QuickBooks Commerce offers different types of variant structure in order to better represent the products you are selling.
In this guide, we will provide information on the differences between Manufactured Variant, Bundles and Pack Sizes. This will help you decide which product structure is best suited when creating your variants.
Here are the differences which make one variant structure unique from the rest.
Primary Differences
| Product | Components can be sold separately | Constant stock level recalculations | Accounting for labor | Support for 100s of components | Accounting for wastage |
| Bundles | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Pack Size | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Manufactured Variant | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Manufactured Variant
Manufactured Variants refer to products that you will be producing. This type of variant requires Bill of Materials which contains the list of components needed to manufacture a finished product.
Components of Bill of Materials (BOM) are never linked to finished products. In principle, stock levels of components do not influence the listed levels of finished products. Instead, Production Orders are required to convert a certain amount of stock of components into a required amount of a finished product.
Example:
A wristwatch is your Manufactured Variant. For you to be able to manufacture a wristwatch, you’ll need to first create a Bill of Materials containing the following components a watch strap, watch face and watch box.
Once the BOM has been made, you may create a Production Order in order to begin manufacturing your wristwatch.
Bundles
Bundles refer to a product that comprises of different variants bundled together possibly in varying quantities.
Make use of the Bundle if you will be selling different variants bundled as one product. The available stock of your Bundle is calculated based on the available stock of its components on the same location. The quantity of the Bundle that you can sell will also depend on the component that has the least available stock.
Example:
A bundle is a Fruit Basket that you sell as an individual product. Your Fruit Basket consists of 2 Apples, 2 Oranges, and 1 Banana.
When a customer purchases a Fruit Basket, 1 Fruit Basket will be counted as a sale, while in your inventory; 2 Apples, 2 Oranges, and 1 Banana will be taken out of your inventory.
If you have 10 Apples, 10 Oranges, and 1 Banana, you can only have 1 Fruit Basket available due to that 1 Banana.
Pack Size
Pack Size refers to grouping the same product into multiple quantities and selling it as 1 variant.
Example:
You sell a can of beer for $2. You may sell it in a pack of 6 at a different price which means that your customer will be able to save more if they purchase a pack of beer compared to buying it individually.