About backorders

This topic describes best practices for working with backorders. Your store may or may not offer backorders. Refer to your store's policies and procedures for backorders.

A backorder can be created at the request of the customer if the item or items they want to purchase are temporarily out of stock. Depending on the store's policies, a percentage deposit or full payment may be required at the time the backorder is created in POS.

Generally, backorders should only be created for items that are regularly in stock, or for items that the store is confident it will receive from the supplier in a reasonable amount of time. If backordered items are not available from the supplier (e.g., promotional or seasonal items), or the purchase order cannot be fulfilled by the supplier in a timely manner, the store may be required to cancel the backorder and issue a refund to the customer, if applicable. This can be disappointing for customers, and cause unnecessary administration for the store.

Depending on the store's policies, backorders may only be valid for a limited period of time such as 30 days. After this period, the store may opt to cancel the backorder and issue a refund to the customer, if applicable. The best practice is to identify the expiration period for backorders on the receipt, and any other store policies relevant to backorders such as whether the store honors backorder pricing and for how long.