Product types & structure

Four settings on the product form decide what the rest of Complaia can do with a product:

• whether it is one product or a set of other products;
• whether you make it or buy it to resell;
• the unit it is counted in;
• whether it comes in variants.

Each one changes which steps of the form appear, so choose them carefully when you create the product.

Where to find it: Catalog → Products → New product / set. You see the same settings again when you open a product from Catalog → Products → Product list and click Edit.

When you'll use it

• You are adding a product and the form asks for a Product type and an Origin.
• You sell several products together, for example a device with its accessories, and need to decide whether that is one product or a set.
• Production will not raise an order for something you are sure you manufacture.
• You are about to deactivate or delete a product and want to know what will stop you.

Key concepts

Simple product or set

On the Basics step, Product type offers two cards:

Card	What it means
Simple product	A product in its own right. It has its own stock, parcels and labels. If you manufacture it, it can have a recipe.
Product set	Several other products sold together as one order line. The card says it builds a set from products.

A set is a list of products that are sold together. It is not a separate item in the warehouse:

	Simple product	Product set
Step in the form	Recipe (manufactured products only)	Set contents, straight after Basics
Origin	Manufactured or Non-manufactured	None. The products inside the set decide this, each on its own card.
Stock	Its own.	None of its own. The stock belongs to the products inside it. The product list and the product card show how many full sets you can put together from the available stock of those products.
Parcels	Its own, on the Logistics step.	None of its own. The parcels of the products inside it are shipped. See how sets ship.
Labels	For its own parcels.	None. Labels are printed from the cards of the products inside it. See Identifiers & labels.
Production	Production orders can be raised for it, if it is manufactured.	None of its own. When an order line is a set, production works with the products inside it.
Attributes	You fill them in.	Can be filled from the products inside it. See Attributes.
Cost shown	—	Estimated cost of the set. See Pricing.

Because a set has no stock of its own, you cannot receive it, move it, count it or reserve it. You do all of that with the products inside it.

What a set can contain

Set contents accepts only simple products. When you add an item, the list does not offer sets or products with variants. Choose a specific variant instead. Components cannot be part of a set either. A set must contain at least one product before it can be saved.

A set has no recipe of its own

The same step holds two different things, depending on the type:

• On a simple manufactured product it is Recipe: what one unit is made of.
• On a set it is Set contents: the products the set consists of.

A set lists products, for example one device and one stand. The materials of the device, such as its housing and screws, are listed in the device's own recipe.

To list materials, edit the product inside the set. On the set's tree, each product is marked No contents of its own, because its materials are not shown there.

If you change a simple product with a recipe into a set, the components from the recipe stay on the tree. The form then says that a set consists of products only. Remove the components from the contents, or keep the product as a simple product.

Manufactured or resale

A simple product also has an Origin:

Card	What it does
Manufactured	The product gets the Recipe step, and production orders can be raised for it.
Non-manufactured	Resale goods. The product has no Recipe step and no production orders.

On the product list, the Sourcing column shows the result: Made in-house or Purchased. For a set it shows Decided by set products.

The unit the product is counted in

On the Price & stock step, Unit sets what stock, receipts and production orders are counted in: pcs, kg, g, m, m², l or set. New products start on pcs.

Changing the unit converts nothing

If the product is in stock and you choose a different unit, Complaia asks first, in a window titled This product is in stock. The numbers stay the same and only the unit changes: 12 pcs becomes 12 kg. This applies everywhere, including past movements, the low-stock alert threshold and the unit cost.

• Choose Change anyway only if the quantities are already expressed in the new unit.
• Otherwise keep the old unit and bring the stock to zero first.

After Change anyway, a notice on the same step repeats what will happen when you save.

Products with variants

Adding the first variant turns a product into a template. The template groups the variants, but it cannot be sold, produced or received into stock. It cannot be put into a set or a recipe either. Wherever you choose a product, choose a specific variant instead.

