A missing quantity may be a short shipment or a planned remainder

Count the same item and unit at every handoff

Use the order's actual item, option and ordered quantity. Check whether the warehouse and buyer are counting the same catalog unit. If the order and packing records use different units, retain the documented conversion; do not assume that a container count and an order quantity are interchangeable. Keep different items on separate comparisons so an extra unit of one item does not conceal a missing unit of another.

Preserve any authorized order amendment separately from the original quantity. The original order, the current fulfillment instruction and the buyer's expectation may then describe different quantities. Record that conflict before treating it as a packing error. A later edit is not evidence that the earlier parcel was packed according to the revised instruction.

Reconstruct the allocation before counting missing units

List each actual parcel reference and the units assigned to it, then identify units assigned to an outstanding fulfillment and units with no documented allocation. Compare the total planned allocation with the quantity currently authorized for fulfillment. Count each assigned unit once; do not add both a fulfillment's total and the same units again under its parcel record. A gap between the order and the plan is an allocation problem, even before any parcel contents are disputed.

Where the documented WooCommerce Fulfillments feature is active, individual fulfillments record products, quantities, draft or fulfilled status, and shipping or tracking information. Its order-level partial state can reflect unassigned items or a fulfillment still in draft. Read those underlying records. A partial label does not establish that all missing units are on their way, and a fulfilled application record is not independent carrier proof. Other extensions may use different statuses.

For Shopify, payment status and fulfillment status are separate. Paid does not mean every unit shipped. An On hold fulfillment cannot be fulfilled until it is released; the status alone does not give a shipment date. Use the platform actually running the order and its underlying records, rather than translating Shopify and WooCommerce labels as though they were identical.

Compare each received parcel with its own packing record

For the parcel the buyer received, set out three counts: intended allocation, recorded packed quantity and buyer-reported received quantity. If allocation exceeds the recorded packed quantity, the packing record itself leaves a difference to explain. If recorded packing agrees with allocation but the buyer reports fewer units, preserve the disagreement and identify what packing or parcel evidence exists. Neither count should silently overwrite the other.

If the buyer's count agrees with that parcel's allocation and the remaining ordered units have a documented outstanding allocation, the records support a planned remainder. Check whether the buyer was told about that split. In WooCommerce's documented feature, creating or editing a draft fulfillment does not send a customer notification; notification behavior for fulfilled records depends on its toggle. The plan may exist internally without having explained the missing quantity to the buyer. Notification configuration does not prove delivery of a message.

If no record allocates the remainder, do not create a retrospective plan and present it as what was intended at dispatch. Classify the units as unallocated or unresolved. If another parcel has already been dispatched, check its real status and assigned quantity before promising the same units again. A carrier delivery record can identify a parcel event, but not the count of contents the buyer received.

Make the next action fit the unresolved units

A documented remainder needs an accurate update about the remaining fulfillment and any confirmed next step. A difference within a received parcel needs a packing investigation and a merchant decision on resolution. An unallocated balance needs an owner to establish what should happen to those units. The worksheet should finish with the number of units in question and the evidence supporting that classification, not an automatic replacement of the whole order.

Keep any approved replacement, cancellation or refund separate from the original allocation and from actions merely proposed. Record who authorized the decision and verify whether an outstanding fulfillment still covers the same units before arranging another shipment. For a Prism checkout-review consultation, describe the order-to-fulfillment or messaging gap without customer records. Confirm the requested operational review, follow-up responsibilities, fees and terms before work begins; a consultation does not itself authorize fulfillment or a refund.

Quantity discrepancy map

Complete the rows for one affected order line and repeat the parcel comparisons for every real parcel. Compare allocation totals with the order first, then compare packing and receipt within each parcel. Do not add a received quantity to the packed quantity as if they were different units. Retain original evidence in authorized systems and enter only the comparison results here.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.