Backorders in X-Cart 5.6.x work with multi-location inventory and order routing, letting you accept purchases for out-of-stock items while shipping in-stock items sooner.
Prerequisites
Ensure the Backorder add-on is enabled.
Enabling backorders
When the Backorder add-on is enabled, a dedicated Backorder location (warehouse) is automatically created in your store. The location name can be edited if needed.
The location address is initially copied from the store’s primary warehouse.
💡If you plan to use carrier shipping rates, make sure to edit the Backorder location address so that shipping costs are calculated correctly.
By default, shipping from the Backorder location is disabled.
To activate the Backorder functionality and allow products to be sold into negative stock, enable shipping for the Backorder location by setting the option Allow shipping from this location = ON. Be sure to click Save changes to apply your updates.
Understanding backorder limits
The Backorder location is added as a warehouse to the My Store stock for all products in your catalog.
On a product’s detail page (Product details → Prices & Inventory tab, Inventory section), you will see a row corresponding to the Backorder warehouse at the bottom of the expanded My Store warehouse list.
The Quantity field for the Backorder location indicates how many units of the product customers can purchase “into negative stock” through the Backorder functionality. By default, the Backorder location quantity is set to 0 for all products.
When the Backorder location quantity is 0 (Qty = 0), the product is not available for backorder. Backordering becomes available automatically when Qty > 0. To offer a product on backorder, set the Backorder location’s Quantity field to the number of units you are willing to accept on backorder.
Backorder limits set for products can be conveniently viewed via the Inventory page (Catalog → Inventory). The limits are displayed in the Backorder column and are editable inline.
The product list on the Inventory page (Catalog → Inventory page) can be filtered for convenience.
Finding products by backorder status
When you need to find products with a specific backorder status, you can filter the product list on the Inventory page (Catalog → Inventory page) using the Backorder status filter.
The available filtering options are as follows:
Any status (default) — shows all products in the current selection.
Enabled — shows products with Backorder warehouse quantity > 0.
Disabled — shows products with Backorder warehouse quantity = 0.
Setting backorder limits
The product quantity available for backorder (Qty > 0) can be set for products individually per product or in bulk.
Per product - via the product detail page
To set a backorder limit for an individual product:
Find the product for which you need to set a backorder limit and open the product details.
Go to the Pricing & Inventory tab.
Scroll down to the Inventory section.
If necessary, expand the "My Store" row in the stocks table. It will allow you to see the product's quantity by warehouse.
Set the product’s Backorder warehouse quantity to a value greater than zero.
Click Update to save the changes.
Per product - via the Inventory page
You can conveniently review and edit product backorder limits on the Inventory page (Catalog → Inventory). Backorder limits are displayed in the Backorder column and are editable inline.
In bulk - via the Inventory page
You can bulk-assign a backorder limit to multiple products at once.
Navigate to the Inventory page (Catalog → Inventory).
Select the products for which you want to set a backorder limit, then click Bulk edit on the sticky panel and choose Backorder.
The Bulk edit → Backorder page opens.
On this page, you’ll see the Backorder quantity setting with a Click to specify button, and below it a table listing the selected products (showing Product name and Backorder quantity for each item).
Click Click to specify.
The button is replaced with an editable field; use it to enter the desired quantity.
Click Save changes.
Customer experience
Items that are available for backorder are labeled accordingly.
Product page:
Shopping cart:
The "Backorder: X from Y" label on an item indicates:
X — the number of units to be supplied to the customer on backorder;
Y — the total number of units of the item in the current order.
Backorders vs. Split shipments
During checkout, any cart items whose quantities exceed available stock at primary locations are automatically placed into a separate BACKORDER shipment.
Backorders vs. Order routing
When determining which stock source and location will be used to fulfill each item in a customer’s order, the Backordered items last of all rule applies.
This rule ensures that products from the Backorder location are always allocated last: first, the system sources items from all other available warehouses, and only if their combined stock is still insufficient to fulfill the order does it use the Backorder location to cover the remaining quantity.
Admin notifications
When an order includes a backordered item, the store admin receives a Backordered item in the orders email notification (configurable under Settings → Email Notifications).
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