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Never Sold Products

Menu Location: Products > Never Sold Products

Overview

The Never Sold Products report lists active, permanent products that have never recorded a sale, so you can spot dead inventory, items that need promotion, or candidates for discontinuation. A product only counts as "sold" here if it has at least one Extra/Add-on order line (type = 1) on a non-cancelled order; sales recorded as a box/menu-item line (type = 0) are not counted. The report also shows how long each product has gone unsold, based on its recorded creation date.

Primary Functions:

  • Identify products with zero (add-on) sales
  • View each product's creation date and how many days it's gone unsold
  • Export the list to CSV for offline review
  • Jump straight to a product's edit page from its Menu ID
  • Compare against the related Slow Moving Products (Product Sales Velocity) report

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Slow Moving Products Button: Top-right link to the related Product Sales Velocity report (slow-moving-products.php)
  • Page Title: Breadcrumb reading "Products > Never Sold Products"
  • Info Alert: "This report shows all active, permanent products that have never been sold (type = 1), ordered by menu ID."

Main Content Area

Sortable, searchable DataTable with columns:

  • Menu ID (clickable link to edit)
  • Name
  • Retail
  • Sold (always 0 for this report)
  • Created (date)
  • Human-readable time ago (unlabeled column)
  • Days Old (numerical)

Report Data & Columns

Column Description Source
Menu ID Product identifier with edit link menu.id, linked to add-product.php?edit=
Name Product name menu.name
Retail Retail price menu.retail_price
Sold Quantity ever sold as an Extra/Add-on line on a non-cancelled order Always 0 (rows are filtered to this)
Created Date the product's classification was created product_classification.prod_create_date
Human Time Friendly time since creation humanTiming()
Days Old Days since creation floor((time() - prod_create_date) / 86400)

Filtering:

  • Only permanent products (menu.permanent = 1)
  • Only active products (menu.status = 1)
  • Excludes product variants/options (menu.product_option = 0)
  • Only products with zero add-on sales (sum of Extra/Add-on line quantities on non-cancelled orders = 0)
  • Ordered by Menu ID ascending (oldest IDs first)

Created Date: "Created" and "Days Old" come from product_classification.prod_create_date. This page does not automatically backfill that field; if it was never set for an older product, Created, Human Time, and Days Old all show blank.

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Quarterly Product Catalog Cleanup

Goal: Identify and remove products that never gained traction

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Products > Never Sold Products
  2. Sort by "Days Old" column (click header)
  3. Identify products over 90 days old
  4. For each old product:
    • Click Menu ID to view product details
    • Evaluate: niche item, poor description, or truly unwanted?
    • Decide: improve marketing, discount, or discontinue
  5. Export CSV for team review

Decision Criteria (general guidance, not computed by the report):

  • 0-30 days: Too early to judge, keep
  • 30-90 days: Consider promotion/featured placement
  • 90+ days: Strong candidate for discontinuation
  • 180+ days: Likely should be removed unless strategic

Use Case 2: New Product Launch Review

Goal: Check which recently added products aren't selling

Steps:

  1. Run report
  2. Sort by "Created" date (most recent first)
  3. Look at products created in the last 30-60 days
  4. Compare to marketing efforts
  5. Boost promotion for zero-sale new products

Use Case 3: Inventory Cost Reduction

Goal: Reduce inventory costs by discontinuing slow movers

Steps:

  1. Export CSV
  2. Add your own column for inventory cost (e.g. wholesale × units on hand) offline
  3. Sort by total inventory value
  4. Focus on high-value, never-sold items first
  5. Discontinue or liquidate

Use Case 4: Marketing Campaign Planning

Goal: Create promotion for underperforming products

Steps:

  1. Run report
  2. Filter (via the table's search box) to products still worth promoting
  3. Export list
  4. Create a targeted campaign for those products
  5. Track if promotion generates first sales
  6. Discontinue if still zero sales after campaign

