Published at: 2026-09-17
Relationships among products, items, and units
Understand the relationships among Product, Item, variant combination, and Unit objects to determine where to maintain information.
Object relationships
| Object | Purpose | Typical relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Carries Product information used in business | Can be referenced by Sales, Quotes, Orders, and Contracts |
| Item | Maintains public Product information | A non-variant Item maps to one Product; a variant Item maps to multiple Products |
| Variant combination | Distinguishes different variant Products under one Item | One variant Product maps to one variant combination |
| Unit | Provides the Unit of measure used by a Product | A Product can be associated with one or more Units |
Products and Items
- When the Item feature is disabled, Product is an independent object and Product Category and Unit are maintained on the Product.
- When the Item feature is enabled, Product is associated with an Item. The Item maintains public Product information, while the Product carries information used in business.
- A non-variant Item maps to one Product.
- A variant Item can map to multiple Products, with one variant combination for each Product.
- The Product Name of a variant Product is usually generated from the Item Name and variant values and can be edited.
Products and Units
- When multiple Units are disabled, a Product supports only one Unit.
- When multiple Units are enabled, a Product can be associated with multiple Units and conversion rules.
- When both features are enabled, the Product maintains multiple Units for a non-variant Item.
- When both features are enabled, the Item centrally maintains multiple Units for a variant Item, and all related Products share the configuration.
- Product Price is determined by the Product, Unit, Account, and applicable Price Book conditions.
Public information and edit boundaries
| Information | Maintenance object | Product page behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Product Category, Unit, and multiple Units | Product in basic or non-variant multi-Unit mode; Item for variant Items | In Item mode, inherited and displayed but not editable independently |
| Variant information | Item and variant combination | Product is distinguished by variant combination |
| Business-use information | Product | Product information is referenced in business documents |
Synchronization rules
- When public Item information changes, related Products remain synchronized.
- When an Item’s multiple-Unit configuration changes, all related variant Products synchronize the update.
- The Product page cannot independently edit information maintained centrally by the Item.
- To adjust public information or multiple Units for a variant Item, maintain the corresponding Item object.