Move preorders into a separate order

Use this guide if you want preorder items moved into their own order after checkout, so anything ready to ship isn’t held up by the preorder. In a mixed order (preorder and in-stock items together), the in-stock items stay in the original order and the preorder items move into a new one. You choose whether preorder items move into one new order per offer, one new order per variant, or one new order per ship date, so items that ship together arrive together and later items ship on their own.

Before you begin

Requirement	Detail
Paid plan	Available on Lite and above
Order-editing permission	STOQ asks for permission to edit orders when you enable it
Purchase option off	Required. This disables deposits, partial payments, and fulfillment order splitting
Mutually exclusive	Turning this on turns off Split fulfillments and Hold all fulfillments, if either is on
Paid orders only	An order splits once it’s fully paid. If you capture payment later (manual capture or an order-editing window), it splits when you capture

What customers will see

When a customer orders preorder and in-stock items together:

• The in-stock items stay in the original order and can be fulfilled immediately.
• The preorder items move into a new order, named after the original with a -SPLIT suffix (for example, #1001-SPLIT). You can change the suffix, or use a sequential number instead.
• With One order per offer (the default), all preorder items from the same offer go into one new order. With One order per variant, each preorder variant gets its own new order. With One order per ship date, preorder items from the same offer that ship on the same date go into one new order, and items with a different date get their own. When that makes more than one new order, they’re numbered #1001-SPLIT-1, #1001-SPLIT-2 and so on.
• The new order shows your payment method label (for example, Prepaid). No charge happens on it; the customer already paid on the original order.

An order made up entirely of preorder items is handled too:

• If it would make more than one new order (items from two offers, two variants on a One order per variant offer, or two ship dates on a One order per ship date offer), the items are split, and one group stays on the original so it isn’t left empty: the first item from the earliest offer.
• If it would make only one new order (one offer, or one variant), there’s nothing to separate out, so it stays as one order.

In both cases, if Hold fulfillments on split orders is on, the preorder items are held wherever they end up, so an all-preorder order can no longer ship before you’re ready.

Set it up

On a phone, this menu is collapsed. In the Shopify mobile app, tap the STOQ logo at the top of the screen to open it, then choose the section named below. There is no hamburger icon. See Finding the STOQ menu.

1. Open the Shipping section

   1. In the left menu bar of the STOQ app, click Preorders.
   2. Click the Offers tab.
   3. Click the offer you’d like to edit. Its Overview tab opens, showing the Customize button, a live preview, and the offer’s Products section.
   4. Click the Customize button to open the editor.
   5. In the sidebar, click Shipping, then scroll to Fulfillment options.

   

   

   

2. Enable Move preorder items to a separate order

   Under Fulfillment options, click Configure to expand the options (the button reads Edit if a fulfillment option is already on), then check Move preorder items to a separate order. STOQ asks for permission to edit orders, grant it to continue.

   

   

3. Confirm in the dialog

   A confirmation explains that enabling this turns off the Shopify purchase option and disables partial payments, deposits, and fulfillment order splitting. Confirm to proceed.

4. Choose how to group split orders

   Under New split order, choose an option under Create split orders:

   • One order per offer (default): all preorder items from this offer in a checkout move to one new order.
   • One order per variant: each preorder variant from this offer in a checkout moves to its own new order. Use this when each product should ship on its own, without creating an offer per product.
   • One order per ship date: preorder items from this offer that ship on the same date move to one new order. Use this when products on one offer release on different dates: a customer who orders several products releasing the same day gets one shipment, and products releasing later stay separate.

   One order per ship date is available only when the offer’s shipping timeline is set to Different timeline for each product, or when batches are on (in the editor sidebar, click Batches and choose Sell this offer in sequential batches). With Same timeline for all products and batches off, every item ships on the same date, so the option is greyed out. If you later switch an offer back to Same timeline for all products with batches off, it goes back to One order per offer.

   STOQ groups items by their shipping text: a batch’s shipping text if the item was sold in a batch, otherwise the variant’s own shipping text, otherwise the offer’s. Capital letters and extra spaces don’t matter, but the wording does: Ships May 1 and Ships May 1st become two orders. Write the same date the same way on every product and batch.

   

5. Configure the new split order

   Optionally set:

   • Split order name suffix: the text appended to the original order name, SPLIT by default, so the split order reads #1001-SPLIT. Change it to your own wording, for example Preorder for #1001-Preorder. When one checkout makes several split orders from the same offer, they’re numbered: #1001-SPLIT-1, #1001-SPLIT-2.
   • Use sequential order number: give split orders a new number instead of the original name plus a suffix. This overrides the suffix.
   • Hold fulfillments on split orders: automatically hold the preorder items’ fulfillments until you’re ready. This now applies to all-preorder orders too, not just mixed ones. When you’re ready to ship, release the original order in STOQ; that releases its split orders too.
   • Tag on new split orders: default STOQ-split-order.
   • Split order payment method label: default Prepaid. This is only a label; no money moves, because the customer already paid on the original order.

6. Configure the original order tags

   Optionally set a Tag on original order (stays permanently to mark it was split) and a Tag while order is split (added temporarily during the split, then removed automatically).

   

7. Save changes

   Click Save changes at the top right of the editor. The setting applies to orders placed afterward.

