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Shopify's purchase orders vs Stocky: what the native tool can't do
Shopify moved purchase orders into the admin when Stocky closed. For simple ordering that's enough. But Shopify's own migration guide lists what it doesn't do, and if you ordered weekly in Stocky you'll notice. Every limit below is quoted from Shopify.
The six gaps, in Shopify's words
| What you did in Stocky | What Shopify's guide says now | In Sutler |
|---|---|---|
| Email a purchase order to the supplier | "You can't email a purchase order from your Shopify admin." Download a PDF and send it yourself. | Send from the PO page: the supplier gets an email with the PDF, and replies come back to you. |
| Costs that update when stock arrives | "Each product variant has a single static Cost per item field. This cost stays fixed when you receive a purchase order." | Receiving records the actual cost and updates weighted average cost and cost history. |
| Spread freight and duty across lines | For "automatic landed cost allocation, such as duty, freight, or tax," use a third-party app. | Landed cost is split across the lines when you receive. |
| Print labels for what just arrived | "Labels aren't printed directly from the purchase order screen, and they don't auto-populate from a partial receiving event." | Print labels from a receipt, for exactly the quantities received (Dymo, Zebra, Avery). |
| Supplier lead times and minimums in reorder math | Store them as metafields, which are "independent of purchase order ordering and receiving calculations." | Each supplier's lead time, minimum and case size feed the reorder workbench, with the math shown. |
| Keep your purchase order history | "Historical purchase orders can't be imported into Shopify." | Import your Stocky export as closed and open purchase orders (how). |
Source for every quote in the middle column: Shopify Help Center: Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management, checked November 12, 2026. Shopify also notes there "isn't a dedicated native report for total purchase order spend by supplier."
When Shopify's native tool is enough
If you place a few orders a month, pay the same cost every time, receive full shipments and don't print shelf labels, Shopify's built-in purchase orders plus a PDF attached to your own email may be all you need, and they cost nothing extra. The gaps above matter when you order every week, receive partial shipments, pay freight that should be split across the lines, or reprice when supplier costs move.
Quick answers
Can you email a purchase order from Shopify?
No. Shopify's help center says you can't email a purchase order from the Shopify admin; you download it as a PDF and send it by email or other tools.
Does Shopify update cost per item when you receive a purchase order?
No. Shopify says each variant has a single static Cost per item field that stays fixed when you receive a purchase order or transfer. Weighted-average costing or landed cost needs a third-party app.
Can you print barcode labels from a Shopify purchase order?
Not directly. Shopify says labels aren't printed from the purchase order screen and don't auto-populate from a partial receiving event.
Check your Stocky export first: two minutes, nothing uploads.
The free Stocky Export Checker reads your Stocky CSV files in your browser and tells you what is inside them: purchase orders, products, suppliers named on your orders, open orders still to arrive, and what is missing. It also builds a list of the suppliers you'll need to re-enter, because Stocky can't export them.
What Sutler doesn't do
What Sutler does and doesn't do: Sutler suggests what to reorder from your sales, lead times and minimums, with the math shown, but makes no promise about forecast accuracy, and it does not do transfers between locations. What it does is the purchasing desk: purchase orders, receiving, labels, stocktakes and landed cost, and it imports your Stocky export into working purchase orders.
Sutler is in early access and not yet on the Shopify App Store. Facts about Stocky and Shopify on this page come from the Shopify Help Center: Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management, checked November 12, 2026. If Shopify changes that page, this one will be corrected.