Splitting Orders: In-Stock, Backorder & Pre-Order Items

Overview

When a customer places an order that contains both in-stock items and items that are on backorder or pre-order, you have a choice about how it's fulfilled:

• Ship the available items now and the backordered items later, or
• Hold the whole order until everything is in stock.

Most sellers want to ship the in-stock items immediately so the customer isn't kept waiting. This article explains the two ways to split these orders and which we recommend.

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The two options

Option 1 — Split automatically in Shopify (recommended)

Using a Shopify order-splitting app (for example, Order Split, Divy Auto Split Orders, or SplitOrder), you can set a rule that runs automatically on every order:

• In-stock items stay on the original order.
• Out-of-stock / backordered items are moved into a brand-new order with its own order number.

The two separate orders then flow through to us for fulfilment. We ship the in-stock order as normal, and the backorder order waits until stock arrives.

Option 2 — Split manually in the Seller Portal

You can also split an order inside the Gonini Seller Portal by fulfilling only the in-stock lines and leaving the backordered lines open. This works, but it's a manual, order-by-order action and it behaves differently in Shopify (see below).

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Why we recommend splitting in Shopify

	Split in Shopify (app)	Split in Seller Portal
Effort	Set a rule once — runs automatically on every order	Manual on each individual order
How it looks in Shopify	Two clean orders: one Fulfilled, one Unfulfilled (the backorder)	One order stuck as Partially Fulfilled
Tracking backorders	Easy — filter Shopify by unfulfilled orders to see everything awaiting stock	Harder — backorders are hidden inside partially-fulfilled orders
Customer clarity	Each shipment has its own order number and confirmation	Single order number covers both shipments

The two big wins with the Shopify method:

1. It's automatic. Set the rule once and every mixed order is split for you — no per-order work in the portal.
2. Clean reporting. In Shopify you can instantly see which orders are fully fulfilled and which are unfulfilled backorders, because they're separate orders. If you split in the Seller Portal instead, Shopify shows the order as partially fulfilled, which makes backorders much harder to track and report on.

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How to get started

1. Install an order-splitting app from the Shopify App Store (see options above).
2. Create a rule to split by stock availability — in-stock items on one order, out-of-stock items on a new order.
3. Test with a sample mixed order to confirm the split and order numbers look right.
4. That's it — every future mixed order will split automatically and flow through to us as two orders.

If you'd like a hand setting this up or deciding which app suits your store, contact our support team.

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FAQ

Will this create extra fulfilment charges?       Each order is fulfilled and shipped separately, so standard per-shipment fulfilment applies — the same as any two orders. (Confirm against your rate card.)

Can I still combine shipments if stock arrives quickly?       Yes — if the backordered stock lands before the first order ships, contact us and we can look at combining them.

Does this work with pre-orders as well as backorders?       Yes. Any item flagged as out of stock (including pre-order items) can be split onto the separate order.