How Do Reporting Groups, Sub‑Categories, and Product Configuration Work?

Why is it important to set up reporting groups and sub‑categories before creating products?

A well‑structured system ensures smooth operations, accurate reporting, and scalable growth. Reporting groups, sub‑categories, and resources determine how products behave, how capacity is managed, how discounts apply, and how attendance is tracked. Setting these up first prevents inconsistencies and reduces manual work later.

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What are reporting groups?

Reporting groups are high‑level categories used to organize products before they are added to the system. They ensure every product is placed in the correct bucket from the start, which improves reporting accuracy, discount automation, and add‑on management.

1. Inconsistent or inaccurate reporting

Without predefined categories, products may be miscategorized or grouped inconsistently. This leads to:

• Fragmented sales data
• Difficulty identifying top‑performing categories
• Poor visibility into operational trends

Reporting groups ensure clean, reliable reporting on revenue and quantity sold by category.

2. Inefficient discount management

Discounts often apply only to certain product types (e.g., drinks, merchandise, birthday parties). Without reporting groups:

• Discounts must be manually assigned
• New products may be overlooked
• Category‑based promotions become error‑prone

With reporting groups, operators can easily run targeted campaigns such as:

• 0% off merchandise
• 5% off drinks
• 5% off birthday parties

3. Manual add‑on setup

Add‑ons help increase average ticket value through upselling. Without reporting groups:

• Add‑ons must be manually attached to each product
• New products may miss important upsells
• Customer experience becomes inconsistent

By attaching add‑ons to a reporting group, any new product added to that group automatically inherits the correct add‑ons.

Sub‑categories allow operators to break down large categories into more specific segments. When created, a sub‑category initially shares the same name as the main category until renamed.

Common use cases:

• Multiple activities under General Admission
• Different types of merchandise
• Multiple party package types

Benefits of sub‑categories:

• More granular reporting
• More precise discount targeting
• More accurate add‑on automation