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How Riverr inventory works (the three tiers)

Last updated October 23, 2026

Riverr keeps three kinds of stock. Each one answers two questions differently: who owns it, and does it get decorated.

Blank stock Finished goods (house retail) Seller inventory
Who owns it You You A seller. You hold it for them
What it is Base products you bought to decorate Products you sell as is, including pre printed retail you made ahead Products a seller sent you or you made for them
How it arrives Purchase order Purchase order, or a house stock order you produce The seller's shipment (Send inventory), or a stock order for that seller
Numbers On hand, Reserved, Available, Incoming Same numbers as blanks On hand, Reserved, Available
Reserved when An order line for it comes in An order line for it comes in An order line routed to stock comes in
Leaves when A batch for the order is created A batch for the order is created A batch for the order is created
Where you see it Inventory → Stock → Blanks Inventory → Stock → House retail Inventory → Stock → Seller, 3PL → Retail stock

Three kinds of stock

Blank stock

You own it, and it gets decorated. Blanks are raw material: shirts, hoodies, totes you bought to print on. A blank is never sold on its own and never picked for a customer as is.

  • Arrives: on a purchase order. See Buy and receive house blanks.
  • Reserved: the moment an order line that uses the blank is created. Not when you batch.
  • Leaves: when you create a batch with that line. The batch takes what is on hand, up to the line. A line for 50 with 30 on hand takes 30; the other 20 stay needed, go on the next purchase order, and print from new stock when it arrives.

Finished goods (house retail)

You own it, and it is sold as is. Two things live here:

  • Products you buy finished, such as candles or a keychain. Mark the base product as a Finished good in its settings so Riverr never tries to print it.
  • Pre printed retail: blanks you decorated ahead of demand with a house stock order and put on a shelf.

Finished goods use the same four numbers as blanks and follow the same rules. They are reserved when an order line comes in and come off on hand when the batch for that order is created, as many as are on hand. The pick on the warehouse floor is then just the walk to the shelf. Units the batch could not take wait for new stock, like a short blank line.

Seller inventory

A seller owns it. You hold it. This is the 3PL side of Riverr. The seller sends you goods, or you print a run for them with a stock order. Either way the units stay theirs.

  • Arrives: you approve the seller once and give them space. They send their products with Send inventory, and you receive the shipment. See Receive a seller shipment.
  • Reserved: when an order line for that product is routed to stock. Available drops at the same moment, so two orders cannot both claim the last unit.
  • Leaves: when the batch for the order is created. Cancelling or ignoring the line before that gives the units back.

Seller inventory has its own numbers. It never touches your blank counts, and a purchase order you receive never changes it.

How reserving works for all three

Every kind of stock is held when the order comes in and taken when the batch is created.

Event What happens
Order line created Reserved goes up, Available goes down
Line cancelled, ignored, or deleted before batching Reserved comes back down
Batch created Reserved comes down and the batch takes what is on hand, up to the line
Line unbatched The units go back on hand and are reserved again

The exact rules for each number, with a worked example, are in What On hand, Reserved, Required, and Incoming mean.

More than one location

If you run more than one shop location, Riverr can keep separate blank counts for each one. See Blank stock by location.

Selling at the register

Stocked items sold at the Register come off stock when the sale is paid. Blanks and finished goods come off the store's location. Seller items come off that seller's stock. Items tracked by bin come out of their bins in the store's warehouse. A refund can put the units back. See Sell stocked items at the register.

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