 3)
    └── Soft Drinks (Level 3)

How to Add Product Tags#

There are two ways to add tags, depending on what you’re creating:

Method 1: Create a top-level category#

Use this method when you’re creating a brand new main category (Level 1 tag).

1. Go to Products in the navigation bar
2. Click Product Tags
3. Click the + Add Tag button at the top right of the page
4. Enter your tag name in the Tag Name field
5. Leave the Parent Tag dropdown blank (this creates a Level 1 tag)
6. Select a Print Header if you want orders with this tag to print to a specific station (optional - see Print Headers for more info)
7. Click Save

Method 2: Add a subcategory to an existing tag#

Use this method when you’re building out your category tree (adding Level 2, 3, 4+ tags).

1. Go to Products > Product Tags
2. Find the tag you want to be the parent in the tree view
3. Click on that tag to show the action buttons
4. Click the + button next to the tag name
5. Enter your new tag name in the Tag Name field
6. The parent tag will already be selected for you - leave it as is
7. Select a Print Header if needed (optional)
8. Click Save

Real-world example: Setting up tags for Joe’s Pizza#

Let’s say you run a pizza restaurant and want to track sales by category. Here’s how you’d set it up:

Step 1: Create your main food categories under REPORTING

• Add child tags under REPORTING: “Pizza”, “Sides”, “Desserts”

Step 2: Break down pizza into types

• Add child tags under Pizza: “Traditional”, “Gourmet”, “Gluten Free”

Step 3: Organise your drinks

• Add child tags under REPORTING: “Drinks”
• Add child tags under Drinks: “Soft Drinks”, “Beer”, “Wine”

Step 4: Assign Print Headers

• Assign “KITCHEN” Print Header to the “Pizza” tag (so all pizza orders print to the kitchen)
• Assign “BAR” Print Header to the “Drinks” tag (so all drink orders print to the bar)

Now when you run reports, you can see sales by pizza type, compare food vs drinks, and orders automatically print to the right stations!

How to Edit and Rearrange Tags#

Once you’ve created tags, you can rename them or move them around. The great news? When you change a tag, all products using that tag automatically update - you don’t have to change anything on individual products.

Editing a tag name or settings#

1. Go to Products > Product Tags
2. Click on the tag you want to edit to show the action buttons
3. Click the pencil icon (edit button)
4. Make your changes to the tag name or Print Header
5. Click Save

Moving a tag to a different parent#

The easiest way to reorganise your tag tree is to drag and drop tags directly in the tree view.

1. Go to Products > Product Tags
2. Click on the tag you want to move and hold down your mouse button
3. Drag the tag to its new parent tag
4. Release your mouse button

Adding a Print Header to an existing tag#

Print Headers control where orders print in your venue. For example, you might want all “Mains” to print in the kitchen and all “Drinks” to print at the bar.

1. Click on the tag you want to edit
2. Click the pencil icon (edit button)
3. Click the Print Header dropdown
4. Select the Print Header you want from the list
5. Click Save

Common Questions#

Q: Can I delete a tag if I don’t need it anymore?

Yes, but be careful. If products are currently using that tag, you’ll need to reassign those products to a different tag first.

Q: What’s the difference between the tag tree levels?

The level just tells you how deep in the tree the tag is. Level 1 tags have no parent, Level 2 tags have one parent, Level 3 tags have a parent and a grandparent, and so on. When you run reports, you can choose which level of detail you want to see.

Q: Do I need to use all the levels?

No! Use as many or as few levels as make sense for your business. A small cafe might only need 2-3 levels, while a large restaurant might use 4-5 levels for detailed reporting.

Q: What if I move a tag that has child tags underneath it?

No problem! When you move a parent tag, all its children move with it automatically.

Q: Can I have the same tag name in different branches?

Yes. For example, you could have “Specials” under both “Food” and “Drinks” - they’re separate tags in different branches.

Next Steps#

Now that you’ve set up your product tags, you’re ready to:

1. Assign tags to your products - Go to your product list and add the appropriate tags to each product
2. Run reports by category - Use your new tag structure to see sales broken down by category (see Using Reports)
3. Test your kitchen printing - Place a test order to make sure items print to the correct stations

More Information#