Use properties to describe a product

Applies To: Dynamics 365 (online), Dynamics 365 (on-premises), Dynamics CRM 2013, Dynamics CRM 2015, Dynamics CRM Online, Dynamics CRM 2016

Simplify product management and classification by adding properties that help distinguish products from one another. Adding well-defined properties to products cuts down on the time spent by your agents trying to find products with the right specifications or properties for your customers when they’re building orders.

A property of a product could be its size, color, or component and so on. Properties are added at the family level. You can add properties only to a family, and only when it is in a draft or under revision state. The child products, bundles, and families inherit the properties from their parent family.

On this page

Add properties to product families

Change properties of product family, products, or bundles

Product versioning

Add properties to product families

1. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. 

2. Click Families & Products.

3. Click the product family you want to add properties for.

4. In the product form, in the Product Properties section, click .

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

   Note

   You can hide a property by setting Hidden to Yes. When you hide a property, you block the child families or products from inheriting that property.

   The following table shows a list of properties that you might want to add for a shirt product family:

   Property name	Data type	Values
   Color	Option Set	red, blue, yellow, green
   Size	Option Set	small, medium, large

6. Click the Save button in the bottom right corner, and close the form.

Repeat the steps to add multiple properties.

Change properties of product family, products, or bundles

You can make changes to the inherited properties of an individual product or family by overriding its properties. For example, for a shirt family, the size can vary between small, medium, and large. A product inside this family will inherit the same property. You can override the property to define the actual size of an individual shirt to medium.

1. Open the product you want to override the property of.

2. Click the property you want to override.

3. In the Product Properties form, on the command bar, click Override.

4. Change the details as required, and save the properties record.

In the following cases, you’ll see the Overwrite option instead of the Override option:

• You’re trying to change non-inherited properties of a product family that’s in the Under Revision status.

• You’re trying to change the inherited and already overridden properties of a child product family or product. If the inherited properties of the child product or family weren’t overridden, you’ll see the Override option.

Product versioning

At times, opportunities run for extended period. During this period, the associated product may change or retire. In such cases, the opportunity must still be taken through to completion.

When you revise a product and change the properties, Dynamics 365 automatically creates a new version of the product and copies the product details from the existing product to the newer version. The new product version has all the details including price lists, product relationships, and properties. The already-created opportunities with the older version of product can continue to refer to the older version of the product. The opportunities that are created after the product is revised or retired will refer to the current (newer) version.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough
System Settings dialog box - Sales tab
Classify products and bundles into product families