Put an order's fulfilment on hold in Shopify
Order 1049 is a $1,240.00 order flagged as high risk. Nothing ships until the review is done, so this tutorial puts its fulfilment on hold, which blocks packing while keeping the inventory reserved. A second hold, for inventory, is added on the same fulfilment.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | 1049 |
| Order total | $1,240.00 |
| Hold 1 reason | High risk of fraud |
| Hold 2 reason | Inventory out of stock |
| Manual holds on this fulfilment | 2 |
| Maximum manual holds | 10 |
| Holds left | 8 |
Download the register: fulfilment-holds-register.csv (143 bytes).
A fulfilment holds register: 3 holds across 2 orders, 2 still open and 1 released. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open the order
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click order 1049. The order is Unfulfilled, so its fulfilment can be held.
2Mark as on hold
In the Unfulfilled section, click the menu, then click Mark as on hold. A dialog opens for the hold reason.
3Select the items
Select the items you want to put on hold: both items on order 1049, since the whole order is under review.
4Pick a hold reason
In the Hold reason drop-down menu, select a reason: High risk of fraud for this order. Reasons include high risk of fraud, inventory not available, and order cost or quantity above a set value.
5Click Mark as on hold
Click Mark as on hold. The fulfilment status reads On hold, and the hold details show on the order. Inventory stays reserved, but fulfilment is blocked until the hold is released.
6Add a second hold
The warehouse also reports a stock problem, so add a second hold: in the On hold section, click Add hold, pick Inventory out of stock, and click Mark as on hold. You can add up to 10 manual holds to one fulfilment.
7Release a hold when the issue clears
When the stock arrives, release that hold: in the On hold section, click Release hold, select the inventory hold, and click Release. With one hold left, the order stays On hold; when the last hold is released, the status reads Unfulfilled again. Releasing a hold does not fulfil the order.
The arithmetic
The hold count is the figure to watch.
| Figure | Count |
|---|---|
| Manual holds placed on order 1049 | 2 |
| Maximum manual holds per fulfilment | 10 |
| Holds left available | 8 |
| Holds released | 1 |
| Holds still open | 1 |
10 - 2 = 8 holds still available, and 2 - 1 = 1 hold still open after the inventory hold is released. With 1 hold open, the order stays On hold; it returns to Unfulfilled only when the count reaches 0.
Held at the counter
Held orders leave the Unfulfilled list. Orders that are On hold are excluded from the list of Unfulfilled orders. A held order can look finished when it is only paused, so check On hold when you count the backlog.
A held order cannot change status. Orders or fulfilments on hold cannot be marked as fulfilled, in progress, or unfulfilled. Release every hold first, then change the status.
A system hold is not yours to override lightly. An app or service can place a system hold on its own. You can override it, but that may break your agreement with the service, so read the agreement or contact the service first.
Sources
- Marking your order as on hold — Shopify's help pages: the place-and-release steps, the 10-hold limit, the held-orders-excluded rule, and the system-hold warning.
- Fulfilling your own orders individually — Shopify's help pages: that held orders cannot change status until all holds are released.