How do you run a Shopify stocktake, and when does inventory update?

How do you run a stock count in the Shopify admin?

You create and manage stock counts, Shopify's native way to count inventory, in the Shopify admin on a desktop browser. The admin stock count pages in Shopify's Help Center that we read on October 18, 2026 name no plan for admin counting, while Shopify's POS guide says stock counts are available only to POS Pro locations.

1. Create a count: choose the location where it takes place and the products to include.
2. Count: staff enter or scan quantities, and each one is recorded as it's entered, so a count can be paused, resumed or split across shifts. Anyone with permission to manage inventory can count.
3. Request review: a manager approves the results. Or click Complete count, which skips the review and updates inventory levels right away.

Four limits shape how you plan a count:

• A stock count covers a single location.
• You can't create a stock count for bundles.
• You can't duplicate a stock count or export your stock counts.
• If the same barcode is assigned to more than one product, scanning it returns an error, which is where a shared barcode breaks.

How do you count stock in Shopify POS?

Staff can run cycle and full stock counts on the sales floor in Shopify POS, while planning, review and approval stay in the admin. Before staff count in POS:

• Running stock counts in POS requires POS Pro and Shopify POS v11.16 or later.
• Staff can count only the items on the count's list.
• You need a network connection to count and submit inventory.
• Creating and reviewing counts are separate permissions, managed in your Shopify admin.

Submitting a stock count from POS doesn't immediately update inventory quantities: it waits for review and approval in the admin.

For adjustments outside a planned count, POS also has Quick count. Shopify's POS counting guide says staff can adjust inventory quantities for “up to 1,000 variants in a single counting session”, and tapping Submit updates inventory quantities for all counted products.

When do your inventory levels change?

Inventory adjusts in real time when a sale completes in POS or online, so timing matters:

Shopify documents the outdated rule for POS counts; the admin stock count pages we read on October 18, 2026 don't say how a sale between the start of a count and its approval is handled.

To keep a count clean, Shopify's count planning guide suggests:

• Count after closing, when sales are paused.
• Complete pending orders, transfers and shipments first.
• Pause inter-location transfers during the count window, which can help avoid counting the same products at both the origin and destination locations.

To review what a count changed, open the product and click View adjustment history; that view shows only the last 180 days of a product or variant's adjustment history.

What replaced Stocky stocktakes?

Stocky was delisted from the Shopify App Store on February 2, 2026, and is no longer available as of August 31, 2026, the day its APIs stopped working. Shopify's transition guide says to run a full-location stocktake or a cycle count with inventory stock counts in your Shopify admin. Our guide to the Stocky retirement covers the rest of the switch.

Old Stocky purchase orders and stocktakes don't move into Shopify automatically and can't be referenced there, so export them if you want to keep them. Stocky keeps read-only access for exporting your data for at least 90 days after August 31, 2026.

If you need to count outside the Shopify admin, the same guide describes an offline route: export your inventory, count in a spreadsheet or scanning tool, then import the counted quantities by inventory CSV. An inventory CSV file can't exceed 15 MB. Keep the original export, the counted file and the import log as your audit trail. For strict external audit requirements, Shopify notes that a third-party inventory app can provide dedicated counting and approval workflows.