The units available for tracking quantity: weight, length, volume and count.
Sortly API
The Sortly API lets you work with your inventory from your own systems: add and update items, keep stock levels in sync, and track what goes out on a job.
Available on the Sortly Enterprise Plan. All requests go to https://api.sortly.co over HTTPS and return JSON. Email dev-support@sortly.com with questions or issues.
New here? Start with Getting Started, then read Items and Folders so the vocabulary in the endpoint reference makes sense. Once you know what you're building, jump to the matching Use Case Guide.
Goal: keep Sortly jobs in step with the work orders in your external system, from the moment one is raised to the moment it closes, so field staff work against accurate inventory and nobody keys the same movement in twice.
A job is a work order. Creating one also creates a folder to hold the items assigned to it. Jobs move through three statuses: not_started, in_progress, completed.
Each subsection below maps to one event in your system. Your system owns the job lifecycle and drives each of these calls; where you need to see the state on the Sortly side, read it with GET /api/v1/jobs on whatever schedule suits you.
Once inventory moves into a job folder in Sortly, push it to the job in your external system in real time, so usage shows up in both tools and nobody keys it in twice.
1. Subscribe to move events. Register an endpoint at app.sortly.com/integrations/webhooks and enable the Moved event. Sortly calls you when an item changes folder, at no rate limit cost. See Webhooks.
2. Work out whether the destination is a job folder. Each job carries a folder_id, so build a lookup of job folder ids once and refresh it when you pull new jobs:
Try it: GET /api/v1/jobs
curl 'https://api.sortly.co/api/v1/jobs?per_page=100' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY'If the item's new parent matches a job's folder_id, or sits inside one of its subfolders, the move is job usage.
3. Confirm the quantity before you post it onward. Read the item back so you act on current state rather than trusting the notification alone:
Try it: GET /api/v1/items/{item_id}
curl 'https://api.sortly.co/api/v1/items/12345' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY'Then record the usage against the matching job in your own system, however that system takes writes. Make the handler idempotent, keyed on item id plus quantity, so a replayed delivery doesn't double-count usage.
Pro tip: the
external_job_linkyou stored when you pulled the job is the quickest way to find the right record on your side. It is a link for a person to follow, so treat it as a pointer rather than assuming it is an endpoint you can post to.
Once a job finishes in your external system, complete the matching Sortly job automatically, so statuses agree and nobody edits inventory against a job that is already done. Completing a job locks its folder.
1. Read the job to get its current version.
Try it: GET /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}
curl 'https://api.sortly.co/api/v1/jobs/678' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY'2. Return anything still assigned before you close it, so leftover stock goes back to a real folder rather than staying in the job. destination_folder_id decides where it lands; omit it and the items go back to All Items.
curl -X POST 'https://api.sortly.co/api/v1/jobs/678/items/return' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{ "items": [ { "item_id": 12345, "quantity": 3, "destination_folder_id": 55 } ] }'3. Complete the job, passing the version from step 1.
Try it: PUT /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}/status
curl -X PUT 'https://api.sortly.co/api/v1/jobs/678/status' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET_KEY' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{ "status": "completed", "version": 2 }'A 409 means someone changed the job between your read and your write. Re-read it and retry with the new version. Any status other than not_started, in_progress or completed is rejected with 400.
Goal: keep Sortly purchase orders in step with the accounting or ordering system you buy through, so both sides agree on what was ordered, what it costs and where it has got to.
A purchase order records what you ordered from a vendor and on what terms, with a list of line items drawn from your inventory. You don't need to send amount, sub_total, total or line_number: Sortly works them out from the lines.
How an order moves:
draft,ready_for_reviewandapprovedcan each move to one another, or on toordered- From
orderedyou can requestvoidedorclosed - From
ordered, receiving stock also moves the order topartially_receivedand thenreceived, through the receive flow rather than a status call - From
partially_receivedorreceived, the only status you can request isclosed voidedandclosedare final
For the transitions themselves, see Manage PO Statuses.
Goal: move a Sortly purchase order to match where it has got to in your own process, whether that decision was made in another system or over email.
Every transition uses the same endpoint and the same two fields: the target status and the version you got from your last read.
- A stale
versionis rejected with409. Read immediately before writing, and retry with the new one. - Sending a status the order already has changes nothing, so a retried delivery is safe.
| From | Can move to |
|---|---|
draft, ready_for_review, approved | each other, or ordered |
ordered | voided or closed |
partially_received, received | closed |
voided, closed | final |
Anything outside that returns 400. received and partially_received cannot be requested here at all: Sortly sets them when a delivery is recorded against the order, either in the app or through the receive endpoint.
Items are the things you track: stock, tools, assets, supplies. Each one has a quantity and can carry a price, photos, tags and custom fields.
Items and folders share these endpoints; type is what tells them apart. Pass "type": "item" here. For the folder side of the same endpoints, see Folders.
Operations
Folders are how you organize inventory by location, category, job, or whatever fits how you work. They can be nested, and items live inside them.
Folders use the same endpoints as items, with "type": "folder" and no quantity or price. Nest one inside another by setting parent_id; leave it out for the top level. To list a folder's contents, pass its id as folder_id when listing items.
Operations
Purchase orders record what you have ordered from a vendor and on what terms. Each one carries vendor and ship-to details plus a list of line items drawn from your inventory.
How an order moves:
draft,ready_for_reviewandapprovedcan each move to one another, or on toordered- From
orderedyou can requestvoidedorclosed - Receiving stock moves an
orderedorder topartially_receivedand thenreceived, through the receive flow rather than a status call - From
partially_receivedorreceived, the only status you can request isclosed voidedandclosedare final
Use the status endpoint for these transitions rather than the update endpoint.
Operations
Aug 5, 2026. Added Purchase Orders: list, create, fetch, update and change status.
Jul 31, 2026. Added Jobs: list, create, fetch, update, change status and delete, plus adding items to a job and returning them.
Jun 17, 2021. Added yard and gallon units of measure.
Jun 5, 2021. Added support for item variants (Item Groups).
Jan 4, 2021. Renamed attribute_value to value on custom field values (attribute_value still works). Added tags to item reads and search.
Sep 1, 2020. Added the search endpoint.
Jun 15, 2020. Added alerts.
Mar 2, 2019. First release.