How much stock to hold when cash is tight
When cash is tight, the amount of stock to hold is the amount that covers your supplier's lead time at the rate the SKU is actually selling, and not a month more. Restoc is built to work that number out per SKU, from your store's sales velocity and the lead time you enter, so the money leaves as late as it safely can.
When cash sets the size of the order
Here is the week you are in. Your supplier wants the order by Friday, with a minimum you cannot break in half. Your balance says one purchase order this month, not three. And nine SKUs all look a bit low, because the last proper count was three weeks ago in a spreadsheet.
The question is not really "how much stock should I hold" in the abstract. It is "which of these do I fund now, and which can wait a fortnight without going to zero".
Those are two problems, and only one of them is arithmetic. How much cash you are willing to tie up in boxes is yours: your margins, your runway, your nerve. When each SKU reaches the point where ordering later means running out is arithmetic, and it is the half most small stores are still doing from memory.
Restoc is built for that half. It is a reorder-alert app, not an ERP, and it exists because plenty of merchants say the same thing: I do not need forecasting and purchase-order workflows, I just want to know when to reorder. Running out of something that was selling is a real hit. So is a pallet of the wrong thing sitting in the back room while a fast mover goes dark. Both come from guessing the date.
The two inputs that set the number
How much to hold, when cash is the constraint, comes down to covering the gap between placing an order and the stock landing. Two inputs decide it, and Restoc's reorder point calculation uses exactly those two.
Lead time, which only you know
Lead time is the wait: order to shelf, including the days your supplier takes to acknowledge the email and the step at the freight end nobody counts. You enter it per SKU, because the glass bottles take six weeks and the printed boxes take four days, and one average across both is no use to you.
Sales velocity, which your store already knows
Velocity is how fast the SKU is actually leaving, measured over a window you choose: 7, 14 or 30 days. Restoc reads inventory levels and sales history from Shopify, works out the daily rate across that window, and carries it over the lead time. That gives the reorder point: the stock level at which ordering any later opens a gap.
Hold a lot more than that and your cash sits in cartons. Hold less and you are betting the week. So the honest answer to "how much" is this: cover the lead time at the rate the SKU is really selling, add whatever cushion your own margins can carry, and let the crossing decide the date instead of a calendar reminder. Restoc gives you the number per SKU. What you fund with it is your call, and no app should pretend otherwise.
The loop Restoc is built to run
- Connect the store once
Install through Shopify's OAuth flow. Restoc pulls inventory levels and sales history through webhooks and a scheduled sync, so you are not exporting anything by hand. It is a web app: no mobile app, no browser extension.
- Enter the lead time you actually get
Per SKU, in days. Use the wait you really see, not the one on the supplier's page. The reorder point is only as good as this number, and it is the one input no API can read for you.
- Pick a velocity window
7, 14 or 30 days, store-wide. On tight cash the shorter window reacts faster to a SKU going quiet, which keeps you from funding stock that stopped moving; the longer window is calmer and less likely to be thrown by one strange weekend. Pro adds a per-SKU override when one product needs a different window from the rest.
- Let the engine hold the reorder point per SKU
The calculation runs on your velocity window and your lead time, per SKU, and keeps the number current as sales move. The dashboard shows current stock, days of inventory remaining and reorder status for every active SKU, so a glance tells you what is close.
- Take the alert when a SKU crosses
An alert fires when a SKU crosses its reorder point: email on every plan, Slack through an incoming webhook on Growth and above. That is the signal to commit cash, and not before.
- Order from the weekly report
The weekly reorder report lists the SKUs below their reorder point with a suggested order quantity for each. View it in the app or export it as CSV, then cut it down to what this month's cash covers and send the rest next week.
Choosing the velocity window
| Window | What it picks up | Where it tends to fit |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Last week only. Reacts quickly when a SKU spikes or stalls. | Short lead times and fast movers, where recency matters more than smoothness. Expect jumpier numbers. |
| 14 days | A fortnight of sales, so one odd day carries less weight. | A sensible middle setting while you learn how the catalogue behaves. |
| 30 days | A month, so a launch, a sale weekend or a quiet week counts for less. | Long supplier lead times and steady sellers, where you want the calmer number. |
What it changes when cash is the constraint
The cash goes out on the latest safe date
An alert on the crossing is later than a monthly reminder and earlier than an empty shelf. That is the whole point of a reorder point: order on the signal, not on the diary.
