Release held or scheduled fulfillments
Use this guide if you put preorder fulfillments on hold with On hold or Hold all fulfillments, or used the Scheduled status and want to ship before the scheduled date. Releasing or opening makes the fulfillment fulfillable in Shopify, for one order or many at once; you still fulfill and ship it yourself afterward.
Before you begin
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Paid plan | Available on Lite and above |
| Held or scheduled orders | Release applies to On hold / Hold-all orders; Open applies to Scheduled orders |
| Releasing isn't shipping | It removes the hold, but you still fulfill and ship the order in Shopify |
Choose your setup
Which action you use depends on how the order was held:
- Release: for orders held with On hold or Hold all fulfillments. Shopify keeps these held until they're released, from STOQ → Reports → Preorders → Orders (or, for a single offer, open it under Preorders → Offers and use its Orders tab). These stay held until you release them, unless the offer has an automatic release date set, in which case STOQ releases them on that date. See On hold fulfillments.
- Open scheduled fulfillments: for orders with the Scheduled status. Shopify opens these automatically on the scheduled date; use this action instead if you want to ship sooner.
What customers will see
Releasing or opening a fulfillment doesn't ship the order or notify the customer by itself: it only makes the fulfillment available to fulfill. The customer gets their shipping notification when you actually fulfill and ship the order in Shopify afterward.
Set it up
Release "On hold" / "Hold all" fulfillments
One order
Open the order
- Go to STOQ → Reports → Preorders → Orders.
- Open the held order.
Release the hold
From the Fulfill order dropdown, click Release "On hold" fulfillments. STOQ removes the hold and confirms the "On hold" fulfillments were released.
Fulfill in Shopify
The fulfillment is now fulfillable, so fulfill and ship it from Shopify as usual.
In bulk
Select the orders
- Go to Reports → Preorders → Orders.
- Check the held orders you want to release (or use Select all matching to select every order matching your filters).
Choose Release On hold fulfillments
Use the Release "On hold" fulfillments bulk action, then confirm.
Wait for background processing
Bulk releases run in the background. STOQ shows a "processing in the background" banner: click Refresh in a moment to see the updated orders.
Open scheduled fulfillments early
One order
Open the order
- Go to STOQ → Reports → Preorders → Orders.
- Open the scheduled order.
Open scheduled fulfillments
From the Fulfill order dropdown, choose Open scheduled fulfillments. STOQ makes the fulfillment available immediately and confirms with "Scheduled fulfillments opened successfully."
Fulfill in Shopify
The fulfillment is now fulfillable, so fulfill and ship it from Shopify as usual.
In bulk
Select the scheduled orders
- Go to Reports → Preorders → Orders.
- Select the scheduled orders (or use Select all matching to select every order matching your filters).
Choose Open scheduled fulfillments
Use the Open scheduled fulfillments bulk action.
Wait, then fulfill
The action runs in the background.
- Click Refresh.
- Fulfill the now-open orders in Shopify.
Check your setup
Open a released order in Shopify and confirm the fulfillment is no longer on hold and ready to fulfill. After a bulk action, click Refresh and check the orders in the list.
Troubleshooting
An order still shows held after you released it
Bulk actions run in the background, so wait a moment and click Refresh. If the order has more than one hold, make sure all holds were released.
In-stock items are still held after you released a preorder order
You likely used Hold all fulfillments, which holds every item together and releases them together. If you used the On hold status instead, in-stock items were never held in the first place, so there's nothing left to release on them.
A bulk release or open doesn't finish processing every matching order
Very large operations need to be narrowed with filters to stay under the bulk size limit.
You can't find Open scheduled fulfillments
For a single order it's in the Fulfill order dropdown on the order page, not a separate button. The bulk action in the orders list is a separate path for opening multiple orders at once.
FAQ
Do I always have to release manually?
Not necessarily. If the offer has Automatically release holds on a specific date set, STOQ releases its held orders on that date on its own, including orders already on hold. Otherwise On hold and Hold-all orders stay held until you release them manually. Scheduled orders open automatically on the date you set; opening them early is optional. See On hold fulfillments.
Does releasing or opening an order ship it or notify the customer?
No. It only makes the fulfillment available to fulfill. You still fulfill and ship it in Shopify, which is when the customer gets their shipping notification.
Does releasing charge a remaining balance?
No. Release and open are fulfillment actions only. If the order has a balance owing, collect it separately: see Collect remaining preorder payments.
Can I release or open hundreds of orders at once?
Yes. Select the orders, or use Select all matching, then run the bulk action; it processes in the background. For very large operations, narrow the filters first to stay under the bulk size limit.
