When we opened our store, Shopify held our funds from payments for up to 2 weeks or longer, saying they would not release any funds for preorders until they were shipped. Finally, as we caught up with our orders, payments came a bit earlier, but they are still being deposited 6 business days after orders are placed!
Other merchant accounts deposit 2 biz days after orders. Shpoify claims US businesses will see money 2–5 business days after payments are received, but for us, it is SIX. Really not helpful to cash flow. One more way they are trying to skim some money from the till, not cool. Also false advertising, buyer beware.
As frustrating as this is, this is a risk setting, not a random delay. Shopify often extends payouts to 6+ days for stores with a history of pre-orders to ensure there are funds available for potential refunds.
Since you are now shipping normally, you can get this fixed. Contact Shopify Support and explicitly ask for a “Payout Schedule Review.” Provide recent tracking numbers to prove you are fulfilling orders quickly.
I understand your cash flow frustration @Wyochris. I run a preorder app (Early Bird), so thought I’d chime in as we often have merchants who ask when they’d get paid for preorders.
Like @PieLab mentioned, it’s a risk setting for Shopify and its banking partners.
Yes, Shopify’s policy does delay payouts for pre-orders until they’re fulfilled to reduce chargeback risk, but I’d say the 6 days delay in your case is more likely due to your (new) account’s trust level. It’s Shopify Payments’ way of protecting against fraud.
This is where using a Built-for-Shopify pre-order app can come in handy. Pre-order apps that do it the proper way (on a Selling Plan) would assign your pre-orders with the “Scheduled” status instead of “Unfulfilled” like a normal in-stock order, which signals to Shopify (without manually reviewing) that you’re running pre-orders the legit way.
Which helps improve your payout window accordingly.
Also make sure you keep track of all comms with your manufacturer (e.g. when you’ve placed the production order, when did they say it’ll finish and ship etc.) and the comms with your customers about the pre-order shipping dates etc.
Once you’ve got a track record of fulfilling pre-orders (and normal orders) on time, you can contact Shopify Support to request a review of your payout schedule.
Then as your store/account builds trust, the payout window should be shortened from 6+ days towards the usual 2-5 days (even 2-3).
Any questions about pre-orders or product launches, happy to help.
Josiah