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Glossary

This page defines the key terms and concepts used throughout BundlesIQ. Refer to this glossary when you encounter unfamiliar terminology in the app or documentation.

Bundle Terms

  • Bundle — A product that is composed of multiple individual items (components) sold as a single unit. In BundlesIQ, a bundle links a ghost SKU to its component variants
  • Ghost SKU — The Shopify product variant that represents the bundle in your store. Customers purchase this SKU, but it does not correspond to a physical item in your warehouse. BundlesIQ "explodes" it into real component SKUs on the order
  • Component — An individual product variant that is part of a bundle. Components are the real, physical items that get picked, packed, and shipped
  • Bundle explosion — The process of transforming a bundle line item on an order into its individual component line items. Also called "order transformation"
  • Bundle instance — A record of a specific bundle occurrence on a specific order. Each time a bundle is detected and processed on an order, BundlesIQ creates a bundle instance with a snapshot of the configuration used

Handling Modes

  • Handling mode — The setting that controls how BundlesIQ visually transforms an order after detecting a bundle. There are four modes
  • Hybrid mode — The bundle line item remains on the order at $0.00 as a reference label. Component line items are added with their allocated prices. Best for B2B and wholesale where you want to show both the bundle identity and individual component pricing
  • Reporting mode — The bundle line item stays on the order at its original purchase price. Component line items are added at $0.00 for fulfillment visibility. Best for DTC stores where revenue should attribute to the bundle SKU
  • Operational mode — The bundle line item is fully removed from the order (quantity set to 0). Only priced component line items remain. Best for warehouses, distributors, and 3PL-driven workflows that require strict SKU-level accuracy
  • Parent-Only (BOM) mode — The bundle line item stays on the order at its original price and no component line items are added. Component inventory is reserved, consumed, and restocked behind the scenes using Shopify inventory states. Best for made-to-order, kitting, and assembly workflows. Currently in Beta

Pricing Terms

  • Pricing strategy — The setting that determines how the bundle price relates to component prices. Independent of handling mode
  • Bundle-led pricing — The bundle's retail price is the fixed, pinned value. Component prices are calculated by distributing the bundle price across components
  • Component-led pricing — Each component's bundle price is set individually (via percentage, dollar, or specific price discounts). The bundle's retail price is derived as the sum of component bundle prices
  • Uniform percent — A discount strategy where the same percentage discount is applied to every component in the bundle
  • Proportional allocation — A discount strategy where the bundle price is distributed across components proportionally based on their retail values
  • Per-component discount — A discount strategy where each component can have a different discount type and amount (percentage off, dollar off, or specific retail price)
  • Price allocation — The process of distributing the bundle's total price across its component line items during order transformation

Inventory Terms

  • Bundle availability — The maximum number of bundles that can be sold, derived from component stock levels. Calculated as the minimum of (component available quantity / quantity per bundle) across all components
  • Inventory sync — The automatic process of updating the ghost SKU's inventory level in Shopify based on the current bundle availability calculated from components
  • Computed availability — The derived bundle stock level based on the "least available component" logic
  • Reserved inventory — In Parent-Only (BOM) mode, component stock that has been allocated to an order but not yet consumed. Uses Shopify's reserved inventory state to move units from available to reserved without adding component line items to the order

Order Processing Terms

  • Order transformation — The complete process of detecting a bundle on an order, calculating prices, adding component line items, and committing the changes to Shopify
  • Draft order processing — Bundle transformation applied to Shopify draft orders, commonly used in B2B and wholesale workflows
  • Processing scope — The global setting that controls which orders BundlesIQ processes (all orders, tagged orders only, or orders with specific exclusion tags)
  • Idempotent processing — BundlesIQ marks processed orders with metadata to prevent duplicate transformations if the same webhook fires more than once
  • Reprocessing — The act of re-running the full bundle transformation pipeline for an order. Clears existing instances, strips BIQ tags, and processes the order from scratch. Available from the Bundle Tools admin action on orders and draft orders
  • Reverting — The act of undoing a bundle transformation on a draft order, restoring it to its pre-BundlesIQ state by removing component lines and restoring original bundle lines. Only available for draft orders

3PL and Fulfillment Terms

  • 3PL protection — A set of tag-based and hold-based mechanisms that prevent fulfillment partners from importing or acting on orders before bundle processing completes
  • BIQ_PROCESSING tag — Applied to orders when BundlesIQ begins processing. Used as a signal to 3PLs to skip the order
  • BIQ_READY tag — Applied to orders after BundlesIQ successfully completes processing. Used as the allowlist signal for 3PLs to import the order
  • BIQ_ERROR tag — Applied to orders when BundlesIQ processing fails. The order remains blocked from fulfillment until the issue is resolved
  • BIQ_REVERTED tag — Applied to draft orders when a bundle transformation is reverted (undone). Prevents the webhook-worker from automatically re-transforming the draft order when Shopify fires the draft_orders/update webhook in response to the revert
  • Fulfillment hold — A Shopify-native mechanism that places the order's fulfillment orders in an "On hold" state, preventing fulfillment until the hold is released

Configuration Terms

  • Variance absorber — An automatic reconciliation mechanism that corrects small rounding differences (typically a few cents) between the expected and calculated order totals after transformation
  • Writer options — Advanced settings that control how BundlesIQ writes line items to Shopify, including merge behavior, grouping headers, and safety limits
  • BOM cost lines — Optional cost entries (e.g., Labor, Overhead, Packaging) that can be attached to a bundle in Parent-Only (BOM) mode for internal cost tracking. These are not visible on the Shopify order
  • Reserve timing — A Parent-Only setting that controls when component inventory is reserved: either when the order is created (orders/create) or when the order is paid (orders/paid)
  • Location strategy — A Parent-Only setting that determines which Shopify location is used for inventory reservations: the fulfillment order's assigned location or a single fixed location

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