Holds

A sale's money shouldn't be paid while the customer can still send the item back. Holds are how you say how long to wait. Under What must a sale clear first? in Settings › , then Terms, they read as one sentence:

Hold each sale until it ships, then for a 14-day return window. No minimum payout.

Press any underlined part to change it. While a hold is open, the sale is On hold, and it always says why and until when. When every hold has cleared, it's Scheduled for its pay day.

Unshipped sales#

The first hold decides whether a sale waits until it ships:

• Hold each sale until it ships. The default. The sale waits until Shopify marks it fulfilled. A sale at the counter is fulfilled when it's sold, so it clears this hold straight away.
• Pay each sale as it is sold. Shipped or not. Use this if you sell services, or ship long after the sale and still pay on the sale.

A sale whose order shipped only in part reads Partly shipped until Shopify marks it fulfilled.

Return window#

A number of days every sale waits, so that a return comes off the sale instead of off a payout. "A refund inside it comes off the sale, not a payout." Starts from decides which day it counts from:

A window counts exactly its days, and the sale clears on the last one: shipped on the 4th with 14 days, it clears on the 18th and can be paid from that day.

The day it's delivered needs sales held until they ship. While the parcel is on its way, the sale reads Until it's delivered. A parcel with no tracking counts from the day it shipped, and the window never starts later than 14 days after shipping, so a lost tracking update can't hold a sale for ever.

Minimum payout#

The least a vendor is paid at once. Below it, nothing lands for them on a pay day: their cleared money waits, and their row in Upcoming says it "waits until they're owed $50.00, your minimum." It lands on the first pay day after they reach it. A vendor with small, regular sales is spared a stream of tiny payments.

Holding one vendor yourself#

Sometimes you need to stop a vendor's payouts for a while: a disputed return, a missing item, a question about their stock. On their Summary, press Hold their payouts, say why, and press Hold payouts. The reason is for your team only.

While they're held, nothing lands for them. Their sales still earn and keep their dates, and Upcoming marks them Held by you. Press Release on their On hold tile when you're done: anything already past its date lands that day.

Releasing a hold by hand#

Any sale's hold can be ended early. In Payouts › , then Upcoming, open a vendor and press Release what is on hold. Every held sale clears today, whatever held it, and joins the payout its date gives it. Releasing pays nobody by itself.

To pay a vendor today instead, use Pay now. It lands everything that has cleared, plus any held sales you tick. See To pay and Pay now.

Changing your holds#

A change starts tomorrow unless you pick another day. Sales that already have a pay day keep it; sales still waiting follow the new holds. A vendor can have holds of their own on their Terms tab. See How terms work.

When it looks wrong#

A sale has been on hold for weeks#

Open it. It says what it's waiting for. If it's Not shipped yet, the order isn't fulfilled in Shopify: fulfil it there, or release it here if it was handed over another way. If it's Until it's delivered, the carrier hasn't reported delivery; it starts counting by itself 14 days after shipping.

A vendor's money has cleared but has no date#

They're below your minimum payout, they owe you more than they've earned, or their schedule waits for them to ask. Their row in Upcoming says which.

Common questions#

What happens if a customer returns something during the hold?

The refund comes off the sale before anyone is paid. The vendor's payout never includes money that was refunded. More

What if a return comes after the payout landed?

The vendor's share of the refund comes off their next payout. See Refunds and returns. More

Can different vendors have different holds?

Yes. Give a vendor their own holds on their Terms tab. Everyone else follows the shop-wide holds. More

Do holds apply to refunds and charges?

No. Holds only keep back money going out to a vendor. Refunds and charges come off as soon as they happen. More