Invoices are dynamically changing with BTO Item...

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I just ran into what could be a nightmarish situation.  I noticed that if I recycle a BTO item... that is, just change it's SKU, and name without changing Product ID number... any order's invoice with that previous BTO product ID selected will change to the newly edited BTO item name and SKU.

For instance, if we carry 100GB hard drives... and then they are replaced with 200GB hard drives, well - since the 100GB will no longer be available, I was just editing the 100GB BTO item to 200GB and changing the SKU as well... but the 100GB product ID number would be the same as the 200GB product ID.  So, any orders that had the 100GB BTO item on it... if I check that invoice... it will now say 200GB to reflect the change made to the BTO Item.  

This IS NOT GOOD!  It scares me... I can't believe these old invoices are changing! LOL.  What would happen if I delete a BTO item that was on a previous order, will that BTO just disappear from all the previous invoices that had it?!  Like, if I had deleted the 100GB BTO item, would all the orders with that selection no longer show a 100GB on the invoice?!

Anyway... I know, in the future I can just create all new product ID for each BTO, but still... what if I accidentally delete a BTO item... it could ruin lots of invoices.  Do I really have to keep all BTO items exactly the same and always have them archived and never deleted, so that the invoices won't change?!?!

Edited by JWL - 23-January-2009 at 5:33am

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JWL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15-August-2008 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote JWL Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Invoices are dynamically changing with BTO Item... Posted: 23-January-2009 at 5:31am
	I just ran into what could be a nightmarish situation. I noticed that if I recycle a BTO item... that is, just change it's SKU, and name without changing Product ID number... any order's invoice with that previous BTO product ID selected will change to the newly edited BTO item name and SKU. For instance, if we carry 100GB hard drives... and then they are replaced with 200GB hard drives, well - since the 100GB will no longer be available, I was just editing the 100GB BTO item to 200GB and changing the SKU as well... but the 100GB product ID number would be the same as the 200GB product ID. So, any orders that had the 100GB BTO item on it... if I check that invoice... it will now say 200GB to reflect the change made to the BTO Item. This IS NOT GOOD! It scares me... I can't believe these old invoices are changing! LOL. What would happen if I delete a BTO item that was on a previous order, will that BTO just disappear from all the previous invoices that had it?! Like, if I had deleted the 100GB BTO item, would all the orders with that selection no longer show a 100GB on the invoice?! Anyway... I know, in the future I can just create all new product ID for each BTO, but still... what if I accidentally delete a BTO item... it could ruin lots of invoices. Do I really have to keep all BTO items exactly the same and always have them archived and never deleted, so that the invoices won't change?!?! Edited by JWL - 23-January-2009 at 5:33am

Matt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 20-July-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 73	Post Options Post Reply Quote Matt Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23-January-2009 at 11:57am
	The delete in the control panel does not remove the product from the database for exactly this reason. When you delete the product is just becomes "flagged as deleted". You should use the clone feature if you want to create a new product that is similar to the first.

JWL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15-August-2008 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote JWL Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24-January-2009 at 1:06pm
	This really should be noted somewhere... who would ever think old invoices would change - it's rather crazy. Luckily, we figured this out and resolved the invoices that changed... but it could be a nightmare for some - we had the order emails to compare the specs on the order, and that's how we knew what changed, but others might not be as lucky... you might want to put a disclaimer on the BTO item page... saying that changing it's details will effect previous invoices.

Matt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 20-July-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 73	Post Options Post Reply Quote Matt Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24-January-2009 at 3:00pm
	sure, we can make a note on the wiki. Hopefully it will help others. Just note, the pricing will not change on old invoices when you update product. Only the basic product level detail (e.g. sku) Think of it this way... when you modify a product it is still the same product. You are just changing its details. For example, maybe you need to add a trademark symbol to the product name. What you are trying to do is update a product and make it into a new product by changing its name. For that you need to use the clone feature.