ecommerce software

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Reports Tab
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Orders Tab
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Stock Tab
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- Product Stock Record
- Quick Product Stock Guide

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Product Stock Guide



General Product Stock Guide


Stock Status Definitions:


The stock status of a product can be described in one single value, or more than one values if the product comes with variants that affect stock. For example you might be selling a t-shirt that comes in 'Small' and 'Large' and also 'White' and 'Black'. These are variants that affect product stock: You might have 5 'Small-White' t-shirts and 10 'Small-Black' and you might also have run out of all 'Large' sizes. In this case the stock status will be defined separately for each combination (Small-White, Small-Black, Large-White, Large-Black).

A product (or variant combination) can be "in stock" if the stock number is greater than 0 or "out of stock" if the stock number is 0.

You also have the option of allowing backorders on your store. When backorders are allowed, products can be ordered even when out of stock. This means that the stock number can be negative, to reflect the real stock status. For example, if the stock status of a product is -5, it means that 5 tokens of the product are expected (have been ordered but are currently out of stock).


The above is summarized in the following table:

For products or variant combinations with: Stock status is:
(backorders not allowed):
Stock status is:
(backorders allowed):
Stock number > 0 In stock In stock
Stock number <= 0 Out of stock Backorders allowed
'Combination not available'
(applies to products with variants that affect stock only)
Does not exist Does not exist
Figure: Stock status definitions.



Important notes:


When a new product (or a new variant combination) is added, it's stock number is automatically set to 9999 ("unlimited stock")


Every time an order is performed the stock number is reduced automatically.


The following stock checks are performed during an order:

i. If a customer chooses to order a combination that does not exist, a pop up window appears informing them that the combination selected does not exist.

ii. If backorders are NOT allowed and a customer orders quantity larger that the one available, a pop up window appears informing him/her about the actual quantity available. The quantity in the cart is also updated to the actual quantity in stock.

The above are also shown in the following table:

For: Allow to order?
(backorders not allowed)
Allow to order?
(backorders allowed)
Stock number > 0 Yes, but quantity can not exceed stock number Yes, any quantity
Stock number <= 0 No Yes, any quantity
'Combination not available'
(applies to products with variants that affect stock)
No No
Figure: Permission to complete order based on the stock status.



Stock status as shown on the storefront:

i. If a product has variants that affect product stock, the stock status does not appear on the product page, since it can be different for every combination

ii. If a product does not have variants that affect the product stock, it's stock status appears on the storefront as:
"In Stock" if stock > 0,
"Out of stock" if stock <= 0 and backorders are not allowed
"Backorders allowed" if stock <= 0 and backorders are allowed

The above is shown in the following table:

For: Stock status appears on the storefront as:
(backorders
not allowed)
Stock status appears on the storefront as:
(backorders allowed)
Products without variants that affect stock Stock number > 0 In Stock In Stock
Stock number <= 0 Out of stock Backorders allowed
Products with variants that affect stock Stock number > 0    
Stock number <= 0    
Figure: The stock status as it appears on the storefront product pages


Stock related tabs:


Use the "Setup > General" tab to enable/disable backorders:

Read more here

Use the "Catalog > Product Variants" tab to define variant groups:

You can add new variant groups, and define whether these affect the stock status of products.
For example "Size" might affect product stock but "Guarantee" would probably not affect it.

Read more here


Use the "Catalog > Add Product > Pricing" tab to apply variants on your products:

Insert/delete variants for a product. You can also specify the stock status (as long as you don't use variants that affect product stock! If you do, set the stock using the stock tab)

Read more here


Use the "Stock" tab to edit the product stock:

View/change the stock of products. Also the stock of variant combinations for products with variants that affect stock.

Read more here