Alternative products

Adding alternative products to your projects in thesheet

Offering multiple product options in your project provides more choices for your clients. While most interior designers typically present three options, managing these alternatives across a project can be time-consuming and confusing for clients.

thesheet's alternative products feature simplifies this process by allowing you to manage alternatives easily while ensuring that only the main product counts toward the overall budget.

How to add alternatives to your project. 

There are three different ways to add an alternative product to your project. 

Note: Option 1 and Option 2 add a blank product as an alternative, if you would like to add products from your library, use Option 3

Option 1: From the project Sheet view
 

1. Open your project in Sheet view and switch to  list view.
2. Click the three dots on the right-hand side next to the product you want to add an alternative to.
3. From the dropdown, select Add alternative.

This will add a blank product as an alternative under the selected project

Option 2: From the project Sheet view

1. Open your project in Sheet view.
2. Click on product details or the image of the product you want to add an alternative to. 
3. In the product details, click the square under the Alternatives heading.

This will add a blank product as an alternative

Option 3: Using the drag method

This is by far the easiest method and allows you to use products already in your project. 

1. Add all of your products you would like to add to your project. Learn how to add products to your project.
2. Organise your products, by dragging the main product (hold down the six dots on the left-hand side of the product) to the top, with your alternative products just below it in your Sheet view. 
3. Drag the alternative product to the right using the same six dots until it attaches to the main product above. 

Repeat this step for all your product alternatives.

Changing the main product 

Changing the main product among your alternatives is straightforward:

1. Click the up arrow icon next to the product you want to set as the main product. 
2. This will reorganise your alternatives and convert the selected alternative to the main product

How product alternatives affect the project budget 

Product alternatives are linked to the main product and are counted as a single product within the project. Regardless of how many alternatives are added, only the main product is counted towards the project’s overall budget.

This simplifies budget management, eliminating the need to adjust or remove alternatives with every change.

Example: 

In the example above, three different armchair options are provided for the client: the Spanish Chair, Sissi Lounge Chair, and a custom Eames Lounge Chair.
The Main product, the Spanish Chair, is calculated towards the project budget. If the Sissi Lounge Chair is approved and set as the Main product, the budget would adjust from $4,794.00 to $489.00, reducing the overall project budget.

Change alternative products back to normal products in your project.  

If the client decides to approve one or more alternatives:

1. Click the three dots on the right-hand side next to the alternative product you want to make a standalone product.
2. From the dropdown, select Transfer to primary.

This will change the product alternative into a separate product in your project.

-OR-

Using the drag method, drag the alternative product to the left until it aligns with the main product. This will convert the alternative into a standalone product in your project.

Removing an alternative product from your project

Note: Even if a product alternative is rejected by the client, you can keep it within your project. This can save time later if the main option becomes unavailable, allowing you to quickly refer back to the original alternatives.

A rejected product will be greyed out in your spec sheet and won’t be included in the overall project budget.

1. Click the three dots on the right-hand side next to the alternative product you want to remove.
2. From the dropdown, select Delete.

This will completely remove the product from your project.