Order Editing works best when your warehouse or fulfillment partner only receives an order after the customer’s editing period has ended. Order holds pause fulfillment during that period so changes are not missed.
When to use holds
Use holds if your fulfillment system imports or begins processing orders soon after checkout. Holds are especially important when a 3PL, ShipStation, ShipHero, or another external system can act on an order before the edit window ends.
If you fulfill directly in Shopify and your workflow already waits until after the editing window, you may not need to place every order on hold.
Configure holds
1. Go to Settings > Order Editing.
2. In Order Holds, choose the settings that match your fulfillment workflow.
3. Save your changes.
Hold all orders
Turn on Apply hold to all orders if every new order should be protected during the editing window. Set the hold duration to match the longest editing period you offer. The hold is released automatically when that period ends.
Hold orders requiring payment
Turn this on if an order should not move to fulfillment while a customer still owes money after adding an item or choosing a higher-priced variant. The order remains held until payment is complete.
Choose a hold method
Shopify Holds uses Shopify’s native fulfillment-hold capability. Use this when your fulfillment workflow respects Shopify holds.
Order Tags adds a hold-related tag to the order instead. Use this only when your 3PL or fulfillment workflow is configured to recognize that tag. This is commonly used for systems such as ShipHero that rely on order tags in their workflow.
Recommended setup
Shopify: Start with Shopify Holds if fulfillment can begin before the edit window ends.
ShipStation: Hold all orders during the edit window so ShipStation does not import an unfinished version of the order.
ShipHero: Use Order Tags and confirm that the ShipHero workflow prevents tagged orders from being released until the hold is removed.
Another fulfillment system: Confirm whether it respects Shopify holds. If it does not, configure it to recognize the Order Tags method before enabling Order Editing.
Test before enabling for all customers:
Place a test order.
Confirm the hold appears in Shopify or the expected tag is applied.
Make an allowed edit.
Wait for the edit window to end.
Confirm the hold or tag is released and the fulfillment system receives the final order.
If orders are fulfilled too early, pause Order Editing for the affected workflow and review the hold method, hold duration, and 3PL rules.