What stops you removing a product

Deleting a product is permanent, so Complaia checks first. It refuses in these cases:

What blocks it	What you see	What to do
Another product's set contains it.	The product cannot be deleted because it is a component of a set. Remove it from all sets first.	Take it out of those sets, then delete it.
It is on an order that is still in progress.	A product that appears in orders cannot be deleted. Mark it as inactive instead. Completed and cancelled orders do not count.	Deactivate it instead, or wait until the order is completed.
It has stock.	A product with stock on hand cannot be deleted. Release or move the stock out of the warehouse first. Reserved stock counts too.	Bring the stock to zero, or deactivate it.
It is a set, or is inside a set, whose goods are in use.	A message that the products of the set are in use in a document, with the list of documents.	Release the reservations, settle the boxes and finish the production orders the message lists.
It has variants.	Complaia asks Delete the product together with its variants? and lists them. Each variant is checked against the rules above.	Confirm to delete the whole family, or remove single variants on the Variants step.

Deactivating is blocked by only the first of these. A product inside another product's set cannot be deactivated. Any other product can be deactivated at any time. Deactivate a product that you have stopped selling but whose history you need.

Common tasks

Choose the type when you create a product

1. Go to Catalog → Products → New product / set.
2. On Basics, under Product type, click Simple product or Product set.
3. For a simple product, under Origin, click Manufactured or Non-manufactured.
4. Click Next. For a set, open Set contents and add the products with Add sub-product. You can do this before you type the name.
5. On Price & stock, choose the Unit if it is not pcs.

Turn a simple product into a set, or back

1. Open the product from Catalog → Products → Product list and click Edit.
2. On Basics, click the other Product type card.
3. Check the step that has changed: Set contents for a set; Recipe and Product parcels for a simple product.
4. Click Save.

You cannot change the contents of a set, or turn a set back into a simple product, while its products are reserved, packed or in production for an open document. See When it doesn't work.

Deactivate a product

1. Open the product and click Edit.
2. Turn off the Active switch at the top of the page, so that it reads Inactive.
3. Click Save.

Delete a product

Deleting is permanent. Read what stops you first.

1. Open the product and click Edit.
2. Click Delete product.
3. Type the product's name to confirm, and click Delete.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
You want to add materials to a set and there is nowhere to put them.	A set has no recipe.	Open the product inside the set and fill in its Recipe step.
A set or a product with variants is not offered when you add an item to a set.	Sets cannot be nested, and a template cannot be sold.	Add that set's products directly, or choose the variant you actually ship.
No sub-products. Add the first one to define the set.	A set cannot be saved empty.	On Set contents, click Add sub-product.
A message that there are components in the composition of the set	The set's contents include components. A set consists of products only.	Remove the components, or keep the product as a simple product with a recipe.
The composition of the set is in use, with a list of documents	The set's products are reserved, packed in boxes or in production for open documents.	Open the listed documents. Release the reservations, settle the boxes and finish the production orders, then save again.
There is no Recipe step.	The product is Non-manufactured, or it is a set.	Set Origin to Manufactured on Basics.
There is no Origin choice.	The product is a set.	Set the origin on each product inside the set.
A variant parent cannot be produced because it is only a template. Choose a specific product variant.	You tried to raise a production order for a product that has variants.	Raise it for the variant.
The product cannot be deactivated because it is a component of a set. Remove it from all sets first.	It is inside another product's set.	Remove it there first.
A message that the set has no stock of its own	Someone tried to receive, move, count or reserve the set itself.	Work with the products inside the set, each on its own.
The Low-stock alert on a product with variants is locked.	The stock belongs to the variants.	Set the alert on each variant.
Package layout changes are blocked. Settle the items below. when you save a changed Product type	The product has stock or open warehouse operations. Its type decides which parcels are shipped, so it is protected in the same way as the parcels.	See Packaging & parcels.

Permissions

To do this	You need
See a product's type, origin and unit	Products: View
Choose them on a new product	Products: Create
Change them on an existing product, or deactivate it	Products: Edit
Delete a product	Products: Delete

Related

• The product record — every step of the form
• Product variants — versions of one product
• Recipe & production — what a recipe holds
• Packaging & parcels — parcels on a simple product, and how sets ship
• Identifiers & labels — why a set has no labels of its own
• Production orders — what Manufactured unlocks
• Glossary — set, set contents, recipe