Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management
Stocky won't be available after August 31, 2026. After this date, you need to manage inventory in the Shopify admin and Shopify POS. Before August 31, 2026, you need to do the following actions:
- Get familiar with the Shopify admin or Shopify POS, and their built-in inventory management features and workflows.
- Export any data from Stocky that you want to keep.
- Prepare and educate your team about the migration.
The Shopify admin and POS inventory management system works seamlessly across all your sales channels, both online and in-store. By integrating inventory management directly into the Shopify platform, you get a unified experience, faster feature improvements, and reduced need for multiple apps or manual processes. This helps ensure you benefit from the latest tools and workflows, right where you run your business.
On this page
Key workflows migrating from Stocky to Shopify
After August 31, 2026, you need to complete the following tasks in the Shopify admin instead of Stocky:
- Move inventory across locations with transfers
- Track and receive purchase orders from suppliers
- Adjust inventory quantities
- Report on all historical inventory changes
You can also manage inventory in-store from Shopify POS.
Benefits of using the Shopify built-in inventory management
The built-in inventory management includes the following benefits:
- Unified, real-time inventory: Instantly sync inventory at every location, with full visibility into what's on hand and where.
- Streamlined daily workflows: Manage transfers, shipments, purchase orders, and inventory adjustments. Add hundreds of line items to a transfer or purchase order at one time, and use bulk actions to save time and reduce mistakes.
- In-store management with POS: Store teams can send, receive, and update inventory quantities directly in Shopify POS. Permission controls ensure only authorized staff can make critical changes, and each action is tracked with a complete audit trail.
- Full visibility and reporting: Access unlimited inventory history, customizable reports, and detailed tracking on transfers and adjustments.
- Flexible and scalable: Use open APIs for integrations with warehouses, ERPs, or other systems. Customize workflows with point of sale (POS) UI extensions, and set role-based permissions for each store, franchise, or user.
- Automation for accuracy and peace of mind: Set up automated low-stock alerts using Shopify Flow so you can react before items run out.
- Smarter reordering and rebalancing with Sidekick: Ask Sidekick questions such as What should I reorder? or Analyze my current inventory levels across locations and suggest how to rebalance stock based on my sales data. Sidekick recommends items based on sales data and drafts the purchase order or transfer for you.
Considerations for migrating from Stocky to Shopify
Review the following considerations to help with migrating your inventory management from Stocky to Shopify:
- After August 31, 2026, you'll no longer be able to use the Stocky app to manage inventory. You'll have read-only access to export your data for at least 90 days after that date.
- Your historical data in Stocky, such as old purchase orders and stocktakes, won't automatically move into Shopify after August 31, 2026. If you want to keep this information for your records, then you must manually export any records you want to keep using Stocky's built-in reports. Suppliers can't be exported from Stocky.
- Some Stocky-specific features might work differently or might not yet be available in Shopify.
- Historical purchase orders can't be imported into Shopify. Native CSV upload for purchase orders only adds product line items to a new draft purchase order. It can't import past purchase order statuses, received quantities, or supplier links.
- Any Stocky APIs will stop working on August 31, 2026. If you're using third-party tools that integrate with Stocky, then you'll need to update these integrations to work with Shopify's inventory management system.
Common inventory tasks in Shopify
The following tables explain how to complete everyday inventory tasks from your Shopify admin, and how to transition your workflows from Stocky.
Inventory transfer management
You can move inventory between your store locations by creating a transfer in your Shopify admin. Transfers help you keep stock balanced across your warehouses and retail stores, track quantities during transit, and confirm what arrives at the destination location. Learn more about inventory transfers.
