How to track packaging materials in Shopify
By the PACKTRACK team · Updated October 2026
Short answer: Shopify doesn't track packaging materials on its own. Its inventory counts the products you sell, not the boxes, mailers and packing supplies you ship them in. You can build a do-it-yourself version with unlisted products and Shopify Flow, or use a packaging inventory app that does it for you. This guide shows both, step by step.
Why Shopify doesn't count your boxes
Shopify's Help Center has no packaging or supplies item type.
Shopify's package settings don't count them either. They store the size and weight of your boxes so Shopify can work out shipping rates and pick a box when you buy a label.
So store owners ask the same question again and again on the Shopify Community and Reddit: how do I keep track of how many shipping boxes I have, and how do I take one off stock every time an order ships?
The do-it-yourself way, step by step
This works with Shopify's own tools. Shopify Flow is a free app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans.
Step 1: Add each box or mailer as a product and track its quantity
Create a product for each packaging item (for example "Box M" or "Poly mailer 10×13"). In the product's Inventory section, turn on Track quantity and enter how many you have.
Step 2: Set it to Unlisted, so shoppers can't find it
- From your Shopify admin, go to Products.
- Click the packaging product.
- In the Status section, select Unlisted.
- Click Save.
An unlisted product is hidden from your store's search, collections, product recommendations and sitemap, and from internet search. One catch: shoppers can still add it to their cart from its direct URL, unless your theme is changed to stop that.
Step 3: Add the box to each order with Shopify Flow
In Shopify Flow, create a workflow that starts when an order is created and uses the Add order line item action. The action adds a product variant to the order. Turn on Add for free, which applies a 100% discount to that line, and set the quantity.
If the number of boxes depends on how many items are in the order, a Shopify Community answer shows how: use a For each step over the order's line items and set the quantity from each line.
Step 4: Check stock before Flow adds the box
Shopify warns that this action adds the line "without considering inventory". To add the box only when you have it in stock, put a condition before the action that checks the box's inventory.
Step 5 (optional): Get an email when boxes run low
Shopify Flow has a template that emails you when a product variant's inventory is low. Set it up for each packaging product.
Where the do-it-yourself way stops
- It doesn't pick the box. Each workflow adds the box you chose when you built it. Shopify's documentation doesn't describe a way for Flow to choose the right box from the items in an order. Shopify's packed-product-size feature does pick the smallest saved box that fits, but only for shipping rates and labels, and only for the Box package type.
- Customers can see it. The Flow action runs after checkout, so the packaging line appears on the customer's order if they view it.
- Test it with your setup first. Shopify's Flow documentation doesn't say whether the action works with unlisted or draft products. One store owner on the Shopify Community found their fulfilment warehouse had already imported the order before Flow added the box.
- Packaging cost isn't clear. Shopify's cost per item is the cost of the product itself; for products you resell, it excludes "taxes, shipping, or other costs". Profit is only reported for items that had a cost recorded when they were sold, and Shopify doesn't document whether a free line's cost shows in your profit reports.
The PACKTRACK way
PACKTRACK is a Shopify app that does this job directly.
- Your boxes, mailers, envelopes and accessories are tracked as packaging inventory.
- Set simple rules, or let Peter, the built-in AI assistant, pick the best-fit box from your product dimensions. Packaging is assigned when a paid order comes in.
- Stock is reserved when packaging is assigned and deducted when you fulfill in Shopify.
- Low-stock and out-of-stock alerts by email and in the app, at the thresholds you set.
- Packaging cost per order, average cost and trends, with purchase orders for your packaging.
- $12 a month, billed through Shopify, with a 15-day free trial.
Shopify on its own vs with PACKTRACK
| What you need | Shopify on its own | With PACKTRACK |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging as inventory | No packaging item type. Workaround: unlisted products with tracked quantity | Boxes, mailers, envelopes and accessories tracked as packaging inventory |
| A box off stock for each order | Not automatic. A Flow workflow can add it, without checking stock | Assigned to every paid order; reserved, then deducted when you fulfill |
| Picking the box | You choose it when you build each workflow | Peter picks the best-fit box from your product dimensions |
| Packaging cost per order | No packaging line in profit reports | Cost per order, average cost and trends |
| Low-stock warnings | A Flow template you set up per product | Email and in-app alerts at your thresholds |
Questions store owners ask
Can I use Draft instead of Unlisted for packaging products?
Some store owners suggest it, but Shopify's Flow documentation doesn't say whether the Add order line item action works with draft products. Unlisted is the status Shopify documents for products that can be sold but can't be found by shoppers. Test it on one order first.
Will customers see the packaging on their order?
With the Flow method, yes, if they view their order: the line is added after checkout.
Does Shopify Flow cost extra?
No. Shopify Flow is a free app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans.
All packaging inventory questionsShopify package settings: what they do