How to Track Inventory on Shopify: 2025 Step-by-Step Guide
If you’re searching for how to track inventory on Shopify, you’re likely trying to keep your stock levels accurate and ensure your store never oversells. Shopify’s built-in inventory tools make it easy to monitor quantities, update stock, and maintain control across multiple locations, all directly from your admin.
Key points covered in this guide:
- How to keep track of inventory on Shopify
- Automation tools for low-stock alerts and forecasting
- Best practices to keep your inventory accurate year-round
This step-by-step guide will show you exactly how to set up inventory tracking and maintain a reliable stock management workflow for your Shopify store.
Why Tracking Inventory on Shopify Matters
Shopify inventory tracking means using Shopify’s built-in tools to record how many units you have, how many are committed to orders, and how many remain available for customers. When this feature is active, Shopify updates your stock after every sale, return, or manual adjustment so your store always reflects accurate quantities.
Shopify inventory tracking is important because it:
- Prevents overselling and stockouts
- Keeps product listings accurate
- Helps plan restocks and analyze demand
- Syncs inventory automatically across channels and locations
When your inventory is reliable, both your Shopify store operations and your customer experience improve significantly.
How to Track Inventory on Shopify
Before you start, here is a quick overview of the steps you’ll take to set up inventory tracking in your Shopify admin:
- Step 1: Open the Products page in your Shopify dashboard
- Step 2: Select the product or specific variant you want to track
- Step 3: Turn on the Track quantity setting
- Step 4: Enter the correct Available quantity for each location
- Step 5: (Optional) Allow backorders using Continue selling when out of stock
Now, let’s follow the detailed steps on how to track inventory on Shopify below to complete the setup.
Step 1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products
In your Shopify dashboard, click Products to see all items in your store. This is where you manage stock levels, edit product details, and turn tracking on or off.
If you’re still adding new items to your store, follow this guide on how to add products to Shopify to set up your products properly before enabling inventory tracking.
Step 2. Select the product or variant you want to track
Open the product you want to manage. If it has variants such as size or color, choose the exact variant so each option can have its own stock count.
Step 3. In the Inventory section, check Track quantity
Scroll to the Inventory section and toggle Inventory not tracked to Inventory tracked.
This tells Shopify to automatically update stock when items are sold, refunded, or adjusted.
And that’s how to how to turn on track inventory in Shopify.
Step 4. Enter the Available quantity for each location
If you operate from multiple warehouses or retail locations, enter the correct number of units for each location. Shopify tracks stock separately to prevent confusion between online and in-store inventory.
Step 5. (Optional) Enable Continue selling when out of stock for backorders
Turn on this option if you accept preorders or make items on demand. If you prefer to stop sales when inventory reaches zero, keep this setting off.
And you’ve learned how to track inventory on Shopify.
How to Automate and Simplify Inventory Tracking on Shopify
Automation helps you catch low-stock issues faster, reduce manual work, and maintain accuracy as your store grows. Below are the most practical ways to streamline your inventory tracking on Shopify.
1. Use Shopify Flow for low-stock alerts
Shopify Flow lets you create automated workflows that notify you when a product’s available quantity falls below a certain level.
You can send alerts to email, Slack, or your internal systems. This is especially useful if you manage a large catalog and want to restock before items run out.
2. Install inventory management apps
Apps in the Shopify App Store can help automate tasks like reorder reminders, supplier syncing, demand forecasting, and multi-location management. Tools such as Reorderify, Katana, or QuickBooks Commerce offer features that go beyond Shopify’s built-in tracking.
3. Try Stocky by Shopify
Stocky is Shopify inventory management app built for merchants using Shopify POS Pro. It helps you manage retail inventory more effectively with tools for purchase orders, stocktakes, supplier management, and demand forecasting. You can count or scan stock, review incoming inventory, and use Stocky’s analytics to make better restocking decisions.
However, Stocky currently has a 2.8 rating on the Shopify App Store, with many reviews noting that the app lacks updates and can be unstable for some workflows. It is still useful for merchants who need basic purchasing and forecasting, especially if they already rely on Shopify POS Pro, but stores needing more advanced or reliable operations may prefer dedicated third-party inventory apps.
4. Integrate barcode scanners
Shopify inventory scanner speeds up stock counts and inventory adjustments. By scanning SKUs during receiving, transfers, or physical checks, you can update quantities instantly and reduce manual errors. This method is especially helpful for warehouses or stores handling high product volumes.
