Including Additional Items Related to the Configurable Item
You can add items related to your main configurable item to transactions. Additional items (formerly called breakout items) complete the main item and are usually used or sold together. For example, if your configurable item is a desk, you may have a lamp or a desk mat as additional items. Depending on your business needs, you can also create products that add only additional items to transactions, without a main configurable item.
Additional items must be active items. An item is active when the Inactive box isn't checked. This option is placed under the System Information subtab on the item record.
You can specify an additional item using one of the following options:
-
An existing item in NetSuite
-
A resolve expression
-
An item creation record
If you use a resolve expression, the item name or number is obtained from answers users select on the product interface. With a resolve expression, you can retrieve different items depending on users' choices with a single additional item record. For more information about resolve expressions, see Obtaining Answer Data with Resolve Expressions.
If, on the other hand, you use an item creation record, the item will be automatically created when users submit the configuration. For more information, see Creating Items Required by the Configuration.
An additional item is included in configurations—and later in transactions—if its rule matches answers that users select on the product interface. For more information about rules, see Activating Building Blocks with Rules.
You can view active additional items under Additional Items in the Audit menu on the product interface. After submitting the configuration, active additional items are assigned dedicated transaction lines and are listed below the main configured item.
Additional items are priced separately from the configurable item. For more information, see Working with the Price of Additional Items.
Different additional items can be linked to the same item record. When submitting the configuration to transactions, you can consolidate the corresponding additional item lines into a single line. For more information, see Consolidating Additional Item Lines on Transactions.
When including additional items in transactions, you can set line fields using mapping records. For more information, see Setting Transaction Line Fields for Additional Items.
To create an additional item:
-
In NetSuite, go to CPQ > Configurator > Product Maintenance.
-
Click Edit next to the product you want to modify.
-
On the Additional Items subtab, click New CPQC Additional Item.
-
Enter a descriptive name for the additional item.
This name is displayed under Additional Items in the Audit menu of the product interface. The name that appears on transactions belongs to the item record.
-
(Optional) In the Description field, enter a brief explanation of the additional item.
The description is displayed under Additional Items in the Audit menu and on the transaction line.
-
Provide a sequence number to sort the additional item on the transaction lines.
Additional items are sorted from lowest to highest sequence number. You can enter a negative or positive number—for example, -2 or 5.
-
(Optional) To define a specific date range in which this additional item is active and included in configurations and later in transactions:
-
In the Effective Start Date field, select a start date.
Before this date, the additional item is inactive.
-
(Optional) In the Effective End Date field, select an end date.
After this date, the additional item is inactive.
Note:If you define a date range, the additional item must meet both the date range and the rule conditions to be active.
-
-
To define the additional item, you have three options:
-
In the Item Creation Record field, select the item creation record that stores the information to create the additional item.
The additional item is created if the rules for both the item creation record and the additional item match the answers that users select on the product interface. For more information, see Creating Items Required by the Configuration.
-
In the Item field, select an item from NetSuite.
If you use this option, the Item Display Image and the Average Cost fields are automatically completed with information from the item record (if available).
-
In the Resolve Item Name/Number, enter a resolve expression to obtain the item name or number of the additional item from answers on the product interface.
To write the resolve expression, use question and answer codes separated by the forward slash character and enclosed in curly braces—for example, {A/1}. Question and answer codes are replaced with the corresponding answer value. For more information, see Obtaining Answer Data with Resolve Expressions.
Note:If you fill in more than one field to specify the additional item, only one will be used. Priority is given to the field for the item creation record, then the existing NetSuite item, and finally, the resolve expression if others are empty.
-
-
In the QTY field, enter a number or a resolve expression to define how many units of this additional item the configuration requires.
-
In the Price field, enter a number without the currency symbol, or a resolve expression. This value replaces the price from the item or the item creation records.
Note:Use a dot to add decimals to the price value.
-
In the Price Multiplier field, you can enter a number or a resolve expression for a more flexible price structure. For example, you can use a resolve expression to multiply the price by the quantity users select in an answer.
-
(Optional) In the Line Field Mapping Records field, select the mapping records you want to use to set line fields for the additional item when it's added to transactions. For more information about mapping records, see Setting Transaction Line Fields for Additional Items and Setting Transaction Body and Line Fields Based on Configuration Data.
-
In the Rule field, provide the condition that determines whether the additional item is included in the transaction. The condition is based on answers users select on the product interface.
Enter question and answer codes separated by a forward slash character—for example, A/1. Use operators to combine multiple conditions—for example, A/1&B/2.
-
(Optional) To add an extra rule to the additional item rule, select a rule category. If both the additional item and the category rules match the answers that users select on the product interface, the additional item is included in the configuration and later in transactions. For more information, see Working with Rule Categories in NetSuite CPQ Configurator.
-
Click Save.
To copy or delete additional items, see Working with Product Building Blocks.
Working with the Price of Additional Items
Price calculations for the main configurable item exclude additional item prices. The price of each additional item is displayed only on transaction lines by default. However, you can also choose to display additional item prices in the Additional Items section of the Summary on the product interface. By displaying additional item prices in the Summary, users can make more informed choices about which additional items to include based on their price and review all pricing details before adding the configured item to the transaction.
To display these prices on the product interface, check the Show additional item prices in Summary box on the product record.
Consolidating Additional Item Lines on Transactions
When submitting configurations to transactions, you can consolidate multiple additional item lines that reference the same item record (same internal ID) into a single line item. To apply the options for consolidating additional items, go to the product record during the setup and edit it. Three options are available:
-
Consolidate additional item lines – Combines additional item lines with the same internal ID into one.
When additional item lines are combined, the quantity and the price of each additional item are summed. To consolidate additional item lines, check the box for this option.
-
Calculate rate for consolidated additional item lines – Determines the rate for the consolidated line. If additional items linked to the same item record have different prices, the rate field on the transaction will display the average price. Take into account that the average may be a decimal number with multiple places—for example, 19.999999. To calculate the rate, check the box for this option.
If you use the price of the item record and multiple price levels are enabled in your account, the price level on the consolidated item line will be labeled as Custom. For more information about multiple prices and currencies in NetSuite, see Using Multiple Prices or Currencies and Using Multiple Pricing.
-
Merge mappings for consolidated additional item lines – Merges any mapping records from individual additional items during the consolidation. Individual mapping records are those listed in the Line Field Mapping Records field on the additional item record. If multiple mapping records include the same field, the value will be set based on the mapping record linked to the additional item with the higher sequence number. To merge mapping records, check the box for this option.
Setting Transaction Line Fields for Additional Items
When including additional items in transactions, you can set line fields by selecting mapping records in the Line Field Mapping Records field during the setup. In the Common Line Field Mapping Records field, you can view the mapping records that are automatically applied to all additional items. These mapping records have the Apply to all additional items box checked. For more information about setting transaction line fields for additional items, see Setting Transaction Body and Line Fields Based on Configuration Data.
Before mapping records, you could set transaction line fields using the Order Column Mapping field. If you want to switch from this field to mapping records, move the field information to mapping records and clear the field. After clearing this field, it will become hidden.