documentation/inventory/settings/products/variants.rst

======================
Using product variants
======================

Product variants are used to manage products having different
variations, like size, color, etc. It allows managing the product at the
template level (for all variations) and at the variant level (specific
attributes).

As an example, a company selling t-shirts may have the following
product:

- B&C T-shirt

  - Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL
  - Colors: Blue, Red, White, Black

In this example, **B&C T-Shirt** is called the product template and
**B&C T-Shirt, S, Blue** is a variant. Sizes and color are
**attributes**.

The above example has a total of 20 different products (5 sizes x 4
colors). Each one of these products has its own inventory, sales, etc.

Impact of variants
==================

- **Barcode**: the code and barcode is associated to a variant, not the
  template. Every variant may have its own barcode / SKU.

- **Price**: every product variant has its own public price that is
  computed based on the template price ($20) with an optional extra
  for every variant (+$3 for color red). However, you can define
  pricelist rules that apply on the template or the variant.

- **Inventory**: the inventory is managed by product variant. You don't
  own t-shirts, you only own "T-shirts, S, Red", or "T-Shirts, M,
  Blue". For information purpose, on the product template form, you
  get the inventory that is the sum of every variant. (but the
  actual inventory is computed by variant)

- **Picture**: the picture is related to the variant, every variation
  of a product may have its own primary picture.

- **Other fields**: most of the other fields belongs to the product
  template. If you update them, it updates automatically all the
  variants. (example: Income Account, Taxes)

Should you use variants?
========================

When should you use variants?
-----------------------------

Using variants has the following impacts:

- **eCommerce**: in your online shop, the customer will only see
  product templates in the catalog page. Once the visitor click on
  such a product, he will have options to choose amongst the
  variants (colors, sizes, …)

- **Manufacturing**: Using variants allows to define only one bill of
  material for a product template and slight variations for some of
  the variants. Example: instead of creating a Bill of Material for
  "T-shirt, Red, S", you create a bill of material for "T-shirt"
  and add some lines that are specific to the dimension S, and
  other lines specific to the color Red.

- **Pricing**: The default price of a product is computed using the
  price of the product template and add the optional extra price on
  each dimension of the variant. This way, variant prices are
  easier to maintain since you don't have to set the price for
  every variant. However, it's possible to create pricelist rules
  to fix price per variants too.

When should you avoid using variants?
-------------------------------------

Using variants may add a level of complexity on the way you use Odoo.
You should consider using variants only if you need it to reduce the
complexity of managing lots of products that are similars.

As an example, importing your initial product catalog is more complex if
you use variants. You can't just import a list of products, you must
import product templates and all their related variations.

In addition to that, you should also carefully select the dimensions
that you manage as separate product templates and those as variants. As
an example, a company having these products:

- Quality: T-Shirts, Polos, Shirts

- Color: Red, Blue

- Size: S, M, L, XL

In such a use case, you could create 1 template with three dimensions of
variants (Layout, T-Shirts, Polos). But, it's recommended to create two
different product templates as T-shirts may highly differ from polos or
shirts and customer expect to see these as two different products in the
e-Commerce:

- Product Template: T-shirt

  - Color: Red, Blue
  - Size: S, M, L, XL

- Product Template: Polos

  - Color: Red, Blue
  - Size: S, M, L, XL

Configuration
=============

Activate the variant feature
----------------------------

Before you can use product variants, you must first activate the product
variants in the settings. To do so, you must go to the Sales app. In the
menu :menuselection:`Configuration --> Settings`, locate the **Products Variants** line,
and tick the option **Products can have several attributes**, then click
on **Apply**.

.. image:: media/variant01.png
   :align: center

Creating products with variants
-------------------------------

Once you have activated the variant option, you can add variants to your
products. To do so, go to the Sales module, :menuselection:`Sales --> Products`.
It is also accessible from the Purchase and inventory modules.

Now, click on the product you wish to add variants to.

In the product page, a new tab called Variants has appeared. The number
in purple written on top is the number of variants this product
currently has. To add new variants, click on the tile. In the new
window, click on **Create**.

In **Attributes**, click on the rolldown menu and select the type of
variance you wish to add. If the variant does not yet exist, you can
create it on the fly by clicking on Create and edit…

.. image:: media/variant02.png
   :align: center

In the Attributes window, the **Value** field is the description of the
attribute such as Green, Plastic or 32GB. The **Attribute** field is the
type of variant such as Color, Material or Memory.

.. image:: media/variant03.png
   :align: center

You can add a cost for the variant on the fly by adding it in the
**Attribute Price Extra** field, or choose to modify it later. Click on
**Save**.

You can also add a different barcode and internal reference to the
variant.

When you have entered all the specifications of the variant, click on
**Save**.

Managing Product Variants
=========================

Introduction
------------

The examples below are all based on this product template that has two
variant attributes :

-  T-Shirt B&C

   -  Color: Red, Blue, White

   -  Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL

Managing combination possibilities
----------------------------------

By default, with the above product template, you get 15 different
products (3 colors, 5 sizes). If the XXL size only exists for red and
blue t-shirts, you can deactivate the white product variant.

To do this, click on the **Variants** button, select the XXL, White
T-shirt. From the product form, uncheck the **Active** box of the T-shirt
White, XXL.

.. image:: media/variant04.png
   :align: center

.. tip::

  That deactivating a product is different than having an inventory of 0.

Setting a price per variant
---------------------------

You can add a cost over the main price for some of the variants of a
product.

Once you have activated the variant option, you can add variants to your
products. To do so, go to the Sales module, open :menuselection:`Sales --> Products`
and click on the product you want to modify. Click on the **Variant Prices**
button to access the list of variant values.

.. image:: media/variant05.png
   :align: center

Click on the variant name you wish to add a value to, to make the 3
fields editable. In the **Attribute Price Extra** field, add the cost of
the variant that will be added to the original price.

.. image:: media/variant06.png
   :align: center

When you have entered all the extra values, click on **Save**.

.. todo::

  .. seealso::

      * Accounting Memento: Details of Journal Entries
      * Process Overview: From Billing to Payment Orders