If your inventory quantities aren't updating on Shopify, BigCommerce, or another sales channel, this guide covers the most common causes and how to fix each one. Work through these in order — most issues are resolved by step 3 or 4.
Before you start: Stock sync must be enabled for your store. If you haven't set it up yet, see What is stock sync? and Preparing for stock sync: A technical guide.
Step 1: Check that the item is linked to a listing
The most common reason an item's stock isn't pushing to your sales channel is that the item in SKULabs isn't linked to the correct listing. If there's no link, SKULabs has nowhere to push the stock.
Go to Inventory > Items and open the item in question.
Scroll down to the Listings panel and confirm the item is linked to the correct listing on your sales channel.
If no listing appears, or the wrong listing is linked, you'll need to link it manually. See How to link or relink a listing to an item or kit.
Note: If the SKU in SKULabs doesn't exactly match the SKU on your sales channel, SKULabs won't auto-link the item. This is common when you use prefixes (e.g. "SHOP-" in SKULabs but not on Shopify). You'll need to link these manually or update the SKUs to match.
Step 2: Run a listings sync
If you've recently added new products, changed SKUs, or made location changes on your sales channel, SKULabs may not have the latest listing data. Running a listings sync pulls in the current state of your channel's listings.
Go to Settings and under the Listings Sync section, click Run listings sync.
Wait for the sync to complete, then check if the affected items are now linked correctly.
Tip: If you've recently made location changes directly in Shopify (e.g. removing or adding warehouse locations from a product), you must run a listings sync so SKULabs picks up those changes before pushing stock.
Step 3: Check your warehouse-to-store links and stock sync settings
SKULabs only pushes stock from warehouses that are linked to your store. Here's how to find and configure these settings, and what each option means.
Go to Settings and click View all store settings under the Stores section.
Find your store and click the pencil (edit) icon on the right.
On the store settings page, you'll see the following options — here's what each one does:
Store settings page options
Enable auto-synchronization — When enabled, SKULabs will automatically import new orders from your sales channel on a schedule. Leave this on for most stores so orders flow in without manual importing.
Enable stock sync — This is the main switch that allows SKULabs to push inventory quantities to your sales channel. Turn this on if you want SKULabs to control the stock numbers shown on your store. Click (choose warehouses) next to it to configure which warehouses are included.
Enable orders sync — When enabled, SKULabs imports orders from this store. Keep this on to ensure orders are pulled into SKULabs for fulfillment.
Stock sync warehouse modal options
When you click (choose warehouses), a modal opens with the following settings:
Linked Warehouses (checkboxes) — Check the warehouses whose stock should be pushed to this sales channel. Only inventory from checked warehouses will count toward the quantity SKULabs pushes. If your stock is spread across multiple warehouses, check all the ones that should feed this store. If you have separate US and Canada warehouses, only check the ones relevant to each store.
Stock rule (top field) — This is the store-level default stock rule. It controls the formula SKULabs uses to calculate the quantity to push. Common values:
free— pushes On Hand minus Reserved (recommended default)skip— stops pushing stock to this store entirely. If your store shows 0 or never updates, check this isn't set toskip.
Stock sync enabled — A second toggle inside the modal that must also be on for stock to push. Both this toggle and the Enable stock sync toggle on the store settings page must be enabled.
Re-push stale stock — When enabled, SKULabs will periodically re-send stock quantities even if they haven't changed, to keep your channel in sync. Recommended to leave on.
Restrict picking to linked warehouses — When enabled, SKULabs will only allow orders to be picked from the warehouses linked to this store. Leave off unless you have a specific reason to restrict picking.
Disable automatic order archiving when orders disappear from sync — When enabled, SKULabs will not automatically archive orders that disappear from your sales channel. Turn this on if you've had orders accidentally archived.
Once your warehouses are checked and settings are configured, click Save.
Most common setup: Enable stock sync ✓ | Select your relevant warehouses ✓ | Stock rule: free | Stock sync enabled ✓ | Re-push stale stock ✓
Step 4: Force push stock manually for a specific item
If the listing is linked and the warehouse is configured correctly, you can force a manual stock push for a specific item to unstick the sync.
Go to Inventory > Items and open the item in question by clicking on its name.
