Product and variant fields
A product groups one or more variants — see how the catalogue works for what that split means. These tables cover what each one holds and where you set it.
Product fields
| Field | What it is | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The product's name. | Product details card when creating the product; afterwards via the product page's kebab menu → Edit, which opens the Edit product dialog. |
| Description | An optional merchandising description. | Product details card at creation; afterwards via the kebab menu → Edit. |
| Product type | Product type — see product types. | Product details card, when creating the product only. Locked afterwards. |
| Status | Catalogue status — see catalogue statuses. | The status badge on the product page, or the kebab menu → Edit. |
| Brand | Brand. | Product details card at creation; afterwards via the kebab menu → Edit. |
| Taxonomy category | Taxonomy category — Department › Class › Subclass. | Product details card at creation; afterwards via the kebab menu → Edit. |
| Tags | Free-text labels for filtering, search and reporting. | Product details card at creation; afterwards via the kebab menu → Edit. |
| Image | The product's cover image. | The cover image tile on the product page. There's no image field at creation — add it once the product exists. |
Variant fields
| Field | What it is | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| SKU | SKU — required, letters, numbers, dots, dashes and underscores only, unique across the organisation among variants that haven't been deleted. | Set when the variant is created; changed afterwards in the variant's detail sheet, alongside title, weight, country of origin and HS code, all committed together on Save. |
| Display title | An optional stored override for the variant's label. Left blank, it falls back to the option values joined together, then to the product's name. | The Title field in the variant's detail sheet, saved together with SKU on Save. |
| Status | Catalogue status — see catalogue statuses for what Archived does that the other three don't. | The inline badge in the Variants table or the detail sheet — saves immediately. |
| Stock tracking | Whether orders reserve and allocate stock against this variant. Off suits variants that are sold but never held in stock. | Set when the variant is created, defaulted from the product's type. No control changes it afterwards. |
| Tax category | Tax category — the rate the variant is charged at when it's taxable. | The variant's detail sheet — saves immediately on change. |
| Taxable | Whether the variant is charged tax at all. | The "Charge tax / sync to Shopify" checkbox in the detail sheet — saves immediately on change. |
| Accounting category | Accounting category — which account revenue and cost post to. | The variant's detail sheet — saves immediately on change. |
| Weight | The variant's weight, in grams. | Set when the variant is created; changed afterwards in the detail sheet, alongside SKU, title, country of origin and HS code, committed together on Save. |
| Country of origin | Where the variant is manufactured — needed on customs and commercial paperwork for cross-border dispatch. | The detail sheet, alongside SKU, title, weight and HS code, committed together on Save. |
| HS code | The Harmonized System code for customs — 6 to 13 digits. | The detail sheet, alongside SKU, title, weight and country of origin, committed together on Save. |
| Rotation strategy | None, FIFO or FEFO. Affects receiving on every site; affects picking only on a site using advanced locations — see Rotation strategy on this page for the detail. | The variant's detail sheet — saves immediately on change. |
| Position | The variant's order within the product's Variants table. | Drag the row by its handle in the Variants table. |
| Image | The variant's own image. Falls back to the product's cover image when unset. | The image tile at the top of the variant's detail sheet. |
Rotation strategy
Rotation strategy has two separate effects, and it's only fully live at one of them:
- At receiving, all three settings are real everywhere. FIFO and FEFO both require a lot to be captured when goods are received against the variant; FEFO additionally requires an expiry date. None requires neither.
- At picking, the setting only changes anything on a site using advanced locations. There, FIFO picks the earliest-received stock first and FEFO the earliest-expiring; on a site using simple locations, the setting has no effect on which stock is picked.