How can we help you?

Quick Answer

The amber Short stock chip on the Orders list flags orders that meet all of these:

• Status is still Pending / Processing (not yet shipped)
• Has a fulfillment warehouse assigned
• No pick list has been created yet
• At least one line item doesn't have enough stock in the assigned warehouse to fulfil

Hover the chip to see how many lines are short.

What to Do When You See It

Click into the order. The Fulfillment panel on the right shows exactly which products are short, by how much, and what's on hand:

Insufficient inventory · 3 lines short

• PU Pastel Purple — Need 1, on hand 0 — short 1
• Glitter Rainbow Pink — Need 1, on hand 0 — short 1
• Flock Dark Purple — Need 1, on hand 0 — short 1

Your options:

1. Restock the short lines (create a Purchase Order to your supplier — the order page links straight to it).
2. Move the short items off this shipment so the in-stock items can ship today; the dropped lines go on a follow-up shipment when stock arrives. See Moving Items Between Shipments.
3. Issue a partial refund if the customer agrees to settle for what's available.

The chip disappears the moment all lines have stock OR a pick list is created (because at that point you've committed to fulfilling what's there).

See also: Handling Insufficient Inventory

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Quick solutions for the most frequently encountered problems.

Login Problems

Mobile App Issues

Inventory Discrepancies

If your system quantities don't match physical counts:

1. Run a Cycle Count on the affected locations
2. Review the Stock Movements Audit Trail for unexpected changes
3. Check if receiving was completed for recent shipments
4. Verify no pending transfers are in transit

Orders Stuck in Processing

• Verify a pick list has been created and assigned
• Check that all items have sufficient available stock
• Look for short-pick holds on the order

CSV Import Failures

• Ensure required columns exist: Name and SKU at minimum
• Check for duplicate SKUs in the file
• Verify file encoding is UTF-8
• Remove any special characters from column headers

Payment Gateway Errors

• Verify API credentials are correct in Payment Gateway Setup
• Check that the gateway is set to the right environment (sandbox vs. production)
• Ensure at least one gateway is marked as Default

Tip: When contacting support, include the error message, the page you were on, and steps to reproduce the issue. Screenshots help enormously.

Can I use my company's UPS / FedEx / DHL account through Shippo?

Yes. Shippo supports both modes. You can ship using Shippo's pre-negotiated rates (good for businesses without their own contracts), OR you can connect your existing carrier accounts and use your negotiated rates. This is called Bring Your Own Account (BYOA).

Either way, you only set up one integration in WareSquared (Shippo) and you can use it for USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and others.

Mode 1 — Shippo's discounted rates

Use Shippo's pre-negotiated rates without any carrier contracts of your own.

• USPS Commercial Plus (about 30% off retail USPS pricing)
• Discounted UPS Ground / Air rates
• Discounted FedEx rates
• Discounted DHL international rates

Best for: small to mid-sized businesses, businesses just starting out, anyone without an existing carrier contract.

Mode 2 — Bring Your Own Account (BYOA)

Connect your existing UPS, FedEx, DHL, or other carrier account in Shippo's dashboard. Shippo intermediates the API call but the rates come from your contract.

Best for: businesses with high volume that have negotiated their own contracts with carriers (e.g., a UPS account manager set you up with discounted rates). You keep those rates and Shippo just prints the labels.

To set up BYOA, log into your Shippo dashboard and connect your carrier accounts there. They'll then appear automatically when WareSquared fetches rates.

What does Shippo charge on top?

Shippo's pricing has two parts. Carrier markup is not one of them — Shippo doesn't add a margin on top of the carrier's rate, regardless of which mode you use.

For exact current pricing, check Shippo's pricing page.

Which mode should my business choose?

Roadmap: direct UPS / FedEx integrations

WareSquared has scaffolded direct UPS and FedEx integrations (the adapters exist in our codebase) but the order flow currently routes every label through Shippo. When the direct adapter dispatch lands, you'll be able to choose between Shippo and direct integration on a per-carrier basis. For now, Shippo's BYOA covers the same carriers with the convenience of a single integration.

See also: Shipping Carrier Integration, Packing and Shipping

How Do I Track Lot Expiration Dates?

Lot tracking lets you trace inventory by batch number, expiration date, and supplier.

What Is a Lot?

A lot (or batch) is a group of identical items that were manufactured or received together. Each lot has:

Creating a Lot

1. Go to Warehouse → Lots & Batches
2. Click + New Lot
3. Select the product
4. Enter the lot number, batch number, and dates
5. Click Create

Receiving with Lot Tracking

When receiving goods, you can assign lot numbers during the receiving process:

1. Start a new receiving record
2. For each item, enter or scan the lot number
3. Enter the expiration date
4. The lot is automatically created and linked to the inventory

Expiration Alerts

WareSquared monitors lot expiration dates and alerts you:

• Expiring Soon (within 30 days) — shown on the Expiring Lots dashboard widget
• Expired — lots past their expiration date are flagged and can be quarantined

Important: For medical supplies, cosmetics, and food products, lot tracking with FEFO picking ensures you always ship the soonest-expiring stock first.

See also: Expiration Tracking and Alerts, FEFO Picking Explained, Quarantine and Recall

How Do I Use the Mobile App for Barcode Scanning?

The mobile app uses your phone's camera as a barcode scanner for fast product lookups and warehouse operations.

