---
title: "Capacity Alerts"
description: "Set up email notifications for when your store reaches a percentage of its order capacity you choose, and when it hits 100%."
contentType: "docs"
locale: "en"
localized: true
source: "https://orderrules.com/docs/notifications/capacity-alerts"
slug: "notifications/capacity-alerts"
---
## Get Notified Before You Hit the Limit

Capacity alerts send you an email when your order count reaches a percentage of your daily, weekly or monthly limit. This gives you a heads-up so you can prepare before orders are automatically blocked. Email notifications are included in the Pro plan and above.

## Setting Up Capacity Alerts

1. Go to **Settings** from the dashboard
2. Scroll to **Notification Settings**
3. Enter your **Notification email**
4. Select your **Alert threshold** (the percentage that triggers the warning)
5. Set a **Notification cooldown** to prevent repeated emails
6. Click **Save**

## How the Threshold Works

You choose the percentage at which you want to be notified: 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95%.

```
Daily Limit: 50 orders
Threshold:   75%

Alert fires at: 38 orders (75% of 50)
```

**Recommended settings:**
- **75%** -- gives you time to plan and prepare
- **80%** -- the default, a good balance of timely and quiet
- **95%** -- only alerts when you are nearly at capacity

## The 100% Alert

When a limit is fully reached (100%), you get a separate email, whatever your threshold. This tells you new orders are now blocked.

```
Subject: Daily order limit reached — new orders paused

Your daily order limit of 50 has been reached.
New orders are paused until tomorrow at midnight.
```

The cooldown applies to this email too. If another alert went out within the cooldown window, the 100% email is held back.

### Choosing a threshold

| Threshold | You hear about it | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| 70–75% | Early, with time to plan | More emails on busy days |
| 80% | The default, balanced | Enough warning without noise |
| 90–95% | Only when nearly full | Little time left to react |

The **100% alert fires whatever your threshold** — that's the one telling you orders are now blocked. A cooldown sets the minimum gap between emails so a rush doesn't flood your inbox.

## Cooldown Period

To avoid being flooded with emails during a rush, the cooldown sets a minimum gap between alerts. You can set it from 0 to 240 minutes in 15-minute steps. 0 means no cooldown. The default is 60 minutes.

**Example with a 60-minute cooldown:**
- 10:00 AM: 75% alert sent
- 10:20 AM: 85% reached -- no alert (cooldown active)
- 11:00 AM: cooldown expires
- 11:05 AM: 90% reached -- alert sent

The cooldown covers every alert, including the 100% email. If you can't afford to miss the limit-reached email, use a short cooldown.

## Sending Alerts to More Than One Person

The **Notification email** field takes a single address. To reach a team, enter a shared inbox or a group address that forwards to everyone:

```
orders@mybakery.com
```

## Testing

After saving your settings, click **Send test email** to confirm delivery. If nothing arrives within a few minutes, check your spam folder and verify the email address.

## Related

- [Capacity Alert Emails](/docs/order-limits/email-alerts)
- [Daily Summary Email](/docs/notifications/daily-summary)
- [Daily Order Limits](/docs/order-limits/daily-order-limits)