Duplicate products are a normal and useful part of building an order in Elite Core. You may want to copy a product because the same item is being offered in another colour, decorated differently, priced differently, shipped somewhere else, or presented as a separate option for the customer.
The important thing to understand is simple: when you copy a product in Elite Core, the copy becomes its own cart line.
Even if the copied product started from the same original item, Elite Core needs to keep each line separate so you can edit, price, decorate, reorder, and manage each version independently.
A copied product may start from the same item, but once it is in the cart, it needs to behave like its own product line.
This guide explains how duplicate products and cart lines work from a user’s perspective, why copied products must remain independent, what happens when a Sales Order is generated, and what to check if a duplicated product ever appears to behave unexpectedly.
Why Would You Duplicate a Product?
Copying a product can save a lot of time when most of the product setup is already correct.
Instead of adding the same item again from scratch, you can duplicate an existing product and change only the details that are different.
Common examples include:
- The same shirt in two different colours
- The same jacket with two different decoration locations
- The same product with different quantities
- The same item offered at different price points
- The same product going to different shipping destinations
- The same item with different artwork
- The same product offered as two customer choices
- The same garment decorated by different suppliers or decorators
Duplicating the product gives you a head start while still allowing each version to be managed separately.
What Is a Cart Line?
A cart line is one individual product entry in the Elite Core cart.
If your cart contains three products, you have three separate product lines. If you duplicate one of those products, you now have another line in the cart, even if the new line looks almost identical to the original.
Think of each cart line as its own version of the product.
For example:
| Cart Line | Product | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | Performance Polo | Navy, left-chest embroidery |
| Line 2 | Performance Polo | Black, left-chest embroidery |
| Line 3 | Performance Polo | Navy, full-back screen print |
All three lines may use the same basic catalogue product, but they represent three different versions of the order.
Why Elite Core Keeps Copies Separate
A copied product needs to remain independent because many details can change after the copy is created.
Each copied line may have its own:
- Colour
- Size breakdown
- Quantity
- Customer price
- Supplier cost
- Decoration method
- Decoration location
- Artwork
- Supplier
- Decorator
- Shipping information
- Notes
- Position in the cart or presentation
If Elite Core treated the original and the copy as the same line, changing one could affect the other. That would make it difficult to build orders with multiple versions of the same product.
The system therefore keeps each cart line distinct, even when the products are closely related.
A Simple Example
Imagine a customer wants the same hoodie with two different decoration options.
- Hoodie A: left-chest embroidery
- Hoodie B: large full-back print
You can configure the first hoodie, duplicate it, and then change the decoration on the second version.
From that point forward, Elite Core should treat them as two independent cart lines.
You should be able to:
- Edit Hoodie A without changing Hoodie B
- Edit Hoodie B without changing Hoodie A
- Give each hoodie a different price
- Assign different decoration work
- Move one above or below the other
- Include both in an Estimate or Presentation
- Carry both into the Sales Order
Copying Does Not Mean the Products Have to Stay Identical
The copy is simply a starting point.
Once a product has been duplicated, you can change it just as you would any other product line.
For example, you could duplicate a black T-shirt and then change the copied line to:
- A different colour
- A different quantity
- A different size breakdown
- A different decoration
- A different selling price
- A different shipping destination
That is why copied products need to remain independently identifiable inside Elite Core.
What Happens When You Edit a Copied Product?
When you open one copied product and make a change, Elite Core should save the change only to that product line.
For example, if you have two copies of the same jacket and change the quantity on the second one from 24 to 48, the first jacket should remain unchanged.
The same applies to decoration, pricing, colours, notes, and other product-specific details.
Editing one copy should never silently change another copy.
What Happens When You Reorder Copied Products?
Copied products can also be moved independently in areas where product order matters.
For example, if a Presentation contains three versions of the same item, you may want the preferred option shown first.
Moving one copy should move only that line. The other copies should stay where they are unless you move them as well.
This is useful when organizing:
- Presentations
- Product choices
- Sales Order displays
- Alternate decoration options
- Good / Better / Best pricing options
How Copied Products Work with Decorations
Decoration is one of the most common reasons to duplicate a product.
You may want the same garment with different decoration options, such as:
- Embroidery versus screen printing
- Left chest versus full back
- One-colour versus multi-colour decoration
- Different logos
- Different decorators
Each copied product line can keep its own decoration setup.
