EZ Preorder Help Center Install on Shopify

How to sell made-to-order products with a deposit on Shopify

Professional plan and aboveLast verified 11 November 2026View as Markdown

To sell made-to-order products with a deposit on Shopify, put the products on preorder with EZ Preorder & Back In Stock using the Always rule, then turn on partial payments with a deposit and a payment completion date of Number of days after checkout set to your production time. Shoppers pay the deposit at checkout, and EZ Preorder charges the remaining balance to their saved payment method automatically when the days are up. Partial payments need the Professional or Scale plan and Shopify Payments or PayPal Express.

Available on: Professional and Scale plans. The preorder steps work on every plan; the deposit needs Professional or Scale.
Where to find it: EZ PreOrder → Preorders, and Configuration → Partial Payments → Configure.

Before you start

Step 1: Put the made-to-order products on preorder

  1. In EZ PreOrder, open Preorders and click Select products. Choose your made-to-order products.
  2. Click Edit on each product. Under Pre-order rules, choose Always so the preorder button shows whatever the stock. Tick Apply settings for all variants to set every variant at once.
  3. In Custom Note, tell shoppers how long production takes, for example "Made to order. Ships in 3–4 weeks." The note shows above the preorder button.
  4. Click Save.

Always turns on Continue selling when out of stock for the variants, so checkout accepts orders with no stock. See What the preorder rules do.

Step 2: Turn on a deposit with a balance due after production

  1. Go to Configuration → Partial Payments (under Conversion) → Configure.
  2. Turn on Enable/Disable Partial Payments.
  3. Under Deposit options, choose Percentage of the total product price (for example 50) or Exact amount, and enter it in Deposit amount.
  4. Optional: tick Give customers the option to pay in full so shoppers can also pay everything now.
  5. Under Payment completion date, choose Number of days after checkout and enter your production time in days. This is the option the app recommends for made-to-order products.
  6. Click Save.

Full details of every setting are in How to take deposits and partial payments on preorders.

What the shopper sees

On the product page, the shopper sees the payment options above the preorder button: pay a deposit now or, if you allowed it, pay in full. At checkout, Shopify shows the deposit due today and the date the balance will be charged. The order appears in your Shopify admin as Partially paid until the balance is collected.

How the balance is charged

EZ Preorder charges the remaining balance automatically to the payment method the shopper used at checkout, on the payment completion date. Charges for orders due that day are run once, within a day. If a charge fails, collect the balance from the order in your Shopify admin. See How remaining balances are charged on preorder deposits.

Optional: hold orders until they are made

Turn on Configuration → Fulfillment Order Status to put new preorder orders On hold in Shopify, so nothing ships before the item is ready. Release the hold when production is done. See How to put preorder orders on hold until you can fulfill them.

Limitations

  • The deposit setting applies to every preorder product in your store; you cannot set a different deposit per product.
  • Number of days after checkout is the same for every product. If production times vary a lot, use the longest one, or collect early balances manually.
  • Deposits work only with Shopify Payments and PayPal Express.
  • Turning partial payments off stops new deposit orders; balances already owed are still collected.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a deposit for custom orders on Shopify?

Yes. With EZ Preorder & Back In Stock on the Professional or Scale plan, put custom products on the Always preorder rule and turn on partial payments. The shopper pays a percentage or fixed deposit at checkout and the balance is charged later automatically.

When is the balance charged for made-to-order products?

When you choose Number of days after checkout, EZ Preorder charges the balance that many days after each order, to the shopper's saved payment method. Each order gets its own due date.

Can shoppers pay the full price instead of a deposit?

Yes, if you tick Give customers the option to pay in full in the partial payment settings. Shoppers then choose between the deposit and paying everything at checkout.

Do made-to-order products need inventory in Shopify?

No. With the Always rule, EZ Preorder turns on Continue selling when out of stock, so checkout accepts orders at 0 or below. Keep Track quantity on so Shopify records how many you have sold.