NextXen Pre-Order Manager documentation

1. Requirements

2. Installation

2.1 Upload via WordPress Admin (Recommended)

1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
3. Click Upload Plugin at the top of the page.
4. Click Choose File, select the nextxen-pre-order-manager.zip file, then click Install Now.
5. After installation completes, click Activate Plugin.

2.2 Upload via FTP

1. Unzip the downloaded nextxen-pre-order-manager.zip file.
2. Connect to your server with an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla).
3. Upload the nextxen-pre-order-manager folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
4. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and click Activate.

2.3 Verify Installation

After activation confirm the plugin is running by checking:

• WooCommerce → Pre-Orders appears in the left admin menu.
• WooCommerce → Settings → Pre-Orders tab is visible.
• (Premium) The WordPress admin dashboard shows a Pre-Order Manager widget.

3. Global Settings

Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Pre-Orders to configure store-wide defaults.

3.1 Button Text Customization

3.2 Message Customization

Messages appear on product pages and in product listings to inform customers about the release date.

Available Placeholders

Both fields accept basic HTML (<strong>, <a>, <em>). Leave either field empty to hide it entirely.

Example custom message:

Launching <strong>{availability_date}</strong> — secure yours before we sell out!

3.3 Cart & Checkout Text

Available Placeholders

3.4 Out-of-Stock Products

Setting: Enable pre-orders for out-of-stock products

When enabled, the plugin automatically enables pre-orders on compatible products (simple, variable, composite, bundle, booking, mix-and-match, subscription) when they go out of stock. The product is marked as "in stock" with stock management disabled, allowing customers to place pre-orders while inventory is unavailable.

3.5 Test Site Settings

Setting: Disable automatic pre-order processing

Check this box on staging or development sites to prevent WP-Cron from automatically charging customers or completing orders when a release date passes. This lets you test the full pre-order flow without affecting real payments.

4. Setting Up a Pre-Order Product

Pre-order settings are configured per product. Each product can have completely independent pre-order behavior.

4.1 Enable Pre-Orders

1. Go to Products → All Products and open the product you want to configure.
2. Scroll down to the Product data panel.
3. Click the Pre-Orders tab (alongside General, Inventory, Shipping, etc.).
4. Check the Enable pre-orders checkbox.

Supported Product Types

• Simple
• Variable
• Composite (requires WooCommerce Composite Products)
• Bundle (requires WooCommerce Product Bundles)
• Booking (requires WooCommerce Bookings)
• Mix and Match (requires WooCommerce Mix and Match)
• Subscription / Variable Subscription (requires WooCommerce Subscriptions 6.2.0+)

4.2 Release Date

Field: Release date (optional)  |  Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

Enter the date and time when the product will become available. A date-time picker is provided for convenience.

• Dates are stored and evaluated in your store's timezone (WordPress → Settings → General → Timezone).
• If left blank, the product stays in pre-order status until you manually complete or cancel.
• Customers will see this date in availability messages, the cart, and order confirmations.

4.3 Pre-Order Fee

Field: Pre-order fee (optional)

Enter a monetary amount to charge in addition to the product price as a reservation surcharge. Leave blank or set to 0 for no additional fee. This fee appears as a separate cart line item, clearly labeled.

4.4 Payment Timing

Choose when customers are charged:

4.5 Deposit (Partial Payment)

Collect a partial payment now and charge the remaining balance automatically when the product releases.

Step 1 — Configure the deposit on the product

Examples

• Fixed — $50: Customer pays $50 at checkout; remaining balance collected on release.
• Percentage — 30%: Customer pays 30% of the product price now; remaining 70% collected on release.

What happens on release

• A new WooCommerce order is automatically created for the remaining balance.
• The customer receives an email with the balance order details and a payment link.
• The original order is updated with a note linking to the balance order.

Where to see deposit data

• Order detail page (admin): A "Deposit Information" section shows deposit paid, remaining balance, and a link to the balance order.
• CSV export: "Deposit Paid" and "Remaining Balance" columns are included.
• Dashboard widget: Active revenue includes deposit amounts.

4.6 Quantity Limit

Field: Max pre-orders (optional) — Enter a whole number. Leave blank or enter 0 for unlimited.

5. Managing Pre-Orders (Admin)

Navigate to WooCommerce → Pre-Orders to access the pre-order management screen. It has two tabs: Manage and Actions.

5.1 The Pre-Orders List (Manage Tab)

5.2 Bulk Actions

Select one or more pre-orders using the checkboxes, then use the Bulk Actions dropdown to Complete or Cancel them in batch.

5.3 Filtering & Searching

• By product — Filter to show only pre-orders for a specific product.
• By status — Show Active, Completed, or Cancelled pre-orders.
• Search — Search by order number or customer name/email.

5.4 Completing Pre-Orders

You can complete pre-orders in three ways:

• Individually: Open the WooCommerce order, use the Order Actions box.
• Bulk: Select orders in the Manage tab → Bulk Actions → Complete.
• By product (Actions tab): Select the product, then click Complete Pre-Orders.

When completed: order status changes to Processing/Completed, "upon release" orders are charged or sent a payment link, deposit balance orders are created, and the customer receives a Pre-Order Available email.

