How to manage stock across more than one location

To manage stock across more than one location, add each place you keep goods as a stock location, then record how many units of each item sit in each one. morebasket reserves stock when an order is placed, which keeps the available number honest. You can see all of it from one inventory screen.

What is a stock location?

A stock location is a place where you keep goods. It might be a spare room, a rented unit, a shop counter, a partner’s warehouse or a market stall box.

You add locations once and then use them in two places:

• Inventory: each inventory item has a quantity at each location.
• Shipping: locations are also where fulfilment starts, so they connect to your shipping setup. See how to set up shipping for your online store.

Even if you only have one place today, name it clearly. It is much easier to add a second location later when the first already has a sensible name.

When do I need more than one location?

You do not need several locations just because you sell a lot. You need them when stock is physically in different places and you want the numbers to match reality.

Common cases:

• You keep most goods at home but carry a small amount to markets.
• You use a second site or storage unit for bulky items.
• A friend or partner holds stock that you sell through your store.
• You have a shop and an online store drawing on separate shelves.

If everything sits on one shelf, one location is the right answer. More locations mean more counting.

How do I set up locations and add stock?

1. Open your admin and go to the stock locations section in settings.
2. Add each location with a clear name, such as “Home workshop” or “Storage unit”.
3. Open Inventory and find an inventory item.
4. Set the quantity at each location where you hold that item.
5. Repeat for every item, or export your inventory items, fix the numbers and re-check them.

Inventory items sit behind your product variants. If you sell a shirt in three sizes, each size has its own quantity at each location. The guide on selling products with variants explains how variants and inventory items connect.

What are reservations, and why do they matter?

A reservation is stock set aside for an order. When someone buys, morebasket reserves the quantity for that order. That keeps the available number honest while you pack and ship.

Think of it as a hold ticket:

• The shopper pays. A reservation holds the units.
• You fulfil the order. The reserved units leave your stock.
• If the order is changed or canceled, the hold can be released back to available stock.

Reservations are how the available number stays honest while orders are open. Under a burst of simultaneous orders a reservation can occasionally over-count, so do not treat the last unit as guaranteed, and check your last few units by hand. Reservations also explain why “on hand” and “available” can differ for a short time: some units are on hand but already promised to an order.

You can see these details on the inventory item. If a number looks wrong, check for open orders before assuming a mistake.

How do I decide which location ships an order?

When you fulfil an order, you choose where the goods come from. For a small shop this is usually obvious: you send from where the stock is.

A helpful rule is to ship from the location that holds all the items in the order, so you pack once. If an order needs items from two places, decide whether to ship in two parcels or to bring the goods together first.

Fulfilment itself is covered under Orders and Shipping. morebasket supports manual fulfilment, so you stay in control of what is sent and when.

What can the Inventory agent watch for me?

morebasket includes an AI workforce with specialised agents including Product, SEO, Builder, Order and Inventory. The Inventory agent watches and manages stock using your live store data.

What you control:

• You decide which jobs run automatically.
• You decide which jobs wait for your approval first.

Be clear about what this is not. This is the only alert feature morebasket claims for stock: the Inventory agent watching your levels. There are no claims here about purchase orders, transfers between locations, barcode scanning or low-stock emails, so keep your own routine for those. Like any AI, an agent can get things wrong, so check its suggestions before you rely on them.

Details are on the AI workforce page. The plan list on the pricing page puts the AI workforce on the Business plan, with more agents and jobs.

How do I keep counts accurate over time?

Software shows the numbers you put in. Accuracy comes from habits.

• Count on a schedule. A short count of your top sellers each week catches drift early.
• Record changes when they happen. If you move boxes between locations, update both quantities that day.
• Fix, then find the cause. When a count is off, adjust it, then work out why: a damaged item, a missed order, a mis-pick.
• Keep names clear. If you have three storage places, three clear names prevent mistakes.
• Export now and then. You can export inventory items as a file for a record or a second look.

Moving stock between two locations is a manual step: lower the quantity in one and raise it in the other. Treat it as a pair of edits and do both in one sitting.

What should I do about items that are out of stock?

You have a few honest choices:

• Leave the product visible with a clear out-of-stock message while you restock.
• Remove the variant that is gone and keep the rest on sale.
• Replace the item with a similar one and tell customers about the change.

Whatever you pick, update the quantity as soon as new stock arrives. For made-to-order or print on demand items, stock works differently, since the supplier makes them when ordered. Treat those as a separate case from shelf stock.

A short checklist for a second location

• Name both locations clearly.
• Enter a starting quantity per item at each one.
• Run a test order and watch the reservation appear.
• Fulfil the test order from the right location.
• Ask the Inventory agent to watch your top items, if you use the AI workforce.
• Schedule a regular count.

Next step

Add your second stock location today, then set quantities for your five best-selling items at each place. Place a test order for one of them and follow it through reservation and fulfilment. Once the numbers behave as you expect, work through the rest of your catalog in Inventory.