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| Track and manage inventory transfers across locations | You can view and filter transfer lists to monitor the status and location of inventory transfers as stock moves between your store locations. |
| Create, send, and receive inventory transfers | You can create, manage, and track inventory transfers from your Shopify admin. Staff can also fulfill and receive transfers from your Shopify admin or Shopify POS. |
| Split shipments to handle partial deliveries | Record partial deliveries with multiple shipments per transfer and accepted or rejected quantities on each receipt. Learn more about managing shipments for inventory transfers. |
| Use bin locations to organize inventory within physical locations | Assign a bin location to each product variant at a given location using the bulk editor or a CSV file. Bin locations help organize shelves, racks, or compartments within each warehouse or store and make picking easier for staff. Each variant can only be assigned to one bin per location. Bin data is displayed on inventory pages and pick lists. Transfers move inventory between locations only. They don't track stock moves between bins or zones inside one location. If you need bin-level moves within a single location, then consider using a third-party inventory app. |
| Use preset reasons to explain inventory adjustments | Apply preset reasons to manual inventory adjustments. If you need to use custom reasons, then you can use the notes field on inventory transfers to record custom details when moving stock between locations. You can also use blank-origin or blank-destination transfers to add or remove inventory with additional tracking details beyond what a simple adjustment provides. Learn more about adjusting inventory quantities. |
| Export and report on transfers for insights | Build custom data explorations in Shopify Analytics for transfer and shipment metrics, export results for offline analysis, and use Sidekick with ShopifyQL. Learn more about creating custom reports for inventory transfers and shipments. |
| Manage minimum and maximum quantities to control stock movement |
You can set minimum and maximum inventory levels for transfers and purchase orders using the following methods:
If you're working with a Shopify Partner, then you can consider creating a custom app that reads metafields and analytics data to suggest or create draft transfers at scale within your min and max range. You can also generate an app using Sidekick. The Transfers API is currently available, but purchase order APIs aren't and are under consideration for future updates. |
| Print transfer shipment documents | You can print a packing slip, providing a clear printed manifest of what's in each outgoing shipment, when fulfilling transfers in Shopify POS. |
| Use the Transfers API for advanced inventory transfer management | If you're working with a Shopify Partner, then you can consider automating transfers using GraphQL and adding custom register workflows using POS UI extensions. Learn more about the Transfers Admin API and POS UI extensions in our developer documentation. |
| Add custom fields to transfers with metafields | You can attach your own custom fields, called metafields, to inventory transfers, both directly in the Shopify admin and through the Admin GraphQL API. Use them to store data that doesn't have a built-in field, such as supplier reference numbers, internal or costing codes, lot or serial numbers, RFID identifiers, or freight and customs details. You can add and edit metafields yourself from the transfer page in your Shopify admin, or have your apps set them programmatically through the API to sync transfers with an external enterprise resource planning (ERP) or warehouse management system. If you used Stocky's custom fields on transfers and purchase orders, then metafields let you keep those workflows in Shopify. Learn more about creating custom metafield definitions and using metafields through the Admin GraphQL API. |
Purchase order and supplier management
You can create purchase orders to reorder stock from your suppliers and receive it into your Shopify admin. Purchase orders help you track what you've ordered, manage supplier details and costs, and update inventory quantities when stock arrives. Learn more about purchase orders.
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| Create and manage purchase orders | You can create and manage purchase orders from your Shopify admin, including importing line items with a CSV file. You can also use Sidekick, the built-in Shopify assistant, to draft purchase orders for reordering from suppliers based on demand forecasting suggestions. |
| Receive inventory from purchase orders | You can receive inventory from a purchase order through the linked inventory transfer in your Shopify admin. |
| Manage suppliers and assign them to purchase orders | Assign suppliers to purchase orders, maintain supplier records in your Shopify admin, and review supplier details with Sidekick. Learn more about creating and managing suppliers for purchase orders. |
| Customize pricing, currency, and line items in purchase orders | Set line costs, supplier currency, payment terms such as Cash on delivery, Payment on receipt, or Net 30, and optional adjustments such as shipping, fees, or duties on each purchase order. Supplier currency and payment terms are saved on each purchase order. They aren't stored as default values on the supplier profile. Learn more about creating and managing purchase orders and supplier payments. |
| Monitor purchase order reporting and product analysis | Search, filter, sort, and export the purchase order list, and review product mix with class A, B, and C inventory analysis. There isn't a dedicated native report for total purchase order spend by supplier. Export Analytics data or use external tools for supplier rollups. Line costs and adjustments on a purchase order don't replace supplier-specific cost defaults or full procurement analytics. Depending on your plan, you might need an app for ABC analysis. |
| Plan purchase orders using inventory insights | Use Sidekick to help you forecast demand, identify which products need replenishing, and make more informed inventory planning decisions. Sidekick can also create purchase orders for you automatically. |
| Send purchase orders to suppliers | You can't email a purchase order from your Shopify admin. Download a purchase order as a PDF and send it by email or procurement tools. |
| Print barcode labels | Print barcode labels with the Retail Barcode Labels app from the product list. Labels aren't printed directly from the purchase order screen, and they don't auto-populate from a partial receiving event. For a small partial receipt, select the received variants and enter the quantities manually. For a large partial receipt, export the receiving ledger for the transfer to CSV, and then use a spreadsheet to drive label printing, or use a third-party labeling app. |
| Create purchase orders | You can create and manage purchase orders in your Shopify admin. You can't convert a customer order into a purchase order or merge multiple purchase orders. Learn more about creating and managing purchase orders. |
Inventory accuracy and reporting
You can keep your inventory counts accurate by adjusting quantities manually, in bulk, or with barcode scanning in your Shopify admin and Shopify POS. Tracking your adjustments and reporting on inventory changes help you understand what moved, why it changed, and which staff made each update, so you can catch discrepancies and make informed restocking decisions. Learn more about managing inventory quantities in your Shopify admin and managing inventory in Shopify POS.
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| Adjust and update inventory quantities manually, in bulk, or with barcode scanning | Use Quick count on Shopify POS with optional barcode scanning for in-store adjustments. Adjust quantities manually or in bulk from the Inventory page using the bulk editor or CSV import and export from your Shopify admin. Learn more about adjusting inventory quantities. |
| Track and analyze inventory adjustments for better insights | You can track and analyze inventory adjustments in the following ways:
|
Advanced inventory workflows
If you used advanced Stocky features for purchasing, costing, counting, or supplier management, then review the following workflows to learn how to handle them in Shopify.
