Configure MSI backorders
This content is new and in-progress for MSI and includes content for "in development" and 1.0.0 Beta features. Information may change depending on development.
Backorders allow your store to continue selling products after the quantity reaches zero, or is effectively out of stock. When a customer order is a backorder, the funds are authorized and captured immediately, the processing status of the order does not change, and the shipping remains on-hold until stock is available.
Depending on your store and sales, you may want to enable backorders globally for all products or only on specific products.
We recommend configuring specific thresholds and settings to best support backorders.
Use a negative value for this threshold to set the maximum amount of products that can be backordered before the product is truly considered out of stock. This amount adds to the salable quantity. The value set at the product level overrides any value set at the global level.
The following is an example:
- Quantity: 25
- Notify for Quantity Below: 10
- Only X left Threshold: 5
- Out of Stock Threshold: -50
The Salable Quantity for this product is 75 (25 - (-50)).
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| Example Salable Quantity before backorders enabled |
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| Example Salable Quantity after backorders enabled |
When customers purchase over 25 products, new orders enter as backorders. As the product's salable quantity reduces to 5 (70 items have been sold), the product page will display a message "Only 5 left" on front-end. When the salable quantity reaches 0, the product displays as Out of Stock in the storefront.
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| Remaining X products |
The Notify for Quantity Below configuration option is applicable on the Source level and helps a merchant to be notified by email that a stock level for a given product decreased below 10 items on a given source. When backorders are enabled, the Notify for Quantity Below is not deducted from the Salable Quantity.
Products must be set to In Stock status when enabling backorders. You can set this through the Product page. For Multi Source merchants, you must have at least one source marked as In Stock.
To enable backorders globally for all inventory in your store:
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On the Admin sidebar, tap Stores. Then under Settings, choose Configuration.
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Select Default Config for the Store View.
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Tap Catalog. Then choose Catalog and Inventory.
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Under Product Stock Options, locate Backorders. Uncheck the Use Default checkbox and select an option from the drop-down menu:
- Allow Qty Below 0 - Allows for orders when the product quantity falls below zero
- Allow Qty Below 0 and Notify Customer - Allows for backorders and notifies the customer the order is a backorder
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Under Product Stock Options, locate Out-of-Stock Threshold. Uncheck the Use Default checkbox to enter a specific amount below 0. For example, enter -50 to allow orders up to this amount. The value is added to the Salable Quantity. If you enter 0 or a positive number, backorder inventory is considered infinite.
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Tap Save Config.
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| Backorders Global Setting Enabled |
You may want to enable backorders at the product level for the following:
- Globally disable backorders with specific products enabled for backorders
- Override global backorder thresholds for specific products
To enable backorders per product:
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On the Admin sidebar, tap Catalog. Then, choose Products.
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Select a product to edit. Scroll down the page to the Sources area.
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Tap Advanced Inventory. A page of product specific configurations displays. Any setting listed as global displays the current global setting for the store.
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Uncheck the Use Default checkbox and select an option from the drop-down menu:
- Allow Qty Below 0 - Allows for orders when the product quantity falls below zero
- Allow Qty Below 0 and Notify Customer - Allows for backorders and notifies the customer the order is a backorder
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Under Product Stock Options, locate Out-of-Stock Threshold. Click off the Use Default checkbox to enter a specific amount below 0. For example, enter -50 to allow orders up to this amount. The value is added to the Salable Quantity. If you enter 0 or a positive number, backorder inventory is considered infinite.
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Tap Done, then tap Save.
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| Backorders on Product Setting Enabled |