Online Inventory/ Instore Inventory

[Tmsm117]

When someone makes a purchase online will the item be taken out of the Square inventory for customers interested in the item IN STORE? For instance, I don't want to sell someone an item in store when a minute before someone bought it online. 

[EJ_]

Hi @Tmsm117

The inventory of the item being sold will get deducted from your total inventory any time that it gets purchased. When using the Point of Sale app for in-person sales, you'll be able to sell items regardless of inventory count. The Online Store however, will not allow customers to purchase sold out items. 

You might want to create two separate item sets, one for in person sales and one for Online Store. This would allow you to track the inventory separately. 

[shopgirldolly10]

So I have an App and online store, as well as a brick & mortar. How can I track inventory? Currently, I try to update my online site based on what I have in store -- but if something sells in store and I haven't updated the App, and someone purchases it, I end up having to give them a refund. There's gotta be an easier way.

[ryanwanner]

Hello @shopgirldolly10 !

All your inventory counts should be updating in real time as you sell the item. They should all be reflected in every customer-facing way. That's interesting that your app isn't supporting the inventory controls! I'd reach out to the app developer and ask if that's a possibility. Square's API sends inventory numbers in real time, so your app may just need to be updated to accept inventory.

My app for my restaurant, PoppinPay, has full inventory integration built in. If I mark something as out of stock or sold out it is reflected almost immediately on the app, online store, and in store.

One thing to be aware of: if the customer has the now out of stock item in their cart, they may still be able to place the order. It has to do with how/when inventory numbers are updated on Square's side. I'm hoping one day the inventory counts are updated at add to cart time instead of at completed payment time, it's a feature request I know has been rattling around here.

[HC_Charlie]

Hello @shopgirldolly10 thanks for your post. Check out this article here and see if this might help. Your items should sync between all places you sell, as long as those items are showing in your Dashboard. There may be a few minute lag when you first add new items, but these should sync.

You can also check this setting in your Dashboard:

Online >Items > Item Sync

See if this option is turned on:

If this is turned on, when you add an item in your App is should also be added to your online store. However, the item still needs added into your website layout...unless you have a Category page, and your new item is set to display within that category.

Hope this makes sense and helps answer your question.

[_Violet]

Hi @shopgirldolly10 - Thanks for reaching out to us with your question. I see this is your first post in the Seller Community so I'd like to officially welcome you! 🎉👏

I went ahead and merged your post to an existing thread where other Square Sellers have discussed this as well. We merge duplicate conversations together to keep like comments in one place, and to make it easier for others to find the thread in the future. 

Additionally. thank you for your input here @ryanwanner & @HC_Charlie! 

Please let me know if I can help you with any additional questions 😊