Creating a Product is typically a catalog management activity, done by a small number of operations users rather than reps. The frequency is low but the impact is high; a bad Product record propagates errors across every Opportunity, Quote, and Order built on top of it.
- Open the Products tab
From the App Launcher, search Products and open the list view. Catalog-management users usually have a custom list view filtered to a Product Family or product owner.
- Click New
The New button sits at the top of the list view. If your profile lacks Create on Product, the button is hidden; catalog-ops permission sets typically grant it.
- Pick a record type if prompted
Many orgs use record types to separate Software, Hardware, Services, and other catalog categories, each with its own page layout and required fields. Pick the one that matches.
- Fill the name, Product Code, and Family
Name is the display label. Product Code is the SKU; enforce a consistent format. Family drives reporting segmentation.
- Set IsActive to true
The Product is created inactive by default. Active it explicitly once Pricebook Entries are configured.
- Save the Product, then add Pricebook Entries
Click Save. The Product exists in the catalog but cannot be sold yet. Open the Pricebook Entries related list and add an entry for the Standard Pricebook plus any custom Pricebooks your org maintains.
- Test by adding the Product to a sandbox Opportunity
Confirm the Product appears in the Add Products picker on an Opportunity using each Pricebook. If it does not appear, check IsActive on Product, IsActive on PricebookEntry, and Pricebook visibility on the user's profile.
Required. The display label for the Product.
Required by most orgs (not platform-required). The SKU that ties Salesforce Products back to the ERP.
- Products are not directly sellable. They require a PricebookEntry on the relevant Pricebook before they can be added to an Opportunity or Quote.
- Deactivating a Product hides it from new selections but does not affect existing line items. Historical Opportunities, Quotes, and Orders keep their references; the Product simply stops appearing in new selections.
- Product Code is not unique by platform constraint. Add a validation rule that enforces uniqueness, or accept the risk of two Products with the same SKU silently coexisting.
- Multi-currency requires a PricebookEntry per Product per Pricebook per Currency. Adding a new currency to an existing multi-currency org is a script-level operation, not a UI activity.