Timesact app documentation

Last updated 22 October 2026. This page describes the Timesact app as merchants install it today, in one place. For step-by-step setup guides, see the help center.

Summary

Timesact is a no-code pre-order and back-in-stock app for Shopify. It helps merchants take orders and sign-ups on sold-out and not-yet-launched products, with pre-orders, restock alerts and coming-soon pages, set up in the app without theme code. It is certified Built for Shopify, is used by 19,000+ merchants and has a 5.0 rating from 2,000+ reviews on the Shopify App Store. Timesact is developed by Kairock Partners SRL in Iași, Romania, and has been on the Shopify App Store since June 2020.

Built for Shopify

Built for Shopify is the certification Shopify gives to apps that meet its requirements for performance, design and integration. Timesact holds it, and the badge shows on its App Store listing.

How it is set up

  • Everything is configured in a reusable customer experience template, in the app's Experiences tab. The storefront side covers the button, message, badge, cart label and collection page. The admin side covers functionality settings, Markets & locations, notifications and translations.
  • Templates are attached to products or variants from the Products tab. One template can serve many products, and one product can carry several templates. Settings apply per variant.
  • Products can be added one at a time, by collection, by CSV upload, or by Shopify product tag with Tag automation, which works at product level.
  • Setup includes enabling the Timesact app embed in the Shopify theme editor and saving the theme. The app embed is enabled per theme.

Functionality

Each template runs one or more of nine functionalities:

  • Pre-order: customers buy a product before it launches or arrives, and the merchant ships when the stock comes in.
  • Backorder: the product keeps selling after it runs out, and the merchant ships once it is restocked.
  • Made to Order: for products made after the order comes in, with the extra production time built into the message.
  • Back in Stock: shoppers sign up to be emailed when a sold-out product is back in stock.
  • Notify Me: shoppers ask to be notified as soon as a product is available to buy.
  • Waitlist: builds a list of interested shoppers while a product is unavailable.
  • Coming Soon: a non-clickable Coming Soon button in place of the buy button, with an optional message, badge and countdown, to build interest before a launch.
  • Low Stock: shows a low-stock message once stock drops to a number the merchant sets.
  • Hide Sold Out: hides products across the store when every tracked variant is sold out. It runs store-wide and comes with the add-on.

Pre-order and Back in Stock can run on the same product, so a shopper can either order now or sign up to hear when more stock arrives.

When a pre-order shows

  • Each variant has one of three stock modes: only when out of stock; always, whatever the stock level; or only while Shopify stock lasts.
  • Optional start and end dates, and an optional pre-order limit per variant.
  • Timesact switches on Shopify's "Continue selling when out of stock" setting for the variant. Shopify inventory stays the source of truth: Timesact reads stock and never moves or reserves it.
  • Stock is reduced when the order is placed or when it is fulfilled, as the merchant chooses.
  • Dates and times follow the time zone set in the app's account settings.

Payments

  • A pre-order takes the full payment at checkout, or a split payment: a first charge at checkout (a percentage, a fixed amount, or nothing) and the rest on a set date or a set number of days after checkout.
  • Split payments run on Shopify Payments and PayPal Express. On Shopify Payments, Shopify collects the balance automatically.
  • An optional pre-order discount.
  • Split payments and the pre-order discount use Shopify's purchase options. For gift cards, Buy X Get Y, native Shopify bundles or local payment methods such as Klarna on a pre-order, the merchant chooses the "Don't use a Shopify purchase option" mode, which takes the full payment at checkout.
  • Payment always runs through Shopify's checkout.

Orders and fulfillment

  • Every order with a pre-order item is tagged Pre-order. A mixed order, with pre-order and in-stock items, also gets Partial Pre-order. The tags are order-level and work with Shopify Flow, order filters and exports.
  • Orders carry the shipping date. With a purchase option, Shopify sets the fulfillment status from the shipping schedule: Unfulfilled, Scheduled or On hold.
  • Hold order, in the mode without a purchase option: Timesact puts the pre-order items, or the whole order, on hold after Shopify routes it. The merchant releases the hold in Shopify.
  • A mixed cart alert can tell shoppers that their cart combines pre-order and in-stock items.
  • Shopify's order routing decides which location fulfills each order.

Notifications

Notifications are chosen per functionality, in each template:

  • Built-in email: editable, with full HTML and an optional custom sending domain. A shopper who signs up is emailed automatically once that variant is restocked to the threshold set in the template.
  • SMS: back-in-stock and Notify Me alerts by text, billed per message from $0.02 for US numbers.
  • Klaviyo: Timesact sends pre-order and back-in-stock events that start Klaviyo flows.
  • Shopify Flow: a back-in-stock trigger for Flow automations.

