Now Recruiting: Create Preorders by testing Custom Pickup & Delivery Timing

[kellyj]

You’ve asked for it - a way to create Pre-orders on your online store and manage pickup and delivery in a way that supports your business. 

Square Beta is now testing Custom Pickup & Delivery Timing. 

What: 

This new feature now allows you to accept orders without providing your customers a dedicated pickup or delivery time -- giving you control of how you fulfill online orders.

Current limitations in this test allow your entire item library to be sold without Fulfillment ETA. This means that in order to have specialized items for pre-order or without a set date, you will need to make a secondary location for your orders if you allow for pickup/delivery on scheduled or ASAP items as well.

We are working towards item level fulfillment options in the future.

If you would like to test the current functionality of Custom Pickup & Delivery Timing, we have few steps to enroll:

1. Reply to this thread that you are interested.
2. Please take a second to join our Square Online Group in the Beta Community. Getting involved is as easy as requesting to join and singing the NDA embedded in your request to join.
3. Use the support materials to set up your store for Fulfillment without ETA.
4. Test and provide Feedback. Part of launching successful products for Square Online is making sure we have properly tested the feature and provided feedback for needed and wanted changes to the team. This includes bugs that you may find during the test.

Fine print:

• If you are currently using On-Demand Delivery, you will not be eligible to test this feature. On demand delivery requires that Square sends a pick-up notification to your courier, as we are not able to work around this, it will not work in tandem with services like Postmates and Doordash.
• Again, setting orders without a fulfillment time is location-specific. 

Happy testing and see you in the Beta Community! 

[kellyj · Accepted solution]

 If you have been accepted into the Beta Community and are looking for your support materials for this test, please take a look .

[Chilk]

I seem to have beta access, but I have tried and check multiple times with the guide that we need to follow to set up pre-orders, but it looks like I don't have any of the features to set up Pre-Orders. What do I do?

[delkancott]

I am interested. I need a way to allow customers to pre-order through Monday then pick up their items on a Friday.

[Mdngtcravings1]

Interested.

[Vasu]

Yes- I'd love to be included!

[Christabel]

Hello I am interested in testing out the beta

[Chilk]

@kellyj Do I have the option, I need to set up these preorders ASAP, and I thought I had access for weeks now.

[kellyj]

@Chilk 

Yes, you are enabled for this. Have you gone through the set up instructions? 

[slayedbytayy]

I am interested

[BoilerBC]

I'd like to join the pre-order beta!

[smokinbeauty]

I'm interested in testing the pre order function!  

[SnowmanGolf]

I am interested in taking part of the beta for pre-orders please. 

[SFF_maine]

Very interested!

[StarCider]

We are interested in testing this !! 

[hotboxfusionbbq]

Interested Sign ME UP!

[mrkbingham]

I'm very interested!

[kellyj · Accepted solution]

Hey all! Actually this option is live in your account for all users now! @mrkbingham @hotboxfusionbbq @StarCider 

Get Started

To begin testing you’ll need to first adjust your pickup & delivery settings within Store Admin:

1. Click Fulfillment > Pickup & Delivery
2. Click Edit location > Edit Order timing settings 
3. Under Pickup & delivery times, toggle OFF the fulfillment methods you wish to restrict order fulfillment times
4. Add a Short Message to let your customers know when they can expect to get orders with no dedicated fulfillment time
   

5. Click Save 

Managing New Orders on Square Point of Sale

1. Head to the Orders tab in Square Point of Sale
2. Select an order > Assign a pickup/delivery time
3. Select Done > Customer is notified of assigned pickup/delivery time.  

Limitations

• Currently, setting orders without a fulfillment time is location-specific and will affect all items within your item library. This means that in order to have specialized items available for pre-order, you will need to create a secondary location for those orders. After creating a new location, you can then designate your "pre-order items" to be available for that location only.

• If you are currently using On-Demand Delivery, you will not be eligible this feature. On demand delivery requires that Square sends a pick-up notification to your courier, as we are not able to work around this, it will not work in tandem with services like Postmates and Doordash.

Let us know if you have any questions.

[zder]

@kellyj ,

Does Square plan to add the ability to choose automatic or manual pickup times for individual items or categories - eliminating the need for the creation of a secondary location?

Thank You

[mrkbingham]

What the people need!!

[Cheesetique]

I'm glad this is widely available now, but it's not actually beneficial when it has to apply to every item at a location. We carry thousands of items, all of which we want customers to schedule pickup times for. There are only a few that we don't want to allow them to do that. For instance, an online class where they pick up a kit in-store. This is the exception, though, not the rule. For the other thousands of items, we don't want to assign them pickup times—they should be able to pick it themselves. 

Any idea when this feature will be item-specific instead of location-specific?

[SoveReignTyr]

For some reason, I am not seeing Edit Location > Edit Order timing Settings.

Am I looking in the wrong place or, is the preorder option only specific to those that allow pickup and delivery?
I ship all of my products as I don't have a brick and mortar site where someone can come and pick up an order and, I don't do deliveries (no food or grocery type products).

I'm wanting to set up preorders for apparel...is there a way that I can do this with what I do?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Tyr

[stinnett_sticks]

I'm interested! I'm about to selfpublish a carving tutorial and I am hoping this feature will allow me to make a preorder leading up to the book's launch.