Preorder and made-to-order product

What this solution does

The phrase «Out of stock» often means a lost ready-made sale. A customer arrives with money and a ready decision to buy, but the store sends them to competitors even though the item may arrive in a couple of weeks. The «Preorder and Made-to-Order» module turns a refusal into a sale and helps the purchasing manager plan deliveries.

The report on out-of-stock items shows actual demand: the number of waiting customers, the amount of advance payments, the total volume of preorders, and the nearest promised delivery date. These data form a ready-to-use purchasing plan, indicating what to bring first and which funds can be relied upon immediately after the goods arrive. Overdue promises are highlighted separately so the customer learns about the missed deadline from the store rather than the supplier.

The report exports to Excel with separate display of amounts in different currencies. From the report, you can navigate to a filtered registry of preorders. On the product card, a preorder button replaces the «Out of stock» label.

For out-of-stock items, the product card displays a block with a reliable delivery date or term in days, along with the advance payment amount. These details are sourced from a product property populated by the content manager or via 1C exchange. If no delivery term is specified, the pre-order function remains inactive to prevent making unfounded promises.

PARTIAL PREPAYMENT

When placing an order, the customer immediately pays for items currently in stock and makes an advance payment for out-of-stock items. Configuration options allow adjusting the advance percentage, minimum and maximum amounts, and rounding rules. The advance is calculated solely on the pre-order portion of the cart; in-stock items are paid according to standard rules. The remaining balance becomes a second invoice issued on the day the goods arrive at the warehouse. This payment cannot be demanded earlier.

QUEUE FOR INCOMING GOODS

If a limited quantity arrives, such as three units, while ten customers are waiting, the module allocates stock based on the rule 'first to pay advance, first to receive,' rather than the order of appearance in the selection. Partial arrivals do not close the order or trigger premature notifications; the item remains in the queue until fully fulfilled. Customers can view their position in the queue within their personal account, ensuring transparency.

ONE ORDER, TWO SHIPMENTS

The module supports mixed carts by combining in-stock items and pre-order items into a single order with one order number. Items available in stock are shipped immediately as a separate shipment, while pre-order items await delivery. Shipping costs and conditions are determined by the store settings and the selected delivery service.

The module ensures transparency of delivery commitments. Delivery dates can be rescheduled via the admin panel, which triggers an automatic notification to the buyer and logs the change. The initial delivery promise is not overwritten, allowing the store to evaluate the accuracy of supplier forecasts and decide on future cooperation. The log for each item records who made the change and when: the customer, a manager, or an agent.

The system includes four types of automated notifications with ready-made templates: pre-order acceptance, delivery date change, item arrival (with a link to pay the balance), and pre-order cancellation. Each notification type can be disabled independently.

A dedicated page in the customer's personal cabinet manages pre-orders. It displays the current delivery date, the amount of the advance payment, the remaining balance due, the position in the queue, and a button to cancel the order. Comprehensive information on this page reduces the number of support requests and minimizes the need for customers to initiate bank refunds.

The Preorder module uses standard Bitrix orders, payments, and shipments. Compatibility with specific order forms, payment systems, fiscalization, and 1C exchange should be verified on a test site before launch. It does not reserve out-of-stock items and does not allow negative inventory balances. Advance payments are refunded via the standard order return mechanism, without bypassing the cash register. The module does not replace third-party checkouts and does not modify the core system.

Version 1.0 Limitations

The delivery date is taken from the product property. This version has no rules for categories, brands, supplier warehouses, or external date sources. Orders are not split into multiple parts. Recurring subscription deductions are a different scenario and a different module.

System Requirements

— 1C-Bitrix: Site Management with 'Online Store' and 'Trade Catalog' modules;

— 'Information Blocks' module, main module version 20.0.0 and newer;

— PHP 8.2 and newer;

— MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+ or PostgreSQL (for PostgreSQL — main module version 23.900.900 and newer);

— Working agents (ideally scheduled via cron): they verify incoming stock.

If “Preorder and made-to-order product” fits the task, General iT can install the module, configure it and verify the result in the project.