Transaction reasons let you track why inventory changes happen. Every time a user updates a quantity or moves an item, they can select a reason, giving you cleaner data, better reports, and greater accountability across your team.
Sortly includes built-in default reasons, and on paid plans, Owners and Admins can also create custom reasons, hide ones your team doesn't use, set a default to speed up workflows, and optionally require a reason on every transaction.
In this article
How Transaction Reasons Work for Your Team
When a team member updates inventory, they'll see a Reason field in the transaction dialog. They select the reason that applies, and it gets recorded in the item's transaction history and your reports. Here's what that looks like:
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Open an item and click the quantity update button
From any item, click +/- O to open the Update Quantity dialog.
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Enter the quantity change
Use the +/- O or type the quantity to add or remove.
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Select a transaction reason
Click the Reason dropdown to choose from your available reasons. If a default reason has been set, it will be pre-filled automatically.
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Click "UPDATE"
Click UPDATE to save. The reason is recorded in the item's transaction history and visible in your reports.
Who Can Manage Transaction Reasons
Only Owners and Admins can create, edit, hide, or delete reasons. Team Members and other roles can select reasons when logging transactions but cannot manage the list.
Custom transaction reasons are available on Advanced, Premium, Ultra, and Enterprise plans. Free plan accounts can use Sortly's built-in default reasons but cannot create custom ones.
Create a Custom Reason
You can create up to 15 custom reasons per transaction type (15 for Quantity Update, 15 for Move). Reason names can be up to 20 characters long.
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Go to Settings
From the left-hand navigation, click Settings.
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Click "Transaction Reasons"
Select Transaction Reasons from the Settings menu. You'll see two tabs: Quantity Update Reasons and Move Reasons.
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Select the tab for the reason type you want to add
Click Quantity Update Reasons or Move Reasons depending on which transaction type this reason applies to. Reasons are managed independently for each type.
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Click "ADD REASON"
Click the ADD REASON button to open the new reason dialog.
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Enter a name and click "CREATE"
Type a clear, descriptive name (up to 20 characters) and click CREATE. The new reason will appear at the top of the list and be immediately available to your team.
Set a Default Reason
Setting a default reason pre-fills the Reason field whenever your team logs a transaction, helping speed up common workflows. You can set one default per transaction type.
Check the Set as default checkbox next to any reason to make it the default. Selecting a new default automatically clears the previous one.
Hide or Show Reasons
If a reason isn't relevant to your team, you can hide it so it doesn't appear as an option during transactions. Hidden reasons stay in your settings and can be made visible again at any time.
Use the Visibility toggle on any reason row to show or hide it. This works for both Sortly default reasons and custom reasons you've created.
Some reasons are tied to Sortly workflows and cannot be hidden. These will show a disabled toggle in your settings. See Sortly's built-in default reasons for the full list.
Require a Reason for Transactions
You can make transaction reasons required so your team must select one before completing a quantity update or move. This is controlled independently for each transaction type, so you can require it for moves only, quantity updates only, or both.
Look for the Required toggle at the top of the Quantity Update Reasons or Move Reasons tab and switch it on.
Edit or Delete a Custom Reason
Editing a custom reason
Click the pencil icon on any custom reason row to rename it. Changes take effect immediately for all future transactions.
Deleting a custom reason
Click the three-dot menu on any custom reason row and select Delete. You'll be asked to confirm before the reason is permanently removed.
Only custom reasons can be deleted. Sortly's built-in default reasons cannot be removed, though most can be hidden.
Sortly's Built-In Default Reasons
These reasons come with every Sortly account and cannot be deleted. Most can be hidden if they don't apply to your workflows, with the exception of reasons that are tied to Sortly features (marked below).
Quantity Update Reasons
Move Reasons
* These reasons are tied to Sortly workflows and cannot be hidden.