How to Scan

1. Open any screen with a scan icon (product search, receiving, picking, etc.)
2. Tap the barcode scanner icon
3. Point your camera at the barcode
4. Hold steady — the scan happens automatically
5. The product is identified and loaded

Where Scanning Works

Supported Barcode Types

• UPC-A / UPC-E
• EAN-13 / EAN-8
• Code 128
• Code 39
• QR Codes

Troubleshooting

Scanner not working?

• Ensure camera permissions are granted in your phone settings
• Clean your camera lens
• Ensure adequate lighting
• Hold the phone 6-12 inches from the barcode
• If a barcode is damaged, use manual SKU search instead

Tip: For high-volume scanning (like receiving a large shipment), consider a Bluetooth barcode scanner for faster, more reliable scanning.

What Are the Different Order Statuses?

Orders in WareSquared follow a defined workflow from creation to delivery.

Status Flow

Draft → Confirmed → Processing → Shipped → Delivered
            ↘ Cancelled

Status Descriptions

Fulfillment Status

Orders also track fulfillment separately:

Payment Status

Payment status is separate from the order and fulfillment statuses above — it tracks whether you've been paid, not whether the goods have shipped. The two move independently: an order can be Confirmed (or even Delivered) and still be Unpaid, and an order can be Paid before it ships. It shows as its own badge on the orders list and the order detail page.

Note: An order with no payment activity shows no payment badge at all. Once a payment is attempted, the badge reflects where that payment stands.

Changing Status

Status changes happen through actions on the order detail page:

• Click Confirm to move from Draft → Confirmed
• Click Create Pick List to begin fulfillment
• Click Mark Shipped after packing
• Click Mark Delivered when customer confirms receipt

How Do I Manage Suppliers?

Suppliers are the businesses you purchase inventory from. Managing supplier information in WareSquared helps streamline purchasing and reorder workflows.

Adding a Supplier

1. Go to Suppliers in the main navigation
2. Click + New Supplier
3. Fill in the details:
   • Name — Supplier business name
   • Email — Primary contact email
   • Phone — Contact number
   • Address — Business address for purchase orders
4. Click Create Supplier

Linking Products to Suppliers

When editing a product, set the Preferred Supplier field. This enables:

• Quick purchase order creation from low-stock alerts
• Supplier filtering on the Products page
• Supplier-based reporting

Viewing Supplier Details

Click any supplier to see their contact info and all linked products. Use this view to quickly check which products come from a specific vendor.

Searching and Filtering

The supplier list supports search by name, email, or contact person. Sort by name or date added.

Tip: Keep supplier contact info and lead times updated. This data powers the reorder point system and purchase order workflows.

See also: Adding and Editing Products, Low Stock Alerts and Reorder Points, Purchase Order Management

How Do I Set Up Multiple Warehouses?

WareSquared supports multiple warehouses, making it easy to track inventory across different storage locations, retail stores, or distribution centers.

Adding a Warehouse

1. Go to Warehouse in the navigation
2. Click Warehouses → + New Warehouse
3. Fill in the details:

4. Click Create Warehouse

Warehouse Types

After Creating a Warehouse

Once created, you should:

1. Add locations — Create shelves, bins, and zones within the warehouse
2. Assign products — Start receiving inventory into locations
3. Set as fulfillment source — Choose this warehouse when creating orders

Tip: Even if you only have one physical location, creating a warehouse lets you use WMS features like locations, transfers, and pick lists.

How Do I Connect a Payment Gateway?

Set up payment processing to accept payments from customers.

Supported Gateways

Adding a Gateway

1. Go to Settings → Payment Gateways
2. Click + Add Gateway
3. Select your provider
4. Enter a Name for this gateway (e.g., "Main Stripe Account")
5. Enter your API credentials
6. Choose Environment:
   • Sandbox — For testing (no real charges)
   • Production — Live payment processing
7. Click Save

Setting a Default

If you have multiple gateways, set one as default:

• Toggle Is Default on the gateway you want as primary
• The default gateway is pre-selected when processing payments

Testing

Always test in Sandbox mode first:

1. Add the gateway with sandbox credentials
2. Process a test payment
3. Verify it appears in your gateway's dashboard
4. Switch to Production when ready

Important: Keep your API credentials secure. Never share them publicly or commit them to source code. WareSquared encrypts all payment credentials at rest.

How Do I Use the Mobile App for Receiving?

Receiving logs incoming inventory from suppliers into your warehouse.

Web App Receiving

1. Go to Warehouse → Receiving
2. Click + New Receipt
3. Select the supplier and warehouse
4. Add products and quantities received
5. Assign to locations (where to put the items)
6. Click Complete Receiving

Mobile App Receiving

The mobile app streamlines receiving with barcode scanning:

1. Open the mobile app
2. Go to WMS Hub → Receiving
3. Scan the product barcode with your camera
4. Enter the quantity received
5. Scan or select the destination location
6. Confirm

Incoming Shipment Tracking

Track expected deliveries before they arrive:

1. Go to Warehouse → Receiving → Incoming Shipments
2. Click + New Shipment
3. Enter supplier, products, expected quantities, and delivery date
4. Track status: Pending → In Transit → Arrived

When the shipment arrives, click Receive to convert it into a receiving record.

Tip: Set up incoming shipments when you place purchase orders. This gives you visibility into what's expected and helps plan warehouse labor for receiving.

See also: Stock Movements Audit Trail, Low Stock Alerts and Reorder Points, Mobile Receiving