What should I do if I think I made a mistake?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment
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Topic summary

Issue: First order was paid but not auto-forwarded to the supplier. Because no payout account was set up, the order shows “on hold.” A payout account was added, but funds haven’t moved to payouts after a week. The store owner asks whether to refund or wait.

Context: “Payout account” = the bank account where funds from the payment provider are deposited. “On hold” indicates the platform is holding funds pending setup/review.

Guidance shared:

  • Prioritize the customer: fulfill the item now (pay the supplier out-of-pocket) and sort the payout later.
  • Since it’s a single order, proactively contact the customer, explain the situation, and offer options (proceed with fulfillment now, preferred timeline, or refund). Early-customer feedback can help improve the store experience.

Status/Outcome: No confirmed resolution or platform response on payout timing. Discussion remains open with the recommended actions being immediate fulfillment in the customer’s interest and transparent communication.

Summarized with AI on January 2. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Sooooo I thought I had everything figured out until someone made their first order yesterday and I learned that orders weren’t automatically put through to suppliers. We get paid first then we pay supplier to fulfill the order. My problem is that I didn’t have a payout account on there and now it says the order is on hold. I’ve added an account but it’s been a week and the money hasn’t been moved to payouts. What do I do?. Should I refund the money or wait?

2

As a business owner (and former Shopify store owner), I like to make decisions based on what’s correct and fair for the customer. In this case, the customer paid you for an item, I believe you should fulfill that item now, and work out the payout situation later.

Since it’s just 1 order, you could also just contact the customer, explain the situation, and ask them what they would like to do. They may be excited to know they are an early customer for a new store, and provide feedback (getting feedback from early customers especially can really help you improve your customer experience faster).