Will Square Register deduct a variation of an item from inventory?

[frillseekerstx]

I currently do not sell online but just in my brick and mortar boutique.  So far it has worked fine for use to just iinventory every variation under 1 sku.  Ie:  We sell rain coats.  Say I have 25 raincoats total but I actually have 5 coats in 5 different colors.  I understand how to set up a variation on my dashboard for each color under one sku number and I understand how that would show up on an online store when I set that up.  But is there a way to ring up a variation of an item under 1 sku on the square register?  I would like for my online store inventory to match my store sales and inventory?  I tried playing with it and added several color choice variations to an item and then scanned the barcode to ring it up.  It rang up as normal with no way for me to subtract the inventory for that color?  Is the only way to do this is to have a different sku for every variation?  Thanks! 

[isabelle · Accepted solution]

Hey @frillseekerstx!

Thanks for posting in the Seller Community.

If I am understanding your question correctly, the answer is yes. The only way that our system can identify that you are selling a specific variation, is if you add that variation to the cart manually, or scan the SKU associated with that specific variation. Otherwise, the system has no way of knowing which kind/variation of raincoat you are selling, it just thinks you're selling a raincoat (no variation). Does this make sense?

Please let me know if I've misunderstood your question. I want to make sure we get this figured out. 

[frillseekerstx]

Yes, that is what I thought and you have answered my question.  Thank you for responding.

[GLG]

I actually don't fully understand the question & answer so I would like to rephrase. Hopefully this is the same topic.

I sell plants. I want a main sale item with a main image. When you click that main image, I want the description & an option to purchase a 4", 6", or 8" aloe vera, each with their own SKU, price, COG, & image that syncs with my square inventory count. However, when I add a variation, I can't choose a product from Square that already has that associated information. I have to manually type everything in & reupload a photo. Ultimately, this does not do the most important thing, which is sync with my square inventory count, rending my decision to use Weebly worthless.

As I see it, my only option is to have an individual main item for every plant option. The result will be 3 - 4 TIMES the number of listings I already have, which is highly burdensome & repetitive when trying to shop.

So, do I have this information right? Variations do NOT sync with Square items/inventory count? If so, what is work around other than separate listings?

[AshleyK]

Hi @GLG. Item variations do have stock, SKUs, and also transfer over to the online store. They do track with inventory counts. I have provided a screenshot below to show the fields that each variation can carry individually with Square.