Items are the core building block of Zoho Inventory, representing everything you buy, sell, or stock. Understanding the different item types available helps you set up your inventory correctly from the outset.
The Three Main Groupings
- Item Groups. A generic category used to organise related items, for example a "T-shirts" group where you set attributes like size and colour, so variants are handled together rather than as entirely separate items.
- Items. Individual products or services you track, buy, and sell.
- Composite Items. A single commodity made up of two or more items or services, covered in more detail below.
Note: Up to 3 attributes can be created per Item Group, though each attribute can hold as many individual options as you need.
Composite Items: Assemblies vs. Kit Items
Composite Items now split into two distinct types, depending on whether physical assembly is genuinely involved.
Assemblies (formerly called Bundles)
Used when you physically assemble a single finished item from individual components, ideal for manufacturers. For example, a furniture business purchasing legs, screws, and a tabletop, then assembling them into a finished table. Creating the assembly reduces the stock of each component and creates stock of the new finished item. Assemblies now have their own dedicated module under the Inventory tab.
Kit Items
Used for grouping existing items for sale without any physical assembly, well suited to promotional bundles, gift sets, or product combos where each component stays independent but is sold together as one unit, such as a holiday gift box combining a moisturiser, lipstick, and perfume at a discounted price. Custom pricing can be set for the kit as a whole.
Recent Enhancements to Composite Items
- Serial numbers can now be added to composite items
- Non-inventory items, including purchase items and services, can now be associated as constituents, not just stocked items
- The old Box/Unbox terminology has been replaced with Create Bundle and Bundling History
Note: Once inventory tracking is enabled on an item, it cannot be disabled afterwards. Consider carefully whether serial or batch tracking is genuinely needed before enabling it, since these add extra steps to every transaction involving that item.
Bulk Importing Composite Items
Composite items can be imported in bulk via CSV or TSV, with Zoho Inventory automatically attempting to map your file's fields to its own, and the option to save your mapping choices for future imports.
Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you structure your Items, Item Groups, and Composite Items correctly for accurate stock tracking in Zoho Inventory.
Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.