If you're in charge of making sure sales teams have the right products and pricing at their fingertips, you already know how messy product catalogs can get. Maybe your company’s outgrown spreadsheets. Maybe your current tool just isn’t cutting it. Either way, if you're looking to create and manage custom product catalogs in Apparound, this guide is for you. We’ll skip the buzzwords and get straight to what works, what doesn't, and how to keep things sane.
Why Custom Catalogs Matter (and Where Things Go Wrong)
Product catalogs aren’t just lists—they’re the backbone of how your team sells. A good catalog helps reps quote fast and accurately. A bad one causes confusion, errors, and endless emails to “just double-check.”
Apparound lets you build catalogs that match your products, prices, bundles, and business rules. But (and this is important) it’s not magic. The tool is only as good as the structure you put in place and how often you keep it up to date.
Here’s how to set up and actually manage a custom product catalog that works for your business—without losing your weekends to admin.
Step 1: Get Your Product Info in Order
Before you even open Apparound, do yourself a favor and get your product data straight. Garbage in, garbage out.
What you need: - Product names, SKUs, and descriptions - Pricing (base price, discounts, special offers) - Categories or product groups - Any configuration rules (what can/can’t be bundled together) - Images (if you want reps to see them)
Pro tip:
Don’t try to upload everything at once. If your catalog is a mess, start with your top-selling products and expand from there.
Step 2: Import or Add Products Into Apparound
Once you’re organized, it’s time to get your data into Apparound.
Option A: Bulk Import (best for bigger catalogs) - Apparound lets you import products via Excel or CSV. - Use the official template—they’re picky about formatting. If your columns are off, the import will fail, and the error messages aren’t always helpful. - Double-check for special characters, weird spacing, or duplicate SKUs. - Test with a small batch before importing hundreds of products.
Option B: Manual Entry (for a handful of products) - Go to the product catalog section in the Apparound admin portal. - Add products one by one. This is fine for small teams or if you’re just getting started, but it gets old fast for larger catalogs.
What works:
Bulk importing saves tons of time once you get the hang of it.
What doesn’t:
Don’t try to “fix it in the portal” after a bad import. It’s faster to fix your spreadsheet and re-upload.
Step 3: Organize and Categorize Your Products
A big, flat list is a nightmare for your sales team. Take the time to set up categories, bundles, or product families.
- Categories: Group products by type (e.g., Hardware, Software, Services).
- Bundles/Kits: If you sell products as packages, set these up so reps can quote them in one click.
- Attributes: Add custom fields (like color, size, license type). Apparound supports this, but don’t go nuts—you want enough info, not clutter.
Pro tip:
Ask your sales team how they search for products. Build the structure around how they actually sell, not how your ERP spits out SKUs.
Step 4: Set Up Pricing, Discounts, and Rules
This is where things usually get messy. Luckily, Apparound gives you some solid tools to control pricing and rules.
- Base Pricing: Set your default prices for each product.
- Discount Levels: Configure what discounts are allowed (per product, per user, or by approval).
- Conditional Rules: Do you have products that can’t be sold together? Or discounts that need manager approval? Set these up now.
- Price Lists: If you sell in multiple regions or currencies, create separate price lists.
What works:
Setting up approval workflows for discounts keeps rogue pricing in check.
What doesn’t:
Don’t try to hack complex rules into the catalog if you can avoid it. Simpler is almost always better. Overly clever setups break under pressure.
Step 5: Add Images, Docs, and Details (But Don’t Overdo It)
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a slow-loading catalog is worth zero. Apparound lets you upload images and documents for each product.
- Use compressed images (JPEG, PNG) and keep file sizes small.
- Only add sales collateral that’s actually useful—skip the 70-page technical manuals.
- Update images and docs as products change. Outdated info is worse than no info.
Pro tip:
If your reps work offline, test catalog performance. Huge images or PDFs will slow things down.
Step 6: Test the Catalog as a Sales Rep
Before rolling out your custom catalog, act like a sales rep and try to build a quote from scratch. Can you:
- Find products quickly?
- Add bundles or kits easily?
- Apply correct discounts?
- See up-to-date pricing and product info?
If the answer is “sort of,” go back and tweak things. Small annoyances in testing become big headaches in the field.
Step 7: Launch and Train (But Don’t Overpromise)
Let your team know what’s new, what’s changed, and where to get help. A few tips:
- Run a short training (live or recorded)—don’t assume people will just figure it out.
- Share a quick reference guide or FAQ for common tasks (adding products, searching, discounting).
- Set up a way for reps to report problems or suggest improvements.
What works:
Short, focused training sessions. People don’t want a lecture.
What doesn’t:
Don’t promise the catalog is “done.” Products, prices, and needs always change.
Step 8: Keep It Fresh—Managing Updates
A catalog is never “set and forget.” Here’s how to avoid the most common traps:
- Schedule regular reviews (monthly or quarterly) to add/remove products and update pricing.
- Assign a single owner for catalog updates—too many cooks means nothing gets done.
- Track which products sell and which get ignored. Remove or hide dead weight.
- Communicate changes to the sales team—nobody likes surprises.
Pro tip:
If you’re swamped, automate reminders for catalog reviews. Stale catalogs cause more problems than you think.
What to Ignore (At Least For Now)
- Integrations with Everything: Apparound does integrate with CRMs and ERPs, but get your catalog right before connecting it to the rest of your stack.
- Custom Code: Most catalog needs can be handled in the admin portal. Don’t jump into custom scripts unless you’ve hit a real wall.
- Hyper-detailed Product Info: Keep it simple and relevant. If reps don’t use a field, cut it.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Building and maintaining a custom product catalog in Apparound isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of discipline. Start small, get the basics right, and listen to your sales team. The perfect catalog is one that’s easy to update, easy to use, and actually helps people sell. Don’t aim for “set it and forget it”—aim for “good enough today, better tomorrow.”
Now go build something that works—then make it better, one step at a time.