A short list, not the whole catalogue
The weekly report carries only the SKUs that are below their reorder point. When you can fund three orders, a list of nine items is a decision you can make in five minutes.
A suggested quantity you can argue with
Each line comes with a suggested order quantity derived from your own velocity and lead time. Treat it as the starting figure, then trim it to the cash or round it up to the supplier's minimum.
Your lead times, not a generic assumption
Lead time is entered per SKU, so a six-week import and a four-day local print do not get the same reorder point. That alone separates the orders you must place now from the ones that can wait.
Days of inventory remaining, per SKU
The dashboard shows how much runway each SKU has left at its current rate. Useful when you are deciding which of two low items gets this month's money.
A CSV you can hand to the supplier
Export the weekly report and paste it into the order email, or into the spreadsheet you already keep. No new system to live in.
What Restoc will not do for you
We would rather say this plainly than have you find out in week two.
- It does not forecast. The reorder point is built from recent sales over the window you chose. It does not predict a Christmas spike, a TikTok week or a seasonal fall. If you know a surge is coming, you still have to think.
- It does not plan your cash. There is no budget field, no margin model, no advice on what you should spend. It gives you numbers and dates; the funding decision stays with you and your accountant.
- It does not place orders. No supplier accounts, no purchase orders, no receiving. The report and the CSV are where Restoc stops and your email starts.
- One location per plan. Every plan covers a single location today.
- It is a web app. No mobile app and no browser extension; alerts come to email, or to Slack on Growth and above.
What you get is the reorder point, the alert on the crossing, and a weekly list with suggested quantities. For a store on a tight month, that is usually the part that was missing.
Cost, so you can size it against the order you are placing
Starter is $29 a month for up to 200 tracked SKUs, Growth is $59 for up to 1,000, and Pro is $99 for up to 2,000. Paid a year at a time, each plan is ten months' price for twelve: $290, $590 and $990. Every plan carries a 60-day free trial, and billing runs on your Shopify invoice rather than a separate card payment.
The 60 days are deliberate. Reordering is a weekly rhythm, and the trial is built so at least one full weekly reorder cycle completes before the first charge lands, which means you get to see a real report against your real catalogue before you decide. The pricing page has the full breakdown, and the trial page explains exactly when billing starts.
Questions
How much stock should I hold if cash is tight?
Start from cover rather than from a round number. Work out how fast the SKU is actually selling, multiply that rate across the lead time you really get from that supplier, and treat the result as the floor. Anything above it is a cushion you are choosing to fund, and anything below it is a gap you are choosing to risk. Restoc calculates that floor per SKU from your velocity window and your entered lead time, so the choice is about cash rather than arithmetic.
Does Restoc tell me what I can afford to spend?
No. It does not know your margins, your balance or your other commitments, and it makes no financial recommendation. It tells you which SKUs have crossed their reorder point, how many days of inventory are left, and a suggested order quantity. The spending decision is yours.
Which velocity window should I pick on a tight month?
A 7-day window reacts fastest, so it notices sooner when a SKU slows down and stops you funding stock that has gone quiet, at the cost of jumpier numbers. A 30-day window is steadier and suits long lead times. 14 days sits in between and is a reasonable default while you learn the catalogue. The window is store-wide; Pro adds a per-SKU override.
What if the suggested order quantity is below my supplier's minimum?
Then the minimum wins and you order it, knowing roughly how long that extra cover will last. The suggested quantity in the weekly report is a starting figure from your velocity and lead time, not an instruction. Restoc does not model minimum order quantities or supplier terms.
Can different SKUs have different lead times?
Yes. Lead time is entered per SKU, which is the point: an import with a six-week wait and a locally printed item with a four-day wait should not share a reorder point.
Can I use the report to order in batches instead of all at once?
That is how it is meant to be used when cash is limited. The weekly report lists only the SKUs below their reorder point with a suggested quantity each, viewable in the app or exportable as CSV, so you can fund the most urgent lines this week and look again next week.
Does it handle seasonality or promotions?
No. The calculation reflects sales over your chosen window, so a promotion will raise the measured velocity while it runs and a quiet spell will lower it. There is no forecasting of a season you have not reached yet.
What does it cost and when does billing start?
Starter $29 a month for 200 SKUs, Growth $59 for 1,000, Pro $99 for 2,000, or ten months' price paid yearly. Every plan has a 60-day free trial, built so at least one full weekly reorder cycle completes before the first charge, and it is billed on your Shopify invoice rather than a separate card payment.