Inventory glossary
What is Inventory adjustment?
Inventory adjustment is a manual change to the recorded stock level of a SKU, made to correct the count after damage, loss, theft, a counting error, or a stocktake.
Inventory adjustments keep your recorded stock honest. Without them, Shopify will show quantities that do not match what is actually on the shelf, which leads to overselling items you do not have or reordering items you do have.
Use adjustments after every stocktake or cycle count, and any time you find damaged, lost, or stolen stock. Write down the reason each time. A clean adjustment history helps you spot problems like a supplier shorting shipments or a staff member miscounting the same SKU every month.
Example
A store shows 60 units of a candle variant in stock. A cycle count finds only 54 on the shelf. The owner enters an inventory adjustment of minus 6 units, bringing the recorded stock down to 54 to match reality.
Common mistakes
- Not recording adjustments right after a stocktake, so the system stays wrong for weeks.
- Using adjustments to quietly fix receiving errors instead of finding out why the purchase order quantity did not match.
- Not writing down a reason for each adjustment, which makes it hard to spot a pattern like repeated shrinkage at one location.
Inventory adjustment and SteadyShelf
SteadyShelf relies on accurate stock numbers to forecast sales and set order-by dates, so recording inventory adjustments promptly keeps its suggested order quantities correct.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
Inventory accuracy · Cycle count · Inventory shrinkage · Stocktake · Perpetual inventory
FAQ
What is an example of an inventory adjustment?
A monthly cycle count finds 46 candles on the shelf but Shopify shows 50. You make an inventory adjustment of minus 4 units so the system matches the shelf.
Is an inventory adjustment the same as receiving stock?
No. Receiving adds stock based on a purchase order and expected quantities. An inventory adjustment is a manual correction used when the recorded count is wrong for any reason, including after receiving if something was miscounted.
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