How to Set Up Your Chemical Product Catalog (Chemical Logs)
Last updated July 6, 2026 · Owners, licensed pesticide applicators, and office staff
Your chemical product catalog is the foundation of the Chemical Logs module. Each product you add stores its identity (EPA registration number, active ingredient, signal word, restricted-use status) plus its default application rates. Those values then pre-fill the dose calculator and every application log — so entering them accurately once means every record afterward is accurate too. To record an actual application, see Application Logs, the Register, and PDF Reports.
Compliance disclaimer: Record-keeping requirements vary by state. This software helps you keep organized records but is not legal advice — you are responsible for your own regulatory compliance. Always take rates and safety data from the actual product label, which is the legal document.
Before you start
- An operator account with access to the Work menu.
- The product’s label (or its manufacturer spec sheet). The EPA registration number, active ingredient, signal word, restricted-use statement, re-entry interval, and application rates all come straight off the label.
- Nothing else needs to exist first — products are self-contained records.
Steps
- Go to Work → Chemical Products in the sidebar and click Add Chemical Product.
- Fill in the Product Details card. Only Product Name is required — everything else is optional, but the more you fill in, the more complete your application records will be.
- Fill in the Application Rates card with the label’s default rates. These become the pre-filled defaults in the dose calculator and log form (you can always override them per application).
- Click Create Chemical Product to save (or Cancel to return to the list without saving).
Field reference — Product Details
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Product Name | Yes | The product’s trade name. The only required field. |
| Manufacturer | No | The maker, e.g. Syngenta. |
| EPA Reg. # | No | The EPA registration number off the label, e.g. 100-1097. Appears on every log and PDF that uses this product. |
| Active Ingredient | No | E.g. Prodiamine 65%. |
| Category | No | Dropdown: Other, Herbicide, Insecticide, Fungicide, Fertilizer, Plant Growth Regulator. Defaults to Other. |
| Formulation | No | Liquid or Granular. Defaults to Liquid. Drives the dose calculator — carrier/tank math only applies to liquid products. |
| Signal Word | No | Dropdown: — None —, Caution, Warning, Danger. Take it from the label. |
| Re-entry Interval (hours) | No | 0 to 9999.9 hours, in 0.1-hour steps. |
| Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) | No | Checkbox, off by default. Turning this on requires an applicator license number on every log that uses the product, and shows a red RUP badge on the product list, the register, and PDFs. |
Field reference — Application Rates
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Label Rate Amount | No | The amount of product per the rate basis, e.g. 1.5. Must be positive if entered. |
| Label Rate Unit | No | Dropdown: fl oz, dry oz, pt, qt, gal, lb. Use liquid units (fl oz/pt/qt/gal) for liquid products and dry units (dry oz/lb) for granular. |
| Per Area (sq ft) | No | The area the label rate is expressed per. Defaults to 1000 — most labels state a rate per 1,000 sq ft. |
| Carrier (gal per 1,000 sq ft) | No | Gallons of water (carrier) per 1,000 sq ft, for liquid products. Feeds the calculator’s water/tank math. |
| Mix Rate Amount | No | Product per gallon of carrier, if the label mixes by volume (e.g. fl oz per gallon of water). |
| Mix Rate Unit | No | Dropdown: same unit list. Must be the same family (liquid or dry) as the label rate unit. |
| Notes | No | Free text — anything else worth keeping with the product. |
What happens next
After you click Create Chemical Product, you return to the Chemical Products list with a green “Success! Chemical product created successfully!” banner. The product immediately appears:
- In the Dose Calculator’s product dropdown, where selecting it fills in the label rate, mix rate, and carrier volume as defaults.
- In the log entry form’s product dropdown, where selecting it pre-fills the rate fields and (for RUP products) turns on the license-number requirement.
The list page is a full grid: search, sort, filter, group, and export to Excel/PDF/CSV from the toolbar. Visible columns are Name (with a red RUP badge where applicable), Category, EPA Reg #, Active Ingredient, and Label Rate; Manufacturer, Formulation, Signal Word, and UID are available as hidden columns via the column menu. Each row has Edit and Delete actions.
Tips & best practices
- Copy the label exactly. EPA reg number, signal word, and RUP status are legal facts about the product — enter them exactly as printed.
- Set the RUP flag honestly. It is your safety net: with it on, the software refuses to save an application log for that product without an applicator license number.
- Set Formulation correctly. A granular product marked Liquid will offer irrelevant carrier/tank fields in the calculator; a liquid marked Granular will hide them.
- Enter the rates even though they’re optional. They save your crew typing on every calculation and log, and reduce transcription errors in the field.
- Deleting a product doesn’t touch past logs. Application logs keep a frozen snapshot of the product’s details from the day of application, so removing a discontinued product from the catalog is safe — but it will no longer be selectable for new logs.
Troubleshooting
- “Product name is required” / the form won’t submit — Product Name is the only required field; make sure it’s filled in.
- “Label rate must be a positive number” — rate amounts must be greater than zero. Leave the field blank if the product has no default rate.
- “Select a valid label rate unit” — the unit must be one of the dropdown options (fl oz, dry oz, pt, qt, gal, lb).
- “Rate basis must be at least 1 sq ft” — Per Area (sq ft) can’t be zero or negative. Most labels use 1,000.
- “Re-entry interval must be between 0 and 9999.9 hours” — check the number; the field takes hours, not days.
- I deleted a product by mistake — deletion removes it from the catalog and dropdowns, but existing logs are unaffected. Re-create the product to make it selectable again.
- The product doesn’t show a RUP badge in the register even though it’s restricted — logs snapshot the RUP status at save time. Logs recorded before you turned the flag on keep their original (non-RUP) snapshot; new logs will carry the badge.
Related articles
- Chemical Logs Overview — what the module provides and why application logging matters
- Using the Dose Calculator — how catalog rates pre-fill the calculator
- Application Logs, the Register, and PDF Reports — recording applications with catalog products