How to hold preorder fulfillments with the On hold status
The On hold fulfillment status holds preorder items in an order until they're released to Unfulfilled. In-stock items in the same order are not affected — they stay fulfillable and ship right away. Use it when you (or your fulfillment provider) need to control exactly when preorder items become fulfillable.
You can release held fulfillments manually, or have STOQ release them automatically on a date you choose.
Before you start
- The On hold status is set per offer (not per order), and applies to orders placed after you save — existing orders keep the status they had when they were placed.
- On hold requires the Shopify purchase option (selling plan), which is on by default. If you run preorders without the purchase option, On hold is unavailable — use Hold all fulfillments instead.
- The On hold status itself is available on all plans. Holding the whole order with Hold all fulfillments, and releasing held orders in bulk, require a paid plan (Lite and above).
How to set the status to On hold
- Go to Preorders in the STOQ menu and open the offer you want to edit.
- Click Customize, then Shipping.
- Under Fulfillment status, select On hold. A note confirms that preorder fulfillments will appear as On hold until they're released to Unfulfilled.
- Click Save.
That's all you need for manual release. To have STOQ release the holds for you on a date, continue below.
How to automatically release holds on a date
Instead of releasing each held order by hand, you can have STOQ lift the holds for you on a date you set — and optionally keep a hold in place until the order's balance is fully paid. With Fulfillment status set to On hold, check Automatically release holds on a specific date and pick a Release date.
What happens after checkout
When a customer places an order with a preorder item from this offer:
- The customer checks out and pays as usual. The hold is an internal fulfillment state — it isn't shown to the customer as a delay at checkout.
- In Shopify, the preorder item's fulfillment shows as On hold and isn't fulfillable until released. Any in-stock items in the same order stay fulfillable and can ship immediately (unless you also enabled Hold all fulfillments).
- In STOQ, the order appears under Reports → Preorders → Orders, where you can filter by fulfillment status to find all held preorders.
How to release a hold
Release the preorder fulfillment when you're ready to ship. There are four ways:
Manually in STOQ
Go to Reports → Preorders → Orders, open the order, and click Release "On hold" fulfillments. You can also release multiple held orders in bulk from the orders list — bulk release requires a paid plan (Lite and above).
This can also be done by heading to Preorders → choose an offer → orders tab → choose the orders → click on the 3 dots on top right → release "on hold" fulfillments
In the Shopify admin
Open the order, go to the fulfillment section, and click Release hold. The fulfillment moves to Unfulfilled.
Automatically on a date you set
Set a Release date on the offer (see above). STOQ releases the held fulfillments on that date — you don't release them manually.
With Shopify Flow
Automate release with a release fulfillment hold action — for example, release on a schedule or when an order is tagged.
Once released, the fulfillment becomes Unfulfilled and you fulfill and ship it like any normal order.
On hold vs Hold all fulfillments
These sound similar but do opposite things to in-stock items.
Setting | Holds preorder items | Holds in-stock items in the same order |
|---|---|---|
On hold (Fulfillment status) | Yes | No — in-stock items can ship right away |
Hold all fulfillments (Fulfillment option) | Yes | Yes — the entire order is held until you release it |
Use On hold when in-stock items should ship now. Use Hold all fulfillments when nothing should ship until you release the order.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
Preorder fulfillment isn't held | Fulfillment status is set to Unfulfilled | Set Fulfillment status to On hold |
On hold isn't available | The Shopify purchase option is turned off | On hold requires the purchase option. When it's off, only Unfulfilled is available — use Hold all fulfillments if you need to hold orders |
Automatically release holds on a specific date isn't available | The offer uses Different timeline for each product | Switch to Same timeline for all products — automatic release requires a single shared release date |
Holds didn't release on the release date | Only release holds after payment is collected is enabled and the order's balance isn't fully paid | The order remains on hold until payment is complete. Collect the outstanding balance, or disable the payment option |
Existing orders aren't held after switching to On hold | The setting applies only to new orders | Existing orders keep the fulfillment status they had when they were placed. The change only affects future orders |
Can't release orders in bulk | Bulk release requires a paid plan | Release orders individually, or upgrade to a paid plan (Lite and above) |
FAQs
Q: Do in-stock items in the same order get held too?
A: No. On hold holds only the preorder items. In-stock items stay fulfillable and can ship right away. To hold everything, use Hold all fulfillments.
Q: Can held preorder fulfillments release automatically?
A: Yes. With the Fulfillment status set to On hold, check Automatically release holds on a specific date and pick a Release date. STOQ releases the held preorder fulfillments on that date and moves them to Unfulfilled — you don't release them one by one. Optionally check Only release holds after payment is collected to keep unpaid orders held until the balance is paid. Both options are available on all plans, and only when the offer uses Same timeline for all products. Automatic release is not triggered by inventory arriving.
Q: I changed the status to On hold but existing orders aren't held — why?
A: The status applies only to orders placed after you save. Existing orders keep the status they had when they were placed.
Q: On hold isn't available — why?
A: On hold requires the Shopify purchase option. If you turned it off (for example, for separate orders or Managed Markets), the status resets to Unfulfilled. To hold preorders in that case, use Hold all fulfillments.
Q: How do I release the hold before the release date?
A: Release it manually any time — in STOQ go to Reports → Preorders → Orders, open the order, and click Release "On hold" fulfillments, or release it from the Shopify order page.
Updated on: 24/06/2026
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