Units & Measurement Pricing
Choose which units your store sells in, define custom units such as a box, rename and translate them, and understand why a unit in use cannot be deleted or changed.
Settings → Units is your store's unit catalogue. Here you switch standard units (pieces, kilograms, metres, square feet, litres and so on) on or off, add your own units such as "1 box = 15.5 sq ft", and set the GST unit code each unit reports on invoices.
Availability: switched on per environment
Units is behind a feature flag that ships off. BillionBiz turns it on environment by environment: it is on for the UAT
test environment and not yet enabled for live stores. Until it is on for your environment,
there is no Units card in Settings, no Units item in the sidebar, and opening the address
/settings/units sends you back to the Settings hub. If you cannot see it, see
Troubleshooting below.
What you get
- Standard units grouped by what they measure (Count, Weight, Length, Area, Volume), each with an Enabled switch and its GST code.
- Custom units defined against a standard unit, with your own name, symbol, GST code, and decimal places.
- A rename and a Tamil name for custom units, plus a translations table for ten admin languages.
- An in-use guard that stops you deleting or switching off a unit that products, carts, or invoices still refer to, and a View products shortcut to find them.
Open the Units screen
Go to Settings → Units. The Units card sits in the Store group of the Settings hub, and it is the same in both admin themes. In the new admin sidebar, Units is also listed directly under the Settings group. The classic sidebar has no separate Units entry, so use the Settings hub card.
Only store admins (the store-level admin roles) can open it. Other roles see an access-denied screen. The page has a back arrow to Settings in the classic theme.
The screen has three cards, top to bottom: Standard units, Your custom units, and Unit name translations.
How measured prices appear
When selling by unit is enabled, the product list and product details show a measured product's price per unit, such as ₹120.00 / kg. Products sold by the piece keep their existing price display. Choose a product's selling unit using Selling by Unit.
Customers choose the quantity on the product page. Its measured total shows Pending until the price for that selection arrives; changing the quantity or variant waits for a fresh quote. A measured line in the cart also shows Pending while its quoted total is unavailable.
Why does the total still say Pending? The price for the current selection has not arrived. Wait for it to resolve before using that displayed total; the unit price alone is not the quoted amount for the selected quantity.
Standard units: switch units on or off
Standard units says "Switch on the units you want to offer. Switched-off units stay out of every unit picker."
Units are grouped under Count, Weight, Length, Area, and Volume, in that order. A group with no units is not shown. Each group is a table with three columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Unit | The unit's short name (its symbol), and its full label beside it when the two differ. An In use badge appears when something still refers to the unit. |
| GST code | The GST unit quantity code (UQC) reported for this unit. Read-only for standard units. |
| Enabled | A switch. On means the unit is offered in unit pickers. |
Switch a unit on
In its group, turn the Enabled switch on. The change saves immediately and the page reloads the list. There is no Save button for this card.
Switch a unit off
Turn the Enabled switch off. If nothing refers to the unit, it switches off immediately. If something does, a "is in use" dialog opens instead and the unit stays on (see The in-use guard).
While a switch is saving it is disabled for that one row. If the save fails, a toast says Could not update the unit and the switch returns to its previous state.
Standard units cannot be deleted, renamed, or edited. You can only switch them on or off.
Switching a unit off does not rewrite products that already use it. In the product editor, the Unit measure unit list offers your enabled standard units (custom units are not listed there). A product that already has a unit you later switch off still shows that unit rather than a blank field.
Custom units: create your own
Use a custom unit when you sell or describe stock in a unit that is not a standard one, for example a box that covers a known floor area. Every custom unit is measured against one standard unit.
Open the create dialog
In Your custom units, select Create custom unit. When you have no custom units yet, the card shows No custom units yet ("Add a unit such as a bundle, a tray or a roll. Each one is measured against a standard unit.") with the same Create custom unit button. The dialog is titled Create custom unit.
