Product variants

Some products come in variations: a T-shirt in S/M/L and three colours, a phone in two storage sizes. Instead of creating a separate product for each, you create one variable product and give it variants — one per combination — each with its own SKU, barcode, price, cost and stock.

🟢 For everyone

Variants need the Product Variations module (catalog_variations) to be switched on, plus product-edit permission. Managing variants uses catalog.product-variants.*.

Screenshot pendingRoute /products/create with Variable product selected, Advanced tab

On a variable product, the Advanced tab holds variant configuration and the generated variant list.

How it works

You build variants in two steps: configure which option groups and values apply, then generate a variant for every combination.

The option groups themselves (Size, Colour…) are set up once and reused — see Variant options.

Step by step

1. Create a product and choose Variable product as the template, then Save it. (Variant configuration is enabled only after the product exists.)
2. Open the Advanced tab. Under Variant configuration, choose your Variant option groups (e.g. Size and Colour).
3. For each group, pick the allowed values (e.g. S, M, L for Size). The panel shows the estimated combinations.
4. Select Save Variant Config, then Generate Variants — one variant is created per combination.
5. Each generated variant appears in the Variants table. Open one to set its SKU, Barcode, Price, Cost, per-warehouse stock, and its option values.

Add a single variant by hand

You don't have to generate the full grid. Use Add variant to create one variant and pick its option values yourself.

Per-variant settings

Each variant is edited in its own modal:

Field	Notes
SKU / Barcode	Unique per variant
Price / Cost	Overrides the parent product's price
Base unit	The unit this variant is stocked in
Enabled	Show this variant as available
Track inventory	Track stock per warehouse for this variant
Allow selling when out of stock	Let it sell past zero
Tax rates	Leave blank to inherit the parent's taxes
Modifier groups	Leave blank to inherit the parent's modifiers
Warehouse stock	On hand / available / reorder levels, per warehouse
Variant image	Optional, per variant

A variant can even have its own recipe — useful when a "Large" size consumes more ingredients than a "Small".

At the register

When a cashier adds a variable product, the POS asks them to pick the exact variant (size, colour) before it goes in the cart. See Variants, weight & modifiers.

Next steps

• Variant options
• Products
• Recipes & ingredients
• Variants, weight & modifiers (at the till)