Time slots
2 min read · Facts checked October 12, 2026
Time slots let customers pick a delivery window — like 10:00–12:00 or 14:00–16:00 — alongside the date.
- Build a template, attach it to a rule. Windows live in Time slot templates (Delivery Dates → More options). Load a carrier preset or build your own, then pick the template in a rule's Time slot template field. Slots show under the chosen date on the storefront picker.
- Cap each window. Set a Cap/day on a window and it can sell out independently of the date.
- Live sell-out. Capped slots show how many places remain, and full ones show as Full and can't be picked.
- Enforced at checkout. The OrderRules Shopify Function rejects a sold-out slot, Shop Pay and other express checkouts included.
At export, windows that match a carrier's time bands map to its native slot codes — see Carrier CSV export.
Date capacity versus slot capacity
The two caps stack, and they answer different questions.
| Per-date capacity | Per-slot capacity | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you set it | Maximum orders per delivery date (Delivery date behavior), one store-wide number | Cap/day on each window in a time slot template |
| What it caps | Total orders for a day | Orders inside one window |
| When it sells out | The whole date greys out | Only that window shows as Full |
| Use it for | A daily production ceiling | Van, crew or oven capacity per window |
| Enforced | At checkout, via Shopify Functions | At checkout, via Shopify Functions |
Set both when a day has a hard total and uneven demand across the windows — a full 10:00–12:00 shouldn't close the afternoon.
Related
- Capacity limits · Availability rules · Order auto-tagging
- Capacity calculator: how many orders to allow per slot