# How to Manage Backorders in Unleashed > Ship what you have, cover the shortfall with a purchase order or assembly, and track open orders in the Backorder Enquiry until each order is complete. - URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/unleashed/manage-backorders/ - Section: Unleashed Guides, Sales orders & quotes - Applies to: Unleashed Lite, Core, Pro - Steps checked against: Unleashed Help Centre articles, checked 23 October 2026 - Updated: 2026-10-23 **Short answer:** To manage backorders in Unleashed, ship what you have. When a shipment is dispatched without every order line, the rest is set to backorder and the Sales Order moves to Backordered status. Create a Purchase Order or Assembly from the order lines to cover the shortfall, then ship and complete the order. The Backorder Enquiry, under Reports > Sales, lists open orders with what can ship and what has shipped. It needs Core or Pro. ## Before you start - A backorder is the part of an order you couldn't ship yet. In Unleashed, the Sales Order's status shows Backordered. - The Backorder Enquiry isn't available on Lite. On Lite, use the View Sales Orders page instead (see Step 4). - You can add and invoice a product with no stock on a Sales Order, but you can't dispatch it until stock arrives. ## Step 1: Ship the stock you have 1. Open the Sales Order and create a Shipment for the lines and quantities you can send now. 2. Dispatch the shipment. The quantity left over is set to backorder and the order's status changes to Backordered. ## Step 2: Invoice what you shipped 1. In the Sales Order, hover over the action cog on the shipment's line and select Create Invoice. The invoice covers only that shipment. 2. If you invoice the whole order up front instead, create the invoice from the Sales Order. ## Step 3: Cover the shortfall 1. To buy the missing stock, open the Sales Order, click the Order drop-down and select Create Purchase. To buy for some lines only, tick them in Order Lines and use the action cog. 2. Confirm the Purchase Qty and Supplier for each line. Untick Set Order Status as Backordered if you want the order to keep its current status. 3. Click Create. Unleashed creates one Purchase Order per supplier in Parked status. A hand-truck icon on the order line links to it. 4. If you make the product, select Create Assembly from the Order Lines action cog instead. 5. To buy or assemble for many orders at once, use the Reorder Report. ## Step 4: Track open orders 1. Go to Reports > Sales > Backorder Enquiry. It filters for Backordered orders by default; change Order Status to see Open, Parked or Placed orders too. 2. Click Run. The Sales Order tab shows one row per order with Can Ship, On Shipments and Shipped as percentages. Click + to see each line. 3. The All tab shows one row per order line, with Next Delivery: the earliest delivery date on a Placed Purchase Order for that product. 4. A Required Date in the past shows in red, so overdue orders stand out. 5. On Lite, go to View Sales Orders, open Show Toolbar > Hidden Columns, and drag the On Shipment and Shipped columns into the grid. ## Step 5: Ship the rest and complete the order 1. When stock arrives, hover over the order's action cog in the Backorder Enquiry and select Ship, or tick several orders and select Create Shipments. 2. Select Complete, or Complete Orders for several. Unleashed creates and completes shipments and invoices for anything not yet shipped or invoiced. 3. If there isn't enough stock in the order's warehouse, a red banner explains why the order couldn't be completed. To print backordered quantities on sales orders or invoices, add the UnshippedQuantity, ShippedQty, UnCompleteInvoicedQuantity and CompletedInvoiceQuantity columns to the SalesOrderLinesGrid or InvoiceLinesGrid in Settings, Doc Designer. ## If something doesn't look right - An order won't complete: check there's enough free (unallocated) stock in the shipping warehouse for every line. - Look for other open or draft shipments holding the same stock, and complete or cancel them. - Review stock allocated to other sales orders and adjust it if needed. - Complete any pending stock receipts or stock adjustments. - If stock is really short, receive or adjust stock first, then complete the order. ## Where Unleashed leaves the work to you - Telling the customer which lines are short and when they'll arrive. - Asking the customer whether to ship part of the order now or wait. - Getting a firm delivery date from the supplier. Next Delivery is only as good as the date on the Purchase Order. - Running the Backorder Enquiry every day and acting on it. ## How Logistify helps When Logistify's [Sales Order Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/sales-order/) enters a customer order as a sales order in Unleashed, it replies to the buyer with an order confirmation, the quantity available per line and a date for any shortfall, and asks whether to ship part now. The [Procurement Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/procurement/) follows up with suppliers on open Unleashed purchase orders and captures the confirmed dates and quantities. It doesn't create purchase orders. For how reserved stock affects what can ship, see [How stock allocation works on sales orders](https://logistify.ai/guides/unleashed/stock-allocation-sales-orders/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does Backordered mean on an Unleashed sales order? Not all of the ordered stock has been dispatched. Unleashed sets the status when a shipment goes out without every order line. ### Is the Backorder Enquiry available on Unleashed Lite? No. It needs Core or Pro. On Lite, add the On Shipment and Shipped columns to the View Sales Orders page. ### Can I invoice a backorder before I ship it? Yes. Create the invoice from the Sales Order. Invoices don't need stock on hand; only dispatching a shipment does. ### Can I sell a product that's out of stock? Yes. You can add it to a Sales Order and invoice it, but you can't dispatch it until you have stock. ### Can I complete several backorders at once? Yes. In the Backorder Enquiry, tick the orders and select Complete Orders. Each needs enough stock in its warehouse. ## Sources - [Unleashed: Managing Backorders](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582097-managing-backorders) - [Unleashed: Backorder Enquiry](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582322-backorder-enquiry) - [Unleashed: Sales Orders](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582055-sales-orders)