How to collect preorder payments later

STOQ allows you to collect 0% payment upfront for preorders, meaning customers can reserve products without paying anything at checkout. The full payment is collected later—either manually when you're ready or automatically on a scheduled date or when the order ships. This "reserve now, pay later" approach can increase preorder conversions by removing the upfront cost barrier for customers.

Ideal Use Cases

• High-value products: Customers may hesitate to pay full price for expensive items before they ship
• Long lead times: When products won't ship for several months, customers prefer not to have funds tied up
• Building interest: Gauge demand for new products without requiring immediate payment
• B2B orders: Business customers often prefer net payment terms rather than upfront deposits

Considerations

Before enabling 0% upfront payment, keep these points in mind:

• Customers can cancel more easily since they haven't paid anything
• You take on more risk if customers don't complete payment later
• Card authorizations typically expire after 7-30 days, which may affect automatic collection
• This feature requires Shopify Payments

Setting Up 0% Upfront Payment

To configure a preorder offer with no upfront payment, follow these steps.

1. From your Shopify admin, open the STOQ app.
2. Click Preorders in the left navigation menu.
3. Click Offers to view your preorder offers.
4. Click on an existing offer to edit it, or click Create offer to make a new one.
5. In the offer editor, click the Customize button.
6. In customize section go to Payments section.

Selecting Partial Payment

1. In the Payment section, select Partial payment as the payment type.
2. This enables the deposit and remaining payment options.

Setting the Deposit to 0%

1. Under Customers pay now, select Percentage.
2. Enter 0 in the percentage field.
3. This means customers pay nothing at checkout and the full amount is collected later.

Configuring Remaining Payment Collection

After setting 0% upfront, you must configure when and how to collect the remaining (full) payment.

Setting the Payment Due Date

Shopify requires a payment due date for all partial payments. Customers will see this date at checkout. You have two options:

Option 1: Specific Date

1. Click the calendar icon button.
2. In the Payment date field, click Change.
3. Select the date when payment should be due.
4. This is best when you know the exact ship date.

Option 2: Days After Checkout

1. Click the clock icon button.
2. Enter the number of days after checkout when payment is due.
3. For example, enter 30 for payment due 30 days after the customer places the order.
4. This is best when ship dates vary by order.

Choosing How to Collect Payment

You can collect the remaining payment manually or automatically.

Manual Collection

Select this option if you want full control over when payments are collected.

1. Under Collect remaining payment, select I'll collect manually from Shopify admin or STOQ > Reports.
2. Configure the payment due date (specific date or days after checkout).
3. When you're ready to collect, go to Preorders > Reports to process payments.

With manual collection option you can:

• Collect payments one at a time from Shopify admin order details
• Collect payments in bulk from STOQ > Reports > Preorders
• Choose exactly when to charge customers based on inventory availability

Automatic Collection

Select this option to have STOQ collect payments automatically. This is a paid feature.

1. Under Collect remaining payment, select Collect automatically.
2. Choose when automatic collection should trigger:

• On the scheduled date: Payment is collected on the due date you configured
• When the order ships: Payment is collected as soon as you fulfill the order

Collecting Payments Manually

When using manual collection, here's how to collect payments when you're ready.

Collecting Individual Payments

1. Go to Preorders > Reports in STOQ.
2. Find the order you want to collect payment for.
3. Click on the order to open the order details.
4. Click Collect payment to charge the customer's card.

You can also collect from Shopify admin:

1. Go to Orders in your Shopify admin.
2. Open the preorder order.
3. Click Collect payment in the order details.

Collecting Payments in Bulk

For multiple orders, use STOQ's bulk collection feature:

1. Go to Preorders > Reports in STOQ.
2. Use filters to find orders ready for payment collection (e.g., filter by product or fulfillment status).
3. Select the orders you want to collect payment for.
4. Click the Collect payment bulk action.
5. Confirm the action to process all selected orders.

What Customers See

When a customer places a preorder with 0% upfront payment, here's their experience.

