Tip: 💡 Tip: What Are Parent and Child Products?

1. Parent Product #

A parent product is a general item that groups together related variations. It’s typically not sold on its own but is used to organize similar items.

• Example: A T-shirt that comes in different sizes and colors. The T-shirt itself is the parent product—a base concept that isn’t directly purchased.

2. Child Product #

A child product is a specific version of the parent product. It’s the actual item customers select and buy.

• Example: A “Small Red T-shirt” or “Medium Blue T-shirt” are child products—individual variants of the parent product.

🛒 How They Work Together #

• The parent product acts as the main listing in your POS system.

• Child products are the specific items available for sale (e.g., by size or color).

• When a customer chooses a variant, like “Medium Blue T-shirt,” the POS tracks that child product, while linking it back to the parent for inventory and reporting.

POS Example: #

• Parent Product: T-shirt

  • Child Products: Small Red T-shirt, Medium Blue T-shirt, Large Green T-shirt

This structure simplifies inventory management and makes it easier for customers to find exactly what they want.

Tip: ### 🎥 Tip! Want to Watch a Video?

If you prefer a visual guide, CLICK HERE to watch a video tutorial on how to create and manage attribute types!
It’s a great way to see the process in action.

1. Navigate to https://login.lifelongpos.com/https://manage.acadiapos.com/login

2. Click on the “Items” tab on the left hand side of the screen.

3. Click the “Custom Attributes” button.

4. Click the “New product Attribute” button.

5. ### 🛠️ Edit Product Attribute Code

When creating or editing a product attribute, fill out the following fields:

Required Fields: #

• Attribute Code
  (Used internally. Can be the same or slightly different from the name.)

• Attribute Name
  (This is what you’ll see on the Lifelong POS register when creating or editing a product.)

• UI Column Size in POS: 3

Dropdown Selections: #

Make sure to choose the following options:

• Custom Attribute Type: String

• Frontend Input Type: Select

6. ### ➕ Add a New Attribute Value

Click the “+ Add New” button to create a new value for the attribute.
Repeat this step for each additional value you want to include.

7. ### ✅ Select Values

Add as many values as needed for your attribute.

• Value and Label should be the same.

• Each value represents a selectable option in the POS.

🧾 Example: #

• 1500 Puff Count

• 2500 Puff Count

• 3500 Puff Count

You can add more options based on your product variations.

8. ### 🧩 Used As Matrix Attribute

From the dropdown menu, make sure to select:

• Enabled

This allows the attribute to be used for creating product variations (like size or color) in a matrix layout.

9. Click “Save Changes”

10. ### 🔄 See Your New Attribute

Once you’ve saved your new attribute, refresh your browser.
You’ll now see your newly created attribute available for use!

11. Click on the “Items” tab on the left hand side of the screen.

12. Click the “New Item” button

13. ### 📦 Product Type

From the dropdown menu, select “Variants Matrix”.

• Under “Product Type” select Variants Matrix, a “Variation Attributes” dropdown will automatically appear.

• Use this to choose the attribute(s) that define your product variations (e.g., size, color, puff count).

14. ### 🧬 Variation Attribute

From the Variation Attributes dropdown, select the attribute(s) that define your product variations.

• You can select one or more attributes.

• Examples:

  • Flavor

  • Puff Size

  • MG Level

These attributes will be used to generate the different versions (child products) of your main product.

15. ### 📝 Fill Out Product Details

Complete the following fields:

• Name – This will be the name of the Parent Product.

• Category – Choose the appropriate category for the product.

• Tax Class – Select the correct tax classification based on your store’s tax settings.

16. scroll down and Click + Add By Attribute Values.

17. ### ✅ Select Display Values for Child Products

Choose the values you want to appear alongside each child product.

18. Click the “Add +” button.

19. ### 🎉 View Your Child Products

Your Child Products will now display with the Values you selected.
These values will be shown next to each variation, helping customers easily identify their choices.

20. ### ✏️ (Optional) Edit as Applicable

Fill in the following details for each Child Product:

• Name: This will be the name of the child product (e.g., “Medium Blue T-shirt”).

• SKU: Scan or enter the SKU/Barcode associated with the child product.

• Price: Adjust the price for this specific child product (this will not affect the parent).

• Cost: Adjust the cost for this specific child product (this will not affect the parent).

• Qty: If you have multiple locations, you can edit the inventory quantity for each location separately.

21. Click “Save”

22. ### 🎉 View Parent and Child Products

Your Parent and Child Products will now appear in the Items tab.
The Child Products will display with the Values you selected, making it easy for customers to see the available variations.

23. ### ✏️ Edit the Parent Product

To edit the Parent Product, simply click the blue edit pencil icon.
This will allow you to make any changes to the parent product details.

24. ### ✏️ Edit Child Products

From here, you can also edit any child product associated with the Parent Product and the Values you selected.
This allows you to update details for each variation as needed.

25. ### 💾 Always Click “Save”

After making any changes, always click “Save” to ensure your updates are applied.

26. Click on the “Items” tab on the left hand side of the screen.

27. ### 🔽 Select “Parent/Variant Matrix”

From the dropdown menu, select the “Parent/Variant Matrix” option to filter and view only the parent products and their associated variations.

28. After selecting “Parent/Variant Matrix”, you will now see only the Parent Product in the list.

Alert: ### ⚠️ Alert! Parent Product Visibility

The Parent Product will not appear in the POS app. Only the Child Products (with their specific variations) will be displayed for selection.
The Parent Product serves only as a grouping for the child variations, which are the ones customers will choose and purchase.

29. ### 🛍️ Child Products in the POS App

The Child Products will display with the Values you selected at the end of the product name.

For example, if you chose size and color as values, it might appear as:

• Small Red T-shirt

• Medium Blue T-shirt

• Large Green T-shirt