What "Committed" stock means for Shopify draft orders
Updated · 6 min read
By Invenire Studios, makers of Countermade
The short answer
When you reserve stock on a draft order, those units are Committed: set aside so no other customer can buy them, like units on an unfulfilled order. Since August 5, 2026, Shopify counts draft order holds as Committed instead of reserved, which used to show as Unavailable. The switch itself didn’t change On hand, Available or what customers can buy. A draft with nothing reserved holds nothing: its units stay Available.
What do On hand, Available, Committed and Unavailable mean in Shopify?
On hand is every unit at a location: Committed + Unavailable + Available. Available is what you can sell. Reserving stock on a draft moves units from Available to Committed, the same state as unfulfilled orders and transfers ready to ship. Unavailable is stock held back for other reasons. The table follows Shopify’s inventory states page.
| Number | What Shopify means by it | What reserving stock on a draft does |
|---|---|---|
| On hand | All units you have at a location: Committed + Unavailable + Available | Nothing. The units are still on your shelf |
| Available | Inventory you can sell. It isn’t Committed, Unavailable or Incoming | Goes down by the reserved quantity |
| Committed | Units set aside that can’t be sold: in an unfulfilled order, reserved in a draft order, or in a transfer marked ready to ship | Goes up by the reserved quantity |
| Unavailable | Units set aside by apps or held for other reasons, such as damaged, quality control or safety stock | Nothing (since August 5, 2026) |
| Incoming | Units on their way from transfers, purchase orders or apps, not sellable until received | Nothing |
Shopify manages Committed itself, through actions like creating and fulfilling orders; you don’t adjust it directly. If an unfulfilled order is behind the number rather than a draft, see what an unfulfilled order means in Shopify POS.
On hand already includes Committed, so adding the two counts the same units twice. Merchants have asked why Committed, Available and On hand don’t add up the way they expect, for example when an ERP feed already leaves out open orders.
Why does my draft order show stock as Committed?
A draft order shows stock as Committed when someone has reserved it on that draft. Shopify treats those units like units on an unfulfilled order. In August 2026 it moved draft holds into Committed so one number covers everything set aside but not yet fulfilled.
For example, a shop has 12 glass vases On hand, all Available. Staff reserve 2 on a phone customer’s draft. Committed goes up by 2, Available goes down to 10, and On hand stays at 12. If staff save the draft without reserving, all 12 stay Available.
What changed on August 5, 2026, when reserved became committed?
On August 5, 2026, Shopify moved draft order holds out of a state called reserved and into Committed. Before the change, units reserved on a draft sat in reserved, which the admin showed as Unavailable, alongside damaged stock and app holds. Now a reserved draft reads like an unfulfilled order.
The move was a one-time migration of active draft orders (and open transfers). Completed, canceled or already-released holds weren’t touched. Inventory adjustment reports show reserved values moving to committed, plus a one-time correction entry, and history from before the migration is unchanged.
Some older guides still say draft holds are Unavailable or don’t count at all. For the rest of the year’s changes, see the 2026 Shopify POS updates roundup.
Why is my draft order item still Available?
A draft order item stays Available when nothing has been reserved on that draft. Saving an order as a draft doesn’t hold stock on its own, so other customers can still buy those units. To hold the stock, reserve it on the draft: Reserve inventory in the Shopify admin or Reserve items in the Shopify app, then pick when the reserve expires.
In Shopify POS, Create draft order (a POS Pro feature) saves the cart as a draft but doesn’t reserve the stock. You reserve it afterwards, on that draft in the Shopify admin or the Shopify app.
The steps are in how to hold an item for a customer in Shopify POS, and everything else you can do with a draft at the counter is in the Shopify POS draft orders guide. Recent carts don’t reserve inventory; only draft orders do.
Inventory tracking has to be on for the product. If an unreserved item sells out, the draft shows a warning that it has 0 units in stock. For checkout trouble, see when a customer can’t pay a draft order invoice.
Where do I see Committed stock and “Reservation created” in Shopify and POS?
Committed is the admin inventory column for stock set aside for orders and reserved drafts. Reservation created is the line Shopify logs in adjustment history when stock is reserved. You’ll see them in the admin’s inventory list, in a product’s adjustment history and on the Shopify POS product details screen.
- Shopify admin: go to Products > Inventory. The Committed column shows stock reserved for orders, next to Available, Unavailable, On hand and Incoming. All columns show by default.
- Adjustment history: open the product, then in the Inventory section click View adjustment history. Reservation created means stock was set aside, Reservation updated means the reserve changed, for example when the draft was edited, and Reservation deleted means the reserve was removed. Stock reserved for a draft order is displayed as Committed. Stock a third-party app holds is displayed as Unavailable.
- Shopify POS: the product details screen shows Available, Committed, Unavailable and Incoming.
What happens to Committed stock when the reserve on a draft expires?
When the reserve expires, the units leave Committed and go back to Available, so other customers can buy them again. You set the expiry date and time when you reserve the stock on the draft, so pick one that covers the day you promised the customer, with a little room in case they’re late.
If the customer has gone quiet, chasing unpaid payment links and releasing held stock covers when to let it go. Drafts created since April 1, 2025, are removed after a year of inactivity, under Shopify’s one-year draft deletion rule.
Do I need to update my inventory app or reports after the Committed change?
Day to day, no. The switch didn’t change what customers can buy. Check two things: any sync, ERP or reporting app that watched reserved or Unavailable for held stock, and reports that span August 2026.
- Sync and ERP apps: Both names still work, but Shopify told developers to read
committedfor draft holds from now on. Ask your app’s developer whether it has switched. - Reports: expect a one-time correction entry for the move.
Where Pay Link and Prep Ticket fit
Countermade, the Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios, has two apps for this, both for Shopify POS Pro. Once a draft is reserved, Prep Ticket prints its items for whoever is making the order up. For customers who aren’t at the counter, Pay Link creates a payment link from the POS cart.
- Prep Ticket, from Countermade: from a draft order in Shopify POS, print a price-free prep ticket with item names, quantities, customer and notes. It prints through the iPad’s print dialog to a printer the iPad can reach (AirPrint), for drafts made in POS or the Shopify admin. See Prep Ticket.
- Pay Link, from Countermade: from the POS cart, send the customer a link to pay on Shopify’s own secure checkout, so staff never see or type card details. Staff see the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping. A double tap makes one link, not two, and staff can see whether it’s been paid. See Pay Link.
Check your Committed column
Open Products > Inventory and check the Committed column against your open drafts.
Pay Link and Prep Ticket aren’t on the Shopify App Store yet. We’ll email you when they’re ready to try.
Pick one app or both
Thanks. You’re on the list, and we’ll email you when each app is ready to try.
Common questions
Are draft orders committed inventory in Shopify?
What is the difference between reserved and committed in Shopify?
Why did my Unavailable stock drop in August 2026?
Does Committed stock count in On hand?
What does “Reservation created” mean in Shopify inventory history?
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