At Checkout

• The product shows the full price
• The payment widget displays "Pay $0.00 now"
• The remaining balance and due date are clearly shown
• Customer's payment method is saved for later collection

After Checkout

• Order confirmation shows $0.00 charged
• The remaining balance and payment due date are displayed
• Customer receives the standard order confirmation email

When Payment is Collected

• Customer's saved payment method is charged
• They receive an email confirming the payment
• If payment fails, they receive an email with instructions to update their payment method

Handling Failed Payments

Sometimes automatic or manual payment collection fails. Here's how to handle it.

Common Reasons for Failed Payments

• Card expired or was replaced
• Insufficient funds
• Card authorization expired (typically after 7-30 days)
• Customer's bank declined the transaction

What Happens When Payment Fails

1. You receive an email notification about the failed payment.
2. The customer receives an email asking them to update their payment method.
3. The order remains in your Reports with an unpaid status.

Rescheduling Failed Payments

1. Go to Preorders > Reports in STOQ.
2. Find the order with the failed payment.
3. Click on the order to open details.
4. Click Reschedule payment to set a new collection date.
5. The customer will be charged again on the new date.

Customizing Failed Payment Emails

1. Go to Preorders > Notifications in STOQ.
2. Find the Payment failed email template.
3. Customize the message to match your brand voice.
4. Include clear instructions for customers to update their payment method.

Best Practices

Follow these recommendations for successful 0% upfront preorders.

Set Realistic Due Dates

• Align payment due dates with your expected ship dates
• For days-after-checkout, use 7 days or less to stay within card authorization windows
• If using longer periods, be prepared for some payment failures due to expired authorizations

Communicate Clearly

• Make sure customers understand they'll be charged later
• Include payment terms in your product descriptions
• Send reminder emails before collecting payment

Monitor Your Orders

• Regularly check Preorders > Reports for orders needing payment collection
• Follow up quickly on failed payments
• Track your unpaid orders in the analytics dashboard

Consider Your Risk

• 0% upfront means higher cancellation risk
• Monitor cancellation rates and adjust your approach if needed
• For very expensive items, consider a small deposit (e.g., 10%) instead of 0%

Known Limitations

The 0% upfront payment feature has some constraints to be aware of.

• Requires Shopify Payments—other payment gateways don't support deferred payment collection
• Card authorizations typically expire after 7-30 days, which may cause payment failures for longer preorder periods
• Automatic collection is a paid feature; free plans must collect manually
• Customers can more easily cancel orders since no payment has been made
• Some banks may decline charges if too much time passes between authorization and collection

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with 0% upfront payments, use this guide to identify and resolve common problems.

FAQs

Q: Can I change from 0% to a different deposit amount after orders are placed?

A: Changes to the deposit percentage only affect new orders. Existing orders keep their original payment terms. If you need to change terms for an existing order, you'll need to cancel and have the customer reorder.

Q: What happens if a customer wants to cancel before payment is collected?

A: Since no payment has been made, you can simply cancel the order in Shopify. No refund is needed. You may want to establish a cancellation policy and communicate it clearly to customers.

Q: Can I collect payment earlier than the scheduled due date?

A: Yes. You can manually collect payment at any time from STOQ > Reports or from the order details in Shopify admin. The due date is the latest date, not the only date you can collect.

Q: Why did automatic payment collection fail even though the due date hasn't passed?</summary>

A: If you selected "When the order ships" for automatic collection, payment is attempted when you fulfill the order, regardless of the due date. Check if the order was fulfilled, which would trigger the collection attempt.

Q: Can I use 0% upfront with the "Full & Partial" payment option?

A: Yes. When using "Full & Partial" payment, you can set the partial option to 0%. Customers can then choose between paying full price immediately or reserving with $0 down.

Q: How do I know which orders need payment collection?</summary>

A: Go to Preorders > Reports and filter by payment status. You can also check the analytics dashboard for the count of unpaid orders. Orders with 0% upfront will show as unpaid until you collect.

Updated on: 18/03/2026