Setting Your Order Fulfillment Status for Pre-Orders: Managing Your Workflow

With our new Pre-Orders feature, you can control how Shopify marks the fulfillment status of orders that contain pre-ordered items. This helps you manage your workflow and clearly distinguish pre-orders from immediately fulfillable orders.

You can find this setting in your Back In Stock app under Pre-orders > Configuration , labeled "Order fulfillment status."

You have two distinct options to choose from:

Option 1: "Unfulfilled" (Default Setting)

• What it means: When you choose this option, any Shopify order containing a pre-ordered item will be marked as "Unfulfilled" by default.

  How it works:

  • Customer places an order that includes a pre-ordered item.
  • The entire order will appear in your Shopify Orders list with the status "Unfulfilled."

  • This is the standard Shopify status for orders awaiting fulfillment.

    When to use this:

  • If your fulfillment process can easily filter and manage "Unfulfilled" orders that are waiting on specific pre-order stock.
  • If you're comfortable with all pending orders (both in-stock and pre-order) showing the same "Unfulfilled" status.

Option 2: "On hold"

• What it means: When you select this option, any Shopify order that includes a pre-ordered item will be marked as "On hold".

  How it works:

  • Customer places an order that includes a pre-ordered item.
  • The entire order will appear in your Shopify Orders list with the unique status "On hold."

  • This status is designed to give you a clear visual cue that this particular order cannot be immediately fulfilled because it contains an item awaiting stock.

    When to use this:

  • For clearer manual fulfillment management: It helps you quickly identify pre-orders that are not yet ready to ship, preventing accidental premature fulfillment.
  • To prioritize fulfillment: You can easily filter your "On hold" orders to manage them separately from your standard "Unfulfilled" orders that are ready to go out.
  • If you have complex orders: It helps keep orders containing a mix of in-stock and pre-order items clearly segmented.

Choosing the Right Fulfillment Mode:

The best order fulfillment status depends on your existing Shopify workflow and how you prefer to manage orders awaiting stock.

• "Unfulfilled" is simpler if your team can differentiate pre-orders.
• "On hold" offers a distinct visual tag in your Shopify admin, which can be very helpful for busy stores or those with specific pre-order fulfillment processes.

By choosing the appropriate fulfillment status, you can ensure a smoother and more organized process for managing your pre-orders.

If you have any questions, our support team is here to help!