Special Orders & Available to Sell

What’s New & Frequently Asked Questions

What’s changing?

We’ve made two connected updates to improve how special orders and inventory are managed in Retail POS:

1. A dedicated Special Orders page to track and procure stock for unfulfilled sales.
2. Updated inventory views so Available to sell no longer goes negative due to special orders.

Available to sell: no more negative values

Previously, placing a special order for an out-of-stock product would make Available to sell show a negative number. This blended physical stock with unfulfilled demand, making inventory harder to read.

For example, if you had 0 Ceramic Teapots in stock and sold 3 to be delivered when the product was back in stock, your inventory (Available to sell) would show -3.
Now, Available to sell will show 0 to accurately reflect the amount of Ceramic Teapots physically in stock. The new Special order demand column replaces the negative value as your signal for how much stock needs to be procured for special orders.

Now, Available to sell will show 0 to reflect physical stock only. Negative values will only appear for genuine oversells or inventory discrepancies.

Instead, use the new Special order demand column — available on the Products page, Sell screen, and in Purchase Orders — to see how much stock still needs to be procured for special orders.

The Special Orders page

Navigate to Inventory > Special orders to manage all your special order demand in one place.

To Order tab shows products that still need to be procured, including:

Recommended order quantities per product (factoring in existing POs and inbound stock)
A breakdown by sale, with customer details and required quantities

Ordered Products tab shows items already on order but not yet received, so you can track what’s still on its way.

The Special Orders page displays up to 1,000 products. Process orders to view more.

How to create a special order sale

Go to Sell > Sell and add the out-of-stock product.
In the pop-up, select Fulfill later > Continue.
Add or create the customer record.
Select a fulfillment method, add an optional note, then click Continue.
Take payment or deposit.
The product will now be tagged as a Special order product in the sale

Adding products to a purchase order

From the Special Orders page:

Check one or more products (single location only).
Click Add product to purchase order.
Choose to add to an existing PO or create a new one, then confirm quantities and cost price.
Click Add products to order.

Receiving special order stock

When receiving a purchase order, special order products are flagged with a tag and banner. Expand the product row to see which customers are waiting, and print the sales receipt to tag the physical item. A final pop-up will remind you which products need to be set aside before you confirm receipt.

FAQs

Q: What’s the difference between a Special Order, a backorder, and a pre-order — are they all handled the same way?

A: Yes — whether it’s an out-of-stock item you’re sourcing, a backorder, or a pre-order, the Special Orders workflow captures and tracks all of them in the same place. At their core, they are unfulfilled sales. Learn more here.
The sale is recorded at the counter, the demand is visible in the ‘Special order demand’ column, and the order is tracked in the Special Orders page until it’s fulfilled.

Q: Why is Available to sell no longer going negative for special orders?

A: We’ve separated two things that were previously blended into one number — physical stock and special order demand. Available to sell now reflects what’s genuinely on your shelves, so you can trust it as a real-time view of what’s free to sell. Special order demand has its own dedicated signal: the new ‘Special order demand’ column, plus a centralized Special Orders page to track everything in one place.

Q: I’ve been using the negative number to know what to order — what do I use instead?

A: “The new ‘Special order demand’ column is built specifically for this job. It shows exactly how many units still need to be sourced across all open special orders, factoring in what’s already been set aside — so it gives you more detail than the negative number ever could.

Q: What happens to my existing special orders when my account is migrated?

A: Your existing special orders carry over automatically. Available to sell will move from negative to zero to reflect physical stock only, and the demand previously represented by the negative number will appear in the ‘Special order demand’ column instead. If anything looks unexpected after migration, contact support.
Note: if Available to sell is still negative after migration, this indicates a stock discrepancy (such as an oversell or counting error) — not a special order — and will need investigation on your end.

Q: Will my inventory reports look different after the change?

A: You may notice Available to sell figures look different in reports that span the migration date, particularly if you use the start date inventory setting. This is expected — we’d recommend noting your migration date when reviewing historical reports. If a report includes the migration date, Starting Inventory and Closing Inventory may appear inconsistent, since Starting Inventory can include negative stock from special orders prior to migration, while Closing Inventory will not.

Q: What does a negative Available to sell mean now if it’s not special orders?

A: After these changes, a negative Available to sell means either a genuine oversell or an inventory discrepancy, like a miscount or manual adjustment. Both are worth investigating. It’s now a cleaner, more actionable signal than before.

Q: Can I revert to the old workflow if I prefer it?

A: This is the direction we’re moving for all accounts — the new workflow is designed to give you a clearer, more reliable picture of your inventory and your outstanding customer commitments. We’re committed to making the transition as smooth as possible, and your feedback during beta directly shapes how we get there.

Q: How do I connect incoming stock to a waiting customer when it arrives?

A: When receiving a purchase order, any special order products are flagged with a tag and banner. Expand the product row to see which customers are waiting, and print the sales receipt to tag the physical item. A final pop-up will remind you which products need to be set aside before you confirm receipt.

Q: Can I get an example of the change?

A: Current flow: You have 0 Ceramic Cups in stock, 3 are sold as fulfillment sales → Available to sell shows -3

New flow: Your Available to sell shows 0 (what’s physically on the shelf). The special order demand column shows 3 (what still needs to be sourced).”

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