Updating and Managing Product Variants

After creating and saving a product with variants, you can return at any time to update each variant's full details on its dedicated variant edit page.

From the product edit page, you can also manage the options and values that make up your variants or update multiple variants at once using bulk editing tools.

This guide explains how to manage variants after a product has been saved.

Editing a Variant's Full Details

After saving the product, each variant has its own edit page where you can view and update its complete information.

Navigating the Variant Edit Page

To access a variant's edit page:

1. From the product edit page, scroll to the Variant list.

2. Click the variant you want to update. The variant's dedicated edit page opens.

   

3. Update the variant using the settings described in the following sections.

   

4. When you're finished, click Update to save your changes.

To switch between variants, select another variant from the list on the left, or use the previous and next controls in the upper-right corner.

To create a new variant based on the current one, click Copy in the upper-right corner.

Updating Variant Option Values and Images

In the Variant section, you can update the option values for the current variant, such as Color and Size, and add a variant image.

• Option values: Edit the value directly in the corresponding field. The available fields depend on the options configured for the product.
• Variant image: 
  • Add: Click + Add style image to add an image. Supported formats include .jpg, .png, .webp, .gif, and .svg, with a maximum file size of 20 MB.
  • Update: If an image has already been added, click the image to Edit it by updating its ALT attribute and Caption description, or by cropping, flipping, and rotating it. You can also click Delete to remove the image.

Updating Pricing and Tax Settings

In the Prices section, you can configure the following:

• Price: Enter the selling price of the variant.
• Compare at price: Enter a price to display for comparison with the selling price, such as the original price of a discounted variant. This price is displayed with a strikethrough to indicate the discount.
• Product cost: Enter your cost for the variant. SHOPLINE automatically calculates the Profit and Margin based on the price and product cost.
• Charge tax on this product: Select this option to charge tax on the variant.

For more information, refer to "Setting Prices, Costs, and Tax for a Product."

Managing Inventory

In the Inventory section, you can manage the variant's identifiers, inventory tracking settings, and inventory quantities across locations.

Setting Variant Identifiers

Use the following fields to identify the variant:

• SKU code: Enter or update the SKU used to identify the variant.
• Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.): Enter or update the variant's barcode, if applicable.

Configuring Inventory Tracking

Choose how SHOPLINE tracks and handles inventory for the variant:

• Track inventory: Select this option to have SHOPLINE track inventory for the variant.
• Continue selling when out of stock: When Track inventory is enabled, select this option to continue selling the variant when its available inventory reaches zero.

Checking Inventory Available Online

Inventory available online shows the quantity of the variant currently available for online sales.

• Click See calculation method to view how the available quantity is calculated.
• Click Log to view records of changes to the inventory available online.

Viewing and Updating Inventory by Location

Under the All tab, you can view inventory quantities for each location where the variant is stocked:

• Unavailable: Inventory that can't currently be sold.
• Committed: Inventory allocated to orders.
• Available: Inventory available for sale.
• On-hand: Total inventory physically stocked at the location.

To update the inventory, hover over the Available or On hand quantity, then click the pencil icon next to the quantity. Depending on the inventory type, you can adjust the quantity based on the current inventory or set it to a specified quantity.

To add or remove locations where the variant is stocked, click the pencil icon next to Locations, select or deselect locations, and click Update.

Viewing Incoming Inventory

Switch to the Incoming tab to view inventory that is expected to arrive at each location.

You can also use the available links to create an inventory transfer or purchase order when you need to add incoming inventory.

Reviewing Inventory Adjustments

Click Adjustment history to review previous adjustments made to the variant's inventory.

Updating Shipping Details for a Variant

The Shipping section lets you configure whether the variant requires shipping and update its shipping details:

• Shipping required: Select this option if the variant is a physical item that needs to be shipped to customers..
• Expand Add package, weight, country/region of origin, and HS code to configure additional shipping details: 
  • Package: Select a saved package size.
  • Weight: Enter the variant's weight and select the appropriate unit.
  • Country/region of origin: Select the country or region where the variant was manufactured.
  • Harmonized System (HS) code: Enter the variant's HS code for customs purposes.

Managing a Variant's Custom Fields

If your store uses variant metafields, they appear at the bottom of the page under variant metafields — for example, a SKU details field. These work the same way as product metafields; see "Adding Custom Product Information with Metafields (Custom Fields)" for details.

Deleting a Variant

To remove a single variant, click Delete variant at the bottom of its edit page. To save any other changes on this page instead, click Update.

Managing Variant Options and Values on an Existing Product

After a product is saved, you can continue to add, edit, remove, and sort variant options and values from the Variants section on the product edit page. These actions work the same way as when creating a product. For detailed instructions, refer to "Creating and Setting Up a Product with Variants."

For an existing product, you can also create a new variant directly:

1. In the Variants section, click Add variant.

   

2. On the variant creation page, configure the new variant's details.
3. Save the variant when you're finished.

Updating Variants from the Variant List

After a product is saved, you can continue to manage variants from the Variant list on the product edit page. Most features and actions work the same way as when creating the product. For detailed instructions on using the Variant list, refer to "Creating and Setting Up a Product with Variants."

When managing an existing product, there are two aspects of the Variant list that require special attention, as described below.

Choosing Which Locations to Update

Use the All locations dropdown in the top-right corner of the Variant list section to select the location whose inventory you want to view and update in the Inventory column.

Only locations where inventory was set for the variant when the product was created can be updated directly from the Variant list. Locations that haven't been enabled for the variant are grayed out and can't be selected.

To enable an additional inventory location, open the variant's individual edit page and add the location in the Inventory section. For detailed instructions, refer to "Managing Inventory" under "Editing a Variant's Full Details" in this article.

Bulk-Editing Multiple Variants at Once

After a product is saved, you can use Bulk edit to update multiple variants in a spreadsheet-style editor.

You can access the bulk editor in either of the following ways:

• Click Bulk edit in the upper-right corner of the Variant list to edit all variants.

  

• Select the variants you want to bulk edit, then click Bulk edit in the toolbar to edit only the selected variants.

  

Both entry points open the same bulk editor, displaying either all variants or only the variants you selected.

In the bulk editor:

1. Click Edit columns to choose the fields you want to display and edit. The following fields can be added for bulk editing:

   

   • Price
   • Compare at price
   • Requires Shipping
   • Inventory, including Inventory tracking and Continue selling when out of stock
   • Weight
   • Product cost
   • HS code
   • Package

   • Inventory shown per location (Available and In stock)

     Note: You can select up to 100 inventory locations at a time. If more than 100 locations are selected for Location inventory, only the first 100 locations are displayed.

   • Variant metafields

     Note: You can select up to 30 variant metafields as display columns.

2. Select the attributes, inventory locations, or variant metafields you want to add as columns, then click Update to confirm.

   Tip: In the Edit columns panel, drag the six-dot handle next to a field to change the column display order.

3. After adding a field, edit its values directly in the corresponding cells. For supported text fields, you can also drag the fill handle in the lower-right corner of a cell to copy the same value to consecutive cells below.

   

4. Click Save to apply your changes.