Manage showroom samples

Samples are the boards, cut pieces, and wall samples your clients take home to see a floor in their own light. The Samples page keeps track of how many of each sample you own at every location, which client has which ones, and when they’re due back — so samples stop quietly disappearing from your showroom.

Samples are kept separate from your product catalog. Checking out, checking in, or moving a sample never changes the stock count of any product, and samples don’t appear on quotes, jobs, or invoices.

Before you start

• An admin needs to turn on the Samples tab (see below). Until it’s on, the Samples page and the client Out tab are hidden.
• Set up your stores, showrooms, and warehouses under Settings → Locations. Every sample has to belong to at least one location. See Manage locations.
• Optional: add the mills and distributors that supply your samples as vendors, so you can filter samples by vendor. See Add a vendor.

Steps

Turn on samples

1. Click Settings in the left sidebar, then click Product (under Work Settings).
2. Under Sample Management, turn on Samples Tab.

A Samples entry now appears under Products in the left sidebar.

Add a sample

1. In the left sidebar, click Products, then click Samples.
2. Click Add Sample in the top right.
3. In the Add samples sidebar, fill in the details:
   • Photo — click the photo box on the left of the card to add a picture of the sample (JPG, PNG, or WebP, up to 10 MB). Optional, but it makes samples much easier to spot in the list.
   • Name — what your staff call the sample, for example Coretec Pro Plus — Ashland Oak. Up to 120 characters.
   • Description (optional) — color, colorway count, or anything else that helps tell samples apart, for example Slate Blue or 42 colors.
   • Format — Wall Sample, Finished Cut Sample, Rough Cut Sample, or Board. New samples start as Finished Cut Sample.
   • Vendor (optional) — start typing to pick one of your existing vendors.
   • On hand at — choose a location and enter how many of this sample you have there. Click Another location to add more locations for the same sample.
4. To add more than one sample in the same go, click Add another sample. You can add up to 10 samples at a time; remove an extra card with its trash icon.
5. Click Add 1 sample (the button counts up as you add more, for example Add 3 samples).

Tip

If you’ve picked a location in the location filter on the Samples page before clicking Add Sample, new samples start at that location.

Edit or delete a sample

1. On the Samples page, find the sample on the All Samples tab.
2. To edit, click the pencil icon in the Actions column. In the Edit sample sidebar, change the details and, under On hand by location, set how many are on the shelf at each location. If some are currently with clients, you’ll see a note such as +2 out next to that location — those are counted for you, so enter only what’s physically on the shelf. Click Save Changes.
3. To delete, click the trash icon in the Actions column, then click Delete to confirm.

Caution

If you delete a sample that a client still has, it stays on that client’s profile marked Sample deleted and can’t be checked in afterwards. Check samples back in before you delete them.

Import samples from a spreadsheet

1. On the Samples page, click Import.
2. In the Import Samples dialog, drop your CSV in the upload area or click to browse for it. If you’re starting from scratch, click Download CSV Template first — it already has a column for each of your locations.
3. Click Next. BuddyAI matches your spreadsheet columns to the sample fields:
   • Name (required)
   • Format (required for new samples) — Wall Sample, Finished Cut Sample, Rough Cut Sample, or Board
   • Description
   • Vendor — must match the name of a vendor already in Service Buddy
   • Image URL — a public https:// link to a photo of the sample
   • One column per location — how many of the sample are on the shelf at that location
4. Review the matches, fix any column that was mapped to the wrong field, and confirm the import.

If a row’s name matches a sample you already have, that sample is updated rather than duplicated. If some rows can’t be imported — a missing name or format, a repeated name in the file, an unrecognized format, or a new sample with no quantity at any location — you’ll see how many were imported, updated, and skipped.

Note

Photos from Image URL are attached in the background after the import finishes, so they can take a moment to show up. A vendor or location name that doesn’t match an existing one is ignored for that row.

Check a sample out to a client

1. On the All Samples or Available tab, click Check Out on the sample’s row.
2. In the Check Out Sample sidebar:
   • From — the location the sample is leaving. Each option shows how many are on hand there; locations with none on hand can’t be picked.
   • Qty — how many the client is taking (defaults to 1).
   • Client — search by name, email, or phone.
   • Due back — defaults to one week from today. Pick a different date if you like; past dates aren’t allowed.
3. Click Check Out.

The page switches to the Currently Out tab so you can see the check-out you just made.

Check out several samples at once

When a client leaves with an armful of samples, check them all out together:

1. On the All Samples or Available tab, tick the checkbox next to each sample. Only samples with something on hand can be selected.
2. Click Bulk Check Out at the top of the page (it shows how many you’ve selected).
3. In the sidebar, set the Location and Qty for each sample. To drop one from this check-out, click its remove icon.
4. Under Check Out Details, choose the Client and the Due Back date — these apply to every sample in the list.
5. Click Check Out (for example Check Out 4).

If one or more samples can’t be checked out — for instance, someone else just checked out the last one — the rest still go through and you’ll see how many couldn’t be.

