Congratulations on launching Katana! Whether you’re a small team or managing growing operations, this guide helps you take the next steps after setup. Use it to review and refine your setup, avoid common mistakes, and get the most value out of your tools.
Before moving forward, double-check that your core setup is complete:
Set up general settings (base currency, tax rates, locations)
Added your products, materials, BOMs, and operations
Tested core workflows (Sales → Manufacturing → Purchasing)
Entered your initial inventory via import, stock adjustment, or ecommerce sync
Completed your first stocktake to ensure inventory accuracy
Connected integrations (ecommerce, accounting, CRM, shipping)
Added your team members and assigned correct permissions
If you’re unsure about any of these steps, revisit your implementation guide before continuing.
Key areas to review after launch
Stock costs
Katana uses Moving average cost (MAC) to value inventory. This means the cost of your items is automatically recalculated whenever you receive stock (through purchases, manufacturing, or stock adjustments) so your margins and reports stay accurate.
Cost of goods sold (COGS)
Katana calculates COGS when a sales order is marked as packed or delivered, using the average cost of the product at that moment based on materials, operations, and subassemblies.
To track product-level profitability, navigate to the Sell screen, and open the Done table. There, review the COGS column and use the picked date filter to analyze a specific period.
Order sync & fulfillment
Check that your connected sales channels (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or marketplaces via Extensiv (Amazon, eBay, Walmart) are syncing smoothly with Katana.
Make sure that sales orders are pulling in as expected, stock levels reflect product availability, and fulfillment statuses are updating. This ensures accurate inventory and a reliable fulfillment process for your customers.
Managing negative stock
If stock drops below zero, it usually means something happened out of sequence, like selling or using items before they were received. Go to the Stock screen, click the item, and open Inventory Intel to trace what’s missing.
Stock adjustments vs. Stocktakes
Use the right tool for inventory corrections:
Stock adjustments are for quick fixes like breakage or minor discrepancies. Make them manually or in bulk using the ‘Update stock levels and values’ template.
Stocktakes are for scheduled inventory checks across items or locations to catch larger gaps and keep records accurate.
Adding new items
As your product line grows, you can easily add new products, materials, or services to Katana. For quick edits, add items manually. To save time with larger updates, use import templates to upload items in bulk.
If your products involve subassemblies, set those up as products in your BOM. You can enable auto-creation of manufacturing orders (MOs) for subassemblies to streamline production.
Keep items and stock up to date
Keeping your item and inventory data up to date is essential for efficient manufacturing. Use the import templates to manage products, BOMs, operations, pricing, suppliers, and more without manually editing each item.
Set safety stock levels for key raw materials, subassemblies, and finished goods to prevent production bottlenecks. Katana flags items that fall below these thresholds, so you can take action, whether it's creating a manufacturing order, purchase order, or transferring stock between locations.
Invoice and billing flows (if accounting is integrated)
Ensure that invoices and bills are syncing into your accounting system for better financial visibility.
Team management
Make sure your team has the right access, whether they’re receiving deliveries, managing inventory, or fulfilling orders. Set clear user permissions to keep everything running smoothly
Production planning and scheduling
Use the Make screen to plan and manage your production, and monitor progress either at the MO level from the Schedule tab, or by resources from the Tasks tab for more detailed control. Assign tasks to operators, and track them in real time through the Shop floor app, helping operators stay focused.
Keep an eye out for blocked orders, prioritize work based on due dates or ingredient availability, and monitor actual production time versus planned. This helps ensure smooth execution and accurate costing across your production workflow.
Monitor performance
Use the Insights screen to monitor performance and make data-driven decisions.
Sales insights help you track revenue, top-selling products, and COGS based on delivered orders.
Manufacturing insights (with the Advanced manufacturing add-on) breaks down material, product and operation costs, and more to improve efficiency.
Purchasing insights highlights supplier performance, lead times, and spending trends so you can optimize restocking.