# Fishbowl: "Cannot close short an item with a status of"

> An item's current status blocks you from closing the short on this sales order.

## What it means
You sold or shipped more of an item than available inventory, creating a short. Now you are trying to close it—fulfill it with additional stock or resolve it. The item's current status (shown in the error) prevents this. Fishbowl usually blocks this for items marked discontinued, inactive, or unavailable for normal sale.

## What to check
- Open the item record and note its current status.
- Decide whether that status is correct for this transaction—if the item truly should not be sold, the short may need a different resolution (cancel the backorder, adjust the order quantity, or use a substitute).
- If the status is a mistake, correct it; if it is intentional, handle the short by other means rather than trying to fulfill it with an unavailable item.

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*From Israel Lopez Consulting (ILC). Custom Fishbowl Inventory integrations and software, and Fishbowl experts since 2015. Written by Israel Lopez. Questions about this topic, or want to reach the people who wrote it? Visit https://israellopezconsulting.com/contact*