Name it
Enter Unit name (up to 40 characters) and Symbol (up to 12 characters). Both are required. A field over its limit shows "Use at most N characters" and Create unit stays disabled.
Choose what it measures
Pick Measures: Count, Weight, Length, Area, or Volume. It starts on Count. Changing it resets Based on and GST unit code to the first standard unit of that kind.
Set the conversion
Pick Based on, a standard unit of the same kind (the helper text reads, for example, "Standard Area unit this one converts to").
Then fill 1 [your unit] equals, a number in that standard unit. The field shows the base unit's
symbol at the right. Enter a number greater than 0 with up to 12 decimals, for example 15.5;
anything else shows "Enter a number greater than 0 with up to 12 decimals".
Once the number is valid, the dialog's top line reads back your meaning, for example "1 box = 15.5 sq ft".
Pick the GST unit code
GST unit code lists the codes used by standard units of the chosen kind, shown as CODE — name,
plus Other (OTH). It starts on the code of your Based on unit, and follows it if you change
Based on. When the code matches the base unit's, the helper text confirms how invoices will report
it, for example "Reported on GST invoices as 15.5 SQF per box".
Choose decimal places
Decimal places is 0, 1, 2, or 3 (default 0). It sets how many decimals a quantity in this unit may have.
Create it
Select Create unit. The dialog closes, the list reloads, and a toast says Unit created. The new unit starts Enabled.
The dialog warns you at the bottom: "Once a product uses this unit, its meaning can no longer be changed. Only the name and symbol stay editable."
Count containers must be based on a piece
For a unit that measures Count, Based on must be piece. Boxes and similar count containers cannot be defined against other count units. If you pick another count unit, the dialog shows an error that your unit "cannot be based on" it, explaining that count containers can only be based on a piece, and Create unit stays disabled. Choose piece, or pick a Weight, Length, Area, or Volume unit instead.
If the server rejects the unit
If the server refuses the combination, the dialog stays open and shows the server's explanation in a red box. Any other failure shows "Could not save the unit. Please try again." Nothing is created until the save succeeds.
Your custom units table
Each custom unit is a row with:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Unit | The unit's name, with its symbol beside it when different. |
| Meaning | Your conversion, for example "1 box = 15.5 sq ft". |
| GST code | The code chosen at creation. |
| Enabled | A switch, with the same on/off rules as standard units. |
| Actions | An edit (pencil) icon and a delete (bin) icon. |
Rename a custom unit and change its Tamil name
Select the pencil icon on the row. The dialog is titled Edit [unit name].
You can change Unit name, Symbol, and the Tamil label (the field shows the language name in Tamil script). Leave the Tamil label empty to remove it. Select Save changes; a toast says Unit updated.
The rest of the unit appears under Locked because this unit is in use, as disabled fields marked Locked: Measures, Based on, 1 [unit] equals, GST unit code, and Decimal places. The dialog says "To change what this unit means, create a new unit instead."
Unused units are locked in this dialog too
The dialog's help text says "The meaning of a unit is fixed. To change its conversion or base unit, delete it and create a new one." The Edit dialog always locks the meaning fields, whether or not the unit is used, so to change the meaning, delete the unit (if nothing uses it) and create a new one. A unit that is used by items instead says "Used by N items, so only the name, symbol and translations can change."
Translate custom unit names
The Unit name translations card shows your custom units only. Standard units are already translated. Before you have a custom unit it reads "Translations appear here once you create a custom unit."
The table has one row per custom unit and these columns: Unit, Default name, then one column per language: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Arabic, German, Spanish, French, and Italian (each headed by the language's own name). Each cell is a text box that shows "Falls back to [default name]" while empty.
Type the translated names
Fill the cells you want. Leave a language blank to keep showing the default name.
Save or discard
Select Save translations. A toast says Translations saved. Discard clears your unsaved typing. Both buttons stay disabled until you change something.
Clearing a cell and saving removes that language's name. If a save fails, a toast says Could not save translations and your typing stays in the boxes.
