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How to Create Variants Items

How to create variants for inventory items

Setting Up Variants

Variants let you represent a single product that comes in multiple versions — such as different colors, sizes, or materials — as one inventory item rather than several separate ones. This keeps your inventory organized, makes reporting more accurate, and saves you from duplicating item details across multiple entries.

When to Use Variants

Use variants when you have a product that is fundamentally the same item but differs by one or more attributes. Common examples include:

  • A t-shirt that comes in Small, Medium, and Large
  • A toy figurine that comes in Red, Green, and Blue
  • A candle that comes in multiple scents and two sizes

If the differences between items are significant enough that they have entirely different pricing structures, descriptions, or categories, it may make more sense to create them as separate inventory items instead.

Step 1: Define Your Attributes

Attributes are the variable properties of your item — the dimensions along which your variants differ. You can add as many attributes as you need.

  1. Navigate to the Variants tab on the item creation or edit screen.
  2. Click Add Attribute.
  3. Enter the attribute name (e.g., Color, Size).
  4. Enter the possible values as a comma-separated list (e.g., Red, Green, Blue or Large, Small). Spaces between values are fine — Syncrostore will parse them correctly.
  5. Repeat for each additional attribute.
Important: Values within an attribute must be comma-separated. Each comma tells Syncrostore where one value ends and the next begins. If you write Red Green Blue without commas, it will be treated as a single value, not three.

Step 2: Generate Variants

Once your attributes are defined, click Generate Variants. Syncrostore will automatically create a variant for every possible combination of your attribute values.

For example, if you have Color (Red, Green, Blue) and Size (Large, Small), Syncrostore will generate six variants: Red Large, Red Small, Green Large, Green Small, Blue Large, and Blue Small.

Step 3: Remove Combinations That Don't Exist

Not every combination may actually exist — for example, if the manufacturer doesn't make a Large Blue version. To remove a variant:

  1. Find the variant you want to remove in the list.
  2. Click the Expand Row button to open that variant.
  3. Click Remove. The variant will be deleted from the list.
Tip: It's easier to generate all combinations first and then remove the ones that don't apply, rather than trying to manually build only the ones that do.

Step 4: Set Quantities

Every variant requires a quantity. The total quantity across all variants must equal the quantity set in the Basics tab — Syncrostore treats the parent item's quantity as the sum of its variants, not as a separate stock count.

You have two ways to set quantities:

  • Bulk quantity — use the bulk quantity tool to set the same value for all variants at once. For example, entering 10 will apply a quantity of 10 to every variant. Click OK to confirm.
  • Individual quantity — expand each variant row and enter the quantity directly for that specific variant.
Important: The sum of all variant quantities must match the total quantity in the Basics tab. For example, if you have 5 variants with a quantity of 10 each, the Basics tab total must be 50. Syncrostore will flag a mismatch and prevent you from saving until it is resolved.

Step 5: Set Prices and Other Fields

Each variant has its own set of fields. Most will be pre-filled from the Basics tab, but can be overridden per variant.

  • Price — required for each variant. Auto-populated from the Basics tab price, but you can set a different price for individual variants (for example, a Large size that costs more than a Small)
  • Cost — auto-populated from the Basics tab cost. Used in profit reporting
  • SKU — optional. If you leave it blank, Syncrostore will auto-generate a unique SKU for each variant. If you enter your own, it must be unique across all variants — no two variants can share the same SKU
  • Shipping info — only required if you plan to offer shipping through Trinket Vault. Can be left blank otherwise

How Variants Appear on Labels

When you print labels for variant items, each label includes both the item name and the variant's attribute values, prepended to the label name. This makes it easy to tell variants apart at checkout without having to scan the barcode.

For example, variants of an "Army Man Action Figure" with Color and Size attributes might produce labels like:

  • Red, Large – Army Man Action Figure
  • Green, Small – Army Man Action Figure
  • Blue, Large – Army Man Action Figure

For instructions on printing labels for variant items, see Printing Labels for Variant Items.

How Variants Appear on Trinket Vault

When a variant item is published to Trinket Vault, customers will see the parent item listing and can select their preferred attribute combination (e.g., choose a color and size) before adding it to their cart. Each variant's price and availability are reflected independently, so if one variant sells out, the others remain available.