One this I overlooked - here is how you tie the inventory all together.  Now that you have Brand/items with clolor modifiers, you inventory is now by brand/item so it may be difficult (if you have a large inventory) to know when it is time to re-order.  If you can manually manage your inventory then this will work.  Simply add the inventory count for all colors for each brand/item/price as one number to keep track.  If you need a deeper count of colors and so-on or your are selling online.  You may need to rethink my suggestions.  ...this should get you started at leasts.

As of now we do not sell online we are a small maybe about a thousands or so items in our inventory but are hoping to grow would it be smart to just enter in a "matte Lipstick" then add each colors as a modifer

@angiesmakeup First off, I have sold a grand total of $0.00 worth of lipstick in my lifetime. 🙂

Ask yourself what is important for your business.  Do you need to know how many shades of "Savory Burgundy #14" you have in stock? Or is it more important to know how many "Miss Clair Brand" your sell vs "Clayban Original" you sell? Once you decide what you need to keep track of then you set up your system.

Scenario 1: I want to compare each brand of lipstick I sell but do not care about the individual colors.  

Add an item - Lipstick.  Add multiple prices with each price being a brand name.  Add a color wheel modifier or nothing at all as it is not necessary for your needs.

Scenario 2: I want to track the shades of lipstick and see what brand sells the best.

Add an item - Brand Name Lipstick. Add one price then add a color wheel modifier.  If you want more details add a detailed color-wheel with a cheat sheet of codes for each shade of lipstick. This will allow you to track those details.

Scenario 3: I sell lipstick for $1.99 - big deal, I just want to add the item and track how many tubes I have in stock. (does it even come in tubes anymore?) 🙂

Add an item - Lipstick $1.99 and call it a day.

Hope this helps.

@angiesmakeup I may have misspoke one detail.  

I don't think Square allows tracking of modifiers - that's just too much control for us. :-).  This is unfortunate.  If this is, indeed the case then you will need to add each shade of lipstick as a separate sub-item with its own price even though they are all the same price.  The modifier will be useless for tracking purposes.  However, if you have time to export the detailed data of your sales you can create a spreadsheet customized to track what you want.  This is how I have my tracking system set-up - I have not checked lately, every once in a while Square surprises me with a new feature I can acutually use. 🙂 Mabe it's time to test it again.

@Feedback2016 makes great points here, as there are multiple ways you can enter items depending on how you prefer your reporting.

In regards to uploading inventory more efficiently, you might want to try using the bulk import tool. This will allow you to download our template and enter your item information into a spreadsheet rather than creating items one by one in your Dashboard or the Register app itself. 

You can view our Support Center article Import Items Online for a step-by-step. 

Once your items are uploaded, you can then Manage Inventory and Alerts In Bulk.

For your students, you can use the Customer Directory and Customer Profiles to store their information and keep track of their purchases. 

There's a helpful video in this Support Center article: Get Started with Customer Engagement

@EJ_ I am one of those who do no use stored customer information because I do not have repeat customers year on year.  My clients arrive from other states or countries and stay for a short time then leave never to return.  

I think I need to rethink my system after reading this post.  The customer engagement feature sould benefit me - something I never thought would be possible.  While my clients are in town making multiple purchases, I can use the customer engagement to keep track of their multiple purchases on the short term.  

Sometimes the simple features that are overlooked when setting up a new system on square.  EJ thanks making me re-think a basic feature I thought would never apply to me.  I am also going to play with that bulk uploader.  I do not have the enventory @angiesmakeup is speaking of, however, it sounds like it might be an easier process than taking my register offline and adding them one at a time.  

Angiesmakeup - Square Register set-up evolves - regularly.  I challenge you to keep us updated on how it best works for you.  Good luck with your new endeavors.

Cheers