Why a preorder receipt is not a delivery confirmation

A preorder solves an availability problem: the seller can accept an order before ordinary stock is ready. That means payment and delivery are intentionally separate events.

The distinction should be visible in the product message, invoice explanation and staff workflow.

Explain what the initial payment does

A full payment or deposit can settle the initial preorder invoice while the service remains pending. A payment receipt establishes payment status; it does not establish that inventory has been released or a server has been provisioned.

Keep the customer's order and service references available so a delivery question can be answered for the correct purchase.

Make the release decision explicit

Staff should confirm that the required payment is covered and that the intended inventory is ready. Releasing a preorder merely because someone asks for an update defeats that control.

In the current Preorders extension, staff release provisions the service and creates any remaining balance invoice. It does not wait for payment of that remaining balance. That policy needs to fit the seller's actual business process.

Keep billing periods clear

The first service period begins with fulfillment. Paying a remaining balance is settlement of the original purchase, not purchase of another recurring period.

A release process should also reject repeated fulfillment so a second staff action cannot create another balance or provisioning job.

Communicate the current state

Use pending, paid, released and active deliberately. If timing changes, update customers with information you can support rather than inventing a guaranteed date.

Read the buyer checklist and merchant setup guide. They help keep the reservation promise separate from ordinary in-stock ordering.