Inventory basics
Inventory is optional: you can run pure order-to-dispatch without it. But if you switch it on, the deal is: the system becomes your stock truth, and it takes that job seriously.
The model, in plain words
Each product/colour is a stock line with three buckets:
- On hand: physically on the shelf, free to sell.
- Processing: reserved. A courier has been assigned to an order using these units, but the parcel hasn't been packed yet. Still in the building, but spoken for.
- Damaged: written-off units (e.g. an RTO that came back unsellable).
Units move between buckets automatically as orders move:
| Event | What happens |
|---|---|
| AWB assigned | on hand → processing (reserved) |
| Order packed | processing → gone (left the building) |
| Order cancelled before packing | processing → back to on hand |
| Return/RTO received in good condition | back to on hand (if you enable auto-restock) |
| Return received damaged | into damaged |
The ledger: why your counts are explainable
Every movement is a line in a permanent ledger: date, order, quantity, direction, who. The current count is just the running total. So "why does it say 43?" always has an answer you can read, movement by movement. Manual corrections (counts, receipts, adjustments) are ledger lines too.
SKU mapping: teaching it your catalogue
Orders arrive with your store's SKU codes. The system matches them to stock lines automatically where it can; anything it can't match lands on a mapping queue: a short to-do list, not a crisis. You map each SKU once (including bundles: "GIFTSET-1 = 1 mug + 2 coasters") and it's learned forever. Until a SKU is mapped, its stock movements are held back rather than guessed: no silent wrong numbers.
The packing gate
With inventory on, packing checks stock at the last safe moment:
- Unmapped SKU on the order → packing blocked until mapped (or a manager overrides with a reason).
- Not enough available units → blocked the same way.
You can soften this to "warn but allow" in settings; then stock can go negative, but it happens visibly, on the needs-attention queue, never silently.
Getting your stock in
- CSV import on day one: product, colour, SKU, count, reorder level, unit cost. Ten minutes with the sheet you already have.
- Or start at zero and let receiving/counting build it up.
- Reorder levels per line give you low-stock warnings, and optionally a daily low-stock email to the founder.
What inventory does NOT do
No purchase orders, no supplier management, no multi-warehouse, no forecasting. It keeps one warehouse's counts honest. That's the job.
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