How to Take Preorder Deposits on Shopify: A Complete Guide to Partial Payments

Preorders are more than a hype strategy. When done right, taking preorder deposits on Shopify lets you secure customer commitment early, improve cash flow, and manage risk. But many merchants struggle with how to take deposits on Shopify because of unclear policies, theme limitations, or confusing UX. This guide will walk you through everything: setting up deposit-based preorders, avoiding pitfalls, communicating clearly, and using Essential Preorder & Presale to simplify the process.

Why Use Preorder Deposits

You might already know the basics, but understanding WHY preorder deposits matter will help you set them up well.

When customers pay part of the product price upfront, that’s a preorder deposit (or partial payment). The rest is collected later — typically when the product ships. For merchants, this means immediate cash to fund production or purchases, better demand forecasting, and less unsold inventory. For customers, deposits reduce risk because they commit less now, yet still get early access or a spot reserved.

Examples where preorder deposits shine:

• High-ticket or heavy items (furniture, appliances) where shipping and manufacturing times are long.
• Limited edition drops, where demand needs validation before investing heavily.
• Made-to-order or custom items, where production begins only after sufficient orders or funds.

What Shopify Allows And Its Limitations

Shopify does support preorder setups via its native purchase-options, including partial payments (deposit), but there are quite a few restrictions to watch out for. Others gloss over these, leading to friction.

Things Shopify requires or limits:

• You must have a reasonable basis for stating a shipping or release date. If no date is given, it should ship within about 30 days.
• Accelerated checkout options (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay) often don’t support deferred payments or preorder deposits.
• Some payment methods or local payment providers may not work with preorders.
• Preorder metadata (which defines balance due later, selling plan, etc.) may be lost or mis-displayed in custom themes, cart drawers, or if the checkout is heavily modified.
• Legal obligations: you need clear messaging around shipping dates, refund or cancellation policies. If you miss those, customers may be unhappy or regulatory bodies may step in.

So while “how to take deposits on Shopify” sounds simple, the details matter.

How Essential Preorder & Presale Makes Deposits Easier

The Essential Preorder & Presale app helps solve many of the problems merchants face when trying to run preorder deposit campaigns. It streamlines setup, improves clarity, and supports features that Shopify’s core tools either limit or don’t offer.

Key features including:

• Ability to charge a fixed deposit amount or a percentage of the product’s price.
• Automatic scheduling of the remaining balance based on your selling plan flow.
• Display of ship or release dates directly on product and cart pages.
• Custom helper text near buttons to explain deposit, ship date, or balance due.
• Flexible button text, so your store can say things like “Reserve with deposit” or “Preorder now, pay deposit”.

It also gives you admin-side tools for tracking which orders are “deposit paid” versus “balance due” and managing refunds or cancellations.

How to Take Deposits on Shopify: Step-By-Step Setup

Here is a detailed walkthrough, with things other guides often miss (like testing edge cases, theme compatibility, and messaging).

1. Create a Preorder Campaign
   Start in Essential Preorder & Presale → Create Preorder Option. Select only those product variants you want to offer for preorder deposit. That could be everything or just some.
2. Enable Partial Payment / Deposit
   Turn on the deposit / partial payment feature. Decide if deposit is a fixed amount (say €10) or a percentage (say 20%). Then define how you want the remaining balance to be collected (on shipping, on fulfillment, etc.).
3. Add a Ship / Release Date + Helper Text
   Make sure customers know when to expect delivery. Set “Ships by Oct 15” or similar. Add short helper text near the preorder or reserve button to explain what the deposit means and when the balance is charged.
4. Customize Button Text & Preorder Policy
   Button text matters. Variants like “Reserve with 20% deposit”, “Preorder now, balance due at shipping”, or “Secure your spot” set expectations. Also write a preorder policy or terms of use: deposit refundable or non-refundable until a cutoff, when the balance is charged, what happens if delay occurs.
5. Save & Test the Customer Journey
   Always experience things like a customer would. Visit product page, check button and messaging. Add to cart, see if the ship date and deposit info persists. Go through checkout: is only deposit charged? Is metadata intact?
6. Verify in Shopify Admin
   In Orders, find your test preorder deposit order. Confirm the deposit was captured. Check metadata for selling plan or withholding info. Check that balance is scheduled for later. For stores using multiple currencies or regional pricing, test those too.

Best Practices for Messaging, Trust & Conversions

Even with all the technical setup, many guides forget how much messaging and trust drive conversion. Customers are wary of preorder deposits, so clarity at every step helps.