Inside the item, scroll down to the Listings section.
You'll see a list of listings linked to this item. In the Last stock pushed column, click the lightning bolt icon next to the listing you want to push. This forces an immediate stock push to that listing on your sales channel.
Don't see the lightning bolt? This means one of the following: the listing isn't assigned to any locations on your channel, the store isn't set to sync inventory, no warehouses are connected to this item in SKULabs, or a push is already scheduled. Check Steps 1–3 above to resolve these.
To push stock for all items at once, go to the Dashboard and click the refresh icon in the Stock column. Note: a full manual sync can take hours for large catalogs and is not recommended unless your stock was changed outside of SKULabs. See Push inventory manually.
Step 5: Check your stock rule
Your stock rule controls what quantity SKULabs pushes to your sales channel. If the rule is set to skip, no stock will be pushed even if you have inventory on hand. The stock rule is set per listing — here's how to find and change it.
Go to Inventory > Items and open the item.
Scroll down to the Listings section and click the name of the listing you want to check. This opens the listing's own page.
On the listing page, scroll down to the Listing Rules panel. You'll see a table with two rows: Stock and Price, each showing the current rule in the Rule column.
If the Stock rule shows skip, click the Edit button in the top right of the Listing Rules panel and change it to:
store_default — uses whatever rule is set at the store level (recommended)
free — pushes On Hand minus Reserved
Save your changes.
Step 6: Check for kit component stock issues
If the item that isn't syncing is part of a kit, the kit's available stock is limited by the component with the least inventory. Even if the kit itself looks like it has stock, a single out-of-stock component will cause the kit to show as unavailable.
Go to Inventory > Kits and open the kit.
Review each component's stock level. Look for any component showing 0 or negative free stock.
Restock the limiting component and the kit's stock will update automatically on your next sync.
Step 7: Check for high reserved stock
If the Reserved column for an item is unusually high, it may be because open, unshipped orders are holding inventory — leaving little or no Free stock to push to your sales channel.
Go to Inventory > Items and check the Reserved column for the affected item.
If reserved stock looks too high, click the On Hand number to see which orders are holding the reserve.
Fulfill or cancel the open orders to release the reserved stock.
Channel-specific issues
Shopify: stock not updating after location changes
If you made location changes directly in Shopify (adding or removing a warehouse location from a product), SKULabs needs to be updated to reflect those changes before it can push correctly.
Make your location changes in Shopify first.
In SKULabs, go to Settings and click Run listings sync under the Listings Sync section.
Once the sync completes, force push stock for the affected items using the lightning bolt icon inside the item's Listings section.
See also: How to fix a product not syncing inventory with Shopify and How do I enable Shopify Multi-Location inventory seamlessly?
BigCommerce: only some variants not pushing
If some variants on a BigCommerce product page are not updating while others are, check each variant's listing link individually — some variants may be linked while others are not, especially if SKUs differ between SKULabs and BigCommerce.
Go to Inventory > Items, open the item, and scroll to the Listings section.
Click each variant listing name to open its listing page and check the Link listing to item section to confirm it's linked correctly.
For any unlinked variants, link them manually.
See also: BigCommerce in SKULabs and BigCommerce failed to apply stock update.
Frequently asked questions
How long does stock sync take to push to my channel?
Stock sync runs automatically and most changes push within seconds to minutes. If quantities haven't updated after 15–20 minutes, use the manual force push (lightning bolt icon inside the item's Listings section) to trigger an immediate update.
My stock shows correctly in SKULabs but shows 0 on my channel — why?
The most common causes are: the listing isn't linked to the item in SKULabs, the warehouse isn't linked to the store, or the stock rule is set to skip. Work through Steps 1–5 above to identify which applies.
Why is SKULabs pushing the wrong quantity to my channel?
SKULabs pushes Free stock by default (On Hand minus Reserved). If the quantity on your channel doesn't match what you expect, check your Reserved column for open orders holding stock, and review your store's stock rule. See What are stock rules for listings or stores?
Can SKULabs push stock to specific locations on Shopify?
Yes. SKULabs supports Shopify multi-location inventory. Each warehouse in SKULabs can be mapped to a location in Shopify. See How do I enable Shopify Multi-Location inventory seamlessly?
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