Got a new shipment in with something you’ve never carried before? Getting it into TORO takes less time than unwrapping the cellophane. There are two ways to do it, and which one you pick depends on how much control you want over the details.
Quick Add — The Fast Way #
This is what most shops use for day-to-day additions. You can have a new item scannable at the register in under a minute.
Go to Admin Tools > Item Management > Quick Add New Items
Click Select Brand and pick the manufacturer from the list
You’ll see a table of items you already carry from that brand — helpful for avoiding duplicates
Click Create New Item
Fill in the Item Name and choose a Product Type (this is the category — Cigar, Pipe Tobacco, Accessories, Beverage, etc.)
For cigars, you’ll also enter Length (in inches) and Ring Gauge (measured in 64ths of an inch — a 50 ring gauge means 50/64 of an inch in diameter)
Set your pricing: Box Manf. Cost is your wholesale cost for the master SKU, and Cigars/Box is how many units come in that package
TORO automatically calculates your per-unit cost and retail price based on the markup rules you’ve set for that product type
Add barcodes: click Add Manf. Barcode to enter the UPC from the packaging, or Create Store Barcode to generate one of your own
Click Save — the item is live at the POS immediately
That’s it. Your staff can start scanning and selling it right away.
Item Creator — More Control #
When you need to set up case-and-single SKU structures or want to see exactly how the pricing math works before committing, the Item Creator gives you the full picture.
Go to Admin Tools > Item Management > Item Creator
Choose your SKU structure:
Purchase By Case / Sell Individually creates both a case SKU and a single SKU linked together
Purchase/Sell Individually creates just one SKU
Choose your pricing approach:
Auto Set Retail uses your product type markup rules to calculate the price
Manually Set Retail lets you type in whatever you want
Enter the brand, item name, product type, cost, and Items/SKU (the number of units in the package — same concept as Cigars/Box in Quick Add)
Review the pricing breakdown — you’ll see each step: cost, special tax (excise), markup percentage, rounding rule, final retail, and your margin
Add barcodes for each SKU
Click Create
The Item Creator is especially useful when you’re bringing in a new product line and want to make sure your margins are dialed in before anything hits the floor.
Using a Template #
Already carry something similar? Click Create New Item Using Another Item As Template and TORO clones the product type, SKU structure, markup rules, and packaging setup from an existing item. You just change the name, cost, and barcodes. This is a huge time-saver when you’re adding multiple items from the same brand with the same packaging.
How Pricing Works #
TORO builds your retail price in layers: Product Type Markup % + Item SKU Markup + Special Tax (excise tax, if applicable) + Rounding = Retail Price. Auto-calculation is the default, so when your costs change, your retail adjusts automatically. If you want to lock a specific item’s price and prevent auto-adjustments, uncheck the Auto Adjust Retail checkbox on that item.
Things Worth Knowing #
You’ll need the AC_ITEM_CREATE_NEW permission to create items. If the option is grayed out, talk to your manager.
Get the cost right. Every margin report, profit calculation, and reorder suggestion in the system traces back to this number. Garbage in, garbage out.
SKUs represent packaging sizes. A single item can have a case SKU and a single SKU, each with its own cost, retail price, and barcode.
Barcodes are typically 13-14 numeric digits (UPC-A format). Each barcode links to a specific SKU, not just the item.
After creating the item, you can set initial quantity on hand, desired backstock, and desired display quantities — but none of that is required at creation time.
Don’t stress about getting everything perfect up front. Items can be edited later from the item detail screen. The only thing you really need to nail from the start is the cost and the product type.
Manufacturer changed the packaging? If a brand changes how many units come in a box (say, 20-count becomes 25-count), open the item in Advanced View and click the Manufacturer Changed button. TORO will walk you through it — you enter the new count and cost, and it automatically creates a new master SKU, re-links everything, and deactivates the old one. No need to rebuild the item from scratch. Learn more
