Published at: 2026-09-17

Product attributes overview

Product attributes turn product parameters that would otherwise be explained verbally into structured data in the system. Those parameters can then participate in price calculation, option filtering, and result display. For products that come in multiple specifications, models, materials, sizes, or combinations, product attributes are the most fundamental layer of CPQ capability.

What problem this capability solves

Without product attributes, sales teams usually need to confirm customer requirements manually and then judge prices and sellable options by hand. That typically leads to three issues:
  • Parameter descriptions for the same product are inconsistent across teams.
  • The system cannot automatically return the correct price after a customer selects parameters.
  • Quotes and orders do not clearly record the selected parameters, which increases the risk of misunderstanding during delivery.
After product attributes are enabled, the business can maintain both standard and non-standard attributes, associate them with specific products, and convert parameter differences into price differences through attribute price books.

Core components

Product attribute capability mainly consists of four parts:
  • Attribute objects: including standard attributes and non-standard attributes, which define the parameters themselves.
  • Attribute groups: used to group related attributes such as color, material, or function for display.
  • Product-linked attributes: determine which attributes a specific product can use and which values are allowed.
  • Attribute price books: determine how attribute value combinations affect pricing.
Together, these four parts form a complete chain: define the attributes first, associate them with products, maintain prices, and finally let sales select attribute values during quoting or ordering.
Combined with the configuration path and the front-end usage path, the chain can be understood as follows:
  1. Enable the relevant attribute capability switches in the back office.
  2. Create standard attributes, non-standard attributes, and groups in the attribute objects.
  3. Bind attributes to specific products through Configure Attributes on the product detail page.
  4. Maintain price differences in the attribute price book.
  5. Let sales select attribute values in quotes or orders so that the system can display and price the result automatically.

Typical usage flow

In actual business scenarios, product attributes are typically used in this order:
  1. The company purchases and enables the capability related to CPQ Attribute Edition.
  2. Operations or administrators maintain standard attributes, non-standard attributes, and attribute groups.
  3. Applicable attributes and allowed value ranges are configured on each product.
  4. Attribute price books are maintained for attributes that participate in pricing.
  5. Sales select attribute values on quotes or orders, and the system displays and prices the result automatically.

Applicable scenarios

Product attributes are especially suitable for the following scenarios:
  • One product has a single main model but multiple selectable specifications.
  • Product prices vary by color, material, capacity, or configuration item.
  • Sales need to leave a clear record of the customer selection in the document.
  • The business also needs to combine product attributes with Sales BOM for more complex configuration scenarios.

Relationship with Sales BOM

Product attributes and Sales BOM are complementary rather than interchangeable. Product attributes are better for describing parameter differences within the same product, while Sales BOM is better for describing selectable relationships inside a multi-level combination structure. If a product has both a complex combination structure and detailed parameter differences, the common approach is to use attributes for the parameters first and BOM for the structure.
Submit Feedback
Next
Attribute management