Quick Answer: Every stock change should say when, who and why. Shopify’s adjustment history records the date, the activity, who or what made the change and 5 quantity columns, with 7 reason choices from Correction to Theft or loss, and only the last 180 days are viewable (Shopify Help Center, 2026). You can copy the habit in any spreadsheet.
A stock count that changes without explanation is a stock count you can’t trust. This guide uses Shopify’s adjustment-history help page as one worked example of an audit trail, then shows how to copy it in a small shop. We use Shopify’s page to explain the idea only, not to recommend a tool. Retail Dive’s March 2026 shrink figures show why the habit is worth the effort.
In this article
- What does an adjustment history record?
- What reasons can I choose for an adjustment?
- What if I don’t pick a reason?
- Which entries are automatic?
- Who made each change?
- How far back can I look?
- Can I filter older changes?
- How many small retailers still count by hand?
- How do small retailers usually find out an item is gone?
- How much shrink comes from false refunds?
What does an adjustment history record?
Each adjustment shows the date, the activity that caused it, who or what made it, and how quantities changed across 5 quantity columns: Unavailable, Committed, Available, On hand and Incoming, according to Shopify’s Help Center (2026). A dash means the adjustment didn’t affect that column.
That’s the whole idea of an audit trail: when, what, who and how much. Four columns in a spreadsheet would do the same job.
What reasons can I choose for an adjustment?
Shopify offers 7 reasons: Correction, Count, Received, Return restock, Damaged, Theft or loss, and Promotion or donation. A short, fixed list makes reports easy to read later.
Copy the list, then trim it to fit your shop. The point is to stop free-text notes like “fixed” from piling up.
| Reason | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Correction | Fixing a recorded number you know was wrong |
| Count | After a physical stock count |
| Received | New stock arrives from a supplier |
| Return restock | A returned item goes back on the shelf |
| Damaged | Stock is broken or unsellable |
| Theft or loss | Stock has gone missing |
| Promotion or donation | Stock given away |
What if I don’t pick a reason?
The activity shows as Manually adjusted. That label tells you a change happened but not why, which is exactly the entry you’ll struggle to explain later.
Make “no reason” a rule you don’t allow. If staff can’t pick a reason, ask them to pick Correction and add a note.
Which entries are automatic?
System entries such as Transfer created, Reservation created and Data correction, and third-party apps can also make automatic adjustments, according to the help page. Not every change comes from a person.
Knowing which entries are automatic helps you find the odd ones out. Anything manual that you can’t explain is worth a look.
Shopify’s adjustment history offers 7 reasons for a change, from Correction to Theft or loss, and shows Manually adjusted when no reason is picked (Shopify Help Center, 2026).
Who made each change?
A Created by field shows whether a staff member, an app or a sales channel made the change. That is how you separate a counting error from a sync problem.
In a small shop, a name beside every change also changes behaviour. People take more care when their initials are on the record.
Related: WooCommerce stock settings explained: low stock alerts, hold stock and backorders
How far back can I look?
Only the last 180 days are viewable, one variant at a time, according to Shopify’s Help Center. For older history, use the Inventory adjustment changes report.
So decide how long you need to keep records. If you copy this in a spreadsheet, keep a yearly copy of the log before you clear it.
Only the last 180 days of a variant’s adjustment history are viewable; older changes are in the Inventory adjustment changes report (Shopify Help Center, 2026).
Can I filter older changes?
Yes. The report can be filtered by 5 filters: SKU, location, staff member, app and adjustment reason. Filtering by reason is how you answer questions like “how much did we write off as damaged?”
Even a simple sort on a reason column does the same. Add one column and you can see the pattern.
At least 20% of shrink is attributed to false refunds, in an industry that lost $90 billion to shrink in 2025 (Appriss Retail, via Retail Dive, 2026).
How many small retailers still count by hand?
Over half of small retailers still rely on manual counts, according to the Global Payments 2025 Retail Inventory Report of 200 small retailers, so any process built on those counts is only as accurate as the last count. The report is small, so treat it as a pointer.
An audit trail doesn’t remove hand counts, but it shows who changed what after each one.
How do small retailers usually find out an item is gone?
Nearly one in four small retailers only learn an item is out of stock when a customer tries to buy it, according to Global Payments (2025). A log of Theft or loss adjustments helps you spot a pattern before a customer does.
If the same product keeps going missing, the reasons column will show it.
How much shrink comes from false refunds?
At least 20% of shrink is attributed to false refunds, in an industry that lost $90 billion to shrink in 2025 by Appriss Retail’s calculation, as reported by Retail Dive (2026). Shrink means stock that goes missing through theft, error or fraud. These are mostly US figures.
A return restock reason lets you check that every refund has a matching item back on the shelf. Asalta Inventory logs stock changes across stores, websites and marketplaces, and it’s one option to compare. You can read more on the Asalta Inventory page.
Key Takeaways
- Record when, who and why: the history shows 5 quantity columns and who made each change.
- Use a short reason list: Shopify offers 7 reasons.
- Ban blank reasons: Manually adjusted tells you nothing.
- Keep older records: only the last 180 days are viewable.
- Watch refunds: at least 20% of shrink is attributed to false refunds.
Each adjustment shows the date, the activity that caused it, who or what made it, and how quantities changed across the Unavailable, Committed, Available, On hand and Incoming columns.
Shopify offers seven reasons: Correction, Count, Received, Return restock, Damaged, Theft or loss, and Promotion or donation.
The activity shows as Manually adjusted.
System entries such as Transfer created, Reservation created and Data correction, and third-party apps can also make automatic adjustments.
A Created by field shows whether a staff member, an app or a sales channel made the change.
Only the last 180 days are viewable, one variant at a time; older history is in the Inventory adjustment changes report.
Yes. The report can be filtered by SKU, location, staff member, app and adjustment reason.
Over half of small retailers still rely on manual counts, so any process built on those counts is only as accurate as the last count.
Nearly one in four only learn an item is out of stock when a customer tries to buy it.
At least 20% of shrink is attributed to false refunds, in an industry that lost $90 billion to shrink in 2025 by Appriss Retail’s calculation.