How to Track Purchase Orders in Shopify
Once a purchase order is sent, how to track its status — open, partial, received, or late — and why that number changes your available stock.
Eight purchase orders open across four suppliers, and the only way to know which ones are actually moving is to click into each one separately. Shopify doesn't put "days until this arrives" anywhere on the list view, because it doesn't track that concept at all. Here's what Shopify's PO tool actually tracks, why an open PO doesn't show up as stock you can sell, and how to build a tracking routine that doesn't require checking eight tabs.
PO statuses, explained
A Shopify purchase order has exactly two statuses on the object itself: Draft while you're still building or reviewing it, and Ordered once it's been submitted to the supplier. That's the entire native status model — there's no "Partially Received," "Received," or "Closed" value on the PO. Once it's Ordered, it stays Ordered; it never changes state again on its own.
Receiving progress lives somewhere else: the inventory transfer you create from an Ordered PO. That transfer has its own status — In progress while some of the order is still outstanding, Transferred once everything's been received. If you're picturing a single object moving through draft → issued → partial → received → closed, that's the generic procurement lifecycle, not what Shopify's admin actually shows you. See the full purchase orders guide for how the two objects fit together.
Why tracking matters for Incoming stock
Shopify's inventory has a few distinct states, and Incoming is the one that trips people up. Incoming inventory is stock on its way to a location from a transfer — not stock you can sell yet, and not something that appears the moment you mark a PO Ordered. It only becomes Incoming once you've created the linked transfer for that PO and the shipment is in transit; the number only moves into Available once someone actually records the receipt.
Practically: if a PO is sitting in Ordered status with no transfer created yet, Shopify shows nothing in Incoming for it — not because the order isn't real, but because nothing tells the system stock is moving until you create that transfer. If you're relying on the Incoming column to know what's on its way, an un-transferred Ordered PO will look like it doesn't exist.
Native vs. app tracking
Natively, tracking means opening the Purchase orders list, filtering by status, and clicking into each one to check its linked transfer: workable at a handful of open orders, tedious past a dozen spread across several suppliers. There's no dashboard view that shows every open PO's real-world status, on time, late, or partially received, in one place.
Dedicated apps generally close that gap by keeping their own record of expected delivery dates (a field Shopify's native PO doesn't have at all) and flagging anything that's crossed it. StockCue keeps an open-purchase-order view with every supplier's orders and their status in one screen, so "is anything late" is a glance instead of a click-through.
A simple tracking routine
- Check the Purchase orders list at a fixed time each week, not only when you happen to remember.
- For anything Ordered without a linked transfer yet, confirm the supplier actually shipped — an un-transferred PO past its expected date is the easiest one to lose track of.
- For transfers marked In progress, note what's still outstanding and whether it's a partial receipt worth following up on.
- Flag anything past your supplier's usual lead time before it becomes a stockout — see managing late purchase orders for what to do next.
STOCKCUE
StockCue's open-purchase-order view shows every PO's real status across every supplier in one screen, and the Stocky importer brings your existing open POs across if you're migrating off it — both on the Starter plan and up.
Install StockCue on Shopify →Frequently Asked Questions
What do purchase order statuses mean?
Shopify tracks exactly two statuses on the PO itself: Draft, meaning it's still being built or reviewed, and Ordered, meaning it's been submitted to the supplier. Receiving progress (partial, complete, closed) is tracked separately, on the inventory transfer linked to that PO, not on the PO's own status.
Does an open purchase order count as available stock in Shopify?
No. Marking a PO Ordered doesn't add anything to your Available or even your Incoming inventory by itself. Stock only shows as Incoming once you've created the linked transfer and the shipment is in transit, and it only becomes Available once the receipt is actually recorded.
How should a small store track open POs without dedicated software?
Filter the Purchase orders list by status and check it on a fixed schedule — weekly is reasonable for most small catalogs. Keep a simple note of each supplier's usual lead time so you can spot when an order has run past it, since Shopify's native tool doesn't flag lateness for you.
Devmerx
Devmerx is a Shopify and WordPress development agency helping DTC brands build faster stores, cleaner migrations, and higher-converting experiences. Based in London, UK, serving clients worldwide.
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