Shop automation

How to Set Up Low Stock Alerts for Your Shop

You open an order and realise the item is almost sold out. A low-stock alert gives you a chance to check the shelf and plan the next order earlier. Start with a few products that are hard to replace or sell often.

By Automations For BusinessPublished October 19, 20265 min read

A violet glass shelf with one pearl box and a pink notification bell. Cover title: Know before stock runs low.

Key takeaways

Check the stock count first.

Choose a warning level for each product.

Include the size, colour and location.

The short answer

Choose the stock level that should prompt a check for each product. When available stock reaches that level, send one alert to the person who handles orders. Include the product, size or colour, location and current count. Keep repeat alerts under control.

Check the count
Choose the warning level
Send a useful alert
Review the stock order

Start with a stock count you trust

Pick one stock record to use for alerts. That may be your shop system or a spreadsheet your team keeps up to date. Check a few products against the shelf before connecting anything.

Decide which quantity matters. Stock available to sell can differ from stock on the shelf if some items are already promised to customers. Damaged items should not make the shop look better stocked than it is.

If you sell from more than one location, decide whether each location needs its own warning. Ten items in a warehouse do not help a shop that has none and needs stock today.

Choose an alert level for each product

Use the time it takes to replace an item and how quickly it normally sells. A slow item from a nearby supplier may need a different warning level from a popular item with a long delivery wait.

For example, suppose you usually sell two packs a day and a delivery takes five days. You expect to use about ten packs while waiting. You could test an alert at fourteen packs to leave a small buffer. These are sample numbers, not a forecast for your shop.

Review that choice after busy periods, delivery delays or changes in sales. An alert level is a starting rule you maintain, not a number you set forever.

Use the shop system’s stock rules

Look for low-stock notifications in the system you already use. On Shopify, Flow includes a trigger called “Product variant inventory quantity changed”. A trigger is the event that starts the check. Shopify provides low-stock notification examples for it.

A variant means a specific version of a product, such as a medium blue shirt. Check the version the customer can buy, not just the combined total for every size.

After the stock change, the rule checks your chosen level and sends an internal message if attention is needed. If you use a spreadsheet, a daily check may be enough. Be clear about how fresh the stock numbers will be.

Make the alert useful on its own

Include enough detail for the person receiving the message to act without searching through several screens. Add a link to the product record if your system supports it.

Sample: “Low stock: blue shirt, medium. Shop floor: 4 available. Alert level: 5. Please check stock and any order already placed. Product record: [link].”

Send it to the person responsible for stock, with a backup contact if needed. An alert that everyone receives can still become a job nobody picks up.

Avoid a new warning after every sale

Once an item is below its warning level, each sale may trigger the check again. Decide how you want that handled before going live.

One useful approach is to alert when stock first crosses the level, then show unresolved items in a daily list. Another is to mark an item as already flagged until stock recovers. The right method depends on what your tools can record.

Keep “alert sent” separate from “reorder placed”. Someone should check supplier availability, order size and whether a purchase is already on its way. A low-stock warning should not place a purchase unless you have deliberately set that up.

Test one item before adding the whole shop

Use a test product or a planned stock adjustment. Move the count from above the alert level to below it. Confirm the right person gets the right product and location.

Then make another change while the item is still low. Check that repeat messages follow your rule. Restore stock and confirm a later drop can create a new alert.

Try a return, a cancelled order and a change at a second location if those affect your shop. Keep a simple record of what happened and fix any confusing message.

Start with your five most useful alerts

Use the worksheet below to choose a few products and name the person who acts on each alert. Review whether those messages led to useful stock checks before expanding the list.

Automations For Business can help connect stock changes to clear reminders in the tools you use. Send your shop platform and one example product workflow on WhatsApp to discuss the setup.

Your ready-to-use checklist

0 of 6 checked

Check the stock count first.Choose a warning level for each product.Include the size, colour and location.Name the person who acts on the alert.Prevent unwanted repeat messages.Check existing orders before buying more.

Make the next step clear.