Which Shopify Flow triggers and actions does the app add?
Updated · SMART Preorder & Back in stock (E-TRADE PARTNER)
Three pre-order triggers, Pre-order placed, Pre-order balance charge failed and Pre-order limit reached, and three actions, Set pre-order campaign status, Collect pre-order balance and Release pre-order holds. Back in stock adds two more triggers. They show up in Shopify Flow once the app is installed.
SMART Preorder & Back in stock is a free Shopify app for pre-orders, deposits, and back-in-stock alerts.
Try it freeShopify Flow is a free Shopify app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans (Shopify Help Center). In a workflow, search for the trigger or action by its name.
Triggers
| Trigger | Runs when | Data it passes |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-order placed | A customer places an order with a pre-order item, right after the app records it. | The order, Campaign title, Payment type (deposit or full), Total amount, Deposit amount |
| Pre-order balance charge failed | A deposit balance couldn't be charged after every attempt. | The order, Balance amount, Result ("Order cancelled" or "Order kept open", from your Deposits and cancellations setting) |
| Pre-order limit reached | A campaign's whole-campaign unit limit is used up and it stops taking pre-orders. | Campaign title, Campaign ID, Order limit |
- Each trigger is sent once, with no retry.
- Pre-order placed isn't sent for orders cancelled at checkout. Use it instead of Shopify's order created trigger plus a tag check: the "Pre-order" tag is added seconds after Shopify creates the order, so a workflow that checks the tag right away can miss it.
- Pre-order limit reached runs only for The whole campaign limits. With Each variant (the default for new campaigns) a full variant stops on its own and the campaign stays active, so it never runs.
- There are no triggers for a balance paid, an order shipped or an order cancelled.
Actions
| Action | Fields | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Set pre-order campaign status | Campaign ID, New status (active or paused) | Activates or pauses a campaign. The storefront and the checkout guard update automatically. Activating is refused if the campaign's products are already in another live campaign. |
| Collect pre-order balance | The order | Charges the outstanding balance on the saved payment method, the same way as Collect balance in the app. Full-payment orders and orders that aren't pre-orders pass as done, so you can use it in general workflows. |
| Release pre-order holds | The order | Releases the fulfillment holds the app placed. Holds from other apps stay. Orders without an app hold pass as done. |
- Campaign ID is the number after cid= in the campaign editor's address.
- Collect pre-order balance refuses cancelled orders, a balance that went up after a refund, and a payment Shopify never confirmed. Use it for balances that are still due. If a balance that already failed fails again, the action reports that nothing started, and Flow retries such a step for up to 36 hours (Shopify developer docs), so the customer can get more than one payment failed email. For failed balances, use Collect balance in the app.
- Release pre-order holds refuses an order whose cancellation is in progress. Releasing an order that still owes its balance makes it shippable before the balance is collected.
Workflow ideas
- Pre-order placed with Payment type deposit: add your own order tag or notify your team with Flow's built-in actions.
- Pre-order balance charge failed with Result "Order kept open": alert your support team to follow up with the customer.
- Pre-order limit reached: tell your team, or use Set pre-order campaign status to activate a follow-up campaign you prepared (its products must not be in another live campaign).
- Your own stock-arrived workflow: end it with Release pre-order holds for the orders that should ship.
Back in stock triggers
Back in stock signup added (a shopper signs up on a sold-out product) and Back in stock alert sent (a back in stock email went out). Both pass Customer email, Variant ID and Product title. See Waitlist signups.
Automate pre-orders with Shopify Flow
Pre-order triggers and actions for Flow, plus back in stock triggers, in a free Shopify app.
Install free on ShopifyFrequently asked questions
›Why doesn't my Pre-order limit reached workflow run?
The trigger runs only when a whole-campaign limit is used up. Campaigns that limit each variant never send it, because the campaign itself stays active.
›Can Flow charge the balance when I fulfill an order?
You don't need Flow for that: choose When you fulfill the order under Collect the balance in the campaign, and the app charges it when the whole order is fulfilled. Collect pre-order balance is for your own custom timing.