Last updated: 19 September 2026
What Shopify tracks, and what it does not
Shopify's inventory features work on quantities per variant and per location: how many are available, adjustments, transfers, purchase orders. The documentation describes no tracking of individual units: no serial number, no lot or batch number, no expiry date attached to the units you ship.
For many stores that is fine. It becomes a problem as soon as one of these is true:
- You sell serialised goods: electronics, tools, machines, bikes, instruments. Warranty claims start with "what is the serial number, and when did we ship it?".
- You sell by lot: food, supplements, cosmetics, chemicals, anything with a best-before date. A supplier recall names a lot number, and you have to find the customers who received it.
- You need proof: a unit returned under warranty that you never sold, or sold three years ago and not last month.
The manual methods, and where they stop
- Order notes. Type the serial number into the order note when packing. Simple, and it appears on the order. Limits: free text with typing errors, nothing prevents the same serial from being entered on two orders, and finding "every order that received lot L2406" means searching and opening orders one by one.
- One variant per unit. Each physical unit becomes a variant whose SKU is the serial number. Limits: the catalogue grows with every delivery, variants have to be created and removed constantly, and product reports become unreadable. Workable for a few high-value items only.
- A spreadsheet next to Shopify. Serial, order number, date. Limits: it depends on one person's discipline, it is not where the order is, and a cancelled order never gets removed from it.
- Order metafields. The cleanest manual option, since other apps can read them on invoices and packing slips. Limits: still typed by hand, no uniqueness check, no search across orders.
What a proper record needs
- Each serial is assigned once. The system refuses a serial that is already on another order.
- The right product. A serial registered for one product cannot be assigned to a line of another product by mistake.
- Scan, do not type. The serial is a barcode on the box; typing it is where errors come from.
- Cancellations release the unit, so it can ship in another order, and the history of what happened stays.
- Search both ways: from a serial or lot to the order, and from a lot to all its orders.
- Expiry dates that warn you while there is still time to sell the lot.
What MT: Serial & Lot Tracking does
MT: Serial & Lot Tracking records which serial number or lot shipped in every order.
- Register serials one by one, by pasting a list, by CSV import or by scanning. Register lots with a lot number, quantity received and expiry or best-before date.
- Assign from the order page. An action in the Shopify order page opens the assignment, line by line.
- Scan with a phone or a USB scanner. The phone opens a scan page from a QR code: no app to install, no login. The scan page exists in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
- One serial, one order. A serial can only be assigned once, and by default only to a line of the same product variant.
- Automatic release on cancellation. When an order is cancelled, its serials and lots are released. Releases are logged, never deleted.
- Warranty and recall search. Search a serial or a lot and get the order; open a lot and get every order that received it.
- Expiry alerts by e-mail at 30 days, 7 days and on the day, only for lots that still have units left (paid plans).
- An order metafield with the serials and lots of the order, which invoice, packing slip and e-mail apps can display.
- Printable lot labels with a Code 128 barcode, on A4 sheets or thermal rolls.
- CSV export of serials, lots and assignments (Plus plan).
What it does not do. It does not generate serial numbers, it does not manage inventory quantities per lot (Shopify keeps managing stock), and it does not work inside Shopify POS.
The free plan covers 50 active serials and lots. Paid plans are a flat $7 (2,000) or $15 (unlimited) per month, with no fee per serial. The customer guide shows the whole flow with real screenshots.
View MT: Serial & Lot Tracking on the Shopify App Store
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify track serial numbers or lot numbers?
Shopify's inventory documentation describes quantities, adjustments, transfers and purchase orders. It describes no native tracking of serial numbers, lots or expiry dates per unit.
Can I use one SKU per serial number?
You can, for a handful of high-value items. For regular stock the catalogue grows with every unit received and product reports become unreadable.
How do I find every order that received a given lot?
You need a record linking each lot to its orders. With order notes, that means reading orders one by one. The app lists them in one search.
Does the app manage stock quantities per lot?
No. It records what shipped in which order and how many units of a lot remain to assign. Stock stays managed by Shopify.