Automatic cancellation of unpaid orders

You can set Shoporama to automatically cancel orders that aren't paid within a certain number of minutes. This keeps your order list clean, frees up inventory reservations and saves you manual cleanup work.

To enable automatic cancellation

1. Click on the gear and go to the Online Shop
2. Select the Finance and inventory system tab
3. Find the Auto-cancel order section
4. Enter the number of minutes in the Number of minutes field (minimum 30)
5. Click Save

If you leave the field empty, no orders will be canceled automatically. So you can safely turn the feature off again.

Practical examples

Here are some typical values converted to human time so you can easily see what you are actually typing in the field:

• 30 equals 30 minutes (minimum). Aggressive, releases stock quickly after an interrupted card payment.
• 60 equals 1 hour. Suitable for most shops with card payment.
• 120 corresponds to 2 hours. Slightly longer leash, e.g. if MobilePay or card payment fails.
• 1440 corresponds to 1 day (24 hours). Suitable if you offer bank transfer.
• 4320 corresponds to 3 days. Long string, e.g. for EAN or invoice payment.
• 10080 corresponds to 7 days (1 week). Maximum patience.

Which orders get canceled?

The auto-cancellation is deliberately cautious. It only touches orders that are clearly abandoned and unpaid. Specifically, all of these conditions must be met before an order is canceled:

• The order has the status New
• The order is not registered as paid
• At least your selected number of minutes have passed since the order was created

This means that orders in other statuses (e.g. Pending, Ready for pickup, Shipped or Completed) will not be touched. The same applies to orders that are marked as paid, even if the status is still New. The feature is therefore safe to enable, even if you have a mixed order pipeline.

What happens when an order is canceled?

• The order status automatically changes to Canceled
• Any stock reservations are released so the products can be sold again
• The order is not deleted. It will remain in your order list with the status Canceled
• The customer is not automatically notified. If you want to notify the customer, you have to do it manually

When is this useful?

• Pink orders. Orders where the customer started but never completed the payment, for example because the card was declined.
• Bank transfer. Customers who order but never transfer the amount.
• Invoice and EAN. Unpaid orders that are gathering dust without clarification.
• Abandoned baskets. Without auto-cancellation, inventory remains reserved on orders that are never fulfilled.

Frequently asked questions

I want orders to be canceled after 7 days. What do I write?

You should write 10080 because 7 days is 7 times 24 hours times 60 minutes. If you just type 7, it will go wrong: the field is in minutes, not days.

Can I turn the feature off completely again?

Yes, you can. Just delete the number in the field so it's empty and click Save. Then no orders will be canceled automatically and you can clean up manually as before.

Will my sent or processed orders also be canceled?

No, they won't. Only orders with status New, which are not registered as paid at the same time, can be affected. As soon as you have changed the status (e.g. Pending, Ready for pickup, Shipped) or marked the payment, the system will stay away.

Will the customer be notified when the order is canceled?

No, they won't. The auto-cancellation does not send an email or other notification. If you want to inform the customer, you can open the order and send a message manually or wait for the customer to respond.

How often does the system check for unpaid orders?

Auto-cancel runs as a scheduled task every few minutes. Therefore, there may be a few extra minutes between the time limit being exceeded and the order actually changing status. This is completely normal and not a bug.

What does an automatic cancellation look like in the accounts?

The order is kept in the history with the status Canceled. It is not included in your revenue because it was never paid and therefore does not affect VAT or accounting. You still have full documentation of what happened.

Where do I find the field in admin?

Click the cogwheel at the top, select Online Shop and open the Financial and inventory system tab. Scroll down to the Auto-cancel order section. The field is called Number of minutes.

We have 8 online shops. Do I need to set it up per shop?

Yes, you do. The setting is on the individual online shop, so you can customize it according to the type of customers, payment methods and stock per shop. For example, it makes sense to have 60 on a B2C shop and 4320 on a B2B shop with invoice payment.

Does it also release stock immediately on the stock page?

Yes, it does. When the order changes to Canceled, any reservations on the products are released and the inventory counts as available again. This is especially important on popular items with limited stock, where an abandoned order could otherwise block sales to other customers.

Can I undo an automatic cancellation?

You can always open the canceled order and set the status back to New. However, if the stock reservation has been released in the meantime and the product has been sold to another customer, you will need to find a solution together with the customer.

Do you need help? Write to us at support@shoporama.dk.