Bundles, Combos & Buckets

Admin Manager Cashier

Use this page to sell several products as one item — a gift set, a combo with a choice of drink, a pick-any-3 platter, or a bucket of beers.

Quick steps

1. Turn bundles on (admin, once): go to Settings → Edit Settings, open the Products & Inventory tab, tick Enable Product Bundles, and save. For combos where the customer picks part of it, also tick Enable Combo Choice Slots.
2. Go to Products and click Add New Product. Pick your categories.
3. On the Pricing Model step, choose the Bundle card.
4. Enter the Bundle Price — what the customer pays for the whole thing.
5. Add the products inside it and set how many of each go into one bundle.
6. Click Create Product. The bundle is now on the register.

To change what's inside later, open the product and use its Options tab, then click Update Product.

Stock comes from the parts

A bundle keeps no stock of its own. Selling one takes its parts off the shelf, so count and adjust the parts, not the bundle.

Common questions

I want the customer to pick their drink. Do I add every flavour? Not as normal parts — then every combo would take one of each off the shelf. Put the flavours in a choice slot (such as "Choose your pop") so only the one picked comes out of stock. See Combos.

Why does my bundle show 0 in stock? One of its parts is out of stock (or every option in one slot is). Check the parts.

Why can't I turn this product into a bundle? It has variations. A product can have variations or be a bundle, not both. You can make one of its variations a bundle instead.

Can I sell bundles online? Fixed bundles, yes. Combos with choice slots, platters and buckets can't be sold on your storefront or WooCommerce, because someone at the counter has to pick part of them.

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More detail: the four kinds of bundle, and turning them on

A bundle is one item on your register that is made from other products in your catalog. The customer pays the bundle's price, and stock comes out of the products inside it — not out of the bundle itself.

Brother POS supports four shapes of bundle. Pick the one that matches how you actually sell the item:

Shape	Example	What the clerk does at the register
Fixed bundle	Starter kit: 1 grinder + 1 pack of papers + 1 lighter	Nothing extra — tap it and it goes in the cart
Combo with a choice slot	Popcorn chicken + fries + a pop of your choice	Picks which pop (or which side) before adding
Build-your-own platter	Munchies platter: pick any 3 items from a list	Picks the items, and can take two of the same thing
Bucket (all the same item)	Bucket of 5 beers — all one kind	Picks one kind; the whole bucket is that kind

Turning Bundles On

Bundles are switched off for new stores. An admin turns them on in Settings → Edit Settings, on the Products & Inventory tab:

Setting	What it does
Enable Product Bundles	Lets you create bundle products. Needed for every shape on this page.
Enable Combo Choice Slots	Adds choice slots, for combos where the customer picks part of what they get. Needs Product Bundles on.

If bundles are off, the Bundle choice still appears greyed out under Product Type on the product page, with a note that it is turned off for this store. Admins get a link straight to the setting.

Bar stores

If your store has Enable Bar Drinks turned on, the Bundle choice is available too — a cocktail recipe is a kind of fixed bundle. Cocktails are set up in the same place, but pour their ingredients in ounces.

More detail: creating a bundle and adding what goes in it

Creating a Bundle

With the New Product Wizard

1. Go to Products and click Add New Product.
2. On step 1, choose your categories as normal.
3. On step 2 (Pricing Model), choose the Bundle card.
4. On step 3, enter the Bundle Price — what the customer pays for the whole thing.
5. Add the products that make up the bundle (see Adding Components below).
6. If your store uses choice slots, you can name a slot and fill it here too — see Combos.
7. Click Create Product.

Bundles don't use the Variations step, so the wizard finishes after step 3.

Turning an Existing Product Into a Bundle

1. Open the product and go to the Details tab.
2. Under Product Type, choose Bundle.
3. Go to the Options tab to add the components.
4. Click Update Product.

Bundles and variations don't mix

A product can have variations or be a bundle, never both. If a product already has variations, the bundle settings explain this instead of offering the switch. You can still make an individual variation into a bundle — for example, a "Large" gift box variation that is itself a bundle.

Adding Components

Components are the products inside the bundle. They are managed on the product's Options tab (or on step 3 of the wizard).

