Linnworks shows different stock numbers for the same item because each number answers a different question: how many units you hold, how many are free to sell once open orders have taken their share, and how many are due on purchase orders that haven't arrived yet. On top of that, each location keeps its own figures, and a sales channel only sees the locations you have mapped to it, so the number a buyer sees can differ again.
This post walks through each figure, what multiple locations change, why a channel can show something different, and a short weekly check that catches problems before you oversell.
Why does Linnworks show different stock numbers for the same item?
Because "stock" in Linnworks isn't one number. For every item, in every location, there are at least three figures worth knowing, and they move for different reasons:
- Level is the stock you physically hold in that location.
- Available is what is left to sell after stock reserved for open orders is taken off.
- Due is stock on open purchase orders that you haven't booked in yet.
When two of these disagree, it usually isn't an error. It means orders are waiting to go out, or a delivery is on its way. The trouble starts when you read the wrong one for the job in hand.
Stock level: what you hold
The level is the count of units in a location. It goes down when an order is processed, and Linnworks takes the stock from the location the order sits in at that point (Linnworks: locations and multiple warehouses). It goes up when you book stock in, for example against a purchase order.
Use the level when you are counting shelves, valuing stock or checking a stock take. Don't use it to decide what you can sell, because some of those units are already promised to customers.
Available: what is free to sell
Linnworks calculates available stock as the total stock minus stock reserved for open orders, and says plainly that it can differ from the Level column (Linnworks: incorrect stock levels troubleshooting). This reserved stock is what people usually mean by "allocated": units that are still on the shelf but already belong to an order that hasn't gone out.
Available is the figure that matters most for selling, because it is the value Linnworks uses when it updates stock on your sales channels. Placing an order lowers it, which is how Linnworks avoids advertising units you have already sold (Linnworks: locations and multiple warehouses).
Parked and locked orders count differently
Not every open order reserves stock in the same way. Linnworks' help says the items in a parked order still affect the available stock calculation, but the items in a locked order do not (Linnworks: locked and parked orders). So if you lock a large order while you sort something out, the available figure goes back up and those units can be advertised again. Keep that in mind before you lock an order and leave it.
For more on how open orders differ from orders that have gone out, see Linnworks open vs processed orders.
Due: stock on its way
Stock on an open purchase order shows as due, not available, so your channels don't sell it before it arrives. Once the stock is booked in against the purchase order, Linnworks updates the available stock level and syncs it to the channels you sell on (Linnworks: purchase order management).
Due matters most when you reorder. If you look only at what you hold, you will order again units that are already on the way. Count what you hold plus what is due before you raise a new purchase order. If due figures look stale, the cause is usually a purchase order that was never marked as delivered or was only part-delivered; Linnworks purchase orders explained covers the statuses and how part deliveries work.
How multiple locations change the picture
Once you have more than one warehouse or stock room, every figure above exists per location. Linnworks' help is clear on a few points (Linnworks: locations and multiple warehouses):
- A SKU can have different stock levels in each location.
- Every SKU shows in every location in the inventory screen, even where its stock there is zero. A zero in one location doesn't mean the item is out of stock everywhere.
- Every account has a default location, which can't be renamed or deleted.
- For each channel, you choose which locations' stock you advertise. If no locations are selected, no stock levels are sent to that channel.
- The location a channel's orders download into is a separate setting from the locations whose stock it advertises. The two are independent.
That last point catches people out. A channel can advertise stock from one warehouse while its orders land in another, and then the order takes stock from a location the channel never counted. If your available numbers drift in one location and not another, check both settings for each channel side by side.
Why a channel's quantity can differ from Linnworks
Linnworks always sends stock levels from the Linnworks SKU to the channel listing, never the other way round (Linnworks: incorrect stock levels troubleshooting). So if a marketplace shows a number you don't expect, the question is why Linnworks didn't send it, or what changed it on the channel. The same help article lists the usual causes:
- Inventory sync is switched off. It has to be enabled in the channel integration settings for sync to run.
- The listing is set to ignore sync. Linnworks skips any listing with this ticked. That is deliberate for some listings, such as ones fulfilled by a marketplace's own warehouse, but easy to leave on by mistake.
- Location mapping. The channel only gets stock from the locations mapped to it, as above. Linnworks notes that multi-location channels are handled differently.
- Someone changed the stock on the channel directly. Linnworks doesn't pick that change up, so the channel and Linnworks stay out of step until the next sync overwrites it.
- Channel-specific listing options, such as whether Linnworks may revise or end a listing on a given marketplace.
- Sync errors. These appear in the automation logs and can stop updates going through.
A weekly stock sanity check
None of this needs a big project. A short check on your best sellers each week catches most problems early:
- Compare level and available. For your top items, a big gap should match the open orders you can see. If it doesn't, look for orders that are stuck; open orders waiting too long has a routine for that.
- Look at locked orders. They don't reserve stock, so a pile of them means your channels may be advertising units you have already promised.
- Check due against your open purchase orders. Due stock for a delivery that arrived last week means the purchase order hasn't been booked in.
- Check each channel's location settings. Make sure the locations it advertises and the location its orders download into still make sense together.
- Scan the automation logs for sync errors, and spot-check that the listings you sell most aren't set to ignore sync.
- Pick three items and compare the channel with Linnworks. If a channel's quantity doesn't match what you expect from the locations mapped to it, work down the list of causes above.
Ask it in plain English
The Hosted MCP Server for Linnworks, coming very soon, lets an AI assistant such as Claude read your Linnworks account live when you ask. It can search your stock by SKU, title or barcode and return the stock levels for an item in each location. The example question in its help is: "What's the stock level of SKU ABC-123 in each location?"
That makes the first step of the weekly check a question rather than a report. A person still decides what to change.
Want to ask your Linnworks stock questions like this? See the Hosted MCP Server for Linnworks page for what it will do, and join the waiting list there.