How to schedule preorders with start and end dates
EZ Preorder & Back In Stock, the Shopify app, can turn a product's preorder on and off by date. On the product's edit page you switch on Enable/Disable by custom dates, pick a start date and an end date, and save. The app turns the preorder on during the start date and off from the start of the end date, and by default also marks the product sold out in Shopify when the preorder ends. A schedule covers the whole product, every variant at once.
Available on: Growth, Professional and Scale plans. On the Core plan the date card is locked.
Where to find it: EZ PreOrder → Preorders → Edit on a product → Enable/Disable by custom dates.
Before you start
- The product must already be on your preorder list. See How to manage your preorder list.
- Set each variant's preorder rule first (Always, Sold out or Specific inventory level). The schedule decides when the preorder is on at all; the rule decides which variants show the preorder button while it is on. See Preorder rules.
- You need the Growth, Professional or Scale plan. On the Core plan the card shows the banner "This feature is available on Growth and higher plans." and an Upgrade Plan button.
Steps
- In EZ PreOrder, open Preorders and click Edit on the product.
- Find the card Enable/Disable by custom dates and switch on the toggle at the top right of the card.
- In the calendar, click the start date, then click the end date. Pick the end date on a later day than the start date. After the second click both dates are locked in and show in Start Pre-order date (enable) and End Pre-order date (disable).
- Leave Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends ticked if you want the product to read as sold out after the preorder ends. Untick it to leave inventory and Continue selling when out of stock as they are.
- Click Save in the save bar at the top of the page.
To pick different dates later, click Reset dates, choose the new start and end dates, and save. The calendar does not let you pick a day in the past.
What happens when you save a schedule
Saving a schedule sets the product's preorder status straight away, depending on the start date you picked:
- Start date is today. The preorder is turned on immediately.
- Start date is in the future. The preorder is turned off until the start date. The product shows as disabled on your preorder list in the meantime, and shoppers see your theme's normal button.
When the start date arrives, the app turns the preorder on. When the end date arrives, the app turns it off. You do not need to keep the app open.
When scheduled preorders switch on and off
Scheduled preorders are switched by an automatic check that runs in the background, so a change happens at the first check after the moment described here, not at an exact minute. Start and end dates are whole days; you cannot set a time of day.
- End date. A scheduled preorder ends at the start of the end date: midnight in the time zone of the computer the dates were saved from. To take preorders up to and including 31 March 2027, set the end date to 1 April 2027.
- Start date. A scheduled preorder's start date is matched against the calendar date in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), not your own time zone. In stores west of UTC, such as in the Americas, the preorder can switch on during the evening before your start date. In stores east of UTC, such as in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, it can switch on during the day before your start date.
If a launch must not go live early, leave the schedule's start date for the planning and turn the preorder on yourself at the moment you want with the Enable button on the product's edit page or the preorder list. The end date still ends it.
What "Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends" does
When a scheduled preorder ends with Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends ticked, EZ Preorder removes the preorder button and also changes the product in Shopify so it reads as sold out:
| Variant | What changes in Shopify |
|---|---|
| Every variant of the product | Continue selling when out of stock is turned off. |
| Variants on the Specific inventory level rule, with Track quantity on | Available inventory is set to 0 at every location that has more than 0. That quantity was the number of preorders you allowed, not real stock. |
| Variants on the Always or Sold out rule | Inventory is not changed, because it is your real stock. If the variant has stock, it keeps selling normally with your theme's add to cart button. |
| Any location already at 0 or below | Not changed, so the count of units you still owe preorder customers stays visible. |
| Variants with Track quantity off | Inventory is not changed. Shopify keeps selling an untracked variant whatever its settings, so turn on Track quantity if it must stop selling. |
If Shopify rejects one of these changes, the preorder button still comes down at the end date, and the app retries the Shopify changes at later checks.
The sold-out step runs once for each end date. If you turn the preorder back on by hand after it ended, the app does not end it again until you save a new end date.
When Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends is unticked, the preorder still ends and the preorder button is removed, but inventory and Continue selling when out of stock are left as they are. If Continue selling when out of stock is still on, your theme's add to cart button keeps selling the product below zero. See The product still sells after the preorder ends.
