Frequently Asked Questions¶

Find quick answers to common questions below. For in-depth guidance, follow the links to the relevant documentation pages.

General¶

What is Loupe Factory?¶

Loupe Factory is an AI-native operations platform for modern manufacturing and wholesale businesses. It connects inventory, production, customer orders, shipments, invoicing, and reporting in one place, so your team spends less time reconciling spreadsheets and more time running the operation.

For a full overview of what the platform can do, see the Platform Guide.

What is Loupe Copilot?¶

Loupe Copilot is the chat assistant built into the Loupe Factory Home dashboard. Your team can ask plain-language questions such as "Which orders are ready to ship?", "Do we have this item in stock?", or "Which production jobs are running late?" and get an answer from live business data.

Copilot answers from the records each person is already allowed to see, links back to the exact records behind the answer, and stays read-only so it cannot change or delete anything. See Loupe Copilot for examples and setup guidance.

How long can a Copilot or Loupe Help question be?¶

Up to 4,000 characters, in both Loupe Copilot and Loupe Help. Both show a counter once a question reaches 3,600 characters and won't send a longer one. See Tips for Better Questions.

How do I get started?¶

The fastest way to get up and running is to follow the Quick Start Guide. It walks you through account creation, adding your first inventory item, setting up a production process, and placing your first order.

How do onboarding and data migration work?¶

Loupe Factory onboarding is designed as a staged rollout, so your team does not have to move everything at once. New workspaces start with the role-aware Quick Start checklist, which guides admins through the core setup: industry selection, organization details, locations, product and inventory defaults, team members, customers, suppliers, production stages, and first orders.

For data migration, the best approach is to move the records that remove the most daily friction first. Most teams start with products, inventory, locations, customers, suppliers, staff, and active orders, then expand into deeper history once the operating workflow is stable. Admins can use Loupe Factory's AI-powered import tools for structured files, including CSV and Excel inventory imports with a review step before anything is confirmed.

If you are switching from spreadsheets or disconnected tools, start with a small validation import, review the mapped data, correct any field issues, and then import the remaining records in batches. Larger teams can also use integrations such as QuickBooks Online, Shopify, or Tally Prime where they apply. Every plan includes a guided onboarding tour. On Professional and Business, you can add the optional implementation package, and Loupe Factory migrates your records, connects Shopify and QuickBooks Online, and trains your team. Enterprise adds dedicated migration support for more complex rollouts.

What kinds of businesses is Loupe Factory built for?¶

Loupe Factory is for organizations that make or distribute physical products, for example factories and workshops, as well as wholesale teams that hold stock and ship to customers. If you run multi-stage production, need dependable inventory control, and fulfill orders against that stock, the platform is designed for you.

Is Loupe Factory a fit for my business?¶

Loupe Factory is a strong fit if your business makes, buys, or sells physical products and your team is starting to feel the limits of spreadsheets, disconnected order tools, or manual handoffs. It is especially useful when inventory, production, customer orders, purchase orders, shipments, invoices, customers, suppliers, staff, and reporting need to stay connected in one shared workspace.

It may not be the right fit if your business is purely service-based, software-only, or does not manage physical stock, production activity, fulfillment, or wholesale order workflows. If your only need is accounting, a storefront, or a simple invoice tool, a narrower system may be enough.

A good decision rule is this: consider Loupe Factory when staying in spreadsheets is creating stock errors, slow order follow-up, unclear production status, duplicated entry, or finance and operations working from different records. If those problems are only starting to appear, you can start small and move into the plan that matches your team size, locations, and production volume as the operation grows. See Pricing & Plans for plan guidance.

Account¶

How do I create an account?¶

Sign up at loupefactory.com. You can sign in with your work email and the method your organization uses, such as password, magic link, or single sign-on (SSO). See Account Setup for step-by-step instructions.

How do I reset my password?¶

On the login screen, click "Forgot password" and follow the instructions sent to your email. If your organization uses SSO, contact your IT administrator to reset credentials through your identity provider.

