Inventory Features
POS inventory features
Compare POS stock quantities, receiving, counts, adjustments and alerts, including the plan and app limits that affect each workflow.
POS inventory features should show staff what is recorded for a given item and location, whether it is available to sell, and how its quantity changed. When comparing systems, follow one item through a sale, delivery, count and correction.
Check what each quantity means
Ask to see one variant at the intended store. Stock on hand and stock available to sell can differ. Shopify POS, for example, shows available, committed, unavailable and incoming quantities for the selected location; its inventory tracking must be enabled and stock assigned to that location. Square’s Australian Stock overview also requires tracking to be enabled for the item.
Check which figure staff should use for a customer enquiry, which figure a count should compare with physical goods, and which figure drives an alert. In Shopify’s Quick count, staff count on-hand units, including committed and unavailable units physically at the location. Shopify says sellers who need direct low-stock notifications can install an inventory alert app; Square documents low-stock thresholds and alerts in its own Dashboard.
Inventory Management Metrics in Square (Australia)
- Stock On Hand
- Physical units present at location (includes committed and unavailable stock)
- Stock Available to Sell
- On-hand minus committed and unavailable stock
- Committed Stock
- Reserved for pending sales or orders
- Incoming Stock
- Expected delivery not yet received
Follow the stock movements
Use the same item to inspect a sale, a delivery that is shorter than ordered, a return and damaged stock. Check when each movement changes the quantity, which location changes and where the event can be found later. Receiving should reflect what arrived, not merely what was ordered.
| Feature | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Variant and location quantities | Is this the exact item at the store serving the customer? |
| Receiving | Was the quantity that arrived recorded? |
| Counts | Can staff compare a physical count with the recorded figure before changing it? |
| Adjustments and history | Can a manager see what changed, when and why it was classified that way? |
| Alerts | Which quantity and threshold produce an alert, and where does it appear? |
In Square, staff with permission can receive stock in the point-of-sale app or Dashboard, either for an individual item or for multiple items in bulk. Receiving, adjusting and counting are available from the Dashboard and supported Square POS devices, including iOS devices, Square Terminal, Square Stand and Square Register. Item and inventory permissions control who can update stock.
Square adjustment reasons can distinguish deductions such as damage, theft, loss, sales and internal use from additions such as received or restocked stock. Square Plus and Premium subscribers can create up to 10 custom reasons, each with a name and a direction of increase or decrease. The direction cannot be changed after creation, and deleted custom reasons still count towards the limit.
Square’s stock history can be filtered by date range, location, adjustment type and reason, then narrowed by product. Opening an event shows who made the adjustment, its cost and the affected locations. Managers can also export filtered history as a CSV, with fields including date and time, item and variation, location, adjustment type and adjustment quality.
Pros and Cons of Custom Inventory Adjustment Reasons in Square
- ProsImproves audit trail; enables precise tracking of stock loss (e.g., theft, damage); supports compliance with ATO record-keeping requirements
- ConsDirection (increase/decrease) cannot be changed after creation; deleted reasons still count toward the 10-reason limit
Choose the right count control
A direct correction and a reviewed count suit different jobs. Decide who may change a quantity immediately and when a second person should review a count. Check what happens to items staff did not count.
Square’s Australian full and cycle counts are documented for Plus and Premium subscribers. An approved full count sets uncounted variations to zero; items outside a cycle count remain unchanged. Shopify’s Quick count updates the quantities staff submit directly. Its planned POS stock counts are created in admin, require the store to use Shopify POS Pro, and are reviewed before quantities change.
Square recommends counting each item variation in a cycle count at least once every 90 days. Full counts require every item on hand to be counted before submission for review; Square warns that uncounted stock in a full count is set to zero.
Shopify Quick count supports up to 1,000 variants in a single counting session, after which staff must submit the count and start another session. Multiple Shopify POS devices can count at the same location at the same time.
How to Perform a Full Inventory Count in Square (Australia)
- Enable Inventory TrackingEnsure tracking is enabled for the item and assigned to the correct location
- Initiate Full CountStart a full count in Square Dashboard or POS app for all items on hand
- Count Each VariationCount every item variation at least once; uncounted items will be set to zero
- Submit for ReviewSubmit count for manager approval before changes are applied
- Approve and UpdateManager reviews and approves count; system updates stock levels accordingly
Compare documented workflows
For each candidate, check which staff permissions are needed for receiving and adjustments, where managers review counts and history, and what information an adjustment record contains.
Test the same sale and restock at the selected location in each system. Check whether the quantity updates for that location and whether staff can identify items that are not stocked, sold out or partially available.
Give each candidate the same item and movements. Record what changed automatically, what staff entered, who could approve a count, and which record explained a later difference. Price the configuration that performs those tasks, including any required subscription or app.
Square low-stock alerts are set up in Square Dashboard for an item and location. When the in-stock quantity falls below the threshold, Square generates an alert; low-stock items are marked with a yellow circle in the Stock column. Alert emails are sent 90 minutes after each location’s configured closing time, so compare that timing with when staff need to act on a replenishment warning.
Square vs Shopify: Key Inventory Features Comparison
- Stock Tracking RequirementEnabled for item and location in both systems
- Receiving StockAvailable via POS app, Dashboard, and supported devices (iOS, Terminal, Stand, Register)
- Count Control TypeSquare: Full & cycle counts; Shopify: Quick count & planned counts (requires POS Pro)
- Adjustment History AccessManagers can filter by date, location, type, reason; export as CSV
- Low-Stock AlertsSet in Square Dashboard; alerts appear as yellow circle; sent 90 mins after closing time
- Custom Adjustment ReasonsSquare Plus/Premium: up to 10 custom reasons (direction fixed at creation)
In this guide
- Comparing simple stock tracking with inventory managementDecide when a POS stock quantity and alert are enough, and when receiving, reviewed counts and change history justify fuller controls.
- Recording stock adjustments with a reason codeRecord the item, location, quantity change and known reason for a POS stock adjustment, then check its history without guessing the cause.
- Using a POS to identify stock discrepanciesCompare the right item and stock state, review count differences, trace movements and record a discrepancy without guessing its cause.
