Keeping inventory accurate is a constant battle for merchants. Until now, many relied on spreadsheets, paper counts, or third‑party apps that left gaps in visibility. Shopify’s new Stock Count workflow consolidates the entire process inside the admin, letting you create counts, capture data via barcode scanners or manual entry, and review results before any inventory levels actually change. In this post we’ll break down what’s new, who needs to pay attention, and how to get the most out of the feature right away.
What’s New in the Stock Count Feature
The Merchant Changelog announcement introduces three core capabilities:
All of this lives natively in Shopify admin under Products > Inventory > Stock counts, eliminating the need for external spreadsheets and providing an immutable audit trail.
Who Is Affected: Merchants vs. Developers
Merchants – Store owners, inventory managers, and staff who handle day‑to‑day stock reconciliation will use the UI to create counts, scan barcodes, and approve changes.
Developers – While the feature is primarily UI‑driven, developers should be aware of the new inventory‑related webhook events and the expanded InventoryLevel API that now reflects pending count adjustments. If you’ve built custom inventory dashboards or integrations, you’ll need to accommodate the “pending” state before counts are approved.
Getting Started: A Step‑by‑Step Guide for Merchants
Pro tip: Schedule regular quarterly counts and assign a different staff member each cycle to reduce bias and catch discrepancies early.
Developer Considerations: API & Webhook Updates
While the Stock Count UI handles most workflows, developers should note two technical changes:
available is updated automatically.Below is a sample GraphQL query to fetch pending counts for a location:
query GetPendingCounts($locationId: ID!) {
inventoryCounts(first: 50, query: "location_id:$locationId status:pending") {
edges {
node {
id
name
createdAt
countedQuantity
pendingQuantity
createdBy {
name
}
}
}
}
}
If you’re using REST, the endpoint GET /admin/api/2024-10/inventory_counts.json now returns pending_quantity alongside available. Update any scripts that sync inventory to respect the pending state, otherwise you might double‑apply adjustments.
Best Practices for Accurate Stock Counts
Conclusion & Next Steps
Shopify’s Stock Count feature removes the friction of juggling spreadsheets and third‑party tools, giving merchants a single source of truth for inventory verification. Merchants should start by setting up their first count this month, while developers update APIs and webhook listeners to respect the new pending state. By embracing the built‑in workflow, you’ll reduce stock‑outs, improve forecasting, and keep audit trails clean.
Ready to try it out? Head to Products → Inventory → Stock counts in your admin and create your first count today. Need help integrating the new webhook events? Contact our Shopify development team for a quick setup session.