For more on managing your login and profile, see Profile.

How do I update my profile or organization settings?¶

Use Profile to update your own name, email, profile picture, or password. Use Admin Settings > Organization Settings for company-level details such as branding, locations, defaults, and compliance information. Full details are in Profile and Organization Settings.

Inventory¶

Questions about adding stock, spreadsheet updates, prices, colors, photos, Shopify, exports, and deleting inventory.

How do I add a new inventory item?¶

Go to Inventory > Add Inventory Item. Fill in the item's type, product, physical attributes, quality, and storage details.

Admins can also click Add Product to Inventory and choose Import Spreadsheets with AI to create many items from a file. See Inventory Management for the full steps.

Can I re-import an exported CSV to update items I already have?¶

Partly. Turn on Auto-merge with existing inventory. A row that matches an existing record adds its quantity and weight to that record. It can also fill fields that are still empty, such as the product label, storefront description, photo, or an attribute key with no value yet.

If the row gives a per-piece weight, the weight added is that per-piece weight times the quantity. Cost Price and Sell Price stay as recorded during a merge.

A row that lists several shapes matches only a record whose Shape lists the same shapes in the same order.

A supplied Retail Price can fill a blank when the currency and the price basis match. If a Retail Price is already stored, the supplied price must be identical. A blank incoming Retail Price keeps the stored value.

Keep these exported columns unchanged, or the row stops matching and creates a new record: Product Type, Inventory Type, Finished Type, Materials & Supplies Type, Quality, Color, Shape, Size, Weight Unit, Location, and Rack. A conflicting Retail Price does the same.

In On-hand Quantity and On-hand Weight, enter only the amount you are adding. Uploading the on-hand numbers from the export adds them again and doubles the stock. Enter 0 in both when the row should fill a blank field without changing stock. Delete the export-only columns first. See Update Existing Items from an Exported CSV.

Who can view or change inventory prices?¶

Admins can view Cost Price, Sell Price, and Retail Price (MSRP). Managers can view Sell Price and Retail Price. Members can view Retail Price. They only see prices for inventory at locations they already have access to. Only admins can change these prices, the currency, or the price basis. See Inventory Pricing.

Can I add cost components to many items from a spreadsheet?¶

Yes. Admins open Inventory > Component Rate Center > Bulk link from spreadsheets to link metal, gemstones, labor, and other components to items that already exist.

Enter one row per item. Include its tag ID, the rate profile names, the quantities per piece, and the price behaviors. Review the matches before you save. An existing link to the same profile is updated. Components that are not on the sheet stay as they are. See Link Cost Components from a Spreadsheet.

Can I organize inventory into categories?¶

Group and filter stock with the fields already on the item: type, finished type, materials & supplies type, product, shape, size, color, quality, and location. See How Loupe Factory classifies inventory.

How do I search for a specific item?¶

Use the search bar at the top of Inventory. You can filter by product, inventory type, shape, size, quality, or storage details. Inventory Management covers the rest of the filters.

Why is Color a list instead of a text box?¶

Every workspace has one shared list of colors and finishes, and each item picks from it. A free-text color let Rose Gold, Rosegold, and RG become three different colors, so search and filters missed stock. The list starts with your industry's colors. Each color shows a dot in its shade. See Item Colors.

A color my team uses is not on the list. What do I do?¶

Ask an admin to add it under Admin Settings > Product Settings > Colors. Include a swatch, and a catalog code if the color has one. That color then appears in every picker.

An admin can also type a color that is not on the list while adding or editing one item. That spelling is saved on that item only. See Managing Colors.

How do I write a shopper-facing description for an inventory item?¶

Open the item's details page, click More Actions, then select Storefront Description. Type the copy yourself, or choose a tone and click Generate to draft it from the item's product, type, shape, size, weight, and attributes. Nothing is stored until you click Save Description. See Storefront Descriptions.