• Always show the full price somewhere, even if the deposit is small. The customer should see both “preorder deposit” amount and “remaining balance due later”. This reduces sticker shock.
• Ship/release date must be visible on product page, cart, and preferably in checkout confirmation emails. If possible, update if things change.
• Be explicit about refund policies. If deposits aren’t refundable after a certain date, say so. If they are, state the cutoff.
• Use consistent button text. Avoid vague phrases.
• Consider adding social proof if possible (often underused). If you’ve done successful preorders before, customer testimonials or the number of preorders can build trust.
• Monitor metrics: conversion rate on preorder vs full-pay, cancellation or refund rate, payment failures on balance collection. Adjust messaging or deposit amounts based on that.

Common Issues & How to Handle Them

Even senior merchants run into edge cases. Here’s what to plan for:

• Payment failure for balance: cards expire or customers need to update payment methods. Plan reminder emails or manual outreach.
• Theme / Cart Drawer / Accelerated Checkout problems: some themes do not show selling-plan metadata or ship date in cart drawer. Test thoroughly across devices and flows.
• Delays or launch date changes: anticipate this might happen. If it does, inform customers proactively, offer refund or store credit. Sometimes even a small update helps maintain goodwill.
• Refunds & cancellations: decide policy early (non-refundable deposit? full refund until cutoff?). Put policies in product pages, policy pages, email confirmations.
• Discount interactions: if you run promotions or use discount codes, ensure they apply correctly with preorder deposit items. Some discounts don’t work on selling plan items or are restricted.

Real-World Examples & Use Cases

To bring things to life, here are a few scenarios where preorder deposits make sense:

• A tech gadget company launching a new device with a production lead time of 8 weeks. They require a 30% preorder deposit to cover part of the manufacturing cost, display the “ships by” date, and follow up with customers two weeks before shipping.
• A boutique clothing brand releasing a seasonal collection. They open preorder deposits for limited editions two months ahead, charge 25% deposit, with full payment at shipping, include a refund cutoff 15 days before shipping.
• A furniture brand making custom furniture pieces. Because custom build times vary, they use deposit to secure orders, collect balance when production is about to begin, and provide realistic lead times.

When Preorder Deposits Are Smart And When They Might Backfire

Shopify Preorder deposits are powerful, but not always the best fit.

They are smart when:

• Your product has long lead time, or you want to measure demand before investing.
• You sell high value, custom, limited edition or seasonal products.
• Your brand already has trust and customers expect preorder options or are willing to wait.

They might backfire when:

• You don’t have good stock or supplier visibility. Vague or changing release dates frustrate people.
• Your target customers expect instant shipping or fast fulfillment. A long wait with partial payment can deter them.
• If your checkout/themes cannot reliably display preorder metadata or balance due, leading to confusion or abandoned carts.

Start Accepting Deposits Today

If you’re trying to figure out how to take deposits on Shopify, it’s worth setting up a test preorder deposit campaign using Essential Preorder & Presale. You’ll get the benefit of clear messaging, flexible deposit options, and admin tracking tools. Starting small allows you to adjust messaging, deposit amounts, and policies based on real customer responses.

FAQs

How do I accept a deposit on Shopify?
You can accept deposits on Shopify by enabling partial payments through an app like Essential Preorder & Presale. It lets you set a fixed amount or percentage as a deposit and automatically schedule the balance collection later.

How to take funds out of Shopify?
Funds collected from Shopify sales, including preorder deposits, are transferred to your linked bank account through Shopify Payments or your chosen payment provider. Payout schedules depend on the provider and your region.

What does pre-order deposit mean?
A pre-order deposit is a partial payment a customer makes to reserve a product before it is available. The remaining balance is collected later, often when the product ships.

How to accept pre-orders on Shopify?
You can accept pre-orders on Shopify by setting up purchase options in your admin or by using an app like Essential Preorder & Presale. The app allows you to add preorder buttons, display release dates, and even enable deposits.

What is a pre-order payment?
A pre-order payment is money collected from a customer when they commit to buying a product before it is available. This can be the full product price or a smaller deposit, with the rest due later.

What is the rule of pre-order?
The general rule of pre-orders is transparency. You must clearly tell customers when the product will ship, what payment terms apply, and how refunds or cancellations are handled. Shopify requires that preorder products either ship by the stated release date or within about 30 days if no date is provided.