• Browse & add products opens a search window. Type at least two letters of a name or SKU and click products to add them.
• Or add a whole category — in the same window, choose a category and click Add all to add every product in it at once. Products already in the bundle, and other bundles, are skipped.
• Add blank row adds an empty row you can search in directly. In the wizard this button is called Add Component Product.

Each component row has a quantity — how many of that product go into one bundle. A "Case of 24" bundle of one can would have a quantity of 24.

A product can only appear once

Each product can be in a bundle only once. If you try to add it twice, the error names the product. This applies whether it is always included or an option in a slot.

Bundles can't contain bundles

A bundle cannot include itself, and cannot include another bundle as a component.

Fixed Bundles

A fixed bundle always contains the same things. Leave Let the clerk choose items at checkout (build-your-own) unticked, add your components, and set their quantities.

Example: A "Rolling Kit" containing 1 grinder, 2 packs of papers and 1 lighter. Selling one Rolling Kit takes 1 grinder, 2 packs of papers and 1 lighter out of stock.

Modifiers on a component

If a component has its own modifier lists — for example the fries in a combo have a "Toppings" list — the register asks for them when the combo is added. They are labelled with the part they belong to, such as Fries: Toppings. You don't need to copy the list onto every combo.

More detail: combos, platters and buckets

Combos: a Slot the Customer Fills

A choice slot is a part of the combo that the customer chooses — "chicken, fries, and a pop: which pop?". Only the option the customer picks comes out of stock.

Don't list every flavour as a component

Without a slot, listing Coke, Sprite and Root Beer as components means every combo sold takes one of each off the shelf. Put them in a slot instead.

Choice slots need Enable Combo Choice Slots turned on. They are only offered on fixed bundles, so they are hidden while build-your-own is ticked.

Setting up a slot

1. On the Options tab, find Choice slots.
2. Type a name for the slot, such as Choose your pop.
3. Set Customer picks to how many they choose (usually 1).
4. If the slot takes 2 or more, tick can repeat a choice to allow two of the same option (two Cokes rather than a Coke and a Sprite).
5. Fill the slot with options:
   • Choose a category from Add all from… beside the slot and click Add all, or
   • Add products with Browse & add products and set each row's dropdown from Always included to the slot's name.
6. Click Update Product.

You can name a slot and fill it in the same save. Click Add another slot for a second one (for example, "Choose your side").

In the Browse & add products window, when slots exist, a dropdown beside Add all lets you choose whether the category goes in as always included or into a named slot.

Example: Popcorn Chicken Combo

Component	Set to
Popcorn Chicken	Always included
Fries	Always included
Coke, Sprite, Root Beer, Ginger Ale	Choose your pop (Customer picks 1)

Selling one combo with a Sprite takes 1 popcorn chicken, 1 fries and 1 Sprite off the shelf. The other pops are untouched.

Removing a slot

Tick Remove beside the slot. If the slot has options, you are asked to confirm, and the message lists the options that will be removed from the bundle too. The products themselves are not deleted.

Build-Your-Own Platters

A platter is a menu the clerk picks from when the customer orders.

1. On the Options tab, tick Let the clerk choose items at checkout (build-your-own).
2. Set Min items and Max items — for example 3 and 3 for "pick any 3".
3. Add the products the customer can choose from as components.
4. Click Update Product.

A component's quantity still applies on a platter. If a "Burger slot" row has a quantity of 2 patties, each burger picked takes 2 patties.

Buckets: All the Same Item

A bucket is a build-your-own bundle where every unit is the same thing. A bucket of 5 beers is 5 of one beer, chosen by the customer.

1. On the Options tab, tick Let the clerk choose items at checkout (build-your-own).
2. Tick All the same item (a bucket).
3. Set How many in the bucket (for example, 5).
4. Add every beer the bucket can be filled with as a component.
5. Click Update Product.

While a bundle is a bucket, the per-component quantity column is hidden. How many in the bucket is the only count, so a bucket of 5 always takes exactly 5 bottles off the shelf, whatever the rows say. If you untick All the same item, the column comes back with its earlier values.