Check samples back in

From the Samples page:

1. Click the Currently Out or Overdue tab.
2. Click Check In on the row. The confirmation shows who had the sample, since when, and which location it goes back to.
3. Click Check In.

To check in several at once, tick the rows, click Bulk Check In at the top of the page, review the list, and click Check In (for example Check In 3).

You can also check samples in from the client’s profile — see See what a client has out.

The whole quantity on that check-out comes back to the location it left from.

Move samples between locations

1. On the All Samples or Available tab, click the move icon (two arrows) in the sample’s Actions column.
2. In the Move Sample sidebar, choose the From Location, the To Location, and the Quantity. Only samples on the shelf can be moved — anything currently with a client stays counted at the location it left from.
3. Click Move.

See what a client has out

1. Click Clients in the left sidebar and open the client.
2. Click the Out tab (it shows how many items the client has out).
3. The Samples section lists every sample the client currently has, with when it went out and when it’s due. Overdue due dates show in red.
4. Click Check In next to a sample when the client brings it back.

The History section underneath shows samples the client has already returned, marked Returned, newest first.

Note

The Out tab also appears if you use Out on Approval — items out on approval and samples are listed together, and their returns share the same History.

Export samples to Excel

1. On the Samples page, open the tab you want (and set any search or filters).
2. Click Export — the button names the tab you’re on, for example Export · Currently Out.
3. An Excel file downloads with everything in that view.

To export only certain rows, tick them first; the button changes to Export with the number selected. When you export selected rows, your search and column filters are ignored so none of your picks get left out.

Find samples: tabs, search, filters, and sorting

The tabs across the top of the list each show a count:

Tab	What it shows
All Samples	Every sample in your library, including ones with none on hand
Available	Samples with at least one on the shelf, ready to check out
Currently Out	Every open check-out — one row per client per check-out
Overdue	Check-outs whose due-back date has passed

To narrow the list:

• Search Samples — type a name or description. Pick a suggestion or press Enter to turn your search into a chip; add several chips to search for more than one thing. On the Currently Out and Overdue tabs, search also matches the client’s name.
• All Locations — choose a location to see only the samples (and counts) at that location.
• Column filters — filter by Sample, Format, or Vendor, or set a Min / Max for On Hand and Out. On the Currently Out and Overdue tabs you can also filter by Client, From location, Out date, Due Back date, and Days Out.
• Sorting — click a column heading to sort; click again to reverse.

Switching tabs clears your column filters and sorting. Use the reset button next to the location filter to clear everything at once.

What the numbers mean

Column	Meaning
On Hand	How many are on the shelf right now, ready to check out. Shows in red when it’s zero.
Out	How many are currently with clients.
Qty (Currently Out / Overdue)	How many the client took on that check-out.
Days Out	Days since the sample went out.

On hand plus out is the total you own. Checking a sample out moves it from On Hand to Out; checking it in moves it back.

What happens next

• Checked-out samples show on the client’s Out tab until they’re checked in.
• Once the due-back date passes, the check-out appears on the Overdue tab and its due date shows in red, both on the Samples page and on the client’s profile.
• Checked-in samples are added back to On Hand at the location they left from, and the return is recorded in the client’s History.

Tip

Make checking the Overdue tab part of your weekly routine and call clients who still have samples out. Service Buddy doesn’t send overdue reminders for you.

FAQ

Do samples affect my product stock counts?

No. Samples are tracked completely separately from the products on your Products list. If you also sell the material, that product’s Received, On Hold, and Available quantities are unaffected by anything you do with samples. See Track inventory levels.

Can I change the due-back date after checking a sample out?

Not directly. To give a client more time, check the sample in and check it out again with the new due-back date.

Can a client return part of a check-out?

No — checking in returns the whole quantity from that check-out. If a client took three and brings back two, check in the check-out and then check out one again to the same client.

Why can’t I select some rows?

On All Samples and Available, samples with nothing on hand can’t be selected (there’s nothing to check out). On Currently Out, check-outs of a deleted sample can’t be selected or checked in.

Why can’t I check a sample out from a certain location?

That location has none on the shelf — they’re all either checked out or the sample isn’t stocked there. Pick another location, or move some there first.

Why did a check-out fail with a “not enough on hand” message when the numbers looked fine?

Someone else probably checked out or moved the same sample a moment before you. Close the sidebar and try again — the counts will be up to date.

What happens to a sample’s stock if I delete a location from it?

When editing, setting a location to 0 removes the sample from that location. If some are still checked out from there, the location stays on the sample until they come back.

Can I check out samples to someone who isn’t a client?

No. Samples are always checked out to a client. Add the person as a client first. See Create a client.

Who can use the Samples page?

Turning the Samples tab on or off is done from Settings → Product, so only Admin and Admin Staff can do it. Once it’s on:

Access level	What they can do
Admin, Admin Staff, Office Staff, Sales Staff	View, add, edit, delete, import, export, check out, check in, and move samples
Field Worker Staff, Accounting Staff	View and export only
Marketing Staff, Installer	No access

See Assign roles and permissions.

Related tasks

• Track inventory levels
• Add an item to your catalog
• Add a vendor
• Manage locations