Articles on: Pre-orders and Backorders

How to add a Backorder Button to your Shopify store

If a product in your Shopify store is sold out and you plan to restock it, consider adding a backorder button. This can help improve your cash flow and assess demand for the item, allowing you to adjust your orders with suppliers as needed. The Timesact Preorder Shopify app makes it easy to enable this feature in just a few simple steps.

Check out this article if you haven't installed or enabled Timesact yet.

Step 1 - Create a custom template for your backorder products

Navigate to the Settings tab, then select the Templates sub-tab.

Tap the New Template button in the top right corner.

Enter a unique name for the template (otherwise, it will not save) and select Template Type "Pre-order" (this is the default, and we will want to use this type to allow the checkout for a sold-out product).

We will enter the button name on the next screen (Button tab). "Backorder" or any other name you wish to give the button can be entered here.

Next, we can go to the Message tab, where we can add text that will be displayed on product pages. We can use it to inform customers of discounts or to let them know when they can expect their items to be shipped.

In this tab, you can also set a countdown timer to the restock, for example, to make it more compelling.

Next, we can add a badge to the product images on the product page and/or the collection pages. Opt for something concise, such as "Backorder".

Next, in the Cart tab, we can add a label for the item with information about the shipping date, for example.

If you have a specific policy for shipping backorder or sold-out items, like when everything will be shipped out, you can use the pop-up cart alert. This tab will throw a pop-up and get customers' acknowledgment of the policy.

Step 2 - Add your products to the app

In the Products tab on the left-side navigation bar, click the "Add Products" button in the top right corner.

In the next screen, you can select either by clicking individual product variants or collections, or you can choose an identifier such as a vendor or product tag.

When you're done selecting the products you wish to add to the app, tap the "Next / Add" button in the top-right corner.

You can also find it in the bottom right corner of the page.

Alternatively, you can use the Tag Automation feature to do this process on autopilot.

Step 3 - Select the template you created for your backorder products

On the next screen, select the template you created earlier for the backorder settings.

Optional step 4 - Additional settings

In the following screen, you can set options such as how the app should manage stock, backorder quantity limits, and a start and end date for your preorder campaign.

If these settings are not essential for you, feel free to use the defaults.

Optional step 5 - Change the selling plan settings

To create a backorder option, Shopify requires a selling plan. In this screen, you can enter your settings for payment type, discount, inventory policy, and shipping date.

You can also choose to create multiple selling plans if different products have different discounts or restocking times.

If these settings are not essential to you, feel free to use the defaults here as well.

Once you have finished all the selections and settings, tap the Save button in the bottom-right corner.

You are now done! Congrats!

It's always a good idea to check the pages and ensure all the elements look good. You can easily do this by tapping the eye icon on the right side of each product variant added to the app.

Alternatively, you can just navigate to the product page on your website.

Remember, 24/7 support is available via chat or email at support@timesact.com if you encounter any issues at any step on the list.

Updated on: 06/25/2025

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