Configuring product grouping with items using the Item Builder (Classic Items)

Using product groupings, you can combine related items to streamline your Booking Page, helping Customers book more easily.

Learn how to set up product grouping for items, including pricing.

New to the Item Builder? You can read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Item Builder.

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

• Inventory > Items > Add New/Edit Item > Packages > Product Grouping
   

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin or restricted permissions to View items, products, and assets, and Manage items, products, and assets.
   

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - Classic Items, Classic Products, or both?

• Your account must have access to classic items (Inventory > Items), a key feature of our Classic Items version of Checkfront. 

It's possible to group individual items into one main parent item, allowing you to offer variations of the item in a drop-down menu on your Booking Page.

For example, if you run a tour that lasts 2, 4, or 6 hours, you don’t need three separate items on your booking page. Instead, you can group them into a single item, and customers choose the duration from a simple menu.

Follow these steps to configure product groupings.

1. Create the parent item. This parent item is the item Customers see in the booking portal. In this example, we’ll use our 2-Hour Boat Tour.
2. Create additional items for each of the available timeslots.
   
   For example, you have tours at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. That's four additional items on top of the parent. The fastest way to create these items is to copy the existing item and change the title/SKU to match the new timeslot, as explained in the following steps.
   
   Creating additional items
    
   1. Click the More link at the bottom right corner of the item edit screen.
   2. Choose Copy from the open menu.
      
      
       
   3. The system creates a new item with the same pricing and attributes as the original. You only need to choose a unique SKU and change the item title. It's best to put the tour time in the item title so Customers can quickly see when the tour is.
      
      
      
       

   4. After creating the new item, you see a confirmation message on the screen. Choose the Copy option again to start creating the next time slot. 
      
      
       

      Save time copying items Copying an item is an excellent time-saver anytime you have similar items to create. You can copy and edit the item to make necessary changes rather than creating a new item every time!

   5. When finished, you have an inventory of items that looks something like this:
      
      

       

      Looking at the booking portal now, you will see this:  

       

      
       

3. Enable product grouping - Return to the parent item and click on its Packages tab. In the Product Grouping section, turn on the feature by clicking the slider.
   
   Product grouping is disabled if the item already has a package add-on attached.
   
   
    
4. Set the group type - A new Group Type field will appear. From the drop-down menu, select Parent.
   
   
5. Select child items—A new field labeled Child items displays. Click this and then put a check mark next to each item you wish to include in the product grouping. In our case, it's the 4 boat tour items we just created.
   
   
   
   By default, only Available items appear. To include unavailable items, turn on the Show Unavailable Children slider.
    
6. Save and preview—Save the item and return to your booking portal to compare the two prices.
   
   Once saved, your booking page displays the parent item with a drop-down menu, allowing Customers to choose from the grouped child items.
   
   As you can see in the screenshot below, the system only lists one item for the 2-hour Boat Tour. If this option is selected, a drop-down menu appears, allowing Customers to select their preferred tour time. 

Not every item in the group has to cost the same. For example, you might charge more for a 3 p.m. boat tour than for a 9 a.m. tour.

1. Turn on Product Group Pricing.
2. Enter a starting price. e.g., 95.
3. Customers can see the price in the booking portal.
    

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