How Timesact works with your 3PL (ShipStation example)

How Timesact Works With Your 3PL (Two Flexible Approaches)

In our experience merchants have two major concerns when it comes to starting preorders and they are using a 3PL provider:

If an order comes in containing preorder items will it cause chaos in my shipping/fulfillment flow since I don't have the item in stock like a regular order?
Is there a way to avoid paying for shipping twice if I get a mixed order (an order that has both in-stock and out-of-stock items)?

The answer in both cases is to hold the orders that contain preorder items and release them only when you are ready to ship the entire order. This can be done automatically or manually depending on your preference.

A good setup for preorders in your 3PL can save you doubled shipping costs on mixed orders and fulfillment chaos.

We have found Shipstation to be an excellent tool for integrating preorders well into your fulfillment flow. This article is focused on the setup in Shipstation but the same principles should apply with your 3PL software provided it's not lacking essential features.

Upon analyzing 10+ apps we have found that some do not recognize the "Scheduled" order status, some do not have an option to hold orders automatically or even at all. So it is important to understand the limitations if any of your provider by trying to set up or doing test orders.

How are Timesact, Shopify and your 3PL provider interconnected?

Shopify provides the infrastructure for placing and managing orders. It also allows apps like Timesact to make changes to orders (like adding line item descriptions for shipping estimations, order tags) and influencing the order status via the Selling Plan variable Shipping Date.

Timesact either uses the Shipping Date variable in the Selling Plan to update the order status to "On hold" or "Scheduled", depending on your choice of settings, or does not use the Shipping Date variable and so leaves the original order status as Unfulfilled.

Your 3PL provider, being integrated with Shopify, will be able to read the order status and either allow the order to go through like a normal order or pause fulfillment until the order is released from it's "On hold" **or "Scheduled"** status. Additionally your 3PL provider should also be able to read order tags, like the "Pre-order" tag Timesact adds to orders to allow you to create your own automations.

Timesact is designed to work flexibly with different fulfillment workflows. Whether or not you need to configure your 3PL depends entirely on how your preorders are created in Shopify.

This guide explains:

When no additional 3PL setup is needed
When additional 3PL configuration is recommended
How this works using ShipStation as a popular example

Before You Begin: Do You Need a 3PL Setup?

How your preorders are fulfilled depends on how your Selling Plan is configured in Timesact. You can learn more about Selling Plans here.

Specifically, the shipping date set in your Selling Plan determines the initial fulfillment status of preorder orders in Shopify.

See example on how it would show on Shopify orders. Fulfillment statuses are as follows:

Not set (Order status will be ‘Unfulfilled’)
Date (Order status will be ‘Scheduled’)
Period & Interval (Order status will be ‘On hold’)

The diagram below illustrates how preorder orders flow from Shopify to your fulfillment provider based on that setting.

There are two valid approaches when working with preorders and a 3PL:

✅ Approach 1: Orders Are Scheduled or On Hold in Shopify

If your Timesact preorders are created with a shipping date or marked as Scheduled or On Hold, no additional 3PL setup is required.

Your fulfillment provider will receive these orders in a held state, preventing early shipment.

⚙️ Approach 2: Orders Are Unfulfilled in Shopify

If your preorders are created as Unfulfilled, your 3PL may treat them like standard orders and mark them as ready to ship.

In this case, setting up automation rules in your 3PL helps ensure preorder items are held until they are ready to be fulfilled.

The steps below demonstrate Approach 2, using ShipStation as an example.

Example 3PL Setup: Holding Preorders in ShipStation

Since preorders are created in Shopify and influenced by Timesact via the shipping date in the Selling Plan, ShipStation does not automatically place them On Hold. To prevent premature fulfillment, merchants typically use automation rules, manual holds, or order tags to identify and hold preorders until they are ready to ship.

Timesact automatically applies a Pre-order tag to orders that contain pre-order items. This tag can be used by ShipStation (or another 3PL) to place those orders On Hold.

Step 1: Confirm Your Shopify Store Is Connected

Go to Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup.

Make sure your Shopify store is connected to your ShipStation account.

Step 2: Edit Shopify Store Details

Select the store connected to Shopify (identified by the Shopify icon).

Click the ellipsis (⋯) menu, then select Edit Store Details.

Under General Store Settings, click Edit Shopify Settings. You may need to scroll down to see this option.

Step 3: Map Order Tags to a Custom Field

A Modify Marketplace Settings pop-up will appear.

Under Custom Field Mapping > Custom Field 1, select Order Tags, then click Save.

Step 4: Create an Automation Rule

Go back to Settings > Automation Rules.

Click Create a Rule and name it. You can choose any name. In this example, we use preorder hold.

Select Orders match these specific criteria
First dropdown: Custom Field 1
Second dropdown: Contains
Value: Pre-order (must be written exactly)

Under Action Type, choose Hold:

Hold until a certain date, or
Hold the order for a certain number of days

In this example, we use Hold the order for 90 days. Adjust this based on your fulfillment timeline, then click Save Rule.

Result

When a pre-order comes through, it is automatically tagged as Pre-order by Timesact.

ShipStation detects the tag using the automation rule and places the order On Hold, preventing it from being shipped too early.

Handling Mixed Carts (Pre-order and In-Stock Items)

If an order contains both pre-order items and in-stock items, you can split the shipment in ShipStation.

This allows you to:

Keep in-stock items in Awaiting Shipment
Place pre-order items On Hold until they are ready to ship

Splitting the shipment ensures in-stock items are fulfilled immediately while pre-order items remain held until their expected ship date (this can mean increased shipping costs and depends on what kind of business you are operating and what your margin is. For example a luxury brand might want to expedite in stock delivery and split orders because it has enough margin and customers who don't want to wait).

Key Takeaway

Timesact does not limit your fulfillment workflow.

If orders are Scheduled or On Hold in Shopify, no 3PL setup is needed
If orders are Unfulfilled, simple 3PL rules achieve the same result
ShipStation is just one example of a compatible 3PL

You can choose the approach that best fits your operations without sacrificing flexibility.

Updated on: 01/26/2026

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