Beyond Tracking: How to View, Adjust, and Analyze Shopify Inventory Levels
Once inventory tracking is enabled, Shopify gives you several tools to monitor changes, make updates, and understand your overall stock performance. The steps below help you keep your inventory accurate as your store grows.
1. Check stock levels in the Inventory page
Go to Products → Inventory to see all tracked items in one place. This view shows your On hand, Committed, and Available quantities, helping you quickly identify low-stock products. You can also filter by vendor, product type, or location to focus on specific areas of your catalog.
2. Adjust inventory quantities manually or in bulk
If you receive new stock, find damaged items, or need to correct differences after a physical count, you can adjust quantities directly in the Inventory page. For multiple updates at once, use the bulk editor or upload a revised CSV file to speed up the process while keeping data consistent.
3. Review inventory history and reports
Open any product and click View inventory history to see all changes made over the last 180 days. This helps you track when and why adjustments happened. For bigger-picture analysis, Shopify’s inventory reports show stock value, product performance, and slow-moving items, making it easier to plan restocks and manage cash flow effectively.
Best Practices for Accurate Shopify Inventory Tracking
Keeping accurate inventory in Shopify requires more than just turning on the Track quantity setting. The methods below help you maintain clean data, reduce errors, and ensure your stock levels stay reliable as your store grows.
1. Track only physical goods, not digital products or gift cards
Enable tracking only for items that have a real, countable quantity. Digital products, services, and gift cards do not require inventory, and leaving tracking on can clutter your stock list. Keeping these items untracked helps you focus on products that actually need monitoring.
2. Use consistent SKUs and barcodes across all channels
Each product and variant should have a unique SKU and barcode. Consistency prevents confusion when scanning products, importing CSV files, or syncing with channels like Amazon or eBay. A clear SKU structure also makes searching, sorting, and reporting much easier inside Shopify.
3. Reconcile stock weekly to spot discrepancies early
Even with automated tracking, small mismatches happen because of returns, damaged goods, or manual adjustments. A weekly physical count helps you identify and correct discrepancies early before they turn into bigger problems like overselling or fulfillment delays.
4. Use CSV backups before making large updates
Before performing bulk edits or imports, download a CSV export of your current products and inventory. This gives you a quick rollback option in case a bulk action overwrites or miscalculates stock quantities. Restoring your inventory becomes much easier with a backup in hand.
5. Regularly review inventory reports for slow-moving items
Shopify’s inventory reports show which items are moving quickly and which ones sit in stock for long periods. Reviewing these reports helps you identify products that should be discounted, reordered in smaller quantities, or discontinued to free up space and improve cash flow.
How to Track Inventory on Shopify: FAQs
How do I track my inventory on Shopify?
You can track inventory by opening the product in your Shopify admin and enabling the Track quantity option in the Inventory section. After turning it on, enter the available quantity for each location and Shopify will automatically update stock levels after every sale, return, or manual adjustment. You can monitor all quantities from the Products → Inventory page.
Why is inventory not tracked on Shopify?
If inventory isn't tracked for a product, it usually means the Track quantity box is not enabled. This setting has to be turned on manually for every product or variant you want Shopify to monitor. Inventory also won’t track if the item is digital, a service, or a gift card, since Shopify treats these as non-stocked products by default.
Does Shopify have its own inventory management system?
Yes. Shopify includes a built-in inventory management system that tracks available stock, updates quantities after each sale, shows stock across multiple Shopify inventory locations, and provides reports for analysis. For more advanced needs such as forecasting or purchase orders, merchants can use extra tools like Shopify Flow, Stocky, or third-party inventory apps.
How to count inventory with Shopify?
You can count inventory by comparing the physical stock in your warehouse or retail location with the quantities shown in Products → Inventory. Adjustments can be made directly on that page or through the bulk editor. Many merchants also use barcode scanners or inventory apps to speed up counting and ensure accuracy during stocktakes.
Final Thoughts
And that’s all about how to track inventory on Shopify.
Once you turn on the Track quantity setting and enter your stock levels, Shopify handles most of the work for you. Check your inventory page often, review your reports, and use simple automation tools to stay on top of low-stock products. With a clean, well-managed inventory setup, your store runs smoother, your customers get a better experience, and you avoid the stress of surprise stockouts.
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