Custom Fields missing in my installation

Hi I want to ask the customer their existing serial number so I can sell them an upgrade
I read in the forums and documentation about "Custom Fields" but they are no where to be found under my installation (I've been searching over 2 hours already! Please help I'm afraid since I upgraded to Business I've lost menus; I remember seeing more menus before.
When i open the product and Click Manage Variants I get
Successfully Saved
Before configuring the variant of your product, you need first to create one or several characteristics with the menu Products->Characteristics, and then add one or several characteristics to your product
If I click Add under Characteristics I get an empty list.

Thanks!

Hi,

For the missing menus, check if you don't set ACL rights, or try to install again hikashop over your current version.

Concerning the characteristics, you have to go in HikaShop > Products > Characteristic, click on "New" and add a name and values to this characteristic.
Then in the product page, select the characteristic and you will have he variants.

Cant reach HikaShop > Products > Characteristic (Is not there)
All I see is a tree with my products
Is Hikashop designed to work in Joomla 1.7.3?
Perhaps Im in the wrong place.
I go to /administrator and log in (as Super User)
Then in the menu Components > Hikashop > Products
Thats as far as menu takes me no Characteristic menu/button or list

I reinstalled the module no change.
I reinstalled the old (not business version) hikashop starter too 1.5.7 and 2.0.0_2012-11-26 and 2.0.0_2012-12-18 (1.5.7 wont work)
No change

HikaShop is designed to work with Joomla 1.5 - 1.6 - 1.7 - 2.5 - 3.0
You seem to have a strange problem, do you have the latest package from our website ?

Are you going in this menu:

Nope, I dont see that menu at all, i tested the installation file in another site and i can see those menus.I copied the url:
xxx.xxx.xxxxx/administrator/index.php?op..._hikashop&ctrl=field
and the used it on the site and I can reach it.
Not the most elegant but it works.

Do you had edited a backend view in Display > Views ?

Probably did, I tried different templates and still can't see the menus. We are giving this project to an expert that speaks joomla. It takes me days just to figure out how to center a title. You can close this ticket. Thank you for your time. it must be frustrating trying to explain a newbie how to make it work. Cheers.