On purchase and sales orders using variant handling.
If you work with variant handling on purchase and sales orders in Business Central, you can use the function “Create Item Variant Master Lines” to generate the top-level master line for groups of variant lines that are missing one.
The function fills in a master line before each group of variants. It calculates and shows the total variant quantity for that group, so a bundle of four variant lines with a combined quantity of 15 gets a master line stating 15.
You typically need this function when variant lines come into Business Central from outside the system, for example from a POS solution or an e-commerce platform, where the master line was never created.
The function can also maintain the total quantity. If your setup validates quantity changes on the master line, the totals update automatically. If your setup does not validate the change, you run the function again to update the totals.
Creating master lines for variant orders in Business Central
When you work with variant handling, the standard way of entering a purchase or sales order line is to select the style first. After selecting the style, you enter the quantities in the style matrix or in the item variant order view, depending on how you prefer to work. Both the matrix view and the order view are normal ways of entering lines.
This works well as long as you create the order line yourself. But sometimes the variant lines arrive without a master line on top of them. The variant lines exist, but they have no comment line or master headline that groups them together.
Why variant lines arrive without a master line
This usually happens when the lines come from outside Business Central. A POS solution, an e-commerce solution, or a similar integration can push variant lines directly into the order without creating the top-level master line that you would normally enter manually.
The result is a set of variant lines hanging on the order with no master line above them.
How the Create Item Variant Master Lines function works
The action “Create Item Variant Master Lines” handles exactly this situation. When you run it on the order, it fills in a master line before each group of variant lines.
For example, if the first bundle contains four lines with different quantities adding up to 15, the function creates a master line showing a total variant quantity of 15. If the next bulk of variants adds up to 12, it creates a master line showing 12 for that group.
Maintaining the total quantity
The function also helps you keep the total quantity correct. If you change a quantity manually and your setup validates the change, the total quantity on the master line updates right away.
If you have functionality that does not validate the quantity change, you may not be allowed to edit the quantity directly. In that case, you run the function again to update the master line with the correct totals.
Q&A
What does the Create Item Variant Master Lines function do?
It creates the top-level master line for groups of variant lines on purchase and sales orders. It inserts a master line before each group of variants and shows the total variant quantity for that group.
Why would variant lines be missing a master line?
Because they came into Business Central from outside the system, for example from a POS solution or an e-commerce solution, where the master line was never created.
Does the function keep the total quantity up to date?
Yes. If your setup validates quantity changes, the total quantity updates automatically. If your setup does not validate the change, you run the function again to update the totals.