Products & Inventory
Products
A product is a catalog entry representing a type of inventory (e.g. a standard plate, sticker, or other item). Products define the SKU, title, category, and order quantity limits.
Navigate to Products in the sidebar to view the full product list. The list defaults to active products. Use the search box to filter by SKU or title, the category filter to narrow by Plates, Stickers, or Unserialized, and the archived filter to switch between active and archived products.
Stock levels are shown with colour-coded badges: Low stock (amber) when stock falls below the minimum threshold, and Out of stock (red) when stock reaches zero.
To add a new product, open the Actions dropdown in the top-right corner and choose Add Product.
Product Fields
Field | Description |
|---|---|
SKU | Unique identifier used in orders and returns |
Title | Human-readable name |
Description | Optional extended description |
Category |
|
Status |
|
Orderable Until | Optional date after which the product can no longer be ordered |
Carton Qty | Number of items per carton (used as box size in shipment data) |
Min Stock Qty | Threshold below which a low stock alert is triggered |
Min Order Qty | Minimum quantity per order line |
Max Order Qty | Maximum quantity per order line |
Is Serialized | Whether individual items carry serial numbers |
Serial Format | Mask defining the product's current serial number format (e.g. |
Also Accepts | Additional serial formats this product accepts, on top of Serial Format — see below |
Accepting a Rolled-Over Serial Format
When a serial series runs out — every number in its current mask has been issued — the state or manufacturer sometimes starts a new series in a different mask. Also Accepts is how you record that on the product, so both the old and new serial numbers keep working.
This control appears on the Add Product and Edit Product forms whenever the product is serialized and a Serial Format is selected. It lists every other format as a checkbox; tick the one the new series uses. The format selected in Serial Format is always accepted automatically, so only tick Also Accepts for formats beyond that.
For example, if a plate series started as LLL000 (e.g. ABC001) and, once that range was exhausted, the state began issuing plates as 000LLL (e.g. 001ABC), tick 000LLL under Also Accepts. Both Receive Inventory and incoming returns will then recognize serials in either format for that product — you don't need to change Serial Format itself, and existing inventory already on the old format is unaffected.
Only tick a format when the product's serials genuinely use it. Ticking a format that isn't actually in use does not add extra protection — it does the opposite: a mistyped or unrelated serial that happens to match that shape will be silently accepted instead of rejected, since Receive Inventory and returns treat any ticked format as valid. Leave a format unchecked unless you know the series has actually rolled over to it.
If you change Serial Format itself (for example, switching the current format when a series rolls over), the format you're moving away from is kept in Also Accepts automatically. A rolled-over series therefore keeps accepting its older serials without any extra steps on your part.
Inventory Items
Clicking a product opens its detail page, which shows all individual inventory items — the actual physical units in stock.
Each item has a status that reflects where it is in the fulfillment lifecycle:
Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Available | In stock, ready to be assigned to an order |
Assigned | Reserved for a specific order |
Packed | Physically packed and awaiting shipment |
Shipped | Dispatched via ShipStation |
Serialized products show the serial number for each item. Non-serialized items are tracked by quantity only.
Receiving Stock
To add new inventory for a product:
Open the product detail page
Open the Actions dropdown and select Receive Inventory
For serialized products: enter the starting and ending serial numbers — items are created for each serial in the range
For non-serialized products: enter the quantity received
Submit — items are created with status Available and the receive event is logged in the activity timeline
The product detail page shows a receive history listing each batch with its quantity and serial range.
Product Statuses
Active — available for new orders; visible in the product list
Archived — hidden from new orders; existing inventory items are unaffected