Restocking on Square: low-stock alerts and knowing what to reorder
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The cheapest sold-out problem is the one that never happens. Square can warn you before an item runs out, and the shoppers who ask about sold-out items tell you what to reorder first.
1. Track stock counts for what you reorder
Low-stock alerts need a stock count. In Square Dashboard, Items > Settings > Inventory has "Enable inventory tracking for new items", and a button to turn it on for all existing items. Careful: turning it on for existing items sets every item with no count to zero, which marks them sold out until you enter real counts.
2. Set low-stock alerts
- In Square Dashboard go to Items and tick the items you want alerts for.
- Choose Actions > Update low stock alert (or, across locations, Edit items > Update low stock alert).
- Enter the alert amount and click Update.
Items that are low get a yellow circle in the Stock column. Square emails a low-stock summary 90 minutes after each location's closing time, one email per location, to the account owner's email address. If someone else does the ordering, forward those emails to them.
3. Pick an alert level that leaves time to reorder
A simple rule: alert level = how many you sell per day × how many days a reorder takes to arrive, plus a few for safety. If you sell 3 a day and your supplier takes 5 days, set the alert at about 15 to 20. Revisit it before busy seasons.
4. Record new stock the right way
When a delivery arrives, add it as a stock adjustment with the reason "Stock received" rather than typing over the count. Your stock history stays correct, and for items you had marked sold out by hand, remember to switch them back to available.
5. Let shoppers tell you what to reorder first
Sales reports show what sold. They don't show what you would have sold while an item was out of stock. Requests from shoppers fill that gap: an item with 40 people waiting for size Medium is a better reorder than one with 2.
RestockChime's dashboard ranks your sold-out items by how many shoppers are waiting, and when you restock, it emails those shoppers for you. How it works.
Quick checklist
- Stock counts on for everything you reorder
- Low-stock alerts set from sales per day × delivery time
- Alert emails reach whoever places orders
- Deliveries recorded as "Stock received"
- Sold-out items kept visible, with a way to ask for an alert (see sold-out items on Square Online)
Sources
- Square Support: Create inventory alerts
- Square Support: Track your inventory
- Square Support: Adjust inventory levels
- Square Support: Mark items and modifiers as sold out