Why take a deposit instead of full payment
A deposit lowers the barrier for a customer who has to wait weeks for a product. They commit with a smaller amount today and pay the rest closer to shipping. For you, it still confirms real demand and brings in some cash before stock arrives.
Deposits suit higher-priced items with long lead times: furniture, bikes, custom jewellery, limited production runs. For cheap items or short waits, Full payment is usually simpler for everyone, and it avoids a second charge that the customer might not expect.
| Full payment | Partial payment | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid at checkout | 100% | Your Deposit percentage |
| Paid later | Nothing | The balance, after Charge balance after (days) |
| Payment methods | Any method that works with your setup | Shopify Payments only |
| Best for | Short waits, lower prices | Long lead times, higher prices |
What Shopify requires for deposits
Shopify supports deferred payments for pre-orders through purchase options (selling plans). A plan can charge part of the price at checkout and the remaining balance on a date or a number of days after checkout. Shopify stores the customer's payment method so the balance can be collected without asking the customer to check out again. See Shopify's pre-orders overview and the developer notes on pre-order purchase options.
- Shopify says pre-orders are currently only available to stores using Shopify Payments or PayPal Express. In this app, partial payment needs Shopify Payments.
- Manual payment methods and many third-party gateways can't split one order into a deposit and a deferred charge.
- Shopify notes that customers can't use local payment methods for pre-orders.
- You need an app to create the selling plan. Shopify doesn't offer deposits on its own.
Requirements can change. Before you launch a deposit preorder, place a test order with Shopify Payments in test mode and confirm the deposit and the outstanding balance show correctly on the order.
Step by step: set up a deposit
- Open or create a campaign
Go to Preorder → Create campaign, or open an existing campaign. Make sure the Preorder app embed is on.
- Choose partial payment
On the Content tab, under Payment, select Partial payment (deposit + balance later). If selling plans are off, the card shows an Enable Selling plans button. Click it.
- Set the deposit
Enter a Deposit percentage between 1 and 99, for example
30. - Set when the balance is charged
Enter Charge balance after (days), at least 1, for example
30. Shopify charges the remaining balance that many days after checkout. - Label the option
Fill in Button text, a short label shown in the cart, at checkout and in emails, for example
30% deposit. - Explain it on the product page
Edit Payment description, shown under the Preorder button:
Pay {payment} now and {remaining} will be charged on {date}. - Save and wait for the sync
Click Save. A banner shows Selling Plan sync queued, then in progress. When it disappears, test a checkout.
Deposit settings reference
| Field | Range / tokens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit percentage | 1–99% | 30 |
| Charge balance after (days) | At least 1 | 30 |
| Button text | Short label | 30% deposit |
| Payment description | {payment}, {remaining}, {date} | Pay {payment} today, {remaining} on {date} |
| Use Shopify selling plan (purchase option) | Advanced settings, on by default | Must stay on for deposits |
{payment} is the deposit amount, {remaining} is the balance and {date} is the date the balance is charged. Using all three in the description is the clearest way to avoid surprise charges.
How the selling plan sync works
When you save, the app attaches the campaign's variants to the selling plan in the background, so saving finishes straight away. For All products and Specific collections, up to 10,000 variants are attached, and products you add later are picked up by an hourly re-sync or when you save again. If the banner shows failed, save again to retry, or switch to Full payment.
Example: a 30% deposit on a made-to-order sofa
A furniture store makes sofas to order with a lead time of about six weeks. It wants customers to commit without paying the full price on day one.
- Show preorder button: Always, because every sofa is made to order
- Payment: Partial payment (deposit + balance later), Deposit percentage
30, Charge balance after (days)35 - Button text:
30% deposit - Payment description:
Pay {payment} today. The remaining {remaining} is charged on {date}, shortly before your sofa ships. - Set fulfillment status for orders with preorder items: Scheduled, 42 days after checkout
- Customer emails: Reminder before ship on, 7 days before the ship date, mentioning the balance
On a sofa priced at 1,200, the customer pays 360 at checkout and 840 thirty-five days later. Charging the balance a week before the ship date gives the store time to follow up on a failed charge before the sofa leaves the workshop.
Tips and common mistakes
- Turning off selling plans: with Use Shopify selling plan (purchase option) off, other payment methods work, but deposits and preorder discounts are not available. A confirmation dialog appears before you turn it off.
- Balance due after the ship date: set Charge balance after (days) so the balance is charged before you plan to ship, not after.
- Vague wording: say in the description and in your Confirmation email that a second charge will follow.
- Testing with the wrong gateway: deposits need Shopify Payments. Test with it, not with a manual payment method.
- Refund policy: decide in advance what happens to the deposit if a customer cancels, and put it on your policy page.
For the full preorder setup, see how to set up preorders on Shopify and the app documentation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take a deposit without Shopify Payments?
Not with this app. Partial payment uses Shopify selling plans and needs Shopify Payments. Manual and many third-party gateways can't defer part of the charge.
Who charges the remaining balance?
The balance is set on the selling plan and charged to the customer's saved payment method after Charge balance after (days). You can check the payment status on the order in Shopify admin.
Can I charge the balance on a fixed calendar date?
The app charges the balance a set number of days after checkout. Pick a number of days that falls before your expected ship date.
Can I combine a deposit with a preorder discount?
Yes. Both use the same selling plan, so you can set a Discount and Partial payment on one campaign.
Why does a sync banner appear when I save?
The app attaches your variants to the selling plan in the background. Large catalogs can take a few minutes, and new products are added by an hourly re-sync.
