How to set up your first preorder
To set up your first preorder in EZ Preorder & Back In Stock, turn on the app embed, add products to the Preorder List, choose when the preorder button should show, and check the button on your store. A new install walks you through these steps in a six-step setup flow that opens automatically. You can also do each step yourself from the Preorders page, and every step works on the Free plan.
Available on: All plans (Free, Core, Growth, Professional and Scale).
Where to find it: The setup flow opens when you first open EZ PreOrder. Afterwards: EZ PreOrder → Preorders, or the Setup Guide on the Dashboard.
Before you start
- Install EZ Preorder. See How to install EZ Preorder and enable the app embed.
- Decide which products to sell as preorders and when. A product can be a preorder always, only once it sells out, or only while you still have a set number of units. The three rules are explained in Preorder rules.
- The Sold out and Specific inventory level rules decide from the variant's inventory count in Shopify. Use them on variants that have Track quantity turned on, so the count is accurate.
How to set up your first preorder with the setup flow
The setup flow opens the first time you open EZ PreOrder after installing. It saves your progress, so if you close the app you return to the step you left.
- On What would you like to set up first?, click Set up pre-orders on the Pre-orders card.
- Step 1 of 6, Enable the app embed. Click Enable app embed. Your theme editor opens in a new tab with the embed switched on. Click Save in the theme editor, return to the app, and wait for the badge to change from Not detected yet to Detected. Click Next.
- Step 2 of 6, Add products to pre-order. Click Add products, tick the products you want (or expand a product and tick single variants), and click Save. The step shows how many products are on your pre-order list. Click Next.
- Step 3 of 6, When should the pre-order button show? Choose one option and click Apply to all pre-orders. The choice applies to every product on your Preorder List, and you can change it for each product later.
- Step 4 of 6, Check the button in your store. Click View product in store to open a product that should be showing the preorder button now. If you see it, click I see the button. If you do not, click I don't see the button to open a chat with Ada, the AI support assistant, or a message to the support team.
- Step 5 of 6, Send pre-order confirmation emails? Choose Yes, send confirmation emails or No, not for now, then click Next. You can change this later in Configuration.
- Step 6 of 6, Do more with pre-orders. Click Finish setup to go to your Preorder List, or Explore features to go to Configuration.
If no product on your list should show the button right now (for example, every variant is in stock and you chose Only when the product is out of stock), step 4 says so and shows a Continue button instead.
To leave the setup flow at any point, click Skip setup for now. EZ PreOrder then shows the Setup Guide on the Dashboard.
What each setup flow option sets
The three options in step 3 of the setup flow set one of the three preorder rules on every variant on your list, and change the Shopify setting Continue selling when out of stock to match.
| Setup flow option | Preorder rule it sets | Continue selling when out of stock |
|---|---|---|
| Always show the pre-order button | Always | Turned on |
| Only when the product is out of stock (selected by default) | Sold out | Turned on |
| Only while the product is in stock | Specific inventory level | Turned off |
The setup flow does not change your inventory quantities. To set a specific number of preorder units, edit the product afterwards. See Preorder rules.
How to set up your first preorder with the Setup Guide
The Setup Guide is a checklist on the EZ PreOrder Dashboard. It appears if you skipped the setup flow, or if your store installed EZ Preorder before the setup flow existed. On other pages of the app it can appear as a floating panel.
The How to setup Preorders? tab of the Setup Guide has four steps:
- Enable app embed: the Enable app embed button opens your theme editor with the embed switched on. Click Save there.
- Add products to preorder list: open Preorders in the app menu and click Select products.
- Edit preorder settings: on the Preorders page, click Edit on a product to set its rule, availability and custom note.
- Start accepting preorders: View store opens your store so you can check the button.
The link watching the demo video in the Setup Guide plays a preorder tutorial. Click the minus icon to collapse the Setup Guide, or the close icon to hide it.
How to set up your first preorder manually
You can set up a preorder without the setup flow or the Setup Guide.
- Turn on the app embed. See How to install EZ Preorder and enable the app embed.
- In EZ PreOrder, open Preorders and click Select products.
- Tick the products or variants you want, then click Save.
- Click Edit on a product. Under Pre-order rules, choose the rule in Condition to allow Pre-Order: Always, Sold out or Specific inventory level.
- Optional: add a Custom Note to show with the button, and tick Apply settings for all variants to use the same settings on every variant of the product.
- Click Save in the bar at the top of the page.
- Open the product in your store and check the preorder button.
What happens when you add a product to the Preorder List
Adding a product to the Preorder List gives every added variant the Specific inventory level rule and turns the product's preorder status on. EZ Preorder also turns off Continue selling when out of stock on those variants in Shopify.
Because of that default rule, any added variant that has stock above 0 shows the preorder button straight away, and a variant at 0 shows your theme's sold out state. If that is not what you want, change the rule right after adding, or use step 3 of the setup flow, which replaces the default on every product.
Limitations
- Step 3 of the setup flow applies the chosen rule to every product on your Preorder List, including products you added before.
- The setup flow runs once per install. After you finish or skip it, use the Preorders page.
- The setup flow sets one rule for all products. Different rules for different products or variants are set on each product's Edit page.
Troubleshooting
The badge in step 1 still says Not detected yet. Click Save in the theme editor, and make sure you are editing your published theme. Then click Check again.
You cannot see the preorder button on the product. Check that the product is on the list, that its status is Enable, and that its rule matches the variant's stock. For example, a Sold out variant with stock shows the normal add to cart button. Then see The preorder button is not showing.
An in-stock product shows the preorder button. The product has the Specific inventory level rule (the default when you add a product) or Always. Change the rule on its Edit page.
A Setup Guide button opens an empty page. Open Preorders from the app menu instead, and continue from there.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid plan to set up preorders?
No. Every setup step works on the Free plan. The Free plan turns preorders off once your store reaches 10 preorder orders or $400 in preorder revenue in total, whichever comes first. See Plan limits.
Which rule should I choose for my first preorder?
Choose Sold out to keep selling a product after it runs out. Choose Always for a product that is not released yet. Choose Specific inventory level to take a fixed number of preorders and then stop. Preorder rules explains each in detail.
Can different variants of one product have different rules?
Yes. Rules are set per variant. Open the product's Edit page, select the variant in the Variants card, choose its rule and save.
Can I go through the setup flow again?
No. The setup flow opens once for each install and does not reopen after you finish or skip it. Everything it does can be done on the Preorders page.
What does the app change in Shopify during setup?
Adding a product turns off Continue selling when out of stock on its variants. Applying Always or Sold out turns it back on. EZ Preorder does not change prices, titles or images.
Related articles
- How to install EZ Preorder and enable the app embed: the app embed in detail.
- Preorder rules: what Always, Sold out and Specific inventory level do.
- How to manage your Preorder List: add, edit, sync and disable products.
- How preorders work: from the preorder button to the tagged order.
- The preorder button is not showing: fixes for a missing button.
- Plan limits: what the Free plan includes.