How do you check available stock before making a promise?
Check available stock using an agreed record that distinguishes physical quantity, reservations and quantities already committed to orders. Define who may create or change a hold and when it expires, then test exceptions using realistic transactions. Verify cancellations, returns and simultaneous reservations before relying on an interface to make customer promises.
Keep these in mind
- On-hand quantity is different from available-to-sell quantity.
- Reservations need an owner, expiry rule and clear release conditions.
- Test reservations, cancellations and simultaneous orders before trusting available-stock figures.
Use states that explain the number
Shopify’s inventory-state documentation distinguishes on hand, available, committed, unavailable and incoming. Those distinctions illustrate why a single stock number can be misleading. Your system may use different labels, so define them for the team.
Incoming units are not the same as units ready for immediate delivery. Damaged items may be physically present while unavailable for sale. Units held for an accepted order may still be on the shelf but should not be offered again.
Agree where salespeople check availability and who can change it. A note on one phone cannot protect stock if the counter team has no access to the commitment.
An illustrative double-promise risk
A store physically holds 30 units. Twelve are committed to an accepted order and three are held for a quality check. The available quantity is 15 under this simplified example.
A salesperson who quotes all 30 from memory may create an impossible promise.
Suppose the counter then sells ten of the available units. The next salesperson needs to see five available, not the morning count of 15. The update process must be fast enough for the volume and channels involved.
| State | Quantity | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| On hand | 30 | Physically recorded at the location. |
| Committed | 12 | Already promised to accepted work. |
| Unavailable | 3 | Held for quality review. |
| Available | 15 | Free to sell before the counter transaction. |
| Available after ten-unit sale | 5 | Remaining after the recorded sale. |
Decide when a request reserves stock
A price enquiry may not justify a reservation. An accepted order may. A temporary hold may need an expiry time and an authorized person who can extend it.
Write the rule so staff do not use reservation differently for different customers.
If a reservation expires, check the relevant customer agreement before releasing it. If an order is cancelled or changed, update the commitment rather than leaving stock blocked indefinitely.
Shopify’s adjustment-history guidance shows the value of recording who changed a quantity, when and why. Use a comparable traceable process in the inventory system your business actually relies on.
Investigate shortages from the event history
A physical mismatch can come from an unrecorded sale, a receipt error, damage, a transfer or an incorrect unit. Do not assume theft or blame the person who noticed it. Check recent changes and count the relevant item carefully.
- Confirm the item, variant and location before checking quantity.
- Read available stock after commitments and unavailable holds.
- Apply the agreed reservation rule when accepting work.
- Record sales, receipts, returns and transfers promptly.
- Investigate discrepancies using physical counts and adjustment history.
- Keep the customer informed when confirmed availability changes.
Test the stock controls before relying on them
Test inventory software against actual failure scenarios. Include simultaneous reservations, returns, cancellations and delayed supplier deliveries. Ask the vendor to show how available stock changes in each case.
Check whether reservations expire and whether colleagues can see which order holds the quantity.
Agree which stock record is authoritative and who may adjust it. Keep enquiries distinct from confirmed allocations so interest alone does not remove all availability. Reconcile differences with a physical check and a recorded reason.
A shop page or order display is useful only when its quantities stay consistent with the process behind it.
Use the appropriate inventory system for controlled quantities. Connected records should show what the customer requested. They should also identify what needs checking before a promise is made.
Common questions
What should inventory software demonstrate before we rely on it?
Test simultaneous reservations, cancellations, returns, partial deliveries and adjustments using realistic orders. Check how availability changes, who may alter it and whether the explanation is traceable. A convincing screen does not prove those controls.
Should an enquiry reserve the last available item?
Define a reservation rule, including who may create a hold and when it expires. Separate casual interest from confirmed allocation so enquiries neither block stock indefinitely nor let several people promise the same unit.
Sources & further reading
Primary references for the facts and frameworks discussed. Worked examples and recommendations are Daltn’s own analysis.
- Understanding inventory states, Shopify Help Center ↗
Supports the distinction among stock states.
- Viewing inventory adjustment history, Shopify Help Center ↗
Supports tracing quantity changes by event and responsibility.
Published by the team building Daltn. Comparisons are first-party analysis, not independent reviews. Our editorial approach.