Sets and services: compositions, design time, and non-physical lines

The invoice printed “Store pickup” under four hours of design time. The customer asked where to collect them. It's a reasonable question when the paperwork treats an afternoon of planning as another ottoman.

Use an OrderPilot composition for a predefined set of physical products and a service template for work such as design time or assembly. A composition adds its pieces as separate lines. A service stays out of physical delivery and purchasing. The quote then describes what the store is actually selling.

What does a composition add to the quote?

A composition is a fixed set of your own Shopify products, added together through the Admin product picker. The set's header doesn't become a line. Each component becomes its own line and keeps its price, stock, and purchasing treatment.

For an illustrative modular arrangement, define one center piece, two corners, and three armless pieces. Adding the composition brings those six pieces into the quote with their quantities. Review them as the actual set being sold, rather than asking the customer to infer the contents from the room photograph.

Baymard's research on sets and bundles recommends stating contents and quantities clearly. That principle remains useful when the set is being discussed across a showroom table: make the included pieces readable.

How is the composition set up?

Create the zero-priced header product in Shopify, apply the OrderPilot Composition tag, and define its pieces, quantities, and roles through the relevant Shopify metafields. There isn't an in-app composition builder. Have the catalog owner verify the mapping and test the resulting Admin picker entry before associates use it.

Components must be plain Shopify products; app-managed configurable template products are skipped. Use the appropriate separate template configuration when the sale requires custom options. The product-template guide explains that different job.

Compositions expand in the Admin picker, not POS. Keep the scope of the shortcut clear, then inspect the actual component lines. A composition doesn't validate every possible sectional arrangement or decide whether a customer has enough space for the chosen set.

Can you discount the whole set?

Use the ordinary line or order discount that matches the agreement. There is no separate composition-discount engine. Because the header never becomes a line, don't attach a promised set discount to an imaginary header price.

In a set totaling $3,000 before other charges, a $300 agreed discount produces $2,700 for the included goods. If the quote also contains another product or a service, check the discount's actual scope so it doesn't reduce unintended lines. The fees and discounts guide covers that review.

How does a service template behave?

A service template has Physical product unticked. Its lines receive a Service badge, don't ask for delivery or pickup, and don't go onto a vendor PO. Documents put services in their own table, so the customer can distinguish furniture from the work being charged.

A services-only order prints no ship-to and states that nothing ships. Service products describe billable work; they aren't appointment booking. Keep scheduling and the scope of the promised work clear in the customer's agreement.

Can a placed line change from service to physical?

Once the order is placed, a line's service status can't be changed. Set the correct treatment before placement and review the document. If something was classified incorrectly on a placed order, resolve it through the store's correction process rather than describing a switch that isn't available.

Use one mixed quote when the sale includes custom furniture, stocked accessories, and design work. The shared agreement can still let each line behave according to what it represents.

When is a named fee the clearer choice?

A named fee suits a charge such as delivery or white-glove handling when it should print as a separate charge row. A service template suits a reusable item of billable work. Choose the model that lets staff explain the charge and handle it consistently.

For design time credited toward a later purchase, use the design-fee credit guide to define the agreement. For delivery, define service levels as named charges. In either case, test a sample quote before the label reaches a customer.

Sources

1. Include contents and quantities for sets and bundles — Baymard Institute, October 8, 2024. Original research on making set contents explicit.