Linked products, auto-deduct stock when a service runs

If you sell or use products during services (hair color, wax, lotions, polishes), you don't want to track stock manually. Linked products tie inventory items to a service. Every time the service is completed, Bookinda deducts the linked quantities from your inventory automatically.

Setting up linked products

Open a service, click the Products tab in the service panel. You'll see a list of linked products and a button to add more. For each product:

• Pick the product from your inventory.
• Set the quantity consumed per service (e.g. 30g of color, 0.2 of a tube).
• Optional: limit by service variant or staff member if you have those configured.

The product must already exist in Warehouse → Products. If it doesn't, create it first.

How the deduction works

When an appointment with a linked-products service moves to Completed status:

• Each linked product's quantity is deducted from inventory.
• A stock movement record is created with the service and customer reference.
• If a product is below threshold, you'll see a low-stock warning on the inventory dashboard.

Use case scenarios

Scenario 1: Hair coloring

"Color refresh" service uses 50g of color tube + 50ml of developer. Both linked. After every color appointment, 50g of color and 50ml of developer get deducted automatically. At month end, the inventory report shows exactly how much was used.

Scenario 2: Waxing studio

Each "Leg waxing" appointment uses approximately 50g of wax. Link the wax tin to the service with quantity 50g. The studio orders new wax when the inventory drops below the threshold. No manual count, no surprise stockouts.

Scenario 3: Massage oils

"Aromatherapy massage" uses 20ml of oil. Link the oil bottle to the service. The massage therapist doesn't have to log usage, the system tracks it from completed appointments.

Scenario 4: Mixed-product variant

"Manicure with gel" service. Two linked products: gel color (3g) and base coat (1g). When the appointment is completed, both deduct automatically. The salon owner sees the breakdown in the inventory report.

Reports and reconciliation

Linked products feed two key reports:

• Inventory usage: see how much of each product was consumed by services in a date range.
• Service profitability: with product cost subtracted, see the actual margin per service.

Tips

• Be realistic about quantities: don't enter 50g if the actual usage is 35-65g. Average across many appointments and pick a realistic number. Bulk-order with a buffer.
• Update quantities seasonally: usage changes (e.g., longer hair takes more color in winter when extensions are popular). Audit and adjust quantities every 6 months.
• Don't link consumables you can't track: if you can't reliably measure how much shampoo a wash uses, don't pretend. Track only what's worth measuring.
• Combine with low-stock alerts: under Warehouse → Settings, enable email alerts when products fall below threshold. Linked-product deduction triggers these automatically.
• Reconcile monthly: actual stock count vs. system stock should match within a small variance. If they diverge, find out why (theft, breakage, mis-counted quantity).