When a Shopify store oversells by 50 units because of a manual backorder process, the fallout is immediate: lost revenue, angry customers, and hours of cleanup.
Many merchants believe backorder management means choosing between lost sales and operational chaos.
This guide compares manual and automated Shopify backorder management strategies, so you can capture every sale, protect customer trust, and scale without sacrificing your team’s sanity.
Shopify backorders can be a growth lever or a liability. Your management approach determines whether you capture sales or lose customers and revenue.
When Brand Z’s manual backorder system failed during Black Friday, they lost $75,000 and 500 customers in a single weekend. This is not a rare event. Every time a customer clicks “buy” on an out-of-stock item, your backorder process faces a critical test. Get it right, and you capture sales that competitors miss.
Get it wrong, and you face refund requests, negative reviews, and accounting headaches that ripple through your business for weeks.
Shopify’s “continue selling when out of stock” feature allows customers to purchase items even when inventory hits zero. The system marks these orders as backorders in your admin panel and continues accepting payments while you restock.
Unlike pre-orders, where customers expect a wait, backorders often catch buyers by surprise. They expect normal fulfillment times and are frustrated by delays.
The real costs of mismanaged backorders include:
If you sell on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay, inventory mismatches multiply your risk. One delayed sync can trigger an avalanche of overselling and weeks of cleanup.
Now, let us break down what manual Shopify backorder management really looks like and where it breaks down as you scale.
Manual management starts simply. You enable “continue selling when out of stock” in Shopify, update product pages with restock dates, and track orders in spreadsheets. For a handful of orders, this feels manageable. As you scale, the cracks appear fast.
Here is what manual Shopify backorder management actually demands:
These financial impacts translate directly into time costs that compound as you scale.
|
Task |
Time per 100 orders |
Time per 1,000 orders |
|
Customer notifications |
8 hours |
80 hours |
|
Inventory reconciliation |
5 hours |
50 hours |
|
Refund processing |
3 hours |
30 hours |
|
Accounting updates |
7 hours |
70 hours |
|
Total |
23 hours |
230 hours |
Table 1: Time audit for Shopify backorders
When manual management still makes sense:
But even in these cases, manual management creates a growth ceiling. These systems scale only to about 1,000 orders per month, and beyond that, you become a data-entry team.
Here is how ecommerce automation changes the game.
Automated backorder solutions, like Webgility’s inventory sync, order/accounting platforms, and warehouse integrations, reduce errors, save time, and scale with your business.
Understanding these failure points reveals exactly where automation can eliminate the most painful bottlenecks. There are three main categories:
Platforms like Webgility integrate order management, inventory sync, and accounting, so when a backorder is fulfilled, your QuickBooks entry, inventory cycle count, and customer notification all update automatically.
Ready to set up your system? Here is how to do it step by step.
Whether you manage backorders manually or with automation, setting up Shopify correctly is the foundation for success.
Shopify does not offer conditional email logic for backorders, but you can add a general note to confirmation emails. For more advanced notifications, use a backorder app or inventory tool.
Your best-fit Shopify backorder system depends on order volume, channel complexity, and accounting needs. Use this quiz to find your answer.
Quick quiz:
Score bands:
Migration path checklist:
Once you have chosen your system, use these best practices to optimize results.
Optimize your Shopify backorder process with clear communication, regular reviews, and data-driven forecasting.
Best practices for all:
For automation users:
Advanced strategies:
Webgility’s analytics dashboard helps you track Shopify backorder trends and forecast demand with confidence.
It syncs inventory in real time across Shopify, Amazon, eBay, POS systems, and QuickBooks. The platform automatically updates on hand and available quantities as orders come in, preventing the mismatches that lead to backorders and oversells.
The Wine Cellerage, a wine retailer managing inventory between their online store and QuickBooks Enterprise, struggled with manual inventory updates that left their storefront showing inaccurate stock levels.
After implementing Webgility, they gained real-time inventory visibility, saved at least 10 hours per week on manual data entry, and kept their online store accurate without constant manual adjustments.
Book a demo with Webgility today.
You can update order confirmation emails to mention possible backorders. Automation tools like Webgility can also trigger notifications when backordered items ship.
Yes, you can enable “continue selling when out of stock” only for selected products or variants in your Shopify admin.
Pre-orders are for items not yet released, so customers expect a wait. Backorders are for out-of-stock items that will be restocked soon.
Yes, platforms like Webgility can automate customer notifications for order status, shipping updates, and backorder alerts.