Partial Receiving on Shopify Purchase Orders: Backorders, Shorts and Damaged Units

In Shopify, you don’t receive against the purchase order itself. Click Create transfer on the purchase order, then open the linked transfer and click Receive items. Set Accept, Reject or Cancel with a quantity for each line. If boxes are still on the way, receive only what arrived. The transfer stays In progress until every unit is accounted for, then moves to Transferred. Shopify says: “Receiving happens on the inventory transfer that’s linked to your purchase order, not on the purchase order itself.”

This Shopify purchase order partial receiving guide is for one retail store. It protects inventory accuracy when a supplier ships short.

What is a purchase order in Shopify?

Shopify says you create purchase orders “to record the commercial agreements that you make with your suppliers.” A purchase order lists products, quantities, costs, payment terms and supplier details. It does not move stock by itself, and no sale happens yet.

In our accounts, the purchase order is the record the buyer and bookkeeper both trust: what you agreed to buy, at what prices.

Separate the commercial agreement from inventory movement

On June 22, 2026, the changelog said “When you’re ready to receive a purchase order, it now creates a transfer.” It also says “A single transfer can have multiple shipments,” and receiving works in admin or POS.

Think of it this way:

The purchase order is the commercial agreement: what you asked the supplier for, at what cost.
The linked inventory transfer is what actually walks through the back door, including goods in transit.
Each shipment on the transfer is one delivery.

Each Shopify purchase order supports one linked transfer. Changes to one record don’t automatically update the other.

Purchase order statuses, then and now

Older guides list five statuses: Draft, Ordered, Partial, Received and Closed. Shopify now says a Shopify purchase order has “two statuses,” Draft and Ordered. Partial receipt, completion and closure are tracked on the linked transfer. Shopify says “Previously closed purchase orders are now displayed as archived.”

Stocky used a different workflow and system, but it ended August 31, 2026.

Before you create a purchase order

Shopify lists three tasks before you create a purchase order: set up suppliers, set up locations, and turn on inventory tracking.

Create a new supplier

From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Purchase orders.
Click Create purchase order.
In the Supplier section, open the Select supplier drop-down menu.
Click Create new supplier, enter company information and contact details, and save.

Editing supplier details updates every existing purchase order. Payment terms and currency details are set per order.

Choose the destination location

The destination location is where stock lands, usually the store itself. If a back warehouse is its own location, pick the warehouse where boxes arrive.

Create and approve the purchase order

Step 1: Build the purchase order

From your Shopify admin, go to Products > Purchase orders, then Click Create purchase order.
Use Select supplier and pick a destination location.
Add products by search, by barcode scanner, or with Import.
For each line, enter the quantity, the supplier SKU, and the cost.
Optional: add a reference number, shipping details, or a note for the supplier.
Review the order total in the Cost summary section.
Click Save as draft.

Shopify autofills the Supplier SKU, cost and tax from each previous Shopify purchase order with that supplier.

Import products from a CSV file

You can import products with a CSV file, identifying each variant by SKU, barcode or supplier SKU details. Click Import, then Add file, then Import products. Only products that already exist can be imported.

Shopify offers a sample CSV to use as a template. In our accounts, a saved CSV per supplier works as a reusable template.

Get approval and send it

The Shopify admin purchase order workflow goes from draft to ordered, with no approval step between. A business can still use dollar-based approval tiers: the buyer approves orders under a set amount, the owner approves above it. That approval process also stops unauthorized purchases. In our accounts, shadow buying, ordering outside the system, is the usual reason received stock matches no purchase order.

To send it, click More actions, then Export PDF. Shopify says you can’t email a purchase order from the admin, so review the details and attach the PDF yourself.

Step 2: Mark it ordered when the supplier confirms

When the supplier confirms the prices and minimum order quantities, mark the order: click Mark as ordered twice. The order is now officially committed. Shopify warns that “Marking a purchase order as ordered can’t be reversed.”

You can still click Edit to change details later. Only a draft can be deleted: open it and click Delete. Archive a marked purchase order instead.

Currency and payment terms

The currency defaults to the supplier’s. A Canadian store buying from a US vendor sets USD to match the invoice.

Payment terms include Cash on delivery and Net 30. Supplier payments happen outside the Shopify admin, a business process for your bookkeeper.

Step 3: Create the linked transfer

Open the purchase order.
Click Create transfer.
Select the destination location (your store).
Click Save.

Units now show as Incoming inventory. Shopify defines Incoming as inventory “on its way to your location from transfers, purchase orders, or apps.” It isn’t sold as Available until received.

The purchase order list shows Linked transfer and Received columns for each order.

