How do I find companies based on the products or services they provide?

In WebCATS, one of the most powerful features is the ability to generate subsets for all the various data entry forms. In order to find all the companies that manufacture a particular product or offer a particular service, you will generate a client subset.

There are two ways to achieve the desired results and each has its own benefits and drawbacks. You can either search on the product and services description field in the client record, or you can search for a particular NAICS code.

In this FAQ we will discuss both of these options.

How to search for companies by product and service description...

  1. Select View|Clients/Pre-clients and click on the Client Subset button.
  2. Assuming that you only want to search for active clients, place a check mark in the Client/Pre-Client Type field.
  3. Next, find the Product or Service Description field and place a check mark in this field as well.
  4. Click Specify Criteria to open the subset criteria screen.
  5. If you'd like to search client records for centers other than, or in addition to, the current active center, expand the Center(s) selection field and select/deselect the centers you would like included in the subset.
  6. Choose the type of client that you want to search for (presumably active clients only) and enter in the keyword that best describes the type of company you want to find, as shown in the next graphic.


    7. Note: Put a wildcard (*) before and after your keywords as shown previously. If you have multiple distinct keywords that you want to search for, then separate them with a comma and put wildcards around each one. The above example will search for all companies that have either the keyword "construction" or "bridge" in their product and services description.

  7. If you'd like to save this subset, select the Save Subset for future use? option and enter a descriptive name for it in the adjacent Name field. For more information on managing saved subsets, view the FAQ titled Can I save my subset for future use or to share it with other WebCATS users?.
  8. Click Finish and you will be presented with the results of your search.

How to search for companies by NAICS...

Rather than searching by product description, you can also search by product code. The best and most descriptive coding system is the NAICS system. However, if you prefer to search by FSC or SIC code, these same steps can be used. The benefit of searching by NAICS versus searching by product or service description is that you don't have to worry about spelling errors or differences in the way people describe a business. For example, in the previous example we searched for all construction companies, but what if a counselor didn't use the word "construction" to describe a particular company's capabilities and instead said that they are involved in "building overpasses." In this case, a search for construction or bridge would not be complete. A search by code might be more inclusive.

  1. Before you create the subset, you should find out which codes best apply to the types of companies you want to search for. You can find codes at the NAICS Web site, http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/naicod02.htm.
  2. Select View|Clients/Pre-clients and click on the Client Subset button.
  3. Assuming that you only want to search for active clients, place a check mark in the Client/Pre-Client Type field.
  4. Next, find the Product Codes, NAICS field and place a check mark in this field.
  5. Click Specify Criteria to open the subset criteria screen.
  6. If you'd like to search client records for centers other than, or in addition to, the current active center, expand the Center(s) selection field and select/deselect the centers you would like included in the subset.
  7. On the Client Subset screen choose the type of client that you want to search for (presumably active clients only) and enter in the code(s) that best describe the type of company you want to find, as shown in the next graphic.


  8. If you'd like to save this subset, select the Save Subset for future use? option and enter a descriptive name for it in the adjacent Name field. For more information on managing saved subsets, view the FAQ titled Can I save my subset for future use or to share it with other WebCATS users?.
  9. Click Finish and you will be presented with the results of your search.


The capabilities of subsets are endless and are available for most record types. For more information on subsets, view our other popular resources on this topic:
 

Want more? Browse our extensive list of WebCATS FAQs.

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