Pre-orders

Sell stock before it arrives. Set an order-by time, add products, choose pickup or delivery and how customers pay, then share your pre-order page.

A pre-order lets customers order and pay for food you haven’t got yet: a shipment of fish, a harvest, a special bake. You choose what’s on it, the price and the time orders close. When the stock comes in, you set the pickup or delivery date, pack the orders and hand them over.

Pre-orders work the same in the business portal (business.localpass.ca) and in the Local Pass Business app. Where the two differ, this guide says so.

Pre-orders are for shops, farms and other stores. Restaurants and catering businesses don’t see them.

Where to find it

• Portal: in the sidebar, Sell → Pre-orders. It opens to All pre-orders and Pre-order settings.
• App: in the menu, under SELL, tap Pre-orders.

A small yellow count beside Pre-orders shows what’s new: reservations and payments since you last opened the bell, plus every overdue payment and every dispute. Open the bell on the Pre-orders page to see them (Pre-order updates). In the portal, the dashboard also has a Pre-orders this week card.

Before you start

Pre-order payments go straight into your own payment account. You need it set up first. Until it is, the page says Finish your Stripe setup to take pre-order payments. with a link to set it up. You can build a pre-order while you wait, but you can’t open it.

It’s worth setting up Pre-order settings first too: your pickup locations, delivery zones, how customers pay and your policies. Every new pre-order starts from them.

Step by step: run a pre-order

From an empty draft to the last order handed over. The sections below explain each part in more detail.

1. Set up your Pre-order settings

   Open Pre-order settings. Add your pickup locations and delivery zones, choose how customers can pay (Pay now, Reserve and pay later, or both) and whether they pay In full or a Deposit, then the rest, and check your policies. See Pre-order settings.

2. Make the pre-order

   Press New pre-order. A draft opens on its Settings tab. Add the Title, About it and your photos, then set when Orders close. The pre-order shows Draft: only you can see it.

3. Add products

   On the Products tab, press Add from my store to pick products you already sell, or New item for something sold only on this pre-order. Open each item to set its pre-order price, the smallest amount and the steps. Each row then shows the price customers see. See Products in a pre-order.

4. Check payment, pickup and delivery

   Back on Settings, check Payment, Pickup and Delivery. They come from your Pre-order settings, and changes here are for this pre-order only. If you know the dates, give each place its date (On a date). If not, choose Set it later.

5. Open it and share the link

   Press Save, then Open pre-order, and confirm in the Open this pre-order? box. The status changes to Open (or Opens … if you chose a start time). Press Copy link and share your pre-order page. If something is missing, you see Fix these to open it with what to fix first.

6. Follow orders and remind unpaid customers

   Orders appear on the Customers tab as they come in. Press Unpaid to see reservations nobody has paid for yet. Tick them and press Remind: you see how many reminders were sent and how many were skipped. To put an unpaid order’s stock back on sale, press Release.

7. Close orders

   Orders close at the time you set. To stop them sooner, choose Close now in the ⋯ menu. The status changes to Closed, and the pre-order comes off the Market.

8. Set the pickup and delivery dates

   When your stock is on its way, open the Delivery tab. Press Set date on each place, choose the date and press Save and email them. Each customer there gets an email and a text with the date. Customers who paid a deposit also get the bill for the rest.

9. Enter final weights

   For items sold by weight, open the order on the Customers tab and enter what you weighed in Final weights. For a deposit order, press Send the final bill. For an order paid in full that weighed less, press Save and refund the difference. See Final weights.

10. Pack

    Open the Pack list tab and pick the date. Pack from the pick list and tick each order as you go, or tap Start packing in the app to use Packing mode. Press Print pick list and slips for a packing slip per order.

11. Hand over

    When a customer collects a paid order, open it on the Customers tab and press Picked up. You see “Marked as picked up.” and the order shows Picked up. A delivery order shows Delivered once you mark it delivered on your Delivery routes.

The Pre-orders list

At the top: Open pre-orders, Orders this week, Paid and Owing. If people asked to hear about your next pre-order, a line says how many.

Each pre-order shows its status, its orders (and how many are unpaid), the money paid and owing, when it closes, and whether it shows in search. The statuses are:

Status	What it means
Draft	Only you can see it.
Opens …	Open, but orders start at the time you set.
Open (app: Open for orders)	Customers can order until it closes.
Closed (app: Orders closed)	Nobody can order. You still set dates, send final bills and pack.
Cancelled	Every order was cancelled and refunded.

