ConnectWise CPQ line items and the tabs that hold them: searching items by quote or tab, the tab requirement on every create, the pricing and margin fields, bundle and optional-line flags, recurring-revenue and PSA mapping fields, JSON Patch updates, and why there is no product catalog to search.
Scanned 9/5/2026
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---
name: "ConnectWise CPQ Quote Items"
description: >
ConnectWise CPQ line items and the tabs that hold them: searching items by quote
or tab, the tab requirement on every create, the pricing and margin fields,
bundle and optional-line flags, recurring-revenue and PSA mapping fields, JSON
Patch updates, and why there is no product catalog to search.
when_to_use: >-
When adding, pricing, repricing, inspecting, or removing line items on a ConnectWise
CPQ quote, or when working with quote tabs. Use when: cpq line item, cpq quote item,
cpq quote tab, cpq add product to quote, cpq pricing, cpq margin, cpq recurring revenue,
quosal line item, or cpq bundle.
---
# ConnectWise CPQ Quote Items
## Overview
Line items are the priced rows of a CPQ quote — hardware, licences, labour, recurring
services. Each item belongs to exactly one **tab** (a section of the quote), and each tab
belongs to one quote. Items carry both sell and cost figures, so margin is computed per
line, per tab and per quote.
## Anti-triggers
- **Looking up a product, SKU, list price or manufacturer** — CPQ has no catalog to
search (see below). The priced SKU master list is ConnectWise PSA's; use
`connectwise-psa-product-catalog` and carry the values onto the line yourself.
- **Quote-level fields — status, totals, expiry, versions, quote customers, payment
terms** — those hang off the quote header, not its lines; use `connectwise-cpq-quotes`.
- **Line items on another vendor's quote** — Kaseya Quote Manager quote lines and
SalesBuildr quote products share this vocabulary exactly; use
`kaseya-quote-manager-quotes` or `salesbuildr-quotes`.
## Key Concepts
### Items live on tabs, and tabs are read-only
`idQuote` says which quote; `idQuoteTabs` says which section of it. The API has no
tab create/update/delete — tabs come from the template a quote was copied from, or are
added in the CPQ web app.
`cpq_create_quote_item` resolves the tab for you: with `idQuoteTabs` omitted it reads the
quote's tabs, uses the only one if there is exactly one, and otherwise asks which to use
(erroring with the tab list if it cannot ask). A quote with no tabs cannot take items at
all — that has to be fixed in CPQ.
### There is no product catalog
CPQ's real-time price sourcing (Etilize, distributor feeds) is not exposed over the REST
API. You cannot search products, look up a distributor price, or add "a product" by SKU
lookup. Items are created by writing their fields directly, or by copying a quote or
template that already contains them. `etilizeProductId` on an existing line records where
a line originally came from; it is not a searchable handle.
Practical consequence: the reliable way to build a priced quote is to copy a template
that already carries the right lines and adjust quantities and prices, rather than
composing lines from scratch.
### Pricing and margin fields
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `basePrice` | Unit sell price |
| `cost` | Unit cost |
| `quantity` | Line quantity |
| `extendedPrice` | `basePrice x quantity`, as computed by CPQ |
| `extendedCost` | `cost x quantity` |
| `discount` | Line discount |
| `grossMargin` | Line margin |
| `costModifier` | Markup/margin rule applied to derive price from cost |
| `isProtectedPrice` | Price locked against repricing |
### Line flags and structure
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `isOptional` | Customer-selectable line; excluded from the base total |
| `isBundleHeader` / `isBundleComponent` | Bundle parent and its children |
| `isPhaseItem` | Belongs to a project phase |
| `isPrinted` | Appears on the printed proposal |
| `idRecurringRevenue` | Links the line to a recurring-revenue period (list them with `cpq_list_recurring_revenues`) |
### PSA mapping
`cwClass`, `cwAgreement` and `crmReference` control how a line lands in ConnectWise PSA
when a won quote is ported. Porting itself happens in the integration engine, not here,
but wrong values on these fields surface as billing problems later.
Identity fields worth setting on a new line: `mfgPartNumber` (manufacturer part number)
and `description`.
## Common Workflows
### List the lines on a quote
`cpq_search_quote_items` with `conditions: idQuote = "<quote-guid>"`, plus an
`includeFields` such as `id,description,mfgPartNumber,quantity,basePrice,extendedPrice,cost`.
Filter to one section with `idQuoteTabs = "<tab-guid>"` instead. Page until a page returns
fewer rows than `pageSize`; searches cover latest quote versions only unless you pass
`showAllVersions: true`.
### Add a line
1. If the quote may have several sections, `cpq_search_quote_tabs` with
`conditions: idQuote = "<quote-guid>"` to pick the tab.
2. `cpq_create_quote_item` with `idQuote`, optionally `idQuoteTabs`, and an `item` object:
```
item = { "mfgPartNumber": "ABC-123",
"description": "Managed endpoint - per device",
"quantity": 50, "basePrice": 12.00, "cost": 7.20 }
```
### Reprice or adjust a line
`cpq_update_quote_item` with the item GUID and either `fields` (partial object) or
`patch` (raw RFC 6902 ops) — one or the other, not both.
```
cpq_update_quote_item id=<item-guid> fields={ "quantity": 60, "basePrice": 11.50 }
```
Patch the unit fields (`quantity`, `basePrice`, `cost`) and let CPQ recompute the
extended figures; writing `extendedPrice` directly fights the calculation engine.
### Remove a line
`cpq_delete_quote_item` with the item GUID, and the delete is permanent. An interactive
client is prompted first, echoing the line's description or part number; a non-interactive
one — the gateway included — is refused until the call is re-invoked with
`confirm_destructive_action: true`. Setting `isPrinted: false` or
`isOptional: true` is the non-destructive way to take a line off a proposal.
## Gotchas
- **A missing `idQuoteTabs` is the most common create failure.** Single-tab quotes work
without it; multi-tab quotes need one, and it must belong to the same quote.
- **Deletes are per line, so bundles need care.** `cpq_delete_quote_item` removes exactly
the item you name. Before deleting an `isBundleHeader` line, list the quote's items and
deal with its `isBundleComponent` children deliberately rather than assuming they follow.
- **`isOptional` lines are excluded from the quote total** but still returned by searches,
so a line-item sum will not match `quoteTotal` unless you account for them.
- **Item searches span quotes.** `cpq_search_quote_items` with no `conditions` walks every
quote in the tenant; always scope by `idQuote` or `idQuoteTabs`.
- **QuoteItemView has ~224 properties.** Send `includeFields` or the response is mostly
empty custom-field slots.
## Related Skills
- [ConnectWise CPQ Quotes](../quotes/SKILL.md) — quote lifecycle, versions, customers, terms
- [ConnectWise CPQ API Patterns](../api-patterns/SKILL.md) — auth, conditions syntax, paging, JSON Patch
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