Track shipments and receive what arrived

Step 4: Receive items

Go to Products > Transfers and click the transfer linked to your purchase order.
Click Receive items.
In the Receive action column, choose Accept, Reject or Cancel for each line. Enter the quantity in the Receiving column. Accept all and Reject all work for clean deliveries. POS has Accept all too.
Optional: click the plus-circle icon to add a second action on a line.
Optional: click the comment icon to explain why.
Save.

What each action does on a PO transfer:

Action	Use it when	Effect on stock
Accept	The units are here and sellable	Become Available at the destination location
Reject	The units arrived but you won’t sell them	Recorded on the transfer, not added to Available
Cancel	The supplier will never ship them	Removed, because a PO’s origin is a supplier

Leave a backordered line untouched. The Total column shows units accounted for out of the ordered quantity. The transfer “remains In progress until you account for the rest.”

Check the packing slip first

Check the packing slip against the box, then confirm it against the purchase order. Receive what is physically there. If extra units arrive, Shopify says to enter the higher quantity. Mark the slip as checked.

Receive with a barcode scanner

Shopify supports receiving in the Shopify admin with a barcode scanner in keyboard mode, the same scanner many stores pair with POS. Scan each item to identify and accept it.

Common partial receipt situations

Short shipped, rest on backorder. Accept what arrived. Leave the remainder untouched. When the next box lands, open the same transfer and click Receive items again. Shopify says you “can receive each shipment individually as it arrives.”

Short shipped, never coming. Accept what arrived and Cancel the rest. The transfer moves to Transferred, and you complete the order. Ask the rep for a credit note.

Damaged on arrival. Split the line: Accept the good units and mark items as Reject for the broken ones. Add a note with the carrier claim number.

Wrong count entered. Use Manage received items on the shipment.

Product not stocked at the location. Shopify asks whether to make it available. Click Stock and fulfill for sale, or Not now.

Freight, duties and cost adjustments

Shipping and customs duties usually show up after you mark the purchase order ordered. Shopify says you add these as cost adjustments “to individual shipments on the linked inventory transfer.”

Open the linked transfer under Products > Transfers.
On the shipment menu, click Edit shipment.
In the Cost summary section, click Manage.
Pick Shipping amount or Customs duties, enter the amount, and save.

The cost summary adds up all adjustments, so you can compare agreed prices with actual cost. Each variant’s Cost per item “stays fixed” when you receive. For landed cost averaging, Shopify points to a third-party app.

Canada and US differences

For Canadian stores importing from the US, duties and the brokerage fee belong in cost adjustments. In our accounts, the bookkeeper tracks GST/HST paid at the border as a tax item. Keep it out of this field.

A US business buying from Canada uses the same field for customs duties paid.

Receiving at the register with Shopify POS

If the delivery lands at the counter, staff can receive on Shopify POS, a POS workflow that skips the back office. Shopify says your location “must be on the Shopify POS Pro subscription” for this, so the base POS tier can’t receive. Staff need the Inventory and Manage transfers permissions.

In Shopify POS, tap Products > Incoming transfers. Tap Accept all then Accept for a clean delivery. For a partial, tap the shipment, tap Review items, scan each line, and select Accept.

POS receiving has limits. POS can’t create a transfer, needs an internet connection, and can’t print barcode labels while receiving. It suits a business where the buyer also runs the POS register and the inventory.

Worked example: a partial delivery

A gift shop orders 60 mugs and 40 candles from one vendor.

The supplier confirms, and the buyer marks the order as ordered.
Create transfer puts 100 units in Incoming.
Box one arrives: 60 mugs, 4 broken, and 20 candles.
Accept 56 mugs, reject 4, accept 20 candles, and save.
The transfer stays In progress, with 20 candles outstanding.
Box two arrives a week later. Accept the 20 candles.
The transfer moves to Transferred. Add freight under cost adjustments.

The Received column reads 96. Ask the vendor for a credit on the 4 mugs, and mark it in the details.

Reports for supplier performance

Shopify’s migration guide describes a custom report on the Inventory transfers data source. Add ordered_quantity and received_quantity to identify short shipments and review each process.

There is no native spend report, so export the list. In our accounts, a quarterly look at short shipments is enough supplier management for one store, and helps supplier relationships.

Closing out

Shopify has no close action on the purchase order. Mark it done: click More actions, then Archive. Archiving doesn’t close the linked transfer, so check it is Transferred first.

When a third-party system is right

Shopify POS and the admin suit one business with a few suppliers. Consider an ERP or a third-party inventory app for landed cost allocation, an approval process, or POs across multiple locations. Shopify says an ERP can stay the system of record, receiving new inventory into Shopify through blank-origin transfers.