No way to add a category or vendor to custom sale in the POS checkout?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A long-time Shopify user expresses frustration over the inability to assign product categories, types, or vendors to custom sales during POS checkout. Despite numerous platform updates, this basic feature remains unavailable, making it difficult for brick-and-mortar stores to filter and analyze custom sale data.

Current Workarounds Suggested:

  • Use tags (e.g., “category_clothing” or “vendor_XYZ”) when creating custom sales, though this adds manual steps and risks inconsistency
  • Create “dummy” products representing categories, though this approach is cumbersome
  • Explore third-party POS apps with enhanced custom sale functionality

Proposed Solution:
Add simple dropdown menus for “Category/Type” and “Vendor” fields directly in the POS custom sale interface.

Status: The issue remains unresolved. Users are encouraged to submit feedback to Shopify support and engage in community forums, as collective requests may increase prioritization of this feature.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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Years now I’ve been using shopify and still no ability to quickly add a product category/type or vendor to a custom sale at POS check out. All these new features rolling out in “Winter 2025” and still one of the most basic, extremely important features for Brick and mortar stores at checkout is again being ignored. PLEASE add a feature to allow us to categorize custom sales at the POS checkout so that we have the ability to filter these types of sales.

1 Like
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Hi @vintagejewelers

I’ve carefully reviewed your request regarding the inability to categorize custom sales by product category/type or vendor at the Shopify POS checkout. I completely understand your frustration; it’s definitely a missing piece for brick-and-mortar stores, especially when you need to filter and analyze sales data. It’s surprising that such a fundamental feature hasn’t been addressed yet. Let me offer some potential workarounds and express my own perspective on this issue.

The Core Problem: Lack of Categorization for Custom Sales

As you pointed out, the issue lies in the fact that when you create a custom sale in Shopify POS, there’s no direct way to associate it with a specific product category, type, or vendor. This makes it difficult to track sales performance for different product groups when custom sales are involved. I’ve encountered this myself when trying to reconcile daily sales and it becomes a real headache.

Current Workarounds (And Their Limitations)

While a direct solution within Shopify POS is still lacking, here are a couple of workarounds you might consider:

  • Using Tags: You could try using tags to categorize custom sales. When you create a custom sale, add a tag that represents the product category or vendor. For example, you could use tags like “category_clothing” or “vendor_XYZ.” This isn’t ideal, as it’s an extra step and prone to human error. I find that tags can get messy if not managed diligently.

  • Creating “Dummy” Products: Another workaround, although a bit more cumbersome, is to create “dummy” products for each category or vendor. These products wouldn’t actually be sold, but you could use them in custom sales to represent the category. This allows you to use Shopify’s reporting features to filter sales by product. However, this can clutter your product catalog if you have many categories or vendors. I personally wouldn’t recommend this for stores with large inventories.

  • Using a Third-Party App: There might be some third-party apps in the Shopify App Store that offer enhanced custom sale functionality. It’s worth exploring those options, though I can’t recommend any specific ones without knowing your exact needs. I suggest carefully reading reviews before committing to any app.

My Perspective and Recommendations

I wholeheartedly agree that this feature is essential for brick-and-mortar stores. It’s baffling that Shopify hasn’t implemented it yet, especially considering the emphasis on POS features. I think the best course of action is to continue voicing your concerns to Shopify support. The more users who request this feature, the more likely they are to prioritize it. I also recommend joining the Shopify Community forums and engaging in discussions about this issue. Collective feedback can be very powerful.

In my opinion, a simple solution would be to add dropdown menus for “Category/Type” and “Vendor” when creating a custom sale in the POS. This would allow for quick and accurate categorization without adding too much complexity to the interface.

If you need any other assistance, I am willing to help.

Best regards,

Daisy.