Deposits and partial payments

Use this guide if you want customers to pay a deposit when they preorder and the rest later. By the end, you’ll know which deposit type fits your product, how the balance due date works, and what to watch for.

For the click-by-click setup, including the full-payment and mixed options, see Set up payment. This page explains the deposit choices.

Before you begin

Requirement	Detail
Shopify Payments	The balance is charged later to the customer’s saved card, which only works with Shopify Payments. A store that uses PayPal or another gateway can offer full payment only
The Shopify purchase option is on	Deposits are built on Shopify’s purchase options for the offer
A paid STOQ plan, for automatic collection	Collecting balances automatically needs a paid plan

Choose your deposit

Under Customers pay now you choose how much the customer pays at checkout:

Option	What the customer pays now	Good for
No upfront payment	Nothing. Their card is saved and you charge the full amount later	Long or uncertain production timelines, high-value items, gauging demand before charging
Percentage	A share of the price, for example 10%	Most products. 10 to 25% is common
Amount	A fixed amount, for example 10.00	Products where a flat commitment is simpler to explain

Examples:

• A $100 product with a 10% deposit charges $10 at checkout and $90 later.
• A $250 product with a 25% deposit charges $62.50 at checkout and $187.50 later.
• A $500 product with a $50 deposit charges $50 at checkout and $450 later.

A fixed amount must be lower than the product price, or checkout fails for that product. A percentage of 100% is the same as full payment, so use Full payment instead.

Choose the balance due date

Shopify requires a due date on every partial payment order, and customers see it at checkout. Pick one of two:

• A specific date, when you know the ship date. Good for a launch on a set day. The date can’t be in the past.
• Days after checkout, when customers order at different times and you want the same payment window for each. The minimum is 1 day.

Choose a date that matches your real fulfillment timeline so customers know what to expect. To change the wording customers see, see Change the due date text.

What customers will see

The product page shows your payment option with the deposit and remaining balance filled in. Checkout charges only the deposit, and shows the balance and its due date. Changing deposit settings later affects new orders only. Orders already placed keep the terms they were bought with.

Collect the balance

When the due date arrives, STOQ can charge the saved card for you, or you can collect balances yourself from the STOQ reports. Don’t use Shopify’s bulk Capture payments action on these orders. See Collect remaining preorder payments and When payment collection fails.

Charge nothing now and collect the full amount later

Choosing No upfront payment lets customers reserve a product and pay $0.00 at checkout. Their card is saved and you charge the full amount later, either by hand when you’re ready or automatically on the due date or when the order ships.

It suits high-value products customers hesitate to pay for before they ship, long lead times where customers prefer not to tie up funds, gauging demand for a new product, and B2B customers who expect net payment terms.

Weigh the tradeoffs first:

• Customers can cancel more easily because they haven’t paid anything.
• You carry more risk if a customer’s payment fails later.
• For a very expensive item, a small deposit such as 10% can reduce that risk compared with 0%.
• Like every deposit, it needs Shopify Payments.

At checkout the payment widget shows “Pay $0.00 now” with the remaining balance and due date. The order confirmation shows $0.00 charged. When you charge later, the saved card is billed and the customer gets an email confirming the payment. If it fails, they get an email asking them to update their payment method, and you’re notified too. See When payment collection fails.

Set realistic due dates that match your expected ship dates, tell customers in the product description that they’ll be charged later, and check the preorder orders report regularly for orders that need collecting. Orders with no upfront payment show as unpaid until you collect.

Show payment options on the product page

The payment widget shows customers their payment options and any discount before they buy. It’s controlled by the Display section of the offer’s Payment panel:

• Show payment & discount savings turns the widget on. For a single payment type, tick it and save. It turns on automatically when you pick Partial payment or deposit or Full payment & partial payment.
• Show discounted price shows the final discounted price next to the original price on the product page. See Set up discounts.
• Show partial payment option first pre-selects the partial payment option when an offer shows both options.

