No.56
Available vs On Hand: The Shopify Inventory States That Decide Whether Your Sync Is Right
Shopify splits stock into on hand, available, committed, unavailable and incoming. What each state means, and which one belongs in your sheet.
Sync Basics and Design
How Shopify actually holds inventory, and what one column in your sheet really means. Once the vocabulary is settled, these articles cover the design decisions: full sync or incremental, and which number you write.
17 articles
- No.57
Full Sync or Incremental Sync? Choosing How Shopify Inventory Gets Updated
Rewrite everything, or send only what changed? Incremental wins on speed, full sync is harder to break — and the hybrid most stores land on.
- No.54
Syncing Inventory for Bundles and Kits: One Stock, Many SKUs
When an item sells alone and inside a set, sync gets harder. One physical pile shared by several SKUs — how to sheet it and run it safely.
- No.55
Designing Inventory Sync When Shopify Isn't Your Only Channel
Marketplace, wholesale, shop floor. When several channels sell from one shelf, pick an owner for the number and allocate stock deliberately.
- No.01
Three Reasons Google Sheets Is the Best Match for Shopify Inventory Management
Where you keep the source of truth for stock shapes everything else. Why Google Sheets so often beats a dedicated tool for Shopify inventory.
- No.02
Shopify Inventory Basics: Sorting Out Locations, Quantities and Tracking in One Go
A plain-language guide to Shopify inventory terms — locations, available, committed, on hand and tracking — and why they make sheet sync click.
- No.03
Your First Sync with Sync Master: Walking Through Day One
What to do between installing the app and your first sync: prepare the sheet, run the connection test, sync for real, then read the logs.
- No.05
Isn't It Time to Move on From Uploading CSV Files?
The CSV upload workflow hides three pitfalls. Why switching to Google Sheets sync causes fewer accidents, plus practical tips for migrating.
- No.08
Barcode vs. SKU: Which Should You Use as Your Sync Key?
Your sync key is either a barcode or an SKU. How the two differ, which fits your business, and the pitfalls of switching keys later on.
- No.09
What Are Metafields? A 3-Minute Guide for First-Timers
Metafields attach custom information to products. What they solve, product versus variant scope, and why sheets make them easy to manage.
- No.12
Running a connection test lets you sleep through the night
Run a connection test before writing to your live store and check the column mapping first. What it verifies, plus a pre-sync review list.
- No.15
Physical count day: run your sheet sync this way and incidents drop
On count day, carve out time when neither the sheet nor the sync moves. Prep the day before, running the count, and resyncing afterwards.
- No.19
How to Think About Deducting Unfulfilled Orders from Your Sheet Inventory
Want to subtract unfulfilled orders from sheet inventory? First understand how Shopify available and committed quantities relate.
- No.22
From sheet to Shopify: a mental model for your flow of information
Most sync trouble comes from never deciding where the source of truth lives. Sketching inputs, outputs and direction makes operations clear.
- No.24
Avoiding 'we sold it but it was out of stock' on Shopify
Overselling is the most awkward inventory failure there is. The root causes — sync lag, thin buffers, missed settings — and how to prevent them.
- No.28
Inside the Inventory API — REST vs. GraphQL, in Plain Terms
Shopify inventory APIs come in REST and GraphQL flavours. It sounds like a developer topic, but the choice shows up in what users see.
- No.29
An Inventory Playbook for Small Stores
Turn inventory into a system and incidents drop even on busy days. Routines for small stores: five minutes daily, 20 minutes weekly.