Technical Reference: Product Tag Levels

Overview#

Product tags in Paimnt use a hierarchical tree structure with parent-child relationships. This technical reference explains how tag levels work and how to use them effectively for reporting and organization.

Tag Tree Structure#

Parent-Child Relationships#

When a tag is attached to another tag, the relationship creates a parent-child structure:

• The higher level is called the parent
• The lower level is the child
• All children and sub-children of a tag are part of that tag’s branch

Level Numbering#

Tag levels are numbered based on their depth in the tree:

Example: Complete Tag Hierarchy#

REPORTING (Level 1)
├── Food (Level 2)
│   ├── Breakfast (Level 3)
│   │   ├── Eggs (Level 4)
│   │   │   ├── Scrambled (Level 5)
│   │   │   └── Poached (Level 5)
│   │   └── Pancakes (Level 4)
│   ├── Lunch (Level 3)
│   │   ├── Burgers (Level 4)
│   │   └── Salads (Level 4)
│   └── Dinner (Level 3)
│       ├── Mains (Level 4)
│       └── Sides (Level 4)
└── Drinks (Level 2)
    ├── Coffee/Tea (Level 3)
    │   ├── Espresso (Level 4)
    │   └── Filter Coffee (Level 4)
    └── Soft Drinks (Level 3)
        ├── Cola (Level 4)
        └── Lemonade (Level 4)

How Levels Affect Reporting#

Report Grouping by Level#

Reports that group by tag allow you to select the level of tag detail you want to display. This gives you flexibility in how much detail to show.

Example: Sales Report by Tag Level

Drill-Down Reporting#

You can start at a high level and drill down into more detail:

1. View Level 2: See total “Food” sales
2. Expand to Level 3: See how “Breakfast”, “Lunch”, and “Dinner” performed
3. Drill to Level 4: See which specific items drove sales in each meal period

Tag Branch Concepts#

What is a Branch?#

A branch consists of a parent tag and all its descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.).

Example:

Food (Parent)
├── Breakfast (Child)
│   ├── Eggs (Grandchild)
│   └── Pancakes (Grandchild)
└── Lunch (Child)

The “Food” branch includes:

• Food (the parent)
• Breakfast and Lunch (children)
• Eggs and Pancakes (grandchildren)

Branch Operations#

Moving a branch:

• When you move a parent tag, the entire branch moves with it
• All children and grandchildren maintain their relationships

Inheriting properties:

• Print Headers set on a parent apply to all children in the branch
• Unless a child has its own Print Header override

Deleting a branch:

• Cannot delete a parent tag with children
• Must remove or move children first

Tag Level Limits#

Maximum Depth#

The system supports unlimited tag levels, but practical considerations apply:

Recommended:

• Small businesses: 2-3 levels
• Medium businesses: 3-4 levels
• Large businesses: 4-5 levels

Why limit depth:

• Too many levels become difficult to navigate
• Staff may struggle to find the right category
• Reports become overly complex
• Diminishing returns on detail beyond 5 levels

Minimum Requirements#

Required Level 1 tags:

• REPORTING: Must exist for sales reporting to work
• GST: Must exist for tax calculations

Do not delete or rename these system tags.

Best Practices#

Organizing Your Tag Tree#

✅ Keep reporting tags under REPORTING

• All tags used for sales analysis should be children of REPORTING
• This keeps your reporting structure clean and organized

✅ Use meaningful level 2 categories

• These become your primary report groupings
• Examples: Food, Drinks, Retail, Services

✅ Limit depth based on business needs

• Don’t add levels “just because”
• Each level should serve a specific reporting or organizational purpose

✅ Consistent structure across branches

• If “Food” has “Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner”, consider using similar patterns elsewhere
• Makes the system easier for staff to understand

Print Header Assignment#

✅ Assign Print Headers to parent tags

• Children automatically inherit
• Saves configuration time
• Ensures consistency

✅ Override only when necessary

• If one item in a branch needs different printing
• Set Print Header directly on that child tag

Technical Details#

Tag Relationship Storage#

Each tag stores:

• Tag ID: Unique identifier
• Parent Tag ID: Reference to parent (null for Level 1)
• Tag Name: Display name
• Print Header ID: Associated print destination
• Sort Order: Position within parent’s children

Querying Tag Hierarchies#

Reports and filters traverse the tag tree using recursive queries:

1. Start at selected level (e.g., Level 2)
2. Find all tags at that level
3. For each tag, find all descendants
4. Aggregate sales data for all products tagged with any tag in the branch

This allows “Food” sales to include all items tagged with “Breakfast”, “Eggs”, “Scrambled”, etc., even though “Food” itself isn’t directly assigned to those products.

Related Topics#

• Organising Products with Tags (Main Guide)
• Setting Up Print Headers
• Creating Your Product List
• Using Reports

See Also#