This lets a salesperson build several versions of the same base item without creating the entire product configuration again.
How Copied Products Work with Pricing
Each copied product can also have its own pricing.
For example:
| Option | Product | Decoration | Customer Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option A | Quarter-Zip | Left-chest embroidery | $54.00 |
| Option B | Quarter-Zip | Left chest + sleeve embroidery | $61.00 |
The same catalogue item can therefore appear more than once while representing genuinely different customer choices.
How Copied Products Work with Presentations
Presentations are a natural place to use duplicate products.
You may want to show a customer several configurations of the same product without searching for and rebuilding the item multiple times.
For example, a Presentation could show:
- The same bag in three colours
- The same jacket at three quantity breaks
- The same polo with three decoration options
- The same tumbler with different imprint methods
Each option should remain independent so the customer-facing Presentation accurately reflects each choice.
What Happens When a Sales Order Is Generated?
When an Estimate or Presentation moves forward and a Sales Order is generated, Elite Core needs to preserve the products as they existed at that stage of the order.
This is important because the Sales Order becomes a formal record of what the customer agreed to.
If your cart contains two separate versions of the same product, the Sales Order should preserve both of those lines separately.
For example:
- Line 1: Black hoodie, 24 units, embroidered
- Line 2: Grey hoodie, 12 units, screen printed
The fact that both came from the same base product should not cause them to merge.
What Is a Sales Order Snapshot?
You may hear the term snapshot when discussing Sales Orders in Elite Core.
A snapshot is simply a saved representation of the order at a particular point in the workflow.
That matters because the live project cart may continue to change, while the Sales Order needs to remember what was included when that document was created or approved.
For copied products, the important part is that the snapshot continues to remember each product line separately.
That helps preserve differences such as:
- Quantity
- Colour
- Pricing
- Decoration
- Artwork
- Shipping
- Product order
Why This Matters After the Sales Order Is Approved
Once the Sales Order moves further into the workflow, product lines may affect several other areas of Elite Core.
Depending on the order, those product lines can influence:
- Purchase Orders
- Supplier routing
- Decorator routing
- Proofing
- Production
- Shipping
- Vendor costs
- Client invoicing
- Margin reporting
That is why Elite Core is careful to keep copied products distinct early in the process. Two lines that look similar on a Presentation may eventually need completely different purchasing or production instructions.
Example: Same Product, Different Decorators
Suppose a customer orders the same work shirt for two departments.
- Department A: embroidered internally
- Department B: sent to an outside decorator for a specialty transfer
The base shirt may be exactly the same.
But the two lines need to remain separate because their downstream routing is different.
One may create or participate in an internal decoration workflow while the other may route goods to an external decorator.
Example: Same Product, Different Shipping Destinations
A customer may also need the same product delivered to different locations.
For example:
- 50 units to Calgary
- 75 units to Edmonton
- 25 units to Red Deer
Depending on how the order is configured, separate cart lines can help clearly represent the different quantities and destinations.
Again, the catalogue product may be the same while the business purpose of each line is different.
What Should Happen When You Click Save?
Saving a copied product should preserve the products already in the cart.
If you started with two product lines and edited one of them, a normal save should still leave you with two product lines.
Saving one copy should not:
- Create another unintended product
- Remove the original
- Merge the two lines
- Change the wrong copy
- Move another copy unexpectedly
What If a Third Product Suddenly Appears?
If you had two copied products and suddenly appear to see a third product after saving or refreshing, do not immediately assume the order itself has been duplicated.
First check whether there are actually three products in the cart or whether the page is displaying the existing products incorrectly.
A useful first step is:
- Refresh the page.
- Confirm the actual number of product lines.
- Open each line and confirm the product details.
- Check whether the unexpected line remains after reopening the order.
- If the problem continues, report which product was copied and which action caused the extra line to appear.
This information makes it much easier for support or development to determine whether an extra product was actually saved or whether the screen simply displayed the order incorrectly.
What If Editing One Copy Changes the Other?
This is not expected behaviour.
If you have two copied product lines, changes made to one line should not automatically apply to the other unless you intentionally update both.
If this happens, record:
- The project number
- The Sales Order number if one exists
- Which product was duplicated
- Which copy you edited
- What field you changed
- What happened to the other copy
This gives the support team enough context to trace the order accurately.
What If a Copied Product Disappears?
If one of the product copies appears to disappear, first confirm that the order has finished loading and refresh the page.
