A product attribute names a characteristic of a product, such as its size, colour or material. You create an attribute once, and you add it to one or more product families. This page is for the person who keeps the catalogue.
For example, the “Apparel” family might hold Size, Colour, Material and Care Instructions. If Size and Colour make variants, a new configurable product gets one variant for each pair of choices. Material and Care Instructions stay on the family, because no product form asks for their values.
Attribute Types
Each attribute has a type, which says what its value can be. Only two types can make variants:
| Type | What a value can be | Example attributes | Can make variants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Words | “Care Instructions”, “Country of Origin” | No |
| Numeric | A number | “Weight (kg)”, “Thread Count”, “Voltage”, “Length (cm)” | No |
| Boolean | Yes or no | “Is Waterproof”, “Is Organic”, “Requires Assembly” | No |
| Date | A single calendar day | “Release Date”, “Expiry Date”, “Manufacture Date” | No |
| Select | One choice from a list that you write | “Colour” (Red, Blue, Green), “Material” (Cotton, Polyester, Silk) | Yes |
| Multi-select | Several choices from a list that you write | “Features” (Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS), “Certifications” (CE, FCC, RoHS) | Yes |
Beelocity uses the type in one case: Select and Multi-select offer Makes variants. No form asks for the value of an attribute that makes no variants, so the other four types hold nothing today. If you want to sort products by a fact, use a category.
Variant Attributes
An attribute with Makes variants turned on is a variant attribute. This is how Beelocity makes the variants of a configurable product. Only a Select or Multi-select attribute offers this setting, because a variant is one of the choices. Beelocity treats the two types alike, and each choice gives a variant.
How Variant Generation Works
When you create a configurable product, Beelocity makes one variant for each combination of the choices of the family’s variant attributes. For example:
- The “Clothing” family has two variant attributes:
- Size: S, M, L, XL
- Colour: Red, Blue, Green
- A new configurable product “Basic T-Shirt” gets 12 variants:
| Variant | Size | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Red | S | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Blue | S | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Green | S | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Red | M | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Blue | M | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Green | M | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Red | L | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Blue | L | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Green | L | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Red | XL | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Blue | XL | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Green | XL | Green |
Each variant has its own Reference, barcode, Price adjustment and stock. Beelocity makes the reference from the product’s reference and the first three letters of each choice, such as PRD-000042-RED-XL. A register cannot sell a variant today, because no screen can give a variant a unit (A line’s unit).
Beelocity does this once, when you save the new product. If you later change the family, an attribute or its choices, Beelocity adds no variant and changes none. To add a variant later, open the product’s Variants tab and click Add. A variant that you add this way holds no choices, so your online store shows a number in their place.
If you rename a choice, the attribute shows the new text. The variants that already exist keep the old text, and so do their references.
Variant vs. Non-Variant Attributes
| Variant attributes | Non-variant attributes | |
|---|---|---|
| Set on | Each variant, when Beelocity makes it | Nothing, because no form asks for the value |
| Drives generation | Yes. Each combination makes a variant | No |
| Example | Size, Colour | Material, Care Instructions, Weight |
Non-variant attributes stay on the family, and they do nothing on a product. You cannot write “Material: Cotton” on a T-shirt today. To sort products by material, use a category.
Important Considerations
- Only Select and Multi-select can make variants, because Beelocity needs a list of choices to build the combinations. An attribute with no choices makes no variants.
- The number of variants multiplies. 4 sizes × 3 colours = 12 variants. A third variant attribute with 5 choices gives 4 × 3 × 5 = 60 variants. Think about this before you turn on Makes variants.
Finding an Attribute
The Product Attributes tab lists every attribute in the organization. The filter button beside the search box narrows it by Type, Required and Makes variants. So “every Select that makes variants” takes two picks (see Working with lists).
Creating Attributes
You create an attribute on its own tab, and then you add it to a family:
- Open Inventory → Setup and its Product Attributes tab.
- Click New.
- Fill in:
- Name: a clear name, such as “Colour” or “Is Waterproof”. Your online store shows this name with a variant’s choices.
- Code: already filled in with the next one (
ATT-000004afterATT-000003). Keep it, clear it to get the next one when you save, or type your own (COLOUR). Variants store their choices under this code, so you cannot change it after you save the attribute. - Type: choose Text, Numeric, Boolean, Date, Select or Multi-select.
- Required: Beelocity only stores this mark, and no form asks for the value.
- Makes variants: turn this on if the attribute should make variants. Only Select and Multi-select offer it.
- For Select and Multi-select, list the Choices. Click Add option for each value, such as “Red”, “Blue” and “Green”.
- Click Save.
- Open the family, go to its Attributes tab and click Add beside the attribute.
Tips
- Name attributes clearly. Your online store shows the name with the choices, so “Size” tells a buyer what “XL” means.
- Use a category to sort products. An attribute that makes no variants does nothing on a product. If you want to find products by material, create a category for each material.
- Be careful with variant attributes. Turn on Makes variants only if you need a separate reference and stock for each combination. If you stock one product whatever its material, “Material” should not make variants.
- Plan attributes before you create products. Beelocity makes variants once, so finish the family’s attributes first.