5.5 Cancelling Pre-Orders

Via the Actions tab, select the product and click Cancel Pre-Orders. When cancelled: order status changes to Cancelled, the customer receives a Pre-Order Cancelled email, and the admin receives an Admin Pre-Order Cancelled email. Refunds for upfront payments must be processed manually.

6. CSV Export

Export all pre-order data to a spreadsheet with one click.

1. Go to WooCommerce → Pre-Orders.
2. Click the Export CSV button in the page header.
3. Your browser downloads a file named pre-orders-YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss.csv.

CSV Columns

7. Dashboard Widget

The Pre-Order Manager widget appears on your WordPress admin dashboard (Dashboard → Home).

8. Email Notifications

Configure all emails at WooCommerce → Settings → Emails.

Manually Resend an Email

1. Open the WooCommerce order.
2. In the Order actions box (top right), select the email action from the dropdown.
3. Click the send button (►) to dispatch the email immediately.

9. Customer Experience

9.1 Product Page

When a product has pre-orders enabled, customers see:

• Availability message below the price (customizable in Settings).
• "Pre-order now" button instead of "Add to cart".
• Slots remaining notice if a quantity limit is set and fewer than 10 slots remain.
• Sold-out notice if the quantity limit has been reached.

9.2 Cart & Checkout

• Pre-ordered items are labeled with their release date in the cart.
• Payment timing text is displayed (e.g., "$49.00 charged January 15, 2026").
• If a deposit is configured, the cart shows the deposit amount and remaining balance.
• The checkout button reads "Place pre-order now" (customizable).
• Only one pre-order product can be in the cart at a time.

9.3 My Account — Pre-Orders

1. Customer logs in and goes to My Account.
2. Clicks the Pre-Orders tab in the account menu.
3. Sees a list of pre-orders with status, product, release date, and order total.
4. Can click Cancel to cancel an active pre-order (if permitted).

9.4 Countdown Timer Shortcode

Embed a live countdown to the release date anywhere on your site:

[npom_countdown]

Works in pages, posts, sidebar widgets, and theme templates. If no release date is set, the shortcode outputs nothing.

10. Automated Release (WP-Cron)

The plugin uses WordPress's built-in scheduling system (WP-Cron) to automatically process pre-orders when a release date arrives.

What happens at release

• All active pre-orders for that product are marked as completed.
• "Upon release" orders are charged (saved payment method) or sent a payment link email.
• Follow-up balance orders are created for deposit-based pre-orders.
• Pre-Order Available emails are sent to all customers.
• Order statuses transition to "Processing" (physical) or "Completed" (virtual/downloadable).

Set Up a Real Server Cron Job

Using cURL:

# Runs every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * curl -s https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1

Using WP-CLI:

*/5 * * * * cd /path/to/wordpress && wp cron event run --due-now > /dev/null 2>&1

11. WooCommerce Blocks Compatibility

No additional configuration is required. Block compatibility is auto-detected.

12. HPOS Compatibility

WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS / Custom Order Tables) is fully supported. The plugin:

• Declares HPOS compatibility via the official FeaturesUtil API.
• Stores all pre-order meta in both the classic wp_postmeta table and the HPOS wc_orders_meta table.
• All queries (quantity limit counts, dashboard stats, CSV export) use HPOS-aware SQL automatically.

13. WooCommerce Subscriptions Compatibility

Requires WooCommerce Subscriptions 6.2.0 or later. Supported types: subscription, variable-subscription.

• Customers place a pre-order for a subscription product.
• No subscription charge is taken at checkout (uses the "upon release" flow).
• When the product releases, the subscription begins and the first payment is collected.

14. For Developers — Hooks Reference

Action Hooks

Filter Hooks

Order Meta Keys

Product Meta Keys

Code Examples

Add a custom field to the Pre-Orders product tab

// Render the field
add_action( 'npom_product_options_end', function() {
    woocommerce_wp_text_input( array(
        'id'    => '_my_custom_preorder_field',
        'label' => __( 'My Custom Field', 'my-plugin' ),
    ) );
} );

// Save the field (3 accepted args required)
add_action( 'npom_save_product_options', function( $post_id, $is_enabled, $timestamp ) {
    if ( isset( $_POST['_my_custom_preorder_field'] ) ) {
        update_post_meta(
            $post_id,
            '_my_custom_preorder_field',
            sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['_my_custom_preorder_field'] ) )
        );
    }
}, 10, 3 );

Add a custom button to the Pre-Orders admin page

add_action( 'npom_admin_page_actions', function() {
    $url = admin_url( 'admin.php?page=npom_manager&action=my_action' );
    printf(
        '<a href="%s" class="page-title-action">%s</a>',
        esc_url( $url ),
        esc_html__( 'My Action', 'my-plugin' )
    );
} );

Run code when a pre-order is completed

add_action( 'npom_pre_order_completed', function( $order ) {
    // $order is a WC_Order object
    $product_id = NPOM_Order::get_pre_order_product( $order )->get_id();
    // your logic here...
} );

15. Troubleshooting

16. Frequently Asked Questions