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Products are the items in your catalog available for subscription. Each product can have multiple variants (like color or storage size) with different pricing based on contract length.

Product Structure

A product consists of:
  • Product - The model or catalog item (e.g., “iPhone 16 Pro 256GB”)
  • Variants - Different configurations (e.g., “Black”, “Natural Titanium”)
  • Pricing - Monthly rates by contract length (6, 12, 24, 36 months)
FlexPortal supports subscriptions for any physical product type.

Creating a New Product

FlexPortal supports subscriptions for any physical product - electronics, furniture, mobility, baby gear, appliances, medical equipment, and more.
  1. Navigate to Products in the left sidebar
  2. Click New Product in the top right
  3. Fill in the product details:
    • Name - Product model name (e.g., “MacBook Air 13”)
    • SKU - Stock keeping unit for internal tracking
    • Category - Product category (Electronics, Furniture, etc.)
    • Brand - Manufacturer or brand name
    • Specification - Technical details or key features
  4. Click Save
Use clear, descriptive names. Customers will see these when browsing your catalog.

Adding Product Variants

Variants represent different configurations of the same product, like color, storage size, or condition grade.
  1. Open the product you want to add variants to
  2. Scroll to the Variants section
  3. Click Add Variant
  4. Enter variant details:
    • Variant name - Descriptive name (e.g., “512GB Space Gray”)
    • Grade - Condition rating (A, B, C for refurbished products)
  5. Click Save
For new products, use Grade A. For refurbished products, use grades to indicate condition and price accordingly.

Setting Pricing for Contract Lengths

Each variant can have different pricing for different contract lengths. Shorter contracts typically have higher monthly rates.
  1. Open a product variant
  2. Scroll to the Pricing section
  3. Click Add Pricing Tier
  4. Configure the pricing:
    • Contract length - Duration in months (6, 12, 24, 36)
    • Monthly price - Amount customer pays per month
  5. Repeat for additional contract lengths
  6. Click Save

Pricing Strategy

Common pricing structures across different industries: Electronics (MacBook Pro 14”):
Contract LengthMonthly PriceTotal Collected
6 months$149$894
12 months$89$1,068
24 months$49$1,176
Mobility (Urban E-Bike):
Contract LengthMonthly PriceTotal Collected
6 months€99€594
12 months€59€708
24 months€35€840
Furniture (Ergonomic Office Chair):
Contract LengthMonthly PriceTotal Collected
6 months€49€294
12 months€29€348
24 months€19€456
Longer contracts mean lower monthly rates but higher total income collected.
Always ensure your pricing covers the asset acquisition cost plus operational expenses before reaching 100% cost recovery.

Product SKUs and Organization

SKUs help you organize and track products internally. While customers don’t see SKUs, they’re essential for inventory management and reporting.

SKU Best Practices

  • Use consistent naming patterns (e.g., MBP-14-M3-512-SG for MacBook Pro 14” M3 512GB Space Gray)
  • Include key attributes in the SKU
  • Keep SKUs short but descriptive
  • Use hyphens or underscores for readability

Example SKU Structure

BRAND-MODEL-VARIANT
MBP-14-512GB-SG  (MacBook Pro 14" 512GB Space Gray)
IP16-256-BLK     (iPhone 16 256GB Black)
ECB-250W-BLK     (Urban E-Bike 250W Black)
EOC-PRO-BLK      (Ergonomic Office Chair Pro Black)
PS-DLX-GRY       (Premium Stroller Deluxe Gray)

Managing Product Status

Products can be active (available for new subscriptions) or discontinued (hidden from new orders while existing subscriptions continue).

Making a Product Active

  1. Open the product
  2. Toggle Status to Active
  3. Click Save
Active products appear in the order creation dropdown and are available via API.

Discontinuing a Product

  1. Open the product
  2. Toggle Status to Discontinued
  3. Click Save
Discontinued products remain in the system and existing subscriptions continue running. You can reactivate discontinued products at any time.

Editing Existing Products

  1. Navigate to Products
  2. Click on the product you want to edit
  3. Make your changes to:
    • Product details (name, SKU, brand, specifications)
    • Variants
    • Pricing tiers
  4. Click Save
Changing pricing on a product does not affect existing subscriptions. Only new orders will use the updated pricing.

Product Details and Specifications

Add detailed specifications to help customers make informed decisions. This appears in order confirmations and subscription details. Include details like:
  • Physical dimensions and weight
  • Technical specifications
  • What’s included in the box
  • Special features or capabilities
  • Warranty information

Deleting Products

Products with existing subscriptions cannot be deleted. Instead, set them to Discontinued status. For products with no subscriptions:
  1. Open the product
  2. Scroll to the bottom
  3. Click Delete Product
  4. Confirm deletion
Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Ensure the product has no associated orders or subscriptions.

Product Search and Filtering

Use the search bar at the top of the Products page to find products by:
  • Product name
  • SKU
  • Brand
  • Category
Filter products by:
  • Status - Active or Discontinued
  • Category - Electronics, Furniture, etc.
  • Brand - Manufacturer

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

  • Use clear, customer-facing names for products
  • Include key differentiators in the product name
  • Keep variant names concise

Pricing Guidelines

  • Set pricing that achieves cost recovery within the contract period
  • Offer multiple contract lengths to give customers flexibility
  • Consider seasonal pricing adjustments for certain products

Product Organization

  • Group related products by category
  • Use consistent SKU formats
  • Add detailed specifications for complex products
  • Keep product count manageable by using variants instead of creating duplicate products

Common Scenarios

Launching a New Product Line

  1. Create the base product with all core details
  2. Add variants for each configuration (color, storage, etc.)
  3. Set pricing tiers for each variant
  4. Set status to Active
  5. Test by creating a sample order

Updating Prices for Existing Products

  1. Open the product
  2. Navigate to the variant
  3. Edit the pricing tier
  4. Save changes
New orders will use the updated pricing. Existing subscriptions remain at their original price.

Managing Seasonal Products

For products available only during certain times of year:
  1. Set to Active during the season
  2. Set to Discontinued when out of season
  3. Reactivate when the season returns
Subscription billing continues regardless of product status.