How to set up the stock and order alerts

Six alerts in the Alerts list on Brain › Automations watch your store and your buying, and tell the right people when something needs action. Late purchase orders is switched on from the start; the other five start switched off. The page is introduced in What are automations?, and the switch itself is covered in How to turn an automation on, off, or run it now.

Each row in the list says what its alert watches, in the words quoted below.

Before you start

• You need the Manage automations permission, which admins hold by default.
• Automations must be on in Settings › Modules, along with the module each alert belongs to:
  • Low stock needs Inventory.
  • Shipping backlog, Big orders and Store data stopped updating need Store.
  • Late purchase orders and Overdue supplier bills need Purchase orders.
• Low stock, Shipping backlog and Big orders need Shopify connected, per How to connect your Shopify store. Store data stopped updating needs Klaviyo, per How to connect Klaviyo.

While a module is off, the alert's panel reads, for example, Paused: Store is switched off in Settings, so this waits until it's back on. See How to switch parts of Tideswell on and off.

What does Low stock watch?

Low stock reads When a product's shippable stock drops to 5 or fewer. Shippable stock is what Selling › Inventory shows as In stock.

Each product alerts once, then stays quiet until its stock recovers and drops again. Several products in one run arrive as one Inbox item, such as 3 products low on stock. Products set in Shopify to keep selling when out of stock never trigger it.

Clicking the alert opens Selling › Inventory on the Reorder now view, so you land on the list that raised it. From there, How to find out what you need to reorder and How to find items running out, oversold, or not selling take over.

What does Shipping backlog watch?

Shipping backlog reads When paid orders waiting to ship pile up past the number you set. Set the number in its panel, in the box At this many paid orders waiting to ship. The box starts at 10.

The alert reads, for example, 24 orders awaiting fulfillment, and opens Selling › Analytics. It speaks once when the count reaches your number, then again only after the count has dropped below it and climbed back.

Choose the number from your own normal. Look at what Waiting to ship usually reads on Selling › Analytics, per How to look up orders and check your fulfilment backlog, and set the number above it.

If Fairgreen Golf Co. normally has about 20 orders waiting, a number of 35 flags a real pile-up.

What does Big orders watch?

Big orders reads When a single order over the amount you set comes in. Set the amount in its panel, in the box Amount, in USD. The box shows your store's own currency code, and the amount starts at 1,000.

Each order alerts once. A single order's alert names the order number, its total in your store's currency and the customer. Several large orders in one run arrive together as, for example, 2 notable orders.

Clicking the alert opens Selling › Analytics. Set the amount high enough that every alert is worth a look, because a large order sometimes needs a person to check it before it ships.

What does Store data stopped updating watch?

Its row in the Alerts list reads When your Shopify data stops refreshing for longer than it should. In practice it tells you when your Klaviyo customer data has gone more than 24 hours without refreshing. The alert reads, for example, Store data hasn't refreshed in ~30h.

Clicking it opens Buying › Data feeds. It alerts once, and is ready to alert again after the data starts refreshing.

The Customer sync job, on from the start, refreshes that data each night. Leave it on, because switching it off can set this alert off a day later.

Until Klaviyo is connected, this alert's Latest column says the data source is not connected yet. Turn it on and leave it alone: it stays quiet while the data keeps refreshing.

What does Late purchase orders watch?

Late purchase orders reads Flags purchase orders that are past their expected arrival date. It also counts an order with no arrival date that is past its ship date, as long as it is not fully received. It is on from the start.

One late order's alert names the supplier, the PO number, the amount and how many days late it is, and opens that purchase order. Several in one run arrive as, for example, 3 purchase orders past their expected arrival, and open Buying › Purchase orders.

Each order alerts once, and stays quiet while it stays late. Receiving it, closing it or giving it a later date clears it. Chasing late orders is covered in How to find late orders and plan revisions.

What does Overdue supplier bills watch?

Overdue supplier bills reads When a supplier bill passes its due date. It alerts while money is still owing, and starts switched off.

One bill's alert names the supplier, the bill's invoice number, the amount owing and the date it fell due. Several arrive as, for example, 2 supplier bills past their due date. Clicking opens Buying › Bills, covered in How to check, record and pay supplier bills.

Each bill alerts once, and stays quiet until it is paid or given a later due date. A bill needs a due date for this alert to watch it.

Who gets told, and how often?

All six carry Who gets it, Also by email and Wait between alerts in their panels, covered in How to choose who gets an alert and how often. By default each one goes to everyone holding See sales, inventory, reports and the daily brief.

Every alert lands in each recipient's Work › Inbox and as a push notification, subject to their own settings. See How to control task, stock and order alerts.

What order should you switch them on in?

We recommend Low stock first, then Store data stopped updating. Both are quiet by nature and catch expensive problems.

Add Shipping backlog once you know your normal Waiting to ship number. Add Big orders when somebody will act on them, and Overdue supplier bills once your team records supplier bills in Tideswell.

Turn each one on, press Run now in its panel, and read its Latest column before moving to the next. See How to check whether an automation worked.