Then check whether:
- The line was accidentally deleted
- A filter or view is hiding the product
- The product appears on the current Presentation or Sales Order
- The copy exists in the project cart
If the product is still missing, provide the project and product details to support.
Copied Products and Older Orders
Elite Core continues to support orders created through earlier versions of the platform.
Older Sales Orders may have been created before some of today’s cart-handling improvements were introduced.
The system includes compatibility handling so older orders can continue to display and function without requiring users to rebuild them.
If an older Sales Order contains duplicated or copied products and behaves differently from a new order, avoid making unnecessary changes simply to make the screen look different. Confirm the actual approved order first.
Why the System Preserves the Original Relationship
A copied product can still be related to the item it originally came from.
Elite Core preserves useful historical relationships while also making sure the new cart line can be worked with independently.
From the user’s perspective, you do not need to manage those relationships manually.
The practical rule is simply:
The copy remembers where it came from, but it behaves as its own line in the cart.
Best Practices When Duplicating Products
- Duplicate when most of the setup is reusable. It is ideal when you only need to change a few details.
- Rename or differentiate the copy where helpful. Clear colours, decoration notes, or descriptions make similar lines easier to distinguish.
- Review quantities after copying. Make sure the copied line has the intended size and quantity breakdown.
- Review pricing independently. Do not assume the copied product should always use the same customer price.
- Review decoration carefully. A copied item may retain setup that needs to be changed for the new option.
- Confirm shipping information. Especially when a copy is being used to represent a different destination.
- Review the Presentation or Estimate before sending. Make sure each copy is clear to the customer.
- Review the Sales Order before purchasing. Confirm that the intended product lines remain separate and accurate.
When You Should Duplicate Versus Add a New Product
Duplicating is best when the new line is closely related to something already configured.
| Situation | Recommended Approach |
|---|---|
| Same shirt, different colour | Duplicate the product |
| Same item, different decoration | Duplicate the product |
| Same item, different quantity option | Duplicate the product |
| Same item, different destination | Duplicate when separate lines help represent the routing |
| Completely different product | Add the new product normally |
| Different supplier catalogue item | Usually add the correct product rather than changing a copy beyond recognition |
How This Relates to Purchase Orders
Purchase Orders are created from the product, supplier, decoration, shipping, and routing information saved on the Sales Order and related order records.
Two copies of the same product can eventually require different Purchase Orders if their suppliers, decorators, or destinations differ.
This is one reason product copies must remain separate before purchasing begins.
For a detailed explanation of PO generation, see How to Generate and Review Purchase Orders in Elite Core.
How This Relates to Shipping
Copied products can also have different shipping requirements.
If two versions of a product need to travel through different routes, make sure the shipping setup on each applicable product is correct before Purchase Orders are generated.
For more information, see How Shipping Configuration Controls Purchase Order Routing in Elite Core.
How This Relates to Sales Orders
The Sales Order should accurately preserve what the customer agreed to.
Before sending or approving a Sales Order that contains copied products, review:
- Product names and descriptions
- Colours and sizes
- Quantities
- Customer pricing
- Decoration details
- Artwork
- Shipping and routing
- Any alternate options that should or should not remain
Once purchasing begins, making structural changes to the order may require additional review.
Quick Reference
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I duplicate a product? | Yes. Duplicating is useful when you want another version of an existing product. |
| Does the copy become its own cart line? | Yes. It should be independently editable. |
| Can I change the copy without changing the original? | Yes. |
| Can copies have different decoration? | Yes. |
| Can copies have different prices? | Yes. |
| Can copies have different quantities or colours? | Yes. |
| Can copies be reordered independently? | Yes. |
| Should both copies remain separate on the Sales Order? | Yes, when both are part of the approved order. |
| What if Save appears to create an extra product? | Refresh and confirm the actual number of cart lines before assuming another product was saved. |
| What if one copy changes when I edit another? | That is unexpected and should be reported with the project and product details. |
The Main Takeaway
Duplicate products give sales teams a faster way to build variations without starting over.
The key is that each copy becomes an independent cart line. It can have its own quantity, pricing, decoration, artwork, shipping, and position while still being related to the product it was copied from.
Elite Core carries that separation forward so the correct product choices can be preserved in Presentations, Sales Orders, purchasing, decoration, shipping, and later stages of the order.
Same starting product. Separate cart line. Independent choices.
That is the easiest way to think about duplicate products in Elite Core.
