Bundling products together is one of the most effective techniques in retail and distribution. Sell a printer and the ink together. Sell the camera with the case and the memory card. Sell the welcome pack of five complementary products that new customers always need. Bundles increase average order value, simplify buying decisions for customers, and move supporting inventory alongside your flagship products.

iMagic Inventory’s Item Groups feature makes bundled selling easy to set up and completely accurate in terms of stock management.

Item Groups vs Assemblies: Understanding the Difference

Before diving in, it’s worth clarifying the distinction between Item Groups and Item Assemblies in iMagic Inventory.

Item Assemblies are for products you physically manufacture or assemble — components go in, a finished product comes out. iMagic Inventory deducts component stock when you build the assembly, and you sell the finished item from its own stock.

Item Groups are for selling a collection of individual items together as a convenient bundle — without manufacturing anything. When you sell an item group, iMagic Inventory reduces each individual component item’s stock. The group is a sales convenience, not a physical product.

Use assemblies for manufacturing. Use item groups for curated product bundles sold as a unit.

Setting Up an Item Group

iMagic Inventory lets you manage your groups via View > Item Groups. Create a new group and give it a name (e.g., “Photography Starter Bundle”). Add the individual inventory items that make up the bundle, with the quantity of each.

When you add this item group to an invoice, iMagic Inventory expands all the member items as individual lines on the invoice with a group header. The customer sees exactly what’s in the bundle. iMagic Inventory reduces stock for each item individually when the invoice is finalised.

Pricing Your Bundles

A key strategic decision with bundles is pricing. iMagic Inventory gives you flexibility here:

  • Use the sum of individual prices — the bundle just makes purchasing easier without offering a discount
  • Offer a bundle discount — the bundle price is lower than buying each item separately, creating an incentive to buy the bundle
  • Create a special bundle price — fixed pricing that positions the bundle as a distinct offering

With multiple pricing tiers available in iMagic Inventory, you can offer different bundle pricing for retail and wholesale customers.

Using Item Groups to Promote Slower-Moving Stock

Bundles are an excellent way to move inventory that’s sitting stagnant. If you have a product that moves slowly on its own but complements a fast-moving item, bundle them together. The fast mover pulls the slow mover along. Your average order value increases, and your slow-moving stock starts to clear.

This kind of strategic bundling is hard to manage without a system. iMagic Inventory handles it: set up the Item Group in minutes and start selling the bundle immediately.

How to Set Up and Sell Item Groups in iMagic Inventory

  1. In iMagic Inventory, go to View > Item Groups and click New Group.
  2. Give the group a descriptive name that will appear on invoices (e.g., “Office Starter Pack”).
  3. Add the member items to the group. For each item, specify the quantity included in the bundle.
  4. Set the group price — either leave it to sum individual prices or enter a fixed bundle price.
  5. Save the group.
  6. To sell the bundle, open a New Invoice and add the item group name as a line item, just like any product.
  7. iMagic Inventory will expand the group into its individual items on the invoice, with a group header.
  8. Finalise the invoice — iMagic Inventory automatically reduces each individual item’s stock by the specified quantity.
  9. To see all your groups and their contents, return to View > Item Groups at any time.

Seasonal and Promotional Bundles

Item Groups are also ideal for temporary promotional bundles — a summer bundle, a holiday gift pack, a new customer welcome kit. iMagic Inventory lets you set them up for the promotion period and remove or deactivate them afterwards. The flexibility to create and dissolve bundles quickly makes promotional selling much more agile.

Combined with your pricing tiers and customer-specific pricing, iMagic Inventory’s Item Groups give you a powerful toolkit for increasing sales without complicating your stock management.

Download iMagic Inventory free for 30 days and start selling your first bundle today.