# Track inventory & stock

> Turn on stock tracking so your store always shows what's available and never oversells, plus how to hide the stock badge.

Guide: https://sitesplaced.com/help/online-stores/inventory-and-stock · Section: Online Stores · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

Stock tracking is optional and works in one of three ways. In **Settings → Catalog & fields**, the **Pricing & stock** card has a **Stock tracking** dropdown with **One stock count per product**, **Stock per option** (a separate count for each size or colour) or **Don't track stock**. Once tracking is on, you type a quantity on each product, the storefront shows what's left, the count goes down as orders are placed, and checkout refuses to sell more than you have.

## Turn stock tracking on

1. Open **Settings → Catalog & fields** and find the **Pricing & stock** card.
2. Set **Stock tracking** to **One stock count per product** if every unit of a product is interchangeable, or **Stock per option** if you need separate counts per size or colour. Choose **Don't track stock** for made-to-order items.
3. Click **Save**. This is a store-wide choice — it changes what the product form asks for on every product.
4. Open each product and fill in **Stock**. Leave it blank for unlimited (the products table shows **∞**). With **Stock per option**, each variant row gets its own stock box; the product total is the sum.

> **Tip:** Adding options to a product while the store is on *One stock count per product*? The product form shows a **Track stock per option** button right there — one tap switches the whole store to per-option stock without going back to Settings.

## How stock behaves

- Set a stock count on a product (or per variant) and SitesPlaced keeps it accurate as orders come in. Leave it blank for **unlimited**.
- Customers see a badge on the product page: **Out of stock** at zero, **Only X left** when 5 or fewer remain, and **X in stock** above that.
- A product with options shows as sold out only when **every** option is at zero. If one size is left, the product stays buyable and the customer picks that size.
- Stock limits are **always enforced at checkout** — even if you hide the badge. If a cart asks for more than you have, the customer sees *"Some items exceed available stock. Please adjust your cart and try again."*
- Update stock anytime from the product list's **quick-edit** (table view — click the stock number, type, press Enter), or in the product form.

## When the count goes down

For **Cash on Delivery**, **UPI / bank transfer** and **WhatsApp** orders, stock is deducted the moment the order is placed. For **Razorpay** orders it is deducted only when the payment is confirmed, so an abandoned payment never locks up your inventory. If you **cancel** an order from the Orders tab, the units go back into stock automatically — but only if that order had taken them in the first place.

## Spot low stock

On the **Products** tab, a **Low stock: N** chip appears whenever any product has 5 or fewer units left. Click it to show only those products, top them up with quick-edit, and click again to clear the filter. The chip disappears when nothing is low.

## Hide the stock badge

Don't want customers to see how many you have left? Open **Settings → Pages & policies**, scroll to **Products page display**, and untick **Show stock badge ("Only X left" / "in stock") on product pages**. Stock is still enforced at checkout — only the on-page label is hidden. The same card has a toggle for the **"All Variants & Pricing"** table, which lists stock per option on products with variants.

## Good to know

- Switching from **Stock per option** back to **One stock count per product** keeps your variants; the product's single **Stock** box becomes a shared pool across all options.
- Stock counts are not GST or accounting records — they exist to stop overselling. Keep your books separately.
- Sold-out products stay visible on the storefront with an **Out of stock** badge. To hide one entirely, edit the product and delete it, or move it out of any featured section.
- The [Importer](https://sitesplaced.com/import) brings stock quantities across when the source has them; check a few products after importing.

**Q: Can two customers buy the last unit at the same time?**

Checkout checks stock before accepting each order, so the second order is refused with a message asking the customer to adjust their cart. For Razorpay orders the count is deducted when payment is confirmed.

**Q: Does stock come back if I cancel an order?**

Yes. Cancelling from the Orders tab restores the units for orders that had deducted them — COD, UPI and WhatsApp orders, and paid Razorpay orders. An unpaid Razorpay order never held stock, so nothing changes.

**Q: I marked an order Completed — does that change stock?**

No. Stock moves only when an order is placed or paid (down) and when it is cancelled (up). Status changes like Confirmed, Shipped or Completed do not touch inventory.

**Q: What happens when stock hits zero?**

The product page shows Out of stock, the add-to-cart action is disabled for that product or option, and checkout rejects it. Set a new quantity with quick-edit to reopen sales.