What is the Media Gallery and what can I attach to an item?¶

The Media Gallery holds extra files on an inventory item or a product type, beside the main image. You can attach photos, videos, PDF documents, and 3D CAD files. There is no cap on how many.

Upload the file, or paste a link to a file hosted elsewhere. Photos can be up to 4 MB. Videos can be up to 1,024 MB. You can preview a file in Loupe Factory, add a caption, and drag the files into the order you want. The gallery is included on every plan at no charge, and adding or organizing files uses no AI credits. On Professional and above, it can also turn the main image into 10 product shots with AI. See Media Gallery.

Do gallery photos and videos sync to Shopify or JewelCloud?¶

Extra photos in an inventory item's Media Gallery sync with Shopify in both directions. A Products and stock push sends those photos with the lot's main photo. A pull imports the images listed on the variant's Additional images field. Videos, PDFs, 3D CAD files, and the product type gallery stay in Loupe Factory.

For JewelCloud jewelry styles, the feed includes the main photo, up to four additional photos from the item's gallery, and its first gallery video. Additional photos follow the saved gallery order, skipping a duplicate of the main photo. Loose stones do not include gallery files. Product type galleries, PDFs, and CAD files stay in Loupe Factory. See Additional inventory images and JewelCloud jewelry listing details.

Can AI make product photos from an item's main image?¶

Yes, on Professional, Business, and Enterprise. Open the item's Media Gallery, choose Generate product shots with AI, then choose Generate 10 shots. In about two minutes the gallery holds 10 photos of the product, each in a different setting, captioned with its style. A full set uses about 400 AI credits, and your main image stays as it is.

AI can change small details, so compare each shot with the real product before you publish it. See Generate Product Shots with AI.

Does jewelry need a Product Label to appear on JewelCloud?¶

Yes. Each jewelry style needs a Product Label for its JewelCloud style number. A blank Product Label leaves the style out of the feed, and the Tag ID cannot replace it. The style's retailer stock number is its Tag ID by default, so the Tag ID is needed too. If you choose Product label under Configuration > Retailer stock number, the label fills both and the Tag ID is not sent. Loose stones always use their Tag ID as the stock number. See JewelCloud listing references.

Can I include several gemstone shapes in a JewelCloud jewelry listing?¶

Yes. Add comma-separated shapes to the item's Shape field, such as Round, Oval. The feed includes the first five nonblank shapes in their recorded order. Additional shapes are left out and the item shows a warning. See JewelCloud jewelry listing details.

Can Loupe Factory suggest JewelCloud collections, categories, and metal colors?¶

Yes. In Integrations > JewelCloud > Listed items > Jewelry, select Suggest with AI to fill blank Collection, Category, and Metal color fields across the jewelry list. Existing values are kept. A blank Collection takes the style's top-level category, such as Rings for Cocktail. Review the suggestions and confirm that the collections exist in JewelCloud before sending the feed.

Category and metal color suggestions cost up to 2 AI credits per use. Filling collections adds no cost. If only collections are blank, or no fields are blank, the action uses no credits. Choosing values by hand also uses no credits. JewelCloud is available to admins in Jewelry and Gemstones workspaces on Professional, Business, and Enterprise. See JewelCloud listing suggestions.

Do JewelCloud collections need to exist before I send a feed?¶

Yes. In Listed items > Jewelry, select a Collection for each style, or type an existing collection's name and press Enter. A blank field sends General. That collection must also exist in JewelCloud. The feed does not create collections, and names cannot contain ™ or ®. See JewelCloud collection settings.

Does a successful JewelCloud feed mean every item is published?¶

No. Feed runs shows what Loupe Factory prepared and delivered. JewelCloud reviews the file separately, and its error report is available only in JewelCloud. Check that report and your listings after each delivery. Correct rejected items in Loupe Factory, then send another feed. See After the file arrives.

Who can write or edit storefront descriptions?¶

Admins and managers can, on every plan. Members do not see the option. Every save is written to the item's history with the person and the time.