Where customers see it:

Page	What shows
Product page	Below the price: the payment options with your titles and descriptions, any discount badge, and the discounted price if enabled
Cart	The preorder product with its payment details and shipping timeline, if configured
Checkout	The chosen payment option, the amount due now, the remaining balance, and the due date

When an offer shows both full and partial payment, customers pick one on the product page before adding to cart. To change it, they remove the item and add it again with the other choice. You can set a separate discount on each option, for example a larger one on full payment to encourage paying upfront.

To change the wording, click Customize next to the payment type. In a description you can use {{ payment }} for the deposit amount and {{ remaining }} for the balance, for example “Pay {{ payment }} upfront and the remaining will be charged when your product is shipped.” For a discount badge, use {{ discount }}, so “Save {{ discount }}” reads “Save 10%” or “Save $15”. Preorder discounts apply to the product price only, not to shipping or taxes.

Limits to know

• Partial payments need Shopify Payments.
• Automatic collection needs a paid STOQ plan.
• The widget appears only for products linked to an active preorder offer.
• Changes to deposit settings affect new orders only.

Troubleshooting

Partial payment or deposit is missing from the Payment type list

The store isn’t using Shopify Payments, or the Shopify purchase option is off. Check both, then reopen the offer.

Customers are charged the full amount at checkout

The offer is set to Full payment. Change Payment type to Partial payment or deposit and save.

Checkout fails for one product

A fixed deposit is higher than that product’s price. Lower the amount or switch to a percentage.

The percentage or amount field isn't showing

The field appears only after you pick that option under Customers pay now. Select Percentage or Amount.

The payment widget doesn't show on the product page

Turn on Show payment & discount savings under Display in the offer’s Payment panel and save. Also check the product is linked to an active offer.

The discount badge or discounted price doesn't appear

The badge needs a discount set under Discount on total price. The discounted price needs Show discounted price turned on.

The widget shows on the wrong products

Open the offer’s Products tab and check which products are linked to it.

FAQ

Can I use different deposits for different products? Yes. Each preorder offer has its own payment settings, so create separate offers for products that need different deposits.

Can customers pay the deposit with PayPal? No. Partial payments need Shopify Payments because the balance is charged later to a saved card. Customers can still pay in full with PayPal on an offer set to full payment.

Can I change the deposit after orders come in? You can change it, but only new orders use the new terms.

Is No upfront payment the same as a 0% deposit? Yes. The option is a shortcut that sets the deposit to 0 without typing it.

Can I offer a different discount for full payment and partial payment? Yes. With Full payment & partial payment, each option has its own discount.

Will the payment widget slow down my product pages? No. It loads asynchronously from cached configuration, so the effect on page load is minimal.

Can customers switch payment options after adding to cart? Not in the cart. They choose on the product page, so to change it they remove the item and add it again.

How do I turn off the payment widget for one offer? Open the offer’s Payment panel, untick Show payment & discount savings under Display, and save.

Does the discount apply to shipping? No. A preorder discount applies to the product price only, not shipping or taxes.

What happens if a customer wants to cancel before I collect payment? Nothing was charged, so you can cancel the order in Shopify and no refund is needed. Set a cancellation policy and tell customers about it.

Can I collect before the due date? Yes. You can collect manually at any time from the STOQ reports or the order in Shopify admin. The due date is the latest date, not the only one.

Why did automatic collection run before the due date? If automatic collection is set to When the order ships, STOQ charges when you fulfill the order, whatever the due date.

Can I use no upfront payment with Full payment & partial payment? Yes. Set the partial option to no upfront payment, and customers choose between paying in full now or reserving with $0 down.

Will the deposit and due date show at checkout? Yes. Shopify shows the deposit, the remaining balance and the due date before the customer pays.

Can I change a deposit for orders already placed? Existing orders keep their terms. To change terms on one order you’d need to cancel it and have the customer reorder.

Related guides

Set up paymentThe full setup steps for each payment type.

How Shopify card vaulting worksHow the saved card is used for the balance.

Collect remaining paymentsCharge balances automatically or in bulk.