Setting Your Inventory Policy for Pre-Orders: When to Deduct Stock

With our new Pre-Orders feature, you have control over when inventory is deducted for items that customers pre-order. This is an important setting that affects how your stock levels are managed in Shopify.

You can find this setting in your Back In Stock app under Pre-orders > Configuration, labeled "Inventory policy." You have two distinct options to choose from:

Option 1: "Order is placed" (Recommended for immediate tracking)

What it means: If you select this option, inventory for a pre-ordered item will be deducted from your available stock in Shopify immediately as soon as the customer completes their checkout process.
How it works:
- Customer places a pre-order for Item A.
- Even if Item A is out of stock, its inventory count in Shopify will reflect that one unit has been "sold" as soon as the order is placed.
  When to use this:
- To get an immediate, accurate count of pre-orders that have been paid for.
- To prevent overselling beyond your pre-order limit: If you have a pre-order limit set, this option helps ensure that once a pre-order is placed, that "slot" is immediately taken.
- For easier financial reconciliation: Sales are recorded against inventory as they happen.
To enable: Click the radio button next to "Order is placed".

Option 2: "Order is fulfilled" (Recommended for larger or delayed fulfillment)

What it means: If you select this option, inventory for a pre-ordered item will only be deducted from your available stock in Shopify when you physically fulfill and ship the order. It will not be deducted at the time the pre-order is placed.
How it works:
- Customer places a pre-order for Item A.
- Item A's inventory count in Shopify will not change until you mark the order as "fulfilled" in Shopify later.
  When to use this:
- For long pre-order windows: If you're accepting pre-orders far in advance of receiving stock, this prevents your inventory counts from looking artificially low for extended periods.
- For complex fulfillment workflows: If your process involves multiple steps before stock is committed, this offers more flexibility.
- If you need to track "pre-ordered but not yet deducted" inventory separately.
To enable: Click the radio button next to "Order is fulfilled".

Choosing the Right Policy:

The best inventory policy depends on your specific business needs and how you manage your stock.

Most merchants prefer "Order is placed" for pre-orders, as it provides a real-time reflection of your commitments and helps manage limits effectively.
If you choose "Order is fulfilled," remember to manually track your pre-order commitments separately to avoid confusion when new stock arrives.

If you have any questions or need help deciding which policy is best for your store, please reach out to our support team!