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LXV | Understanding Product Types

This guide outlines the different product types available in LightSpeed. It's important to understand the differences between single SKU, variant, and composite products, as each type serves a distinct purpose in LightSpeed.


Product Types Overview


On the Products page in the Catalog section of LightSpeed, you can add the following type of products:

  • Single SKU Product: A product is a single SKU product with its own inventory.
  • Variant product: A product with different attributes, such as size or sales channel. Each variant is assigned a unique SKU and has its own inventory, all housed under a single product listing. 
  • Composite product: A bundle or kit made up of quantities of one or more products that are sold together.


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Best Practices

  • Use the appropriate product type (single SKU, variant, composite) based on the product's characteristics and inventory management needs.
  • Standard products must remain in your system. For products you don’t utlise, simply make them inactive rather then deleting them.

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Key Differences Between Variant and Composite Products


Variant products

Composite products

  • Used for retail products with different units of measure (e.g., purchase UOM vs. sell UOM).
  • Each variant has its own SKU and inventory.
  • Can have up to 3 attributes and 200 unique combinations per product.
  • You can perform stock takes directly on variant products.
  • Can add product relationships between variants to break down inventory. 
  • Can be used for transfers. 
  • Ideal for bundles or kitting multiple products together. 
  • A single SKU but uses the inventory of the products it is composed of. 
  • Inventory is drawn from the parent products' stock levels.
  • Stocktake cannot be done directly; you must convert stock back to parent products for stocktaking. 
  • Transfers must be completed via the parent product. 


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