The Restrict to Available Inventory setting stops users from ordering more of a gift card than you currently have in stock. It works on a first-come, first-served basis, and users never see any inventory numbers, only whether a card is available.
Turning it on
- Go to Settings → Orders and the User Order Form section.
- Find Restrict to Available Inventory and choose one of:
- Off (no restriction, the default). Nothing changes; users can order any amount.
- Show out-of-stock cards crossed out. Out-of-stock cards stay in the list, shown with a line through the name and no Add button.
- Hide out-of-stock cards. Out-of-stock cards are removed from the user order form entirely until they're back in stock.
- Save.
With either "on" option, users are also blocked from ordering more of an in-stock card than is available, not just from ordering out-of-stock cards.
How availability is calculated
A card's available amount is its on-hand inventory minus what unfilled orders still need.
Every order that has been placed but not yet filled assumes it will be filled, so its gift cards are already counted against the total. When that number reaches zero, the card is out of stock.
First come, first served. The moment a user places an order, the cards in it reduce what's available to everyone else. Two users looking at the same card at the same time may not both be able to order it; whoever places their order first gets it.
What users see
- Out-of-stock cards are shown crossed out or hidden, depending on the option you chose.
- If a user tries to add or edit a card for more than is available, they get a message such as "Not enough available. Please lower the amount." and can't save until they adjust it.
- Users never see the actual inventory quantity, only whether their requested amount is available.
What is not affected
- Special order gift cards are never restricted, since they aren't filled from inventory.
- Standing orders are placed as scheduled, even if a card is currently out of stock.
- The printable order form and the administration order form are not restricted: an administrator can still enter any amount, regardless of availability.
Tip. Availability changes in real time as orders come in and as you add stock through purchase orders. A card that's out of stock now may be orderable again a few minutes later, and vice versa.