Search by name, filter by status, and sort by Closes soonest, Newest or Most paid. In the app, these are in the Filter and sort sheet.

The ⋯ menu on each row has Open, Customers, Settings, Duplicate, Download CSV and Report.

Make a pre-order

1. Press New pre-order. It starts as a draft, copied from your Pre-order settings, and opens on its Settings tab.
2. On Settings, fill in the Page part: the Title (for example “Fresh fish and vegetables from India”), About it, a cover photo, and up to 24 photos and videos.
3. Under When people can order, choose when Orders open (When I open it, or At a time) and when Orders close. Times are Victoria time. After the closing time, nobody can order.
4. Check Payment, Pickup, Delivery, Order rules and Policies. They come from your Pre-order settings. Changes here are for this pre-order only.
5. On the Products tab, add what you’re selling. See Products in a pre-order.
6. Press Save, then Open pre-order.

The Open this pre-order? box tells you when customers can order, and that your products show on the Local Pass Market marked “Pre-order”. After it opens, you can still change prices and settings for new orders. You can’t reopen a pre-order once it closes; duplicate it instead.

If something is missing, the pre-order can’t open and you see a list under Fix these to open it, for example “Set when orders close.”, “Add at least one product.” or “Offer at least one pickup location or delivery zone.”

Page options

• Show how many have ordered: shows “38 orders so far” on your page. On by default.
• Show in Google and AI search: lets Google, Bing and AI assistants find the page while orders are open. Your customers’ details are never shown. Off by default.

Photos and videos

• Cover photo: shown wide across the top of your page. JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 15 MB.
• Photos and videos: up to 24. Videos can be MP4, WebM or MOV, up to 10 MB and 5 minutes. A bigger video gets “Videos up to 10 MB. Trim it or record a shorter clip.”
• You can also add a YouTube or Vimeo link with a Video title.

Share it

Once it’s open, use View page and Copy link (the app also has Share). The link opens your pre-order page on localpass.ca, with your store’s name at the top.

If people asked to hear about your next pre-order, press Email n people about this pre-order. You can do this once per pre-order. Each person gets an email with the title, the order-by time and a link. You only see how many were sent, not who.

While it’s open

The top of the pre-order shows Orders, Money (paid and owing), Closes and Needs a date. Its tabs are:

• Customers: every order, its payment and its place. See Customers and payments.
• Products: what’s on it and how much is reserved. See Products in a pre-order.
• Delivery: set pickup and delivery dates. See Dates, pack list and packing.
• Pack list: what to pack, by place and by order.
• Settings: everything above.

While a pre-order is open, saving updates your live page straight away.

Close, duplicate or cancel

All in the ⋯ (More actions) menu at the top of a pre-order:

• Close now (or Mark closed once the closing time has passed): nobody can order after this, and it comes off the Market. Every order stays as it is. Customers aren’t emailed.
• Duplicate: copies it as a new draft named “(copy)”. The open and close times and every place’s date are cleared, and sold-out switches are reset.
• Download CSV and Report: see Customers and payments.
• Packing mode (app only): see Packing mode.
• Cancel pre-order: every order is cancelled and every customer gets back everything they paid. They’re emailed. The card processing on those payments isn’t returned by the card company, so it stays on your statement. This can’t be undone.

What it costs

Local Pass takes 5% of each order (at most $25), plus tax on that fee, unless your agreement with Local Pass says otherwise. The card fees come out of each payment. You choose whether customers cover card processing in your prices, or you do. See Pre-order settings.

When you refund a customer, they get the full refund from your payment account balance. Local Pass’s fee and the card fee aren’t returned.

Pages in this section

Products in a pre-order

Add products from your store or new pre-order-only items, set prices and limits.

Customers and payments

Orders, unpaid reservations, reminders, final weights, refunds and reports.

Dates, pack list and packing

Set pickup and delivery dates, pack by place and print slips.

Pre-order settings

Payment, pickup locations, delivery zones, notifications and policies.

Local Pass connects you with customers and takes their payments. You’re responsible for your own permits, licences, labels and tax, including whether your items carry GST. If you’re not sure, ask your accountant.