Stock became unavailable after a card was authorized

Confirm the shortfall against the exact order

Match the product or variation identifier and quantity on the accepted order with the inventory and fulfillment records. Keep the quantity ordered, quantity already fulfilled, quantity allocated to this order and quantity still available distinct. Record when and by whom availability was confirmed. A supplier’s expected replenishment is a future expectation until the stock is actually available; it must not silently replace the present shortfall.

Preserve the item and timing promised on the original order. A different variation, a smaller quantity or a later shipment is a proposed change to that commitment. Write down any customer response to the proposal separately from the merchant’s preferred outcome. Absence of a response does not document acceptance of a revised order.

Read inventory settings without borrowing the payment clock

WooCommerce can maintain quantities when stock management is enabled. With management disabled, it keeps a stock status rather than a count. An in-stock label therefore cannot always answer how many units can fulfill this order. Catalog visibility and quantity display are configurable too; what the product page shows is not a physical stock check.

WooCommerce’s Hold stock setting applies to Pending payment orders, not On hold orders. That inventory rule is separate from the card authorization’s expiry. Do not assume that changing Hold stock extends a card hold, or that an order called On hold is controlled by the pending-payment stock timer.

If an external inventory system or fulfillment partner supplies the availability figure, record that source and the time of its confirmation. WooCommerce’s core settings do not establish how that separate system allocated these units. Resolve a disagreement between stock sources before promising that the order can ship.

Identify what remains authorized before deciding the action

Open the matching provider payment record and establish whether the payment remains authorized and uncaptured, has been captured in part or in full, or has ended. Record the authorized amount, currency, any amount already captured and the actual deadline supplied for this payment. An earlier authorization result does not establish the state now. If the deadline is unavailable, mark it unknown and assign an owner to obtain it promptly; do not substitute a general number of days.

Stripe documents authorization and capture as separate steps. Default capture takes the authorized amount. Capturing less normally releases the remainder, and most payments allow only one capture. Keeping the remainder for a later shipment requires supported multicapture. Consequently, a plan to ship available items now and the missing item later must include the documented payment path for both portions; a partial shipment by itself does not establish that the remaining authorization will survive.

These are Stripe boundaries, not proof that the installed gateway exposes a feature or that the business is eligible for it. The merchant’s approved provider and actual integration determine the available account actions. If capture has already occurred, stop treating the situation as cancellation of an untouched authorization and reconcile the captured amount before choosing a response.

Record a decision that fulfillment and support can both follow

If the original quantity is genuinely available and the payment path remains supported, the owner can record the fulfillment decision against that evidence. If stock is insufficient, the decision record should state whether cancellation or a customer-agreed revision is being pursued, who may perform the payment action and what remains unresolved. Do not capture merely to avoid losing an authorization while the fulfillment commitment is still unsettled.

Keep the store decision, provider outcome and customer message as separate entries. A planned cancellation is not a confirmed provider cancellation. A proposed delay is not an agreed delivery date. After an authorized action, use the actual provider result and revised fulfillment record to determine what support can truthfully tell the customer.

Prism’s checkout-review consultation can discuss the storefront and the mismatch between order, payment and inventory records. Provide the website, research-only products, platform and a summary of the shortfall without customer records or payment credentials. Specific investigation or implementation responsibilities, fees and terms are agreed before work; the inquiry receives email follow-up and does not itself authorize a capture, cancellation or shipment.

Authorized-order stock decision

Use one affected order and record quantities and payment facts at stated times. Leave unknown facts unresolved. The decision is ready only when the owner can connect the chosen fulfillment response to the actual payment state; this worksheet does not authorize an account action.

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.