Background

AccountEdge item variations are autonomous items based on an initial (Master) item. Once created, purchase and sale transactions will be based on the item variations, rather than the Master item. Variations cannot be created if:

• There is inventory of the Master item
• Instances of the Master item have been purchased or sold

Variations have the same (Buy, Sell, Inventory) characteristics as the Master item, but other settings, such as account numbers, Selling Price, Standard Cost, Restocking details, etc., can be different.

Creating Variations

To create a variation based on a master item:

1. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
2. Click on the arrow (double-arrow) next to your master item
3. Click on the Variations tab. If the Variations tab is unavailable, inventory exists for the item, or instances of the item have been purchased or sold (inventoried or non-inventoried), and variations cannot be created
4. Select a property from the Item Properties menu. See Item Property Menus below, for information on creating additional property menus
5. Place a check mark to the left of the applicable property elements
6. Click Create Variations to create the new variation items  
   

Updating Variation Properties

Property updates to item variations are made on the Master item record. Other variation updates, with the exception of item (Buy, Sell, Inventory) characteristics, can be done on individual item variation records. If an update is done on the Master item record that could apply to the variations, you will be prompted to update all variations, or not (Cancel).

Note: Property updates cannot be made if transactions exist referencing the item variations.

To update properties:

1. Create a backup of your company file
2. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
3. Click the arrow (double-arrow) to the left of the Master item in the Items List
4. Click on the Variations tab
5. Click the Edit Variations button
6. In the existing property menus, select additional property menu elements
7. You cannot uncheck (delete) menu elements if transactions reference the variations (ie: sales for the variation items)
8. See Item Property Menus below, for information on creating additional property menus
9. Click Save Variations

Item properties are used to create item variations. Properties are menus containing one or more elements. Each element, when applied to an item, represents one variation. Additional properties can be applied to item variations, which will create variations for each of the variations. A typical example is size, then color. The number of resulting variations will be the number of size elements times the number of color elements.

Note: By default, AccountEdge will create 3 initial property menus: Color, Gender/Age, and Size. Users can then create any additional property menus they wish.

To create additional Property Menus:

1. Create a backup of your company file
2. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
3. Click the arrow (double-arrow) to the left of the Master item in the Items List
4. Click the Add Properties button
5. Click New to add a new Property menu
6. Enter the Property menu name
7. Click the New button to add an element to the new Property
8. Enter up to a 5-character element ID
9. Press the tab key on the keyboard
10. Enter the element Name
11. Click OK
12. Repeat to add additional property elements
13. Click Close when finished

Select the new Property from the drop-down menu to apply the property, which will create variations.

Deleting a Property Menu

If a transaction is referencing a property element, you cannot delete the element, but you can delete unreferenced variations of the property element. See Delete below.

Item Property Elements

To add Property elements to existing menus:

1. Create a backup of your company file
2. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
3. Click the arrow (double-arrow) to the left of the Master item in the Items List
4. Click the Add Properties button
5. Click the arrow (double arrow) next to the menu you wish to add to
6. Click the New button to add an element to the new Property
7. Enter up to a 5-character element ID
8. Pres the tab key on the keyboard
9. Enter the element Name
10. Click OK
11. Repeat to add additional property elements
12. Click Close when finished

Deleting a Property Element

If a transaction is referencing a property element, you cannot delete the element, but you can delete unreferenced variations of the property element. See Delete below.

Combining Variation Items

When you combine item variations, all transactions referencing the Secondary item variation will be changed to reference the Primary item variation. On Sales and Purchases, the item numbers will be changed to the Primary item numbers, but the descriptions will remain from the old (Secondary) items. Inventory quantities will be moved from the Secondary items to the Primary items.

To combine items:

1. Create a backup of your company file
2. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
3. In the Items List, click once on the Primary (target) item to highlight it
4. Click the Combine button
5. Enter the Secondary (from) variation
6. Click the Combine Items button

You cannot delete an item variation if there are transactions referencing the variation.

To delete items:

1. Create a backup of your company file
2. Go to Lists > Items from the menu bar at the top of the screen
3. In the Items or the Variations List, click once on the item(s) to highlight it (them)
4. Select Edit > Delete Items. If items cannot be deleted, you'll receive a message indicating that

A Note on Sales and Purchases

Purchases

Purchases are made for specific item variations. If variations are combined, the item numbers on purchases will be updated, but the item descriptions and costs will remain the same as they were on the original bills.

Sales

Sales are made for specific item variations. If variations are combined, the item numbers on sales will be updated, but the item descriptions and prices will remain the same as they were on the original invoices.