THE SHORT ANSWER
How do I manage stock when I sell on Instagram, WhatsApp and my website?
Keep one stock record for each sellable product and variant. Separate physical quantity, confirmed reservations and available-to-sell quantity. Record every channel's accepted orders against that same record before promising the next unit. A spreadsheet can do this at low volume; do not assume tools synchronise just because they all display a quantity.
Check how a stock adjustment works in oBizee →Choose one stock record, define when an item becomes unavailable, and record every channel's changes against it. A website does not solve overselling if an item promised in a message still appears available online. Equally, hiding every item someone asks about can make a healthy catalogue look sold out.
The starting point is not a more complicated spreadsheet. It is a clear answer to three questions: What exactly is the item? How many can you sell now? Which event changes that number?
Start with one sellable item, not a total for the whole design
“Five floral bags” is insufficient if three are blue and two are cream. Give each stock-managed choice a stable reference. Use the same reference in your catalogue, packing notes and private order record.
An item bought as a pack also needs a clear unit. If a customer orders one pack of six, decide whether your record counts packs or individual pieces. Do not subtract one from a quantity measured in pieces and assume the remaining number is correct.
Keep a small lookup sheet if your public product names are longer than your internal references. Your customer should not need to learn your codes to buy; your team should not need to guess which photograph an order refers to.
Count what is available, not everything you own
Separate items that are sellable now from damaged stock, order commitments and unfinished work. Shopify's inventory guide describes physical counts as a check on recorded quantities. A record is useful only if you compare it with the actual items and investigate differences.
Here is an illustrative manual record, not an oBizee reservation setting:
More columns may be available: swipe horizontally, or focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| One product variant | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Physically counted | 12 |
| Damaged, not sellable | 2 |
| Held for three agreed orders | 3 |
| Available to offer now | 7 |
With no other changes, selling one available item leaves six available. If all three held items are subsequently released after confirmed cancellations, available quantity becomes nine. Record both events; do not replace the total from memory.
Made-to-order capacity is a separate question. Owning yarn for several pieces does not mean you can finish all of them by the customer's date. Keep promised production work visible alongside finished stock without counting unfinished pieces as ready to dispatch.
Decide what a hold means before using it
A product enquiry is not necessarily an order. If you offer temporary holds, write a consistent rule covering who creates the hold, when it ends and how the customer is told. Check what your actual selling tool supports; this guide does not claim automatic expiry.
Avoid telling one buyer that an item is reserved while allowing another to purchase it. If your tools do not share reservations, use a controlled manual procedure or allocate separate quantities to the channels. Separate allocations require reconciliation too—they are not extra stock.
Payment and stock states should also remain distinct. A payment screenshot is not, by itself, verified receipt of funds. Follow your payment-confirmation process without silently treating a customer's message as settled money.
Record events instead of repeatedly rewriting a total
For a manageable catalogue, an event log makes a discrepancy easier to investigate. Keep customer details in the protected order system and use an order reference in the stock sheet.
More columns may be available: swipe horizontally, or focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Time and responsible person | When the movement was recorded and by whom |
| Product/variant reference | The exact sellable item and counting unit |
| Event | Receipt, sale, hold, release, damage or count correction |
| Quantity change | Which bucket increased or decreased |
| Supporting reference | Order, receipt or count note—not public customer data |
| Remaining available quantity | Result after the recorded event |
Do not make an unexplained adjustment just to force the sheet to match a screen. Keep the reason. Otherwise the next person cannot tell whether the difference was damage, a duplicate order entry or a missed receipt.
Close the gap between channels
Map how a message-led purchase becomes an order in your system. Decide who records it and which stock record is updated. If more than one person answers messages, avoid two people recording the same conversation as separate orders.
Test any claimed integration with a safe example before relying on it. Does an order reduce the right variant? What happens on cancellation? Does a failed payment reserve anything? Does a manually entered sale update the customer-facing quantity? The answers depend on the tool and configuration.
Without verified synchronisation, assume someone must perform the update. Choose a workable update routine and be honest about availability when you cannot check it immediately. Never use “live stock” to describe an occasionally updated estimate.
Use a short reconciliation routine
At a frequency that suits your order volume, compare the order record, stock changes and physical items. Start with scarce or frequently sold variants rather than trusting the catalogue-wide total.
- Match each new order reference to one stock movement, not two.
- Review expired or cancelled holds before releasing quantities.
- Inspect returned items before making them sellable again.
- Record newly completed work only when it is genuinely ready.
- Investigate negative balances and repeated manual corrections.
If a discrepancy affects an unfulfilled order, resolve the customer commitment before promoting the item again. Do not let a correction silently create a promise you cannot keep.
Know when the manual routine has become the problem
Repeated corrections, unclear responsibility and delayed updates are useful warning signs. Record the actual failures you want software to prevent. Evaluate tools against those cases rather than assuming a larger feature list will remove the work.
Bring two variants and a message-led order into a controlled demonstration. Ask to see sale, cancellation and unavailable-stock behaviour. Do not create a real customer order solely to test the system without the necessary authorisation.
Start with the catalogue-preparation checklist if your product references are inconsistent. Use the Instagram-to-store guide to introduce a clearer buying route, then request setup guidance for the workflow you actually need.
Examples are illustrative. Confirm current features, charges and suitability before making a business decision.
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