Set Up Inventory Control Settings in the Shop Front
These settings define how the shop handles products based on their stock: whether out-of-stock products are shown to clients, whether clients can order them, when the “only … left” indicator appears, and which warehouse the stock is calculated from and orders are fulfilled from.
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Note: You need both the Manage Shop Front Content and Edit General Settings permissions to open this screen. You can review each role’s permissions from Roles.
Contents
Access path
- Direct link: Inventory Control.
- From the menu: Click Shop Front, then Settings, then the Inventory Control card.
Steps
- Open Inventory Control.
- Enter the Low Stock Threshold.
- Turn Show Out of Stock Products on or off.
- If you turned it on, choose Sell Out of Stock Products: Allowed or Diss Allowed.
- Choose the Default Warehouse for Shopfront.
- Click Save. A message appears confirming that the settings were updated successfully. To leave without saving, click Discard.
Result in the shop based on the settings
| Show Out of Stock Products | Sell Out of Stock Products | What the client sees |
|---|---|---|
| Off (default) | — | The out-of-stock product disappears from the product lists and search results, and opening its page takes the client to the home page with the message “This Product was not found”. |
| On | Not Allowed | The product appears with the stock indicator, and the add-to-cart button is disabled when the stock is zero or less. |
| On | Disallowed | The product appears without a stock indicator, and the client can order any quantity. |
Stock indicator
| Indicator | Appears when |
|---|---|
| In Stock | The available stock is greater than the low stock threshold. |
| Only … left | The available stock is greater than zero and equal to or less than the low stock threshold. |
| Out of Stock | The available stock is zero or less. |
The system checks the quantity when adding to the cart, when changing the quantity, and again at checkout.
Fields and sections
| Field | Description | Required | Appears when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Stock Threshold | The available quantity at which the “only … left” indicator appears. | Yes | Always. Default: 10 |
| Show Out of Stock Products | Keep out-of-stock products visible to clients (on) or hide them (off). | No | Always. Default: off |
| Sell Out of Stock Products | Allow clients to order the product while it’s out of stock (Allowed) or prevent them (Disallowed). | No | When “Display Out of Stock Products” is on |
| Default Warehouse for Shopfront | The warehouse the shop’s product stock is calculated from, and that order invoices are recorded on. Next to it is a Manage Warehouses button. | Yes | Always. Default: the main warehouse |
Rules and restrictions
- The low stock threshold is a number of 1 or more. If you enter a decimal number, only the whole part is saved; for example, 2.5 is saved as 2.
- When “Display Out of Stock Products” is turned off, “Sell Out of Stock Products” is saved as Not Allowed automatically.
- Only active warehouses appear in the warehouses list; inactive and suspended warehouses don’t appear.
- If the selected warehouse becomes inactive, the main warehouse is used automatically.
- The warehouse set as the shop’s default warehouse can’t be suspended, deactivated, or deleted; change this setting first.
- Available stock = the product’s stock in the shop’s default warehouse, taking pending inbound transactions into account.
- Products and services that don’t track stock always appear and can be ordered in any quantity, whatever these settings are.
- Every change to these settings is recorded in the activity log.
Error messages and solutions
| Cause | Message | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The low stock threshold field is empty. | The low stock threshold field is required. | Enter a number of 1 or more. |
| The value isn’t a number. | The low stock threshold must be a number. | Enter a number. |
| The value is less than 1. | The low stock threshold must be at least 1. | Enter 1 or more. |
| The warehouse is inactive or wasn’t selected. | The selected default warehouse for shop front is invalid. | Choose an active warehouse. |
| You tried to suspend or deactivate the shop’s default warehouse. | You can’t suspend or deactivate this warehouse because it’s already set as the default warehouse for the shop front | Change the default warehouse from Inventory Control first. |
| You tried to delete the shop’s default warehouse. | You can’t delete the warehouse because it’s already set as the default warehouse for the shop front | Change the default warehouse from Inventory Control first. |
| Your role doesn’t include the required permission. | You are not allowed to access this page | Ask the account owner to add the permission from Roles. |
Effect on the system
- The settings are applied to the shop immediately: product lists, product pages, the cart, and checkout.
- Invoices for new orders are recorded on the shop’s default warehouse, and the stock is deducted from it.
FAQs
A product with zero stock still appears in the shop. Why?
Make sure “Display Out of Stock Products” is off, that the product tracks stock, and that its stock is zero in the shop’s default warehouse specifically.
A product has stock but it’s hidden. Why?
Usually its stock is in a warehouse other than the shop’s default warehouse, or it isn’t marked “Available Online”, or it’s inactive.
Can a client order more than the available stock?
Only if display is on and selling is allowed, or if the product doesn’t track stock. Otherwise, a message shows them the available quantity.
Why can’t I find the warehouse in the list?
The warehouse is inactive or suspended. Activate it from the warehouses first.