How to Manage Inventory in UniLink (Track Stock Levels and Prevent Overselling)

Enable stock tracking on any product, set low-stock alerts, and control what happens when you run out — all without a separate inventory tool.

Running out of stock mid-sale and accidentally accepting orders you can't fulfill is one of the most damaging things that can happen to an online seller. It creates unhappy buyers, refund requests, and a reputation hit that takes time to recover from. UniLink's built-in inventory management gives you the tools to prevent exactly that — tracking quantities, alerting you before you run out, and automatically managing the buyer-facing experience when inventory hits zero.

What Inventory Management Does

UniLink's inventory system operates at the product level. When you enable stock tracking on a product, you set an initial quantity and the platform begins counting down each time an order is placed. You don't need a separate spreadsheet or inventory tool — the count updates automatically with every sale.

Beyond just counting, inventory management in UniLink gives you controls for what happens when stock runs low or reaches zero. You can set a low-stock alert threshold so you receive a notification when inventory drops below a number you choose — useful for planning when to reorder or restock. When inventory hits zero, you can choose between two behaviors: auto-hide the product (removing it from your page until you restock) or display an "Out of Stock" badge instead (keeping the product visible so buyers know it exists and can potentially sign up for restock notifications).

For sellers with multiple products, bulk inventory updates let you adjust quantities across many products in one operation — ideal after receiving a large shipment or doing a full inventory count. An inventory history log records every change to a product's stock level so you can audit your inventory trail and identify patterns in how quickly specific products sell.

How to Get Started With Inventory Management

1. Open the product you want to track — Go to Dashboard → Storefront → Products and click on the product you want to enable inventory tracking for.
2. Find the Inventory section — In the product editor, scroll to the Inventory section. It is off by default; you'll see a toggle labeled "Track inventory for this product."
3. Enable stock tracking — Toggle "Track inventory" to on. A quantity field will appear.
4. Enter your current stock quantity — Type the number of units you currently have available. This is the starting count the platform will count down from as orders come in.
5. Set a low-stock alert threshold — Enter the quantity at which you want to be notified. For example, entering 5 means you'll receive an alert when stock drops to 5 units remaining.
6. Choose the out-of-stock behavior — Select either "Auto-hide product when out of stock" or "Show Out of Stock badge." Choose based on whether you want the product to disappear from your page or remain visible with a status indicator.
7. Save the product — Click Save. Inventory tracking is now active. Every new order for this product will automatically decrement the stock count.

How to Manage Inventory Ongoing

1. Monitor stock levels — Go to Storefront → Products. The product list shows a stock badge next to each product with inventory tracking enabled: green for in-stock, yellow for low-stock, and red for out-of-stock.
2. Update stock after restocking — Click on a product, go to the Inventory section, and update the quantity field to reflect your new stock level. Save to apply the update immediately.
3. Use bulk update for multiple products — Go to Storefront → Products, select multiple products using the checkboxes, and click Bulk Update → Inventory. Enter the new quantity for each selected product in the bulk update dialog.
4. Review inventory history — Click on a product and scroll to Inventory History to see a log of every stock change: sales that decremented the count, manual updates you made, and the date and time of each change.
5. Respond to low-stock alerts — Low-stock alerts appear as notifications in the UniLink Dashboard and can optionally be sent to your email. When you receive one, restock or update the quantity before you sell out.
6. Change out-of-stock behavior any time — If a product sells out and you want to switch from auto-hide to badge (or vice versa), open the product, change the setting in the Inventory section, and save.
7. Manually mark a product as out of stock — Set the inventory quantity to 0 to trigger the out-of-stock behavior immediately, even if the system hasn't counted down to zero organically.

Key Settings Explained

How to Get the Most Out of Inventory Management

The most important habit for accurate inventory management is updating your stock count the moment a new shipment arrives. Many sellers let inventory counts drift because they forget to update after restocking, and the platform ends up showing incorrect availability. Set a reminder to update UniLink immediately when you receive new stock — it takes 30 seconds and prevents overselling.

Use the inventory history log actively. The history shows you how quickly each product sells down, which tells you how to set your low-stock threshold more precisely. If a product typically sells 3 units per day and it takes 5 days to restock, set the low-stock threshold at 15 units so you always have enough lead time. The history also helps you spot if a sudden spike in sales (or a data entry error) caused an unexpected inventory change.

For products you sell in limited batches or drops, the auto-hide setting is your best friend. Set inventory to the batch size, turn on auto-hide, and when the batch sells out the product disappears from your page automatically. This creates scarcity without you having to manually manage visibility. When the next drop is ready, update the quantity and the product reappears.

Consider keeping a small buffer in your inventory count. Rather than entering the exact number of units you have, some sellers enter slightly less — for example, if you have 50 units, you might track 45 and keep 5 as a safety buffer. This gives you time to respond to a sudden surge and prevents the awkward situation of accepting an order for a unit you can't actually ship.

Troubleshooting Common Issues