Issues with Zero Stock - item undefined

[AVsupport]

The title of this thread has been edited by a Square Moderator from the original: "Zero Stock item undefined - [bug]"

I have noticed that where items are created in advance with stock tracking and stock is entered as stock=0, '0' will not be retained in the database, instead, the data field is left blank, undefined, even when [Stock Tracking]=On.

You can check this when you export your items to Excel (which I have done for stocktake purposes). This is where I came across a few items that should have had '0' but instead, the fields are blank. 

This creates a problem  in Excel when working with formulas (sums, etc) as you cannot multiply an empty field.

Also creates a problem as the item will not show in the online store because it's not officially 'sold out', because it's not '0'. 

Not an issue if you had historically more than one item, Zero will be legit.

But not if you want to have items online that are 'on the way', ready to be advertised online for when stock actually arrives.

Easiest way would be to automatically populate the stock number data field with '0' the first time you select stock tracking?

This is clearly a bug, please replicate and confirm, and maybe @Seamus or another moderator can forward this bug to the dev team 😉

happy stocktake everyone  

[Arie]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, @AVsupport! You're right - sounds like this is a bug for our engineering team. While we're not able to file a ticket via the community forum, this is something support can help with. Give us a call on 1800 760 137 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Melbourne time), or contact us via online chat or email:

1. Sign in to your Square account

2. Head to our contact page https://squareup.com/help/au/en/contact

3. Click on any topic, then "I don't see my issue"

4. Click "Message us" or "Email us"

Or, if you see the new chatbot help flow, type "support" to bring up a list of contact methods.

[AVsupport]

submitted, thanks!

[AVsupport]

after some time and numerous emails, here's the official reply:

"I have been speaking with the engineering team who have tested repeatedly since our initial emails.

The engineers have confirmed that this process is behaving as expected.

This happens for tracked variations for which no count information exists. This can happen when the variation is created with tracking on, without an initial inventory receive or count. In this case, export shows a blank cell, while the dashboard "fills in" the row with a zero. 

I understand how this process may have affected your ability to do stock take in a timely manner. The engineers have stated that formulas in Excel can allow you to reference empty cells and have them treated as zero."

Short, don't expect a solution to this anytime soon. ;-(