Does Loupe Factory publish storefront descriptions to my website or Shopify?¶

On Shopify, yes.

A Products and stock push uses the product type's description first. If that description is blank, the newest Finished inventory item that has a description supplies the Shopify product copy.

A pull writes the Product description when Loupe Factory creates the Product, or when it links a Product for the first time and the description is still blank. Later pulls leave that Product description as it is.

Lot descriptions move both ways through the loupe_factory.variant_description metafield. Loupe Factory creates that metafield when it is missing.

JewelCloud includes each listed jewelry style's Storefront Description as its public product description, sent as plain text. Internal notes are not included. Other sales channels need someone to copy the text across. See Shopify descriptions and JewelCloud jewelry listing details.

Can the AI see my costs or internal pricing when it writes a description?¶

No. Unit prices, currency, rate details, cost components, internal notes, tag IDs, and HS or HSN codes are removed before the item is sent to the AI. The draft never mentions price, availability, discounts, or shipping. See What the AI reads, and what it never sees.

Can I send inventory photos to Shopify?¶

Yes. A manual Products and stock push sends three kinds of photos:

• A Product photo chosen in Loupe Factory becomes the Shopify featured image.
• Each Finished lot's main photo becomes that variant's image.
• Extra photos from that lot's Media Gallery become additional images for the variant.

Photos that were pulled from Shopify are not uploaded again. Removing a photo in Loupe Factory does not delete the file in Shopify. See Product and lot photos.

Can I close my laptop after a Shopify sync is queued?¶

Yes. Once the sync is queued, it runs on Loupe Factory's cloud workers. You can close the laptop and come back later. Refresh progress on the Shopify page loads the progress already saved. It does not start the job again, and it does not make the job finish sooner. See Sync progress.

How are the Shopify SKU and variant title set?¶

The lot's Tag ID becomes the SKU. The variant Title uses the lot's Product Label. When Product Label is blank, Title uses the Tag ID. Every Finished lot becomes its own Shopify variant. The title shoppers see can also include Color, such as LOT001 / Red. A filled Product Label is also sent to loupe_factory.product_label. See Shopify product and inventory mapping.

Who can export inventory records?¶

Workspace admins only. Managers and members do not see Export CSV or Export All CSV, even if their role lets them view or manage inventory. Viewing Retail Price does not grant CSV export access. See Exporting Inventory to CSV for the full steps.

Why do I need a code if I am already signed in?¶

An inventory export can move stock and pricing data outside Loupe Factory. The one-time email code confirms that an active admin, rather than an unattended signed-in session, approved the download. The six-digit code expires after ten minutes and works for one export only. The same check runs on customer, supplier, staff, sales order, purchase order, and production job list CSVs. See Verified list exports.

Which list exports need a one-time email code, and who can run them?¶

Customers, suppliers, staff, sales orders, purchase orders, and production jobs use the same in-app one-time email code as inventory. Customer, supplier, sales order, and production job list CSVs need an admin. Staff and purchase order list CSVs allow admins and managers. The code never expands what that person is allowed to do. See Verified list exports.

How do I change the order of the product list on Inventory?¶

On All inventory or Finished inventory, open the order button beside the search box. Choose Most items, Heaviest first, Biggest 30-day gain, Recently updated, or Name A-Z. The choice stays in that browser. See Change the product list order.

Does Export All CSV include items hidden by my filters?¶

Yes. Export All CSV ignores the active tab, filters, and search. It downloads every inventory record in your workspace at the time of export, including stocked-out and rejected items hidden from the current view. Open All Inventory to use it.

Is the CSV ever sent by email?¶

No. The CSV downloads only to the exporting admin's browser. Loupe Factory emails a security receipt to that admin and the workspace's billing contact. The receipt includes only the export type, record count, exporting admin, and time. It never contains the CSV or any inventory data.

What about the Materials & Supplies page?¶

Export CSV on the Materials & Supplies page downloads the visible table columns as shown on screen. It does not include the Storefront Description column. For exports from other inventory pages, see Exporting Inventory to CSV.