Use Case 5: Product Database Audit

Goal: Verify product data accuracy and cleanup errors

Steps:

  1. Run report
  2. Click through Menu IDs
  3. Check each product for proper name, description, pricing, and categorization
  4. Fix issues that might prevent sales (e.g. $0 price, no image)

Export & Download Options

Export Format:

  • CSV: Click the "csv" button above the table

CSV Contents:

  • All columns from the table
  • All rows (not just the current page)

Troubleshooting

Issue: Product Shows as Never Sold But I Know It Sold

Check:

  1. Verify the sale wasn't on a cancelled order, since cancelled orders (cust_order.status = 5) don't count as sales.
  2. Confirm the sale was recorded as an Extra/Add-on line (type = 1). A sale recorded as a box/menu-item line (type = 0) is not counted here.
  3. Check whether the product has more than one menu row under the same product classification, since the report only looks at active, permanent, non-variant menu rows.

Issue: Many Products Show Blank "Created" Date

Cause: product_classification.prod_create_date was never set for that product.

Note: This page has no automatic backfill for the field. Newer products created through normal workflows typically have it set; older/legacy products may not.

Issue: Product Should Be Removed But Appears Active

Check:

  1. Verify the product's status is actually 1 (Active) on its edit page
  2. Confirm the permanent flag is still set
  3. Check if someone reactivated it recently

To Remove: Click the Menu ID to open the product in add-product.php, then change its status or remove it there.

Best Practices

Review Frequency

  1. Monthly: Quick scan for new problems
  2. Quarterly: Deep review with action plan
  3. Annually: Major catalog cleanup

Decision Framework

Keep if:

  • Seasonal item (hasn't been in season yet)
  • Niche/special request item (low volume expected)
  • Recently added (< 30 days)
  • Part of a complete product line

Promote if:

  • Good product but poor visibility
  • Competitive pricing
  • Complementary to popular items
  • 30-90 days old

Discontinue if:

  • 180+ days with zero sales
  • High inventory cost
  • Better alternatives available
  • Supplier discontinued

Things to Avoid

  • Immediately discontinuing new products (give 60-90 days)
  • Keeping dead inventory for nostalgia
  • Ignoring warehouse/inventory costs
  • Not communicating discontinuations to the sales team

Quick Reference Card

Task Action
Find oldest unsold products Sort "Days Old" descending
Check recent additions Sort "Created" descending
Review specific product Click Menu ID number
Export for team review Click CSV button
See related slow movers Click "Slow Moving Products" button
Quick count of problem products Check table's "Showing X of Y entries"
  • Slow Moving Products / Product Sales Velocity (slow-moving-products.php) - Products with low or zero sales over a chosen date range
  • Product Edit (add-product.php) - Edit/discontinue products (linked from Menu ID)
  • Product Classifications (product_classifications_active.php) - Manage product categories

Typical Workflow:

  1. Never Sold Products → Identify products → Click Menu ID → Edit/Discontinue

FAQs

What's the difference between "Never Sold" and "Slow Moving"?

Never Sold = zero recorded add-on sales, ever, no date range. Slow Moving (Product Sales Velocity) = low or zero sales over a date range you choose, optionally filtered to a parent category.

How far back does "Created" date go?

As far back as product_classification.prod_create_date has been set for that product. This page doesn't backfill it automatically, so some older products may show a blank Created date.

Should I delete or deactivate never-sold products?

Recommend deactivating first (status = 0, on the product's edit page). You can reactivate if needed. Delete only if you're certain you'll never offer it again.

Why do some permanent products sell and others don't?

Common factors: visibility (featured placement), description quality, pricing, product demand, seasonal relevance.

Can customers see never-sold products?

Yes, every product on this report is already active and permanent, so it's already part of your live catalog.

How does this help my business?

Reduces inventory costs, improves catalog quality, focuses marketing on viable products, frees resources for winners.

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.