# Linking products to pools - Stockpool 1.x documentation

> Link products and variations to pools on the Inventory tab, with the amount one item uses, several pools per product and variations that differ.

A product sells from a pool once it's linked to it, with the amount one item uses.

![Pools on a product's Inventory tab](https://storage.extendiment.com/media/1063/screenshot-4.png)

## On a product

1. Edit the product and open its **Inventory** tab.
2. Under **Shared stock**, click **Add a pool**.
3. Choose the pool. The list shows each pool's stock, so you can check you picked the right one.
4. Enter what **one item uses**: 1 for a mug made from one blank, 1.2 for a tee that takes 1.2 m of fabric, 6 for a six-pack. The pool's unit is shown next to it.
5. Click **Update**.

Below the pools, **Can sell now** shows how many of the product the pools can cover.

## Several pools

Add as many pools as the product takes. A gift set might use two mug blanks *and* one gift box:

| Pool | Uses per item |
|---|---|
| Stoneware mug blanks | 2 |
| Kraft gift boxes | 1 |

Every sale takes from each pool, and the product is out of stock as soon as any pool without backorders can't cover one more.

## Variable products and variations

- **Pools on the variable product** apply to every variation. Use this when all sizes or colours draw on the same stock, such as one blank per tee.
- **Pools on a variation** (open the variation's panel on the **Variations** tab) replace the product's for that variation only. Use this when each colour uses its own fabric, or a bigger size uses more.

So a tee whose variations each use their colour's fabric *and* a blank lists both pools on each variation:

| Variation | Pools |
|---|---|
| Brick | Brick cotton jersey 1.2 m, Organic tee blanks 1 |
| Navy | Navy cotton jersey 1.2 m, Organic tee blanks 1 |

A variation without pools of its own says which pools it uses from the product.

> [!TIP]
> Linking many products by hand is quicker in a grid: see **Bulk linking with Gridline**.

## The Stock status field

For a product that doesn't track its own stock, the pools decide whether it's in stock, so Stockpool hides WooCommerce's **Stock status** field while the product has pools, and sets the status itself whenever the pools change. Remove the last pool and the field comes back; the product returns to "In stock".

## Products that track their own stock

If **Track stock quantity for this product** is ticked, both limits apply: the product sells until its own stock or a pool runs out, whichever comes first. WooCommerce reduces the product's own stock as usual, and Stockpool the pools'.

## Removing a link

Click the cross next to a pool and update the product. Orders placed before keep the record of what they took, so cancelling or refunding them later still gives stock back to the right pool.

Source: https://extendiment.com/plugins/stockpool/docs/1.x/linking-products