MakeStock · Updated 11 October 2026
How to track raw materials and product costs in Shopify
Shopify can tell you how many finished products you have. It does not tell you how much wax, oil, paper or findings you have left, or what one unit costs to make. MakeStock stores that underneath the product.
The problem
If you make what you sell, the number on the product page is the last step, not the first. A candle, a bar of soap, a print or a piece of jewellery uses materials that Shopify inventory never sees. You can be “in stock” of the product and still be unable to make the next one.
Cost has the same gap. The retail price is in Shopify. The cost of the materials inside one unit often lives in a notebook or a spreadsheet that nobody opens when an order comes in.
Doing it by hand
The usual workaround is a spreadsheet: one row per material, a column for stock on hand, and a list of what each product uses. When an order is paid you subtract. When you cancel and restock, you add back. Then you redo the sums to see how many units you can still make.
That spreadsheet is a fair record if you update it every time. It drifts as soon as a paid order, a cancellation or a restocked refund is missed. It also sits outside Shopify, so the cost per item on the product is a second place you have to type.
Track materials with MakeStock
MakeStock keeps the materials, the bill of materials for each variant, and the stock movements that follow from Shopify orders.
- Install MakeStock from the Shopify App Store and open it in the Shopify admin. Use the MakeStock listing (opens in a new tab) to install it.
- Add each material with a unit, a cost per unit, the stock on hand, and a low-stock threshold. Stock on hand is the figure you keep. When a delivery arrives, update that figure for the material.
- For each variant, add a bill of materials: the materials one unit uses. If other variants of the same product share that list, copy it across instead of typing it again.
- When an order is paid, MakeStock deducts those materials once.
- Cancellations and restocked refunds put the materials back. Each change is written to the movement log, so you can see why the stock figure moved.
- Open Can I make it? to see how many units current stock can make, and which material runs out first.
- Low-material alerts use the threshold you set. You can also push cost to the Shopify cost per item, and import or export materials as CSV.
The public listing has a free plan and paid plans. Pro includes unlimited materials and bills of materials. Plus includes everything in Pro, plus a movement report export. Some other plan lines on the listing are cut short, so this guide does not guess at them. Prices are on the listing, not here.
Tips
- Set the low-stock threshold when you add the material. The alert has nothing to compare against until that number exists.
- Copy a bill of materials to the other variants when they use the same materials. Change the copy only where a variant differs.
- Use Can I make it? before you promise a large order. It shows the units you can make and the material that limits them.
- Paid orders deduct materials once. A cancellation or a restocked refund puts them back. Do not expect a refund that was not restocked to restore the material on its own.
- CSV import is on MakeStock Pro and Plus. It is the practical way to bring an existing material list in. Export is there when you want a copy of the same list.
Ask an assistant
MakeStock can take a material import through the Oskivo connector. An assistant can preview that import, for example prices from a supplier list, before anything is saved. Read access is the default. Write access stays off until you turn it on for MakeStock in the Shopify admin, and write tools are designed to preview the change until you confirm it.
Questions
Does Shopify already track raw materials?
Shopify product inventory tracks the finished item you sell. It does not store the wax, oil, findings, paper or other material inside that item. MakeStock stores each material and the bill of materials for a variant.
When does material stock change?
Paid orders deduct the materials once. Cancellations and restocked refunds put them back. Each change is written to the movement log. A refund that is not restocked is not described as putting materials back.
How do I see the cost of a product?
Each material has a cost per unit. MakeStock can push cost to the Shopify cost per item. That is the cost figure Shopify already has on the variant, filled from your materials.
Where is the MakeStock price?
The plan price is on the Shopify App Store listing (opens in a new tab). The listing is also where you install the app.
Other guides
- How to turn Shopify orders into a daily production list
MakeFlow totals what to make from open, unfulfilled orders.
- How to send Shopify orders to Royal Mail Click & Drop automatically
MakePost sends paid orders to your own Click & Drop account.
- How to make a wholesale line sheet from your Shopify products
MakeSheet builds a line sheet or PDF catalogue from Shopify products.
- How to track sales rep commission in Shopify
MakeRep assigns orders and calculates commission by line.
App page: MakeStock. All guides: oskivo.com/guides. Try the product cost calculator.