More detail: ringing up bundles, stock and selling online

How Bundles Ring Up at the Register

Shape	What happens when the clerk taps it
Fixed bundle	Added to the cart. If it or its components have modifier lists, those are asked for first.
Combo with slots	A window opens. Each slot shows Choose 1 · 0/1. The clerk taps an option (use + and − when a slot takes more than one). On a single-pick slot, tapping another option swaps it. Add to Cart stays blocked until every slot is filled.
Platter	The builder opens, showing Pick 3 (or a range like Pick 1–2). A chosen item gets + and − buttons, so two of the same item fills two places. The button reads Pick 2 more until the minimum is reached, then Add to cart.
Bucket	The builder shows Pick one — 5 of the same. The button reads Pick a kind until the clerk taps one. Tapping a different kind swaps the bucket over; tapping the same kind again empties it.

In the platter and bucket builder:

• Modifier lists attached to the platter itself (such as "Choose a dip") appear in their own block above the items.
• If your store uses the kitchen workflow, a Special Instructions box is available.
• An item that can't cover the choice is greyed out with Only 2 left or Out of stock. The builder counts what is already in the cart, so a third bucket of 5 is refused when only 12 of that beer are in stock.

What the cart shows

A combo or platter shows its picks under the line. A bucket shows the count, such as • 5 × Budweiser, so staff know how many to pull from the fridge.

Holds and tabs

• Hold and Recall keeps the choices. A recalled bucket still sells 5 of the chosen beer.
• Tabs can't carry a platter, bucket or combo with picks. Saving that cart to a tab shows an error; check those items out directly.

Voids and returns

Voiding a sale puts the components back. If you changed a fixed bundle's recipe after the sale — for example a gift box went from 3 widgets to 2 — a void or return puts back what was actually sold (3), not today's recipe.

Bundle Stock

A bundle keeps no stock of its own.

• Fixed bundles and combos show how many complete bundles your components can build. The Inventory tab shows this as Stock (computed from components) — for example "12 bundles". If one component can only make 12 while the rest could make 40, the bundle shows 12. It goes down on its own as components sell.
• Combos with slots count each slot as all its options pooled together. A combo is only as available as its tightest part: no pop left means no combo, however much chicken there is.
• Platters and buckets show no stock count on the register tile. Availability is checked item by item when the clerk picks.

Bundles of every kind are left out of inventory value in reports, because the products they are made from are already counted on their own.

Counting stock

To correct stock for a bundle, count or adjust its components. The Products list has no stock pencil on a bundle, and counting a location on a bundle isn't offered.

Selling Bundles Online

Shape	Storefront	WooCommerce
Fixed bundle with no choice slots	Sold normally	Synced
Combo with choice slots	Not listed	Not synced
Platter or bucket	Not listed	Not synced

Combos with choice slots, platters and buckets all need someone at the counter to choose part of what the customer gets, so they are kept off the storefront and WooCommerce. A shopper who tries to add one is told it is made to order at the counter and can't be bought online. If one was already sitting in a shopper's cart, it is left out of the cart and its total.

If one of these was already on your WooCommerce website, the Brother POS plugin (version 1.7.21 or newer) sets it to draft on its next catalog pull. On the older Legacy pull connection it stays listed, so remove it in WooCommerce yourself.

More detail: troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
I can't find any bundle settings	Turn on Enable Product Bundles in Settings → Edit Settings, on the Products & Inventory tab.
No "Choice slots" section on the Options tab	Turn on Enable Combo Choice Slots. Slots are also hidden while build-your-own is ticked.
Every flavour comes off stock when one combo sells	The flavours are set to Always included. Change each row's dropdown to the slot's name.
The product won't become a bundle	It has variations. Set the bundle up on a variation instead, or remove the variations first.
"…is already in this bundle"	That product is already a component or a slot option. Each product can appear only once.
A bundle shows 0 stock	One of its components (or every option in one slot) is out of stock. Check the components.
A bucket or combo isn't on my website	Buckets, platters and combos with choice slots can't be sold online — see Selling Bundles Online.

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What's Next?

• Creating Products — the new product wizard, step by step.
• Managing Products — the product page and its tabs.
• Modifiers and Variations — how add-on choices work at the register.
• Cart Management — what happens after an item is in the cart.