Reserving a product is a process whereby a certain quantity of product is “set aside” specifically for a particular order. In Orderry, this means that the system locks in the required items so that they are guaranteed to be available for that order, even if other users or orders may be working with the same inventory.

The product reservation feature will be especially useful for businesses that work with orders and limited inventory. These include car service centers and tire shops, repair shops, jewelry and watch repair shops, ateliers and beauty salons, as well as retail stores selling household appliances, clothing, footwear, and auto parts. Thanks to reservations, these businesses can guarantee the availability of the right product for a specific client and avoid mistakes with delivery.

In this article, we will look at how to enable reservations, create reservations manually and automatically, edit, move, and cancel reservations, and how to add reserved products to orders.

A manager is working with a customer order

The company sells special equipment to order. The client has ordered a product that is currently out of stock. The manager adds it to the order with the status “without deduction” and immediately creates a purchase order for the supplier. She wants the product to be automatically reserved for this order upon arrival, rather than going into the general stock.

The logistician controls the arrival of products

The logistician sees that the products have arrived according to the purchase order from the supplier, which is linked to the client's order. The system automatically creates a reserve, so the logistician knows for sure that these items cannot be shipped to other clients, even in urgent cases.

The administrator sets up the reservation rules

The logistics manager determines that products can be reserved for a customer order for a maximum of 5 days. This allows you to automatically release products that have not been used or sold on time.

To use the reservation feature, first enable it in the inventory settings.

1. When adding a product on the “Services and Products” tab, click “Reserve” in the quantity and inventory selection window. The same option is available in the edit window for the added product.

2. Specify the inventory from which to reserve the product and its quantity. You can reserve the same product in different quantities at different warehouses if you want to play it safe in case of shortages, optimize delivery, or ensure the availability of the product at different locations for client convenience.

❗ The quantity of products that can be reserved in one warehouse cannot exceed the available balance in that warehouse.

For serial products, you must specify or select specific products. One serial unit can only be reserved for one order at a time.

3. The value set in the settings is entered in the “Reservation period” field. It can be changed, but the new term cannot exceed the set limit. If necessary, the reservation period can be extended, for example, if the product is delayed in the inventory, the client postpones receipt, or the order requires additional time to complete.

For example, if the maximum reservation period is set to 10 days, the reservation is created for 10 days by default. After 5 days, the client informs you that they will not be able to pick up the product in the next few days, so you can extend the reservation by increasing the balance from 5 days to the maximum allowed 10 days.

4. Click Create and save the changes in product editing window and in the order.

The same non-serial product for one order can be reserved in different quantities at different warehouses

After that, the reserved quantity of goods will disappear from the available balance. In the product profile on the “Stock” tab, you can see how many units of the product are reserved.

The order event feed will also record the creation of the reservation.

In addition, you can view the total reserved quantity for all balances on the Inventory > Stock page.

Automatic product reservation is used when the required product is out of stock.

To ensure that automatic product reservation works correctly, follow these steps:

1. Enable the function of adding undeducted products to the list of Client backorders for the required order statuses and add products without writing them off to the order.

This way, when an order is in one of these statuses, all unwritten-off products added to it are automatically included in the list of client backorders.

2. Create a purchase order from the list of client backorders. This way, the system records the connection between the client's order and the supplier.

3. After the product is received and posted, the system automatically reserves the posted quantity for the order from which the purchase was initiated for the maximum period specified in the settings.

If the actual quantity of products posted is greater or less than the quantity ordered, the reserve is created for the posted quantity, not for the amount specified in the order. For example, if only some of the products have been posted, the rest can be automatically reserved when the next shipment arrives after creating a new purchase order.

The product reserve is created in the warehouse where the product was received, even if the client's order was placed at a different location. If necessary, the product can be moved to another inventory — the reserve will move with it. In other words, the reserve is “tied” to the product, not to the order location.

For serial products, the system reserves serial numbers, which are taken in the order of scanning or adding. If the order is not available (for example, if the serial numbers were automatically generated), the system selects according to the FEFO or FIFO principle.

The reservation period is determined by the settings in the Settings > Inventory > Settings section.

The reserved quantity of the product will be indicated in the product profile and on the Inventory > Stock page.

Important: if the client's order is canceled before the products are received, the reservation will not be created.

If the reserved products are ready for use in a specific order, they must be added to complete the reservation and make the products part of the order. To do this:

1. Open the product editing window.

2. Click on the check mark next to the reservation.

The reserved available quantity will be added to the order.

1. Open the desired product in the Order.

2. Click on the pencil icon next to the created reservation.

3. Make the necessary changes.

You can change the reservation period, move the reservation to another inventory, or even delete the reservation.

4. After that, save the changes.

Reserved products can be moved between company warehouses. Transferring a reservation works similarly to transferring a product, and it does not remove the reservation or change the order for which the reservation was made.

1. Open the reservation editing window and click Transfer.

2. Specify the new inventory and the quantity to be transferred.

3. Click Create. The system will create a transfer of the product reserve.

1. Open the reserve editing window.

2. Click the delete button in the lower right corner.

If the reserve is overdue, the system automatically removes it and makes the product available. If the order is canceled, the reserve is also automatically removed.