Sync purchase orders from an ERP or third-party system
If you track purchase orders and financial records in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, then you can keep that system as your source of truth and sync received stock into Shopify.
Steps:
- Keep the purchase order and financial ledger in your ERP.
- Connect your ERP to Shopify's Transfers API to create an incoming transfer with a blank origin location.
- Add your ERP's purchase order ID to the transfer's Reference number field, so that you can match records across both systems.
- Use the Notes field for operational or shipment details, and use transfer metafields for custom tracking data, such as container numbers or customs information.
- Receive quantities against the blank-origin transfer in your Shopify admin or Shopify POS.
When your staff receive the transfer, your stock counts update at the destination location. This matches real-world receiving, keeps a reference between both systems, and avoids duplicate financial documents in your Shopify admin.
If you build an integration, then build it against the Transfers API, which supports receiving quantities programmatically through blank-origin transfers.
Track inventory costs and reconcile received stock
Each product variant has a single static Cost per item field. This cost stays fixed when you receive a purchase order or transfer. For weighted-average costing or automatic landed cost allocation, such as duty, freight, or tax, you can use the following options to manage costs and reconciliation:
- Use a third-party costing app: For weighted-average costing or landed cost allocation, use a third-party inventory app that integrates with Shopify's product cost data.
- Build a reconciliation report: Create a custom report to compare ordered and received quantities.
To build a reconciliation report:
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Analytics > Reports.
Click Create custom report, and then select the Inventory transfers (
inventory_transfers) data source.Add the dimensions
transfer_name,inventory_origin_name,destination_name,transfer_status, andproduct_variant_sku.Add the metrics
ordered_quantityandreceived_quantity.
To reconcile against a vendor invoice, export the report to CSV and multiply the received quantities by your invoice prices in a spreadsheet.
Export purchase order cost and item detail
To export purchase order cost and item detail for supplier review, accounting, or your own reporting workflows, use this purchase order cost report. This report groups ordered quantity, supplier cost, tax, and average unit cost by purchase order, supplier, destination location, and line item, so you can export a supplier- and SKU-level cost breakdown.
Track purchase orders and their transfers
To see which purchase orders created transfers, the status of those transfers, and which items are moving, use this purchase order transfer report. This report includes only transfers created from a purchase order and displays the ordered quantity for each transfer alongside its status and origin and destination.
Run full-location stocktakes and cycle counts
Quick count in Shopify POS is designed for quickly spot-checking specific products or zones, with up to 1,000 items in a single session.
For a multi-participant, full-location stocktake or an audit, use the following offline process:
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Inventory.
Export your on-hand inventory to CSV.
Count your items offline using a spreadsheet or a scanning tool.
Import the counted quantities using CSV to update your inventory.
Keep the original export, the counted file, and the import log as your audit trail.
If you have strict external audit requirements, then a third-party inventory app can provide dedicated counting and approval workflows.
Track supplier details, alternate SKUs, and case packs
Each product has a single Vendor field. To track multiple suppliers for one product, supplier-specific SKUs, lead times, minimum order quantities, or case packs, use variant metafields or metaobjects. You can create a metafield definition for each detail that you want to track. For example:
supplier.primary_name(single line text)supplier.supplier_sku(single line text)supplier.case_quantity(integer)supplier.minimum_order_quantity(integer)supplier.lead_time_days(integer)
These metafields store information for your reference. They're independent of purchase order ordering and receiving calculations, so your staff convert case packs into individual units manually when they create or receive an order.
Prepare for the migration
Review the following steps to prepare for migrating from Stocky to Shopify:
- Export and retain key Stocky data: Historical Stocky purchase orders can't be imported into Shopify, so export anything that you need for your tax or audit records before August 31, 2026. Export the following using Stocky's reports:
- All completed purchase order reports, as CSV files.
- Your stocktake history.
- Your historical cost data.
- Close out in-flight purchase orders: Finish any open purchase orders in Stocky before the sunset date.
- Stop creating new purchase orders in Stocky about 14 days before August 31, 2026.
- Receive and close all open, in-transit purchase orders in Stocky before the deadline.
- If a purchase order is still open at the cutover, then recreate only the remaining quantities as a purchase order or transfer in Shopify.
- Learn the workflows: Review the key workflows that are moving from Stocky to Shopify to understand how your daily processes need to change.
- Test and validate: Start by running a test purchase order, transfer, and inventory adjustment in Shopify to make sure you're comfortable with the workflows. If you use Shopify POS, then make sure to test workflows in Shopify POS as well.
- Remove Stocky POS UI extension: If you were using Stocky's Transfers POS UI extension to receive stock in Shopify POS, then remove the tile from your Smart Grid. You can view both your inbound and outbound transfers in the Products and Orders section of your Shopify admin.
- Train your team: Make sure anyone responsible for inventory understands the new system.
- Update integrated apps: Verify or update any third-party integrations for compatibility with Shopify.