Push notifications go through Klaviyo or Shopify Flow.

Analytics

The Analytics tab reports pre-order sales and revenue, top pre-ordered products, email performance, and back-in-stock sign-ups and purchase conversion, with CSV export. CORE plans keep 30 days of history and PRO keeps all of it. Alerts on a report, by email or Slack, come with the add-on. Store-wide revenue, traffic and ad results stay in Shopify Analytics, GA4 and the ad platforms.

Storefront, themes and languages

  • Timesact shows its button, messages and badges through the app embed and renders them in the browser with JavaScript.
  • It works with Shopify themes and with the page builders EComposer, PageFly, Shogun, GemPages and Instant. Our support team can fine-tune the setup for a custom theme.
  • Smart variables in the product-page message: {{inventoryQuantity}}, {{preorderQuantity}}, {{daysLeftUntilEndDate}} and {{shippingDate}}.
  • Storefront text is translated in Shopify Translate & Adapt (Metaobjects, then Timesact Customer Experience) or in langify. The primary-language wording is edited in the app.
  • Timesact keeps each variant's settings in Shopify metafields and its customer experience templates in Shopify metaobjects, on the merchant's own store.
  • Markets & locations, on PRO, runs a template only in chosen countries or for chosen locations.

Plans and pricing

Prices from the Shopify App Store listing on 22 October 2026. The listing is the reference for current prices, and our pricing page compares the plans.

  • Free: 20 orders a month, reset on the 1st; unlimited email sign-ups and sends; Klaviyo; a custom sending domain; unlimited Coming Soon and Low Stock; Timesact branding.
  • Flexible, billed by usage: CORE Flex from $5 a month, with 10 extra orders on top of the free 20 and $0.20 per order above that. PRO Flex from $7 a month, with $0.30 per order above its limit. Higher volumes are set in the app.
  • Fixed, unlimited orders: priced by the store's Shopify plan, CORE from $23 a month on Basic Shopify, or from $17 a month billed yearly.
  • Add-on: Hide Sold Out plus merchant alerts by email and Slack. It pairs with any plan, Free included, or runs on its own.
  • CORE paid plans add split payments, deposits, 0-down pre-orders, CSV upload, pre-orders by product tag, Hold order and SMS, and remove Timesact branding. PRO adds Markets & locations, store-wide automatic Back in Stock and Low Stock, and unlimited Analytics history.
  • Billing runs through Shopify. Usage counts orders, not items, and there are no transaction fees.

Support

Support is by email, live chat, phone and video call, with a free guided setup call and theme fine-tuning by our team. Setup and troubleshooting guides are in the help center.

Data and privacy

Timesact is installed from the Shopify App Store and works through Shopify's APIs. The store data it can access is listed on its App Store page under "Data access", and our privacy policy explains how it is used. Customers pay through Shopify's own checkout.

Frequently asked questions

Does Timesact slow down my store?

Timesact loads on the storefront through its app embed, a Shopify theme app extension, and it is certified Built for Shopify, which includes Shopify's performance requirements for apps. We publish our weekly Core Web Vitals from Shopify's own report on the App performance page.

How does a split payment work with Timesact?

The customer pays a first charge at checkout, which can be a percentage, a fixed amount or nothing, and the rest is charged on a date the merchant sets or a set number of days after checkout. Split payments run on Shopify Payments and PayPal Express, and on Shopify Payments Shopify collects the balance automatically. A split payment is a payment schedule the merchant sets for a pre-order, not buy now, pay later.

Does Timesact work with my theme and page builder?

Yes. Timesact works with Shopify themes and with the page builders EComposer, PageFly, Shogun, GemPages and Instant. Setup includes enabling the Timesact app embed in the theme editor and saving the theme, and our support team can fine-tune the setup for a custom theme.

Can customers pay with gift cards or Klarna on a pre-order?

Yes, with the "Don't use a Shopify purchase option" mode. In that mode the pre-order takes the full payment at checkout, and every payment method the store offers stays available, including gift cards and local methods such as Klarna. Split payments and the pre-order discount use Shopify's purchase option, so that mode switches them off.

How do I find pre-order orders in Shopify?

Timesact tags every order that contains a pre-order item with Pre-order. An order that mixes pre-order and in-stock items also gets Partial Pre-order. The tags work in Shopify's order filters, exports and Shopify Flow. In Klaviyo, flows start from Timesact's own pre-order and back-in-stock events.

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