Before You Start

This guide assumes you have an active QuickBooks Commerce subscription and an understanding of Bills of Materials (BOMs).

Overview

40 min
Setup Time
Advanced
Difficulty
Monthly
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • How to structure your inventory for kitting
  • Creating virtual product bundles in QBC
  • Setting up Bills of Materials for assembled products
  • Managing component inventory during production
  • Tracking COGS for bundled and kitted items

1. Preparation Steps

Ensure these essential accounts and inventory items are configured in QuickBooks Commerce:

Required for Kitting & Bundling

  • Finished Goods Inventory (Asset)
  • Raw Materials / Components Inventory (Asset)
  • Cost of Goods Sold (Expense)
  • Sales Income (Income)

Optional (for advanced tracking)

  • Work-in-Progress Inventory (Asset)
  • Assembly Variance (Expense)
  • Packaging Supplies (Asset/Expense)
  • Labor Costs (Expense)

2. Choosing Your Kitting Strategy

You have two main approaches to managing bundled products in QuickBooks Commerce.

Method A: Virtual Product Bundles (Kits)

This method is best for simple bundles where components are deducted at sale.

Pros:
  • Easy to set up and manage.
  • Components deducted automatically.
  • Suitable for ‘sell-as-you-go’ bundles.
Cons:
  • No production order tracking.
  • Doesn’t track work-in-progress.
  • Less suitable for pre-assembled items.

Method B: Assembled Products (Bills of Materials)

This involves creating a finished good from raw materials via a production process.

Expert Tip: For businesses that pre-assemble items or need detailed production tracking, using Bills of Materials and production orders is the superior method. It provides accurate COGS, inventory valuation, and insights into your manufacturing process.

3. Step-by-Step: Creating a Product Bundle

Here is the high-level workflow for creating a product bundle or assembly in QuickBooks Commerce.

Here is a sample code block showing a typical bundle structure.

{
  "bundle_name": "Premium Coffee Gift Set",
  "sku": "COFFEE-SET-PREM",
  "components": [
    { "item_sku": "WHOLE-BEAN-12OZ", "quantity": 1 },
    { "item_sku": "COFFEE-MUG", "quantity": 1 },
    { "item_sku": "GIFT-BOX-LARGE", "quantity": 1 }
  ],
  "cost_method": "weighted_average"
}

4. Setting Up Assemblies

  1. 1

    Define Raw Materials/Components

    Ensure all individual components are set up as inventory items with accurate costs and stock levels in QBC.

  2. 2

    Create Finished Goods Product

    Create a new inventory item for your bundled or assembled product. This will be the item customers purchase.

  3. 3

    Build Your Bill of Materials (BOM)

    In the finished good’s settings, specify all components and their quantities required to build one unit.

  4. 4

    Create Production/Assembly Orders

    Initiate production orders to convert raw materials into finished goods, updating inventory accordingly.

Common Error: Incorrect Inventory Valuation

Ensure your component costs are accurate before building assemblies. Incorrect costs will lead to inaccurate COGS and inventory valuations for your finished products.

5. Testing Your Setup

Post-Assembly Checklist

  • Create a small production order
  • Verify component inventory decreases
  • Confirm finished good inventory increases
  • Check COGS calculation for the assembled item
  • Process a test sale of the bundle

Need Help?

Get Support

Having trouble setting up your inventory kits or managing assemblies? Our team can help optimize your QuickBooks Commerce workflow.

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