Products & Inventory
For: merchandising, operations, and inventory management staff working in the admin dashboard
What you'll learn: how to find and edit products, manage prices and variants, understand inventory and stock locations, and troubleshoot why a product isn't showing on the storefront.
This is a how-to guide for the dashboard, not the API. If you're building an automated integration or bulk-updating products instead, see the Products API reference or the Usage Guide.
Before you start#
You'll need an admin login for your store and the Products section visible in the left navigation. If you don't see it, ask your administrator to grant product management access.
Throughout this guide, screenshots use a demo store — the names, products, and prices shown are fake.
1. Find a product#
Log in to the admin dashboard and click Products in the left navigation.
You'll see a list of all products in your catalog. Use the search box at the top to find a product by name, SKU, or barcode. You can also filter by collection, product type, or status (active, draft, archived).
2. Open a product to see its details#
Click any product row to open its detail page. This is where you manage everything about that product — pricing, variants, inventory, and more.
3. Read a product's variants and SKUs#
Most products come in multiple variants — different sizes, colors, or options. Each variant has its own SKU (stock keeping unit), price, and inventory levels.
For each variant you'll see:
- SKU — the unique identifier for that size/color/option combination
- Price — the retail price you set (entered as a decimal: 49.99, not 4999 cents)
- Inventory — how many units are in stock across all locations
4. Edit a product's price#
To change a product's retail price, open the product and click Edit (or the edit icon next to the product name). Find the Price field for the variant you want to change.
Important: Prices are decimal numbers. Enter 49.99 for forty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents —
not 4999 or any other format. The system will reject invalid entries.
After you change the price, click Save. The new price takes effect immediately on the storefront.
5. Edit other product details#
On the product detail page, you can also edit:
- Title — the product name shown on the storefront
- Description — the full product description and marketing copy
- Images — add, remove, or reorder product photos
- Collections — group this product with related products
- Product Type — categorize the product (e.g., "Apparel", "Electronics")
- Status — mark a product as active, draft (not yet live), or archived (hidden)
All changes save when you click Save Changes.
6. Understand inventory and stock locations#
Inventory in OmniCart is tracked by variant and by stock location — the warehouse or fulfillment center where you keep stock.
Click the Inventory section on the product detail page to see:
- How many units of each variant are at each location
- Reserved quantities (items in orders but not yet fulfilled)
- Available quantities (what you can actually sell)
If you have multiple warehouses or fulfillment partners, each appears as its own location. The storefront shows the product as in-stock as long as at least one location has available inventory for that variant.
7. Manage variant cost (COGS)#
The Variant Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) widget on the product detail page shows you the per-unit cost for each variant. This helps you track gross margins and profitability.
Click Edit Cost to update the cost for a variant. You can enter decimals (e.g., 12.50) just like prices.
8. The storefront visibility gotcha: Sales Channels#
Important: A product must be assigned to a sales channel to appear on the storefront. Even if a product is active and in stock, it won't show up if it's not in the right sales channel.
Each store has one or more sales channels (e.g., "Web Store", "Wholesale Channel", "Mobile App"). When you create or edit a product, assign it to the channels where you want it to appear.
If a product isn't showing on the storefront:
- Open the product in the admin dashboard
- Check the Sales Channels section — is it assigned to the storefront's channel?
- If not, add it. If yes, and the product is still not showing, it may be inactive, out of stock everywhere, or there's a caching delay (try refreshing the storefront in 30 seconds).
9. Approve product reviews#
Customers can leave reviews on the storefront. You moderate them from the admin dashboard.
Click Reviews in the left navigation to see a pending, approved, and rejected reviews.
For each review you can:
- Approve — it shows on the storefront immediately
- Reject — it stays hidden (customer doesn't get a notification)
- Flag for review — mark it for a human to look at later
A dedicated Reviews & Ratings guide is coming soon for a deeper dive on managing customer feedback.
10. Manage bundles and brands (separate pages)#
If your store sells bundled products (SKUs that contain multiple items), click Bundled Products in the left navigation to manage bundles separately.
Similarly, if your store uses brands to organize products, click Brands to add, edit, or remove brand listings.
Quick reference#
| Task | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Find a product | Products → search by name, SKU, or barcode |
| Change a price | Open product → click Edit → update Price field (as decimal: 49.99) → Save |
| Check inventory | Open product → Inventory section → see stock by location |
| Make a product visible | Open product → Sales Channels → assign to the storefront channel |
| Update product details | Open product → edit Title, Description, Images, Collections → Save |
| Track variant cost | Open product → Variant COGS widget → click Edit Cost |
| Approve reviews | Reviews page → approve/reject/flag each review |
| Manage bundles | Bundled Products page (separate from regular products) |
| Manage brands | Brands page (if your store uses brand organization) |
Common troubleshooting#
| Problem | Why it happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Product won't save after I edit the price | Price is in wrong format (e.g., 4999 instead of 49.99) or field validation failed | Check the price field — re-enter as a decimal. If error persists, check that the variant exists and has a valid SKU |
| Product isn't showing on the storefront even though it's active | Not assigned to the storefront's sales channel | Open product → Sales Channels → add the storefront channel |
| Inventory shows available but the storefront says "out of stock" | One location has stock but a different fulfillment route is misconfigured | Check all stock locations; if all have units available, there may be a sync delay — try refreshing |
| Can't find the product in the Products list | Product may be archived or in a different collection | Use the search box or remove filters; if still missing, check Status (it may be archived) |