Using automations
Built-in Shopify rules, plus custom if/then rules that set an order’s status when it matches.
Automations run when orders sync from Shopify. Built-in rules are included with Orderflow. Custom rules are ones you write.
Built-in
Built-in rules stay off until you turn them on. Turning a switch on or choosing a status saves immediately.
Shopify ship-by date
When an order has no Ship by date, Orderflow copies Shopify’s Fulfill by date from the order’s fulfillment orders. It can also use Additional details or line-item properties when those are present. Existing Ship by dates are left alone.
If Shopify does not have a date either, Settings → General → Ship by still sets one from the order date plus your default days.
The date on the Shopify order page is not the same as Additional details. Additional details is a custom field. The order-page date is Shopify’s own ship-by / fulfill-by date.
Status on fulfillment
When Shopify marks an order fulfilled, Orderflow can move it to a status you choose — for example Printed → Completed. That status change also writes the usual status- tag on the Shopify order.
Close unanswered proofs on fulfillment
When Shopify marks an order fulfilled and that order still has a proof waiting for a customer response, Orderflow can close the proof and note that the order was completed without a response.
This is useful when a customer does not approve or request changes, and you decide to complete the order anyway. Orderflow does not mark the proof as customer-approved. The history records that no response was received before fulfillment, so you and the customer both have an accurate record. Customers see Proof closed, not an approved proof.
Partial fulfillment does not trigger this. Proofs the customer already approved, proofs you approved manually, change requests, and replaced proofs are left alone.
Custom
Type text you can see on the order, then choose the status to set. New rules start with Any text on the order, which looks through the product, extra lines under the product, Additional details, tags, and notes. Narrow to a specific field only if you need to.
Matching is not case sensitive. Contains also ignores punctuation and extra spaces, so an app field still matches if you type the readable part of the name.
Specific fields, if you need them:
- Variant — only the Shopify variant, such as size or color
- Line item property — extra name/value lines under a product, including ones apps add
- Additional details — source fields on Order Summary, such as marketplace IDs
Saved rules show as a summary. Click the pencil to edit. Done saves the rule. There is no separate Save button.
The first matching enabled rule wins. Custom rules only apply while the order is still on your first status, so they will not overwrite a status you already set. Sync applies matching rules to working-queue orders still on that first status, including orders that did not change in Shopify. If Shopify marks the order fulfilled in the same sync, Status on fulfillment still wins.
When a rule runs, Activity on the order shows the lightning icon, Automation, and what it saw. Analytics totals automatic status changes and ship-by dates — see Understanding your Orderflow analytics.
These rules are not Status Actions. Status Actions cover Proof Review and Form.
What these rules are—and are not—is also covered in How to automate customer updates during custom-order production.
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