How do I set up preparation times (lead times) and order cut-off times?

To set a same-day delivery cutoff on Shopify, set a cut-off time in Bird’s Preparation Time settings. Orders placed before the cut-off use your normal lead time (for example, same day). Orders placed after it use a longer lead time, so the earliest slot moves to the next day.

Lead times ensure you have enough time to fulfill orders before customers can select delivery or pickup slots. This prevents overbooking and manages customer expectations effectively.

Set Up General Preparation Times

1. Navigate to Bird Settings > Pickup & delivery or Configure locations based on your setup.
2. Under Preparation times, select Enabled.
3. Choose your configuration:
   • Same preparation time for all days (Mon to Sun): Use when your lead time is consistent throughout the week
   • Customize preparation time by day: Use when you need different processing times for specific days

Understanding Lead Time

Lead time is the minimum time needed before an order can be fulfilled.

Examples:

• 4 Hours: Order placed at 10:00 AM Monday → Earliest slot: 2:00 PM Monday
• 1 Day: Order placed Monday at 11:00 AM → Available slots: Tuesday onwards
• 2 Days: Order placed Monday → Available slots: Wednesday onwards

Configure Cut-off Times

Cut-off time determines when your store stops accepting new orders each day.

Before Cut-off Time (e.g., 6:00 PM):

• Set lead time: 1 day
• Customers can select next-day slots

After Cut-off Time (e.g., 6:00 PM):

• Set lead time: 2 days
• Customers can only select slots starting two days from then

Important: Set the lead time after cut-off to be longer than before cut-off to ensure proper functionality.

Product-Specific Preparation Times

For products requiring different preparation times, use the Store Pickup: Product Override feature to set unique lead times for specific SKUs or tags.

1. Go to Bird Settings > Product overrides
2. Click Add override
3. Enter the Product tags or SKU patterns for products needing different lead times
4. Set Preparation time to Enabled, then choose Same preparation time for all days (Mon to Sun) or Customize preparation time by day
5. Set the specific lead time in days, hours, or minutes

You can create multiple override rules for different products. Note that if a day is disabled in your main availability settings, it cannot be made available through an override.

For detailed configuration steps and advanced settings, see our Store Pickup: Preparation Time — Complete Setup Guide.

Related Articles

• Store Pickup: Preparation Time
• Local Delivery: Preparation Time
• Shipping: Preparation Time
• Can I set different preparation or lead times for different products?