   

Check your setup

Place a test order with an in-stock item and a preorder item. Confirm the in-stock item stays in the original order and a new -SPLIT order is created for the preorder item, with your tags applied. If you chose One order per variant, add two different preorder variants from the offer and confirm each gets its own split order. If you chose One order per ship date, add two preorder items with the same shipping text and one with a different date, and confirm the first two share a split order and the third gets its own. To check the all-preorder case, order preorder items from two different offers and confirm they split into separate orders with the earliest offer left on the original. Use a 100% discount code or Bogus Gateway to avoid a real charge.

Troubleshooting

Deposits or partial payments stopped working

Separate orders requires the Shopify purchase option to be off, which disables them. Turn off Separate orders, or use Split fulfillments instead if you need deposits.

Split fulfillments or Hold all fulfillments turned off on its own

These settings are mutually exclusive with Separate orders. Enabling Separate orders automatically turns the others off.

A paid order hasn't split yet

Orders split once they’re fully paid. If your store captures payment later (manual capture, or an app that gives customers time to edit the order), the order splits when you capture the payment. An order whose payment is voided or expires is never split.

An order didn't split because its preorder items had already shipped

STOQ doesn’t split an order once any of the preorder items it would move are fulfilled or partly fulfilled, so they can’t be shipped twice. This happens when your payment provider captures payment at fulfillment, so the order only becomes paid after you ship. The order stays as one normal order.

Two preorder products went into the same split order

The offer is set to One order per offer, which groups every preorder item from that offer. Choose One order per variant under Create split orders to give each variant its own order, or One order per ship date to group only items that ship on the same date. Orders placed before the change keep their original grouping.

Items shipping on the same date went into separate split orders

With One order per ship date, STOQ compares the shipping text word for word, so Ships May 1 and Ships May 1st count as different dates. Check the shipping text on each product (and each batch, if batches are on) and write the same date the same way. Orders that already split keep their grouping; the fix applies to new orders.

One order per ship date is greyed out

The offer uses Same timeline for all products with batches off, so every item already ships on the same date. In the Shipping section, switch the timeline to Different timeline for each product. Or, in the editor sidebar, click Batches and choose Sell this offer in sequential batches. Then choose One order per ship date.

Enabling the setting doesn't seem to take effect

STOQ needs permission to edit orders to create the split order. Grant the permission when prompted, or re-enable the setting to trigger the prompt again.

Limitations

This is an experimental feature. Test it with a real order before relying on it in production.

FAQ

Does money move to the new order?

No. The customer pays on the original order. The new split order shows a payment method label (default Prepaid) but no charge is taken on it.

Can I still take a deposit?

No. Separate orders requires the Shopify purchase option to be off, which disables deposits and partial payments. If you need deposits, use Split fulfillments instead.

What is the new order named?

The original order name plus a suffix, SPLIT by default (for example, #1001-SPLIT). When one checkout makes several split orders from the same offer, they’re numbered #1001-SPLIT-1, #1001-SPLIT-2. Change the suffix with Split order name suffix to use your own wording, or turn on Use sequential order number to give split orders a new number instead.

Can each preorder product get its own order without making an offer per product?

Yes. Choose One order per variant under Create split orders. Every preorder variant in a checkout then moves to its own new order, even when the products share one offer.

Can products releasing on the same day ship together in one order?

Yes. Choose One order per ship date under Create split orders. Preorder items from the same offer with the same shipping text move to one new order, and items with a later date get their own. Items from different offers still go into separate orders.

If I change a product's ship date, do orders that already split get regrouped?

No. STOQ groups items once, when the order splits. Changing a shipping text later only affects orders placed after the change.

How is this different from Split fulfillments?

Split fulfillments keeps everything in one order (and keeps deposits). Separate orders creates a new order for the preorder items and disables deposits.

Does the customer see two orders?

A new split order is created for the preorder items, but the customer already paid on the original order, no extra charge is taken on the split order.

Does this affect orders placed before I enabled it?

No. Separate orders applies to orders placed after you turn it on.

How do I release the hold on a split order?

Release the original order in STOQ. Split orders don’t get their own row in STOQ, so go to Reports → Preorders → Orders, search for the original order name (for example, #1001, not #1001-SPLIT), and open it. From the Fulfill order dropdown, click Release “On hold” fulfillments, then click Release fulfillments. STOQ releases the holds on the original order and on every split order created from it, and the bulk release works the same way. See Release held or scheduled fulfillments.

Can I separate a preorder out of an order that's already been placed?

No. STOQ can’t move items out into a new order after checkout. Separate orders only changes how new orders are handled going forward. For an order that’s already placed, ship the in-stock items now by fulfilling just those line items in Shopify, or, if the offer uses Split fulfillments, split the order’s fulfillments from STOQ.

What happens if the whole order is preorder items?

If the items would make more than one new order (two offers, two variants on a One order per variant offer, or two ship dates on a One order per ship date offer), STOQ splits them and keeps one group on the original so it isn’t left empty: the first item from the earliest offer. If they’d make only one new order, there’s nothing to separate out and the order stays as one. Either way, if Hold fulfillments on split orders is on, the preorder items are held wherever they end up, so an all-preorder order no longer ships before you’re ready.

Related guides

Choose a fulfillment setupDecide which fulfillment status and option to use.

Split fulfillments for preordersKeep one order and keep deposits working.

Hold all fulfillmentsHold the whole order instead of splitting it.

Set up payment for preordersWhy deposits need the purchase option.