Can I delete all inventory items at once?¶

Yes, if you are an admin. Go to Admin Settings > Inventory Settings, scroll to Reset, and click Delete all inventory items under Inventory Records. Loupe Factory emails you a six-digit code. The code expires after ten minutes. You and your workspace's billing contact receive a security receipt after the deletion.

The deletion removes every inventory item of every type, plus the cost components and marketplace listings attached to them. Inventory types, products, settings, production jobs, orders, and tasks are kept. This cannot be undone. Export with Export All CSV first if you might need the records later. See Deleting All Inventory Items.

Can managers use inventory from all locations?¶

Yes, on the Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans. An admin turns on Managers can use inventory from all locations in Organization Settings > Locations, below the Add location button. Managers can then view and select inventory items and products from every location.

On Starter, that option is unavailable. The workspace has to be on Professional, Business, or Enterprise before managers can use inventory from other locations. Members still see only the inventory items and products at their assigned location.

Production¶

How do I set up a production process?¶

Go to Production and create a production job from the real order demand. You will select the associated order, line item, stage, source inventory, requested specs, and responsible staff member. See Production Tracking for the full job-creation flow.

How does Loupe Factory track waste and scrap?¶

When you receive a production job, Loupe Factory lets you record received output, wasted weight, and optional rejection or scrap separately. That data feeds job progress, yield, and waste metrics automatically. See Production Tracking for details.

Can I track multiple production stages for a single job?¶

Yes. Loupe Factory supports stage-based production workflows, so teams can create and track production work at the correct operational stage while keeping source inventory, received output, and losses visible. The Production Tracking guide explains how to manage that flow.

Can one production job request more than one shape?¶

Yes. Select every shape the work calls for. The size list follows. Turn on Set shape & size per source if each parcel needs its own request. When the work returns, the receive form starts with one output per requested shape, each with its own lot, tag, and rejection record. See Production Tracking.

Orders¶

How do I create a customer order?¶

Go to Orders > Sales Orders and click Add new sales order. Select the customer, assign the order lead, enter clear notes, review the AI-prepared requested products, then complete the order details. See Order Management for the full workflow.

How do I track the status of an order?¶

Open the order record to review the requested products, linked production work, invoicing progress, shipment activity, and any commercial follow-up. You can also use the order list to focus on the records that need action. See Order Management for details.

Can I generate an invoice directly from an order?¶

Yes. Open the order and click Create Invoice. Bank details, the buyer's address, tax IDs, and the due date fill in from records you already own. See Creating an Invoice.

How do I record a payment on an order?¶

Open the sales order and click Record payment, next to the payment status. Enter the amount, the date it landed, the method, and the bank reference. Paid, partially paid, unpaid, and the outstanding balance all come from those records. See Recording Payments.

What if the customer paid in another currency?¶

Pick the currency that arrived. Enter the figure on your statement, not a rate. Loupe Factory stores both amounts and freezes the rate at that moment. See Get paid in a currency you do not price in.

Why does an order say Pending instead of Unpaid?¶

Money arrived before anything was invoiced. That is an advance, not a settlement, so the order reads Pending. A proforma does not count toward the billed figure. See What the payment status means.

What do Ordered, Invoiced, and Paid mean on a customer?¶

Ordered is what they committed to buy. Invoiced is what you billed. Paid is what arrived. Each currency has its own block. See Lifetime value.

Where do I save bank details so they print on every invoice?¶

Admin Settings > Organization Settings > Compliance. Enter bank name, branch, account name and number, IFSC or routing code, SWIFT, and IBAN once. India exporters can save IEC, LUT, and AD there too. See Compliance Details.

How does Loupe Factory pick IGST versus CGST plus SGST?¶

Place of supply comes from the customer's state. Same-state sales suggest CGST plus SGST. A different state or an export suggests IGST. You can always override it. This is a form suggestion, not tax advice. States match as exact text, so MH and Maharashtra are different. See Buyer tax ID and place of supply.

