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Bulk Place Orders On Hold

Putting an order on hold pauses its fulfillment so it is not packed or shipped until you release it, which is useful while you wait on stock, confirm a payment, or review an order. On the Orders list you can place several orders on hold at once by selecting them, choosing On hold from the Mark as menu, and picking a hold reason in the window that opens. The reason is for your team and is not shown to the customer. This article walks through placing orders on hold in one action.

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Placing an order on hold pauses its fulfillment so it is not packed or shipped until you release it, which helps while you wait on stock, confirm a payment, or review an order. On the Orders list you can place several orders on hold at once by selecting them, choosing On hold from the Mark as menu, and picking a hold reason in the window that opens. The reason is for your team and is not shown to the customer. This article walks through it.

You do this on the Orders list, reached from Orders.

The bulk action bar

Selecting one or more orders on the list shows a bulk action bar along the top with actions that apply to all the selected orders. The Mark as menu on that bar sets the fulfillment status, and sits alongside Print, Create shipping labels, and Capture payment.

The Orders list with two orders selected and the Mark as menu open, with two controls boxed: (1) the checkboxes of the selected orders and (2) the On hold option in the Mark as menu, which lists Unfulfilled, In progress, Mark as fulfilled, Delivered, and On hold. (opens full size)

The Mark as menu lists Unfulfilled, In progress, Mark as fulfilled, Delivered, and On hold. Choosing On hold opens a window where you set the hold reason.

Before you begin

  • Your role includes Edit orders.
  • Open Orders and select the orders you want to pause.

Steps

1. Open the Orders list

Go to Orders to open the list of orders.

2. Select the orders

Tick the checkbox at the start of each order's row (1) to select it. The checkbox in the header row selects every order on the page at once. As soon as one order is selected, the bulk action bar appears.

3. Open the Mark as menu

In the bulk action bar, select Mark as. A menu opens with the fulfillment statuses.

4. Choose On hold

Select On hold (2). A window opens where you choose the hold reason.

5. Choose a hold reason and confirm

In the window, open Hold reason and select the reason for holding the orders. The note below the field says only you and your staff can see this reason. Select Mark as on hold to confirm, or Cancel to stop. The Mark as on hold button becomes active once a reason is chosen.

The confirmation window titled Mark 1 order as on hold, with a Hold reason dropdown reading Select the reason for holding, a note that only you and your staff can see this reason, and Cancel and Mark as on hold buttons. (opens full size)

What happens when you confirm

Each selected order moves to the On hold status, which pauses its fulfillment so it is not packed or shipped until you take it off hold. The hold reason is recorded for your team and is not shown to the customer. When you are ready to fulfill the order again, set it back with the Mark as menu, for example to In progress or Unfulfilled.

Best practices

  • Pick the hold reason that fits, so anyone opening the order later can tell why it was paused.
  • Take orders off hold as soon as the blocker clears, so they do not sit paused longer than needed.
  • Select only the orders that are actually blocked, rather than the whole page.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving orders on hold after the reason is resolved, so they never ship.
  • Selecting the wrong orders, for example putting orders on hold that were ready to fulfill.
  • Expecting the customer to see the hold reason, which is internal to your team only.

Next steps

Still stuck?

More in Orders

  • Create Draft Order

    Create an order yourself for a phone, email, or in-person sale, then send an invoice, mark it paid, or save it as a draft.

  • Order Payment Section

    The payment card on an order reconciles what the customer owed against what they actually paid, showing the Subtotal, Tax, Total, the amount Paid, and the Net payment, along with the payment status and the Refund action.

  • View Orders

    Find and manage your orders from the Orders overview: metrics, status tabs, search, and a sortable table you open orders from.

  • Refund an Order

    Refunding an order returns money to the customer for the items you choose. On the Refund page you pick how many of each item to refund, write a reason for your own records, and set the refund method and the amount, up to the amount still available. Refunded items are removed from the order, and the refund is recorded on it. To change prices or quantities instead of returning money, edit the order rather than refunding it.

All 39 articles in Orders

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