If your Shopify purchase order is not updating inventory, check the linked transfer and its receiving history. In Shopify's current workflow, the PO records the purchase agreement; accepted quantities on the inventory transfer update stock at the destination.
Start with the checks below before making a manual adjustment. A second receiving entry can duplicate stock if another integration already recorded the delivery.
Find your symptom first
| What you see | Start here |
|---|---|
| PO says Ordered, but no stock arrived in Shopify | Create, process and receive the linked transfer |
| Stock is missing at one location | Check the destination |
| Damaged or canceled items are absent from available stock | Review the receiving action |
| Some stock updated, but the transfer is still In progress | Check the outstanding quantity |
| Stock is correct, but Cost per item did not change | Check the cost workflow |
| A revised PO does not match the delivery record | Compare both linked records |
Fix 1: create the transfer and receive it
Since Shopify connected POs and transfers (June 2026), the flow is:
- Open the purchase order (it must be marked Ordered, not Draft)
- Create a transfer from the purchase order, confirm its destination and save it. The supplier and line items prefill
- Process the saved transfer to prepare it for receiving; Shopify creates a shipment
- When stock arrives, open the linked transfer under Products → Transfers, choose Receive items, select Accept for usable stock and enter the actual quantities
- Save the receipt; accepted quantities become available at the destination location
If you skipped these steps, check whether an existing transfer should be linked before creating another one. Then receive the actual delivery once.
Fix 2: check the destination location
Accepted inventory lands at the transfer's destination location. If the PO's destination was set to your warehouse and you're staring at the retail store's inventory (or vice versa), the stock updated — somewhere else. A per-location check distinguishes a missing update from stock received somewhere else. Open the product, check inventory per location, and check which destination the transfer used.
Fix 3: rejected items don't count anywhere
At receiving you accept or reject per line. Rejected inventory does not add to available stock at any location. Record damage separately from the usable quantity. Items that never shipped can be canceled on the transfer; they should not become available stock.
Fix 4: the transfer is still In Progress
Partial deliveries are supported. Accepted quantities update inventory while outstanding quantities keep the transfer In progress. Once every expected quantity has been accounted for through receiving actions, the transfer becomes Transferred. This does not require every originally ordered item to have arrived: rejected or canceled quantities can also account for part of the total.
For an illustrative 100-unit shipment with 60 accepted, 60 units become available and 40 remain unresolved until the team records the appropriate outcome.
Fix 5: distinguish stock receiving from product cost
Shopify's transition documentation says the variant's Cost per item field stays fixed when a PO or transfer is received. Shipment cost adjustments can record freight or duties without automatically rewriting that product field. A connected costing application may have its own update behavior, so check the actual system responsible for cost maintenance.
If quantities are correct but your cost is unchanged, receiving may be working as documented. Have the bookkeeper verify the costing workflow separately. See weighted average cost and landed cost for the concepts involved.
Fix 6: compare the PO with its linked transfer
Shopify documents that the two records can be edited independently: a change to one does not automatically update the other. If the buyer changes the PO after creating the transfer, inspect the transfer's line quantities and destination before receiving. Unlinking a transfer does not reverse its previous receipts.
Compare the original order, the accepted supplier change and the physical delivery. Correct the relevant record under your receiving process instead of assuming that changing the PO also changes stock.
After fixing the stock update, check the purchasing handoff
A missing receipt or wrong location can be a setup or operating mistake; it does not by itself mean you need new software. First verify the native steps, the actual quantity and whether another integration also records receiving. A second stock adjustment can hide the original problem and create a duplicate receipt.
If supplier confirmations, changed prices and split deliveries repeatedly get lost between buyer and warehouse, evaluate that broader workflow separately. LineNow’s Shopify purchase order software keeps those changes reviewable beside the PO and supports receiving through configured item and location mappings. The accounting handoff should be tested separately from the sellable stock balance.
Try a fictional retail partial-delivery example: six cases of four bottles ordered, four cases received, two still due. It uses LineNow’s receiving checklist with sample data. The stock balance is an illustration, not a live Shopify update, and nothing is saved or sent.
For the complete native sequence, see how to create purchase orders in Shopify. If you are replacing discontinued Stocky, use the Stocky migration checklist.
Sources checked
The receiving and Stocky-transition documentation was rechecked October 12, 2026. The changelog below was originally reviewed September 4, 2026.
- Shopify Help: Creating transfers from purchase orders
- Shopify Help: Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management (static cost-per-item behavior)
- Shopify changelog: Purchase orders now create transfers to move inventory