How to build an inventory system

Hi @Ronky'sCorner, it really depends on whether you need to have extra information about the categories or just mark them.

You will likely want to know which categories are selling the most and other related data. In that case, a linked record would be advisable. However, if you only need to know the category, a single select field would suffice.

It really depends on your use case.

Happy to help if needed.

Felipe @Aspirity

Linked records are usually the best way to connect products across categories in Airtable. You might want to try using a junction table if you need many-to-many relationships, or consider using lookup fields to pull in data from linked categories.

If linked records feel clunky, you could also try using single/multiple select fields for simpler category assignments, or formula fields to create dynamic connections based on product attributes.

Hey ​@Ronky'sCorner,

As mentioned above, that will depend on your specific needs. In short:

You’ll probably want to use linked record for categories if:

(i) You need additional data for such Categories (e.g. Type, Created Date, Pricing Tier, Expiration Periods, or any other similar data point for categories themselves); or 

(ii) You’ll be using the Categories under more than one linked table (e.g. Product gets linked to Categories, but also Providers get linked to Categories). In this way you will avoid (a) creating the category manually in two different single select fields each time a new category needs to be used; (b) avoid typos or mismatches which is crucial for automations and data analysis; (c ) generating reports adequately -i.e. aggregating data at a category level for example.

You’ll probably want to use single select field if:
(i) or (ii) described above are not needed. In this case, you will prefer having a more lean and simple data base schema!

Feel free to grab a slot using this link if you’d like to go through your specific use case together. I’d be Happy to help!

Mike, Consultant @ Automatic Nation