Inventory glossary
What is Receiving?
Receiving is the process of checking in stock when it arrives from a supplier and updating your inventory counts to match what you actually got.
Receiving is the step where your paper records meet physical reality. If you skip it or do it carelessly, your inventory counts drift away from what is actually on the shelf, and every forecast or reorder decision you make after that is based on wrong numbers.
For a small Shopify store, good receiving means checking the delivery against the purchase order line by line, noting any shortages or damaged units, and updating stock counts the same day the boxes arrive. Doing this consistently keeps your available-to-sell numbers accurate and makes your next order easier to plan.
Example
A candle store orders 120 units of a vanilla candle. The box arrives with 114 units and 2 of those are cracked. During receiving, the owner logs 112 sellable units into inventory, asks the supplier to reship the 6 missing units, and requests a credit for the 2 damaged ones.
Common mistakes
- Updating inventory based on the packing slip instead of an actual physical count.
- Delaying receiving by several days, so sales get recorded against stock that technically has not arrived yet.
- Not logging damaged or short-shipped units separately, which hides supplier problems over time.
Receiving and SteadyShelf
SteadyShelf lets you receive stock against the purchase order it generated, so your on-hand counts and future forecasts update as soon as a delivery is checked in.
Work it out for your own products with our free tool: Shopify purchase orders.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
Purchase order · Incoming inventory · Three-way match · Lead time · Inventory accuracy
FAQ
Why does receiving matter if I already trust my supplier?
Even reliable suppliers make mistakes or ship partial orders. Receiving catches these issues before they turn into stockouts or inaccurate inventory counts that throw off your next order.
Should I update inventory as soon as I place an order or wait until it arrives?
Wait until it arrives and you have physically counted it. Updating inventory before receiving means your counts reflect what you hoped for, not what you actually have to sell.
Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU
Order-by dates per supplier, seasonal forecasts and draft POs for your Shopify store. $29/month after a 30-day free trial.
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