Before you update Shopify
Counted zero is not the same as not counted
The physical count spreadsheet has come back. One item says 0; another has no count row. Before updating Shopify, confirm whether staff checked the first item and found none, or never gave you a count for the second.
Review zero and uncounted rows →
Read the count result before changing quantity
A zero is a result: someone checked that variant at that location and found no units. A missing row is not a result. It can mean the item was skipped, outside the count scope, or not included in the file.
| Variant | Location | Shopify on hand | Count file | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEE-BLK-S | Tokyo | 5 | 0 | Counted; no units found. A proposed quantity of 0 is intentional. |
| MUG-RED | Tokyo | 8 | No row | No count was received. Do not treat this as zero. |
Check it manually in a spreadsheet
Start from the Shopify export so every variant-location row is visible. Match on a stable variant identity and the exact location. If SKU can repeat between variants, use Handle plus option values instead of SKU alone.
- Add a helper key to each file, such as SKU + a separator + Location. Use the same key rules in both sheets.
- Use COUNTIFS to count matching count rows. A result of 0 means no matching row; one matching row with a quantity of 0 is an explicit zero.
- Filter duplicate keys and blank quantities for human review before copying any values into On hand (new).
=COUNTIFS(Counts[Key],[@Key])
What CountAlign does with these rows
CountAlign keeps an explicit numeric 0 separate from an absent count row. A missing count stays uncounted and does not produce a quantity update. A count row with a blank or invalid quantity is flagged for review rather than silently converted to zero.