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable/Disable by custom dates (toggle) | Turns scheduling on for this product. When off, saved dates are ignored. | Off |
| Start Pre-order date (enable) | The day the preorder turns on. | None |
| End Pre-order date (disable) | The day the preorder turns off, from the start of that day. | None |
| Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends | When the preorder ends, turns off Continue selling when out of stock and empties preorder-only stock. | On |
| Reset dates | Clears both dates so you can pick new ones. |
Changing or removing a schedule
- Move the dates. Click Reset dates, pick the new start and end dates, and click Save. A new end date re-arms the end-of-preorder step, including the sold-out changes.
- Stop using a schedule. Switch off the Enable/Disable by custom dates toggle and click Save. The dates stay on the card but nothing happens on them. The preorder keeps whatever status it has now; use Enable or Disable to change it.
- Run another preorder window after one ended. Click Reset dates, pick the new window and save.
Limitations
- One schedule per product. The dates apply to every variant of the product. You cannot give variants different dates.
- One window at a time. Each product has one start date and one end date.
- No times of day. Dates are whole days. See the timing details in "When scheduled preorders switch on and off".
- Not part of Bulk Settings. Schedules are set one product at a time. See How to bulk edit preorder settings for what Bulk Settings changes.
- Start and end must be different days. If the start and end date are the same day, the preorder ends at the start of that day and never runs.
- Plan changes. When you change to the Core plan, EZ Preorder clears the start and end dates from every product and turns scheduling off.
Troubleshooting
The preorder turned on before its start date after I edited the product. Saving any change on the product's edit page turns the preorder on unless you picked a start date in the future during that same edit. After editing a product whose schedule has not started yet, click Reset dates, pick the same dates again, and click Save. That turns the preorder off until the start date. Clicking Disable after saving also works; the schedule still turns it on at the start date.
The preorder turned on the evening or the day before the start date. The start date is matched in UTC, as described in "When scheduled preorders switch on and off". Turn the preorder on by hand if the exact moment matters.
The preorder did not turn on at its start date. Open the product and check that the Enable/Disable by custom dates toggle is on and both dates show. If they do, click Enable to turn the preorder on now. The end date still applies. If it happens again, contact support.
I turned a scheduled preorder off on its start date and it came back on. On the start date the automatic check turns the preorder on each time it runs. Remove the schedule, or turn the preorder off the next day; from then on a manual change stays.
The product still sells after the preorder ended. Either Mark as sold out when the pre-order ends was unticked, the variant uses the Always or Sold out rule and has real stock, or Track quantity is off. See The product still sells after the preorder ends.
I cannot click the calendar. The calendar is locked while dates are saved. Click Reset dates first. If the toggle and calendar are greyed out with a banner, the card needs the Growth plan or above.
Frequently asked questions
Can I schedule preorders on the Core plan?
No. Scheduled start and end dates are on the Growth, Professional and Scale plans. On the Core plan the Enable/Disable by custom dates card is locked and shows an Upgrade Plan button.
Can each variant have its own start and end date?
No. EZ Preorder schedules the whole product. Every variant on the product's preorder list follows the same start and end date, while each variant keeps its own preorder rule.
What time does a scheduled preorder end?
A scheduled preorder ends at the first automatic check after midnight at the start of the end date, in the time zone of the computer the dates were saved from. To accept preorders all day on 31 March, set the end date to 1 April.
Does the end date delete the product from my preorder list?
No. When a schedule ends, the product stays on your preorder list as disabled. You can turn it on again with Enable or give it a new schedule with Reset dates.
Does ending a preorder cancel the orders already placed?
No. Ending a scheduled preorder only stops new preorders. Orders already placed stay as they are and you fulfill them as usual.
Can I schedule many products at once?
No. Bulk Settings does not include dates, so each product's schedule is set on its own edit page.
Can Shopify Sidekick change a schedule?
No. Sidekick can read a product's schedule and status (active, scheduled, ended or disabled) but cannot change dates. See How to use EZ Preorder with Shopify Sidekick.
Related articles
- Preorder rules: which variants show the preorder button while the preorder is on.
- How to manage your preorder list: enable, disable and edit products.
- The product still sells after the preorder ends: stop overselling after a preorder closes.
- How to launch a new product with preorders: a full launch plan using a schedule.
- Plans and pricing: which plans include scheduling.
- How to use EZ Preorder with Shopify Sidekick: ask about scheduled and ended preorders.