Now that your accounts are ready, let's build out your camp store. This is where you'll set up what you're selling, how it's organized, and how everything appears to your staff and families.
Understand Your Store Structure
Your camp store is organized into three levels:
Departments → Categories → Items.
Think of departments as your broad groupings (like clothing or snacks), categories as the subcategories within them (like T-shirts or candy under snacks), and individual items as the products themselves. This structure drives how your staff navigates the cash register and how your reports are organized later.
Video Tutorial
Tax Rates
If you charge sales tax, define those rates first. Some camps keep it simple with one rate, while others create combinations depending on how items are taxed.
Navigate to Accounts > Setup > Billing Items.
Select your season and the account you want to work in (like your Camp Canteen)
Click the gray Tax Rates button. Click Define New.
Enter the tax group name and tax rate.
Click Save.
💡 Tip: You can assign a default tax rate to a category, but override it for individual items if needed.
Create Departments
Departments represent different types of items for sale in your store, similar to a store. For example, you might have a department for men's shoes and another for girls' dresses.
Click the gray Departments button. Click Define New.
Enter the department name and select a tax rate group.
Click Save.
Create Categories
Categories live inside departments. For example, "candy" and "drinks" are categories under "snacks."
Click the gray Categories button. Click Define New
Select the department from the dropdown.
Enter the category name and select a tax rate group.
Click Save.
Add Items to your Store
Now add the products you're selling. You'll enter the cost, retail price, inventory, and more.
Click Add Item under the department where you want to add the product.
Select a category from the dropdown.
Enter the item name (example: "Winter Camp Sweater").
Enter the wholesale price (for your reporting only—not visible to families).
Enter the retail price (what families and campers see).
The tax rate will default based on your category, but you can override it.
Enter the barcode if you use a barcode scanner (most camps use the on-screen register instead).
Set the status to Active or Inactive.
Enter your starting inventory and the purchase date (defaults to today).
Click Save or Save + Add Another to continue adding items.
Configure Account Settings
Control how the account appears to families, set up low inventory alerts, and enable funding so families can add money.
💡Tip: It's critical you don't miss enabling funding in this account setting—you must turn this on to allow families to add money to campers' accounts in CampInTouch!
Click the Account Settings button on the right side under Definitions.
Rename the account if needed (example: "Snack Shack" instead of "Camp Canteen")
Decide whether parents see balances, transactions, or both.
Limit the account to specific sessions if needed.
If families will add funds online, make sure Funding is Enabled and set your minimum and maximum amounts.
To set up low inventory notifications, check the box for Send Threshold Notification (Override).
Enter the default quantity level for all items (example: when you have 5 left, send an alert).
Click Save.
Set Up Low Inventory Notifications
Get alerts when popular items are running low so you know when to restock. You'll control these notifications in a few places depending on what you're setting.
Click the Account Settings button on the right side under Definitions.
Check the box for Send Threshold Notification (Override).
Enter the default quantity level for all items (example: when you have 5 left, send an alert).
Click Save.
You can override the default threshold for individual items:
Click the yellow Edit button next to an item.
Uncheck Use Default Threshold Qty to set a custom quantity for that item.
Click Save.
To set up who receives notifications:
Click the blue Edit link next to "Low Inventory Notifications will not be sent". at the top of the Billing page.
Choose tower or email notifications for each person.
You can also add extra emails (like your inventory distributor).
Click Save.