The in-use guard
A unit that something still refers to cannot be deleted or switched off. When you try, a dialog titled [unit] is in use opens and lists exactly what refers to it:
| Row | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Product defaults | Products whose default unit is this one |
| Variant overrides | Variants that override the unit |
| Active carts | Carts that currently hold it |
| Invoices and documents | Issued documents that name it |
| Order lines | Order lines and stock allocations that used it |
Under the list: "Move these to another unit first, then try again." The buttons are:
- Keep unit: closes the dialog and changes nothing.
- View products: opens Inventory (called Products in the new admin sidebar) filtered to this unit. It appears only when product defaults or variant overrides are non-zero.
- Rename instead: opens the Edit dialog. Custom units only.
For a standard unit the body says it "cannot be switched off". For a custom unit it says it "cannot be deleted or switched off. You can rename it, or keep it as it is."
You see this dialog in two ways. The page already knows the counts for each unit, so it opens the dialog straight away without a request. If another admin started using the unit since you loaded the page, the server refuses the change and the dialog opens with the fresh counts.
Find the products that use a unit
Select View products. Inventory opens with a chip reading "Showing products sold in [unit
code]" (for a custom unit the code looks like c_box). The list shows only products whose selling
unit is that unit. A product with no selling unit set counts as piece. Select the chip's x to clear it. The filter lives in the address
(?unit=), so you can bookmark it.
Delete a custom unit
Select the bin icon
On the unit's row in Your custom units.
Confirm
If nothing uses the unit, Delete [unit]? opens with "Nothing uses this unit yet, so it can be removed. This cannot be undone." Select Delete unit, or Cancel. A toast says the unit is deleted.
If anything uses the unit, the in-use dialog opens instead and nothing is deleted. If the delete fails for another reason, a toast says Could not delete the unit.
Why a unit's meaning cannot change once used
Prices, carts, invoices, and past orders are calculated and recorded against what the unit meant at the time. Changing "1 box = 15.5 sq ft" to 20 would silently change the quantity on old documents. So once a unit is referenced, only its name, symbol, and translations are editable. To get a different conversion, create a new unit with the new meaning, move your products to it, then retire the old one.
Troubleshooting
Why don't I see Settings → Units?
Check these in order:
- The feature is not switched on. The Units card, the sidebar item, and the page all stay hidden until the flag is on for your environment. Opening the address directly returns you to the Settings hub. Ask BillionBiz support if you expect it to be on.
- Your role. The card is hidden unless you are a store-level admin. Other roles who open the address see an access-denied screen.
- Classic theme. There is no Units item in the classic sidebar; use Settings and select the Units card in the Store group.
Why can't I delete this unit?
Something still refers to it. The is in use dialog lists the counts. Move those products and variants to another unit, let open carts clear, and try again. Invoices, documents, and order lines are counted too, so the guard can stay in place for a unit that has appeared on past orders; the dialog is the only source for which counts remain. In that case use Rename instead. Standard units are never deletable.
Why can't I switch this unit off?
The same guard applies to switching off as to deleting. Switching a unit off is blocked while any reference remains, including past orders and invoices. Use View products to find the products you can still move.
Why can't I change the conversion?
Meaning fields (Measures, Based on, 1 [unit] equals, GST unit code, Decimal places) are locked in the Edit dialog. They are locked for every custom unit once it exists, and permanently once a product, cart, or document uses it. Create a new unit with the right conversion instead.
Why is Create unit greyed out?
Every required field must be valid: Unit name and Symbol filled and within 40 and 12 characters, 1 [unit] equals a positive number with up to 12 decimals, and a Based on unit chosen. For a Count unit, Based on must be piece.
The page says it could not load
A retry prompt appears when the unit list fails to load. Select it to try again. If it keeps failing, check your connection and sign in again.
Next steps
- Adding & Editing Products: set a product's unit in Pricing & stock.
- Stock & Inventory at a Glance: the Inventory screen that View products filters.