PrestaShop bulk stock update after an inventory count
A PrestaShop bulk stock update after a stocktake needs three things: a count sheet with product and combination references, a comparison of the count with the store's stock before saving, and a save that records a stock movement. The admin changes stock product by product. In a conversation with the chat you set up to 100 items at once, after a preview of the differences.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
How long does it take to copy a stocktake into the admin?
A long time, because the admin makes you find each item separately. Saturday, 6:30 pm, the stocktake is done, and there's a sheet with 340 rows on the desk. Each jacket in five sizes and two colours is ten rows. You open the product, go to combinations, find the size, enter the number, save. After the fiftieth row you're no longer sure whether XL black was already entered.
PrestaShop has a stock page under the Catalog menu, where you change quantities without opening the product page. How it works is described in the PrestaShop stock documentation. It's faster than the product page, but you still have to find each item separately. So the forum keeps coming back to bulk stock changes with a database query (thread in Polish).
Why not change stock with a database query?
Because the query skips everything PrestaShop does when it saves stock. No stock movement is created, so the history doesn't show who changed the quantity and when. Modules that sync stock with a marketplace or a warehouse system get no signal about the change. The store shows the new numbers and the marketplace still shows the old ones.
With marketplace integrations, a single source of stock matters more than the module itself. Before blaming the integration, also check that the store itself saves changes. An example of a bug where the admin didn't save quantities is described in a PrestaShop GitHub issue.
What to compare before saving new stock
The count and the store, row by row, before you change anything. The differences say a lot on their own.
| What you see in the comparison | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| the store has more than the shelf | goods sold outside the store or damaged | set the quantity from the count |
| the store has less than the shelf | a delivery wasn't entered | set the quantity from the count, check deliveries |
| a large difference in one variant | size or colour mixed up while counting | count again before saving |
| a reference from the count doesn't exist in the store | typo or a product not in the store | fix the count |
| product in the store, missing from the count | not counted, or really zero | decide by hand |
What to set for products at zero after the count
The out-of-stock behaviour, before someone orders from an empty shelf. PrestaShop gives each product three options. It can deny orders when out of stock, allow them, or use the store default. You'll find the store default in Shop Parameters > Product Settings.
After a stocktake this matters more than usual. A product that had 12 units in the system and zero on the shelf has been selling without trouble until today. Now a customer can still order it if the product allows orders without stock. For goods ordered from a supplier on demand, that's fine. For the end of a line, it isn't.
So go through the list of items with a new quantity of zero and decide for each one. If a product won't come back, consider withdrawing it with a redirect, which we cover in the post on what to do with a discontinued product.
How to update stock after a stocktake, step by step
The order matters, because the store keeps selling during the count.
- Prepare a count sheet with references. Columns: product or combination reference and the counted quantity.
- Note the time counting finished. Orders placed later will change stock after the count.
- Compare the count with the store. You're looking for the differences in the table above, especially large ones.
- Fix the count where a difference looks like a mistake. Better to count one shelf again.
- Save the new quantities in batches. Each batch with a before and after preview.
- Check a few products on the storefront and in your integration module, if you have one.
How to upload a stocktake with a preview of the differences
You paste the count and ask for a comparison. Your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) looks up each reference in the store, including among combinations, and shows the differences. Saving happens only after your approval.
You: Here's the stocktake, reference and counted quantity. Set stock to these numbers, including sizes. Show me the store next to the count first.
Your chat: I found 96 of the 100 references. 4 don't exist in the store; I've listed them below. There are differences for 31 items, the first three:
The Nora lantern now has 0 pcs, and the store allows orders without stock. Leave it like that?
You: Nora should be unavailable when out of stock. The rest as in the count.
Your chat: The preview is ready: 31 stock changes and a change to the out-of-stock behaviour for the Nora lantern. I'll save it after your approval.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: Grip gloves 9: in the store 40 pcs
new version: Grip gloves 9: from the count 34 pcs
old version: Storm jacket XL black: in the store 3 pcs
new version: Storm jacket XL black: from the count 5 pcs
old version: Nora lantern: in the store 12 pcs
new version: Nora lantern: from the count 0 pcs
Monday, 7:50 am: you paste the stocktake, read the differences and approve before the first orders arrive. Saving works as in the admin: with a stock movement and a signal for integration modules. You can undo each batch from the change history. Stock is changed by TellMyShop Pro with the Sales switch, which you need to turn on in the module panel before the first correction. Details on the pricing page. An example request is correcting stock after a stocktake. If you're also fixing prices and EANs of variants, read the post on how combination prices work.
What a correction in PrestaShop won't cover
It won't count the goods for you, and it won't change stock on the marketplace itself. It changes stock in PrestaShop, and your integration module does the rest.
Questions and answers
After a stocktake, do I enter the new quantity or the difference?
After a physical count you enter the new quantity, the number you counted. A difference, for example minus two units, makes sense for single corrections, such as goods damaged in transit. In a stocktake what counts is what's on the shelf, and the store has to agree with it.
What about products with sizes or colours?
Stock is saved for each combination separately, and the product's stock is their sum. So the count needs a row for each size and colour, with the combination reference. Entering stock for the jacket as a whole does nothing, because the customer buys a specific size and colour, not a jacket in general.
Will changing stock through the chat update my marketplace and wholesaler?
The change is saved the same way as in the admin: with a stock movement and a signal for the modules that track stock. Integration modules, for example for a marketplace or a warehouse system, see it as if you'd changed stock by hand. How quickly they pass it on depends on the module.
How many items can I change at once?
Up to 100 items in one operation, meaning products or combinations. The chat splits a larger count into batches and shows each one in a preview. You set hourly limits in the module panel. Before a larger count the chat checks whether it fits, and if not, it suggests stages. You approve each batch separately.
Can I correct stock in TellMyShop Free?
No. Changing stock needs TellMyShop Pro and the Sales switch, which is off after installation. You turn it on yourself in the module panel. Without it the chat can read products and show their data, but won't change stock. In TellMyShop Free, the chat will show the current stock of chosen products for comparison with your count.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.