Symptom

In Inventory → Stocks Grid, one or more SKUs show a negative number in the Available Quantity column — for example, −15. The On-Hand Quantity may still be a positive number. Orders continue to arrive against the SKU, but you cannot ship all of them from current stock.

This is different from a negative On-Hand Quantity. A negative Available Quantity means stock exists but is over-committed to open orders. A negative On-Hand Quantity means units were deducted beyond what was ever received. If your On-Hand is itself negative, see the related article How do I fix SKUs with zero valuation or negative inventory quantities?

Why It Happens

Luminous calculates Available Quantity using the formula:

Available = On-Hand − Pending

Pending is the total number of units reserved for open, unfulfilled sales orders (orders in statuses such as Pending, Awaiting Shipment, Processing, On Hold, Partially Shipped, and others — see Understanding Pending Inventory for the full list). When the combined pending quantity across those orders exceeds the physical on-hand count, Available becomes negative.

Common causes:

  • A spike in orders arrived faster than new stock could be received.
  • Units were removed from a warehouse (via an inventory adjustment or transfer) without cancelling or splitting the associated orders.
  • Orders that should have been cancelled or shipped are still sitting in a pending status.
  • A settings change (e.g., switching pending calculation from Fulfillment Order mode to Sales Order mode) briefly exposed orders that were previously excluded.

Your sales channels are protected. Luminous floors the quantity pushed to Shopify, EDI partners, and other channels at zero. A negative Available Quantity in the Stocks grid does not cause a negative stock value to be published to your storefront.

How to Identify Oversold SKUs

  1. Go to Inventory → Stocks Grid.
  2. Click the ▽ filter icon below the Available Quantity column header.
  3. Select Less than and enter 0.
  4. The grid updates to show only SKUs whose available quantity is currently negative.
  5. Note the On-Hand Quantity and Pending Quantity columns for each affected row — the gap between them is the shortfall you need to close.

To narrow to a specific SKU, type its identifier into the SKU column filter before or after applying the availability filter.

How to Resolve

You have two levers: reduce pending demand or increase on-hand supply. Choose the approach (or combination) that matches your situation.

Option 1 — Cancel or fulfill the over-committed orders (reduce pending)

This is the right path when you have more orders than stock and some orders should be cancelled or deferred.

  1. Go to Operations → Sales Order Grid → Backorders.
  2. Use the SKU or product name column filter to find open line items for the affected SKU.
  3. Review the orders. For orders that should not be fulfilled:
    • Open the order and cancel it, or update its status to Cancelled/Completed — this releases the reserved units and reduces pending.
  4. For orders that will be fulfilled once new stock arrives, no action is needed now; pending will decrease automatically once those orders ship.

Pending recalculates automatically every minute in production. After cancelling orders, the Available Quantity in the Stocks grid will reflect the correction within a few minutes.

Option 2 — Create a Purchase Order to replenish stock

This is the right path when all open orders are legitimate and you simply need more inventory.

  1. Go to Inventory → Stocks Grid and apply the Available Quantity less than 0 filter.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the oversold SKU(s).
  3. In the sidebar panel that appears, click Create Purchase Order.
  4. Fill in the supplier, quantity, and expected delivery details, then save.

Once the PO is received, on-hand increases and the available quantity returns to a positive number.

Option 3 — Post an Inventory Adjustment Entry (if stock was received but not recorded)

If physical units are already in the warehouse but were never entered into Luminous, correct the on-hand count directly.

  1. Go to Inventory → Stocks and click New Inventory Adjustment Entry (top-right of the page), or navigate to Inventory → Adjustment Entries → Create.
  2. Select the affected SKU and warehouse.
  3. Enter the actual counted quantity in the Count field. Luminous automatically calculates the delta (counted minus current).
  4. Save and post the entry.

The on-hand count updates immediately, and Available Quantity will reflect the change within minutes.

When to Contact Support

Reach out to the Luminous support team via the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen if:

  • The negative Available Quantity persists more than 5 minutes after you have cancelled orders or posted an adjustment, and you cannot identify what is still driving the pending figure.
  • You suspect a large batch of orders were imported or synced with incorrect quantities and need a bulk review.
  • The On-Hand Quantity (not just Available) is also negative — that is a separate issue requiring a different resolution path.