What can a manager do on a sales order?¶

Managers can find Sales Orders, open a sales-order details page, and create an order through the standard form, Create with AI, or Pick from inventory. Payments, invoices, exports, edits, cancellations, and customer records stay admin-only. See Manager sales order access.

Where did the save confirmation go?¶

It is in the notification bell at the top of every page. The bell keeps your last 20 notices in that browser tab. Close the tab and they are gone. See Notification bell.

Can I create a Bill of Materials for an order?¶

Yes. Open the sales order or order line and use Create BOM to build a Bill of Materials for the workflow you need, such as an estimate, quote, production BOM, actual-cost BOM, invoice BOM, or internal costing BOM.

Loupe Factory lets you link the BOM to the right order line, add rows from saved cost components, rate profiles, production context, or manual entries, then review the saved BOM in the read-only BOM Summary modal. Customer documents hide sensitive cost, margin, sourcing, exchange rate, and internal note details, while internal BOMs keep the full costing record. See Bill of Materials for the full workflow.

Can invoices show product images beside line items?¶

Yes, on the Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans. Admins can go to Admin Settings > Orders Settings > Invoices and turn on Add inventory product photos to invoices. The invoice preview and generated PDF will show the image attached to each billed order line item.

This setting is off by default. If an order line item does not have its own image, that row stays text-only. Loupe Factory does not automatically use the inventory item photo as a substitute on the final invoice.

Billing¶

Which Loupe Factory plan should I choose?¶

Choose Starter for one login user, one location, and one active production job. It starts with a 30-day free trial. Choose Professional when a growing team needs shared workflows, up to three locations, Shopify, Tally Prime, Bills of Materials, shipment tracking, or export invoices.

Business is designed for manufacturers and wholesalers that need 5 included login users, unlimited locations, unlimited active production jobs, advanced production reports, custom inventory IDs, or automatic HS code retrieval. Choose Enterprise when procurement, custom roles, OIDC or SAML SSO, migration, data residency, self-hosting, or dedicated support is part of the rollout. See Pricing & Plans for current prices and limits.

What are AI credits?¶

AI credits are the unit of consumption for Loupe Factory's built-in AI capabilities, such as automated data extraction, smart suggestions, and Loupe Copilot questions. Each AI action consumes a certain number of credits depending on its complexity.

See AI Credits & Billing for a full breakdown of how credits are consumed.

Do Loupe Copilot questions use AI credits?¶

Yes. A question uses AI credits as soon as Copilot works out what you asked, even when it replies with a clarifying question instead of an answer. Normal dashboard work, opening records, and opening reports do not use credits.

Every plan includes a monthly allowance: Starter includes 500 credits, Professional 3,000, Business 9,000, and Enterprise 25,000. Admins can top up credits or manage on-demand usage from Admin Settings > AI Credits Usage. See AI Credits & Billing for details.

Does writing a storefront description use AI credits?¶

Only when you click Generate. Credits are calculated from token usage at 1 credit per 1,000 tokens, rounded up, so a single draft usually costs a small number of credits. Typing or editing the description by hand is free, and so is saving it. See Storefront Descriptions.

How many AI credits do image edits and product shots use?¶

Images use 10 credits per started 1,000 tokens, ten times the rate for text, so each image uses at least 10 credits. A studio background edit uses from about 30 credits for a small image to 120 or more for a large one, and a ground shadow roughly doubles that. A full set of 10 product shots uses about 400 credits. An image edit or product shot starts only when at least 40 credits are available. See AI Credits & Billing.

How do I purchase additional AI credits?¶

Go to Admin Settings > AI Credits Usage and select Buy Credits. You can choose a credit bundle and complete the purchase with your saved payment method. See AI Credits & Billing for details.

Where can I view my billing history?¶

Your invoices and payment history are available under Billing > History. See AI Credits & Billing for more information.