Notification setup

How it works

When a customer selects a collection date, Blackout Dates stores it as the order note. Shopify's order confirmation email template can display that note — you just need to add a small snippet once.

The edit is made in Shopify Admin → Settings → Notifications. No code knowledge required.

Order confirmation email

Go to Settings → Notifications → Order confirmation and click Edit. Find the section after the line items table (look for the subtotal/total rows) and paste the snippet below immediately after:

{% if order.note != blank %}
<tr>
  <td colspan="2" style="padding: 16px 0; font-size: 14px; border-top: 1px solid #e5e7eb;">
    <strong>{{ order.note }}</strong>
  </td>
</tr>
{% endif %}

Save and use Preview to check it looks right before sending to customers.

Checkout delivery filtering (Plus / Pro)

Blackout Dates installs a Shopify delivery customization that shows only the shipping rates matching what the customer chose on the cart page — pickup, local delivery, or postal. The filter is installed automatically the first time you open the app's Delivery page; there's nothing to create in Shopify admin. If it ever drifts out of sync (for example after an app upgrade), re-opening the Delivery page deletes the stale customization and reinstalls a working one.

The filter identifies your rates by keywords in their title:

For example: a rate titled "Local Delivery" (contains "local") is shown only when the customer chose local delivery. A rate titled "Standard Postage" (no special keyword) is shown for postal orders. You don't need to use exact phrases — the match is case-insensitive and just needs the keyword to appear somewhere in the title.

Free or reduced postage above a spend threshold

If you offer free or reduced postage above a certain order value (configured in the app's Delivery settings), set that up using Shopify's native rate price conditions — Shopify already handles showing the right rate based on cart total, and our function filters by method on top.

Example setup in Shopify Admin → Settings → Shipping and delivery:

The thresholds you enter in the app admin control what customers see on the cart page. The thresholds above control what Shopify charges at checkout. Keep them in sync for a consistent experience.

Next-day dispatch (Pro)

Next-day dispatch builds on the same filter — enabling it just adds a keyword rule for the next-day rate on top of the pickup/local/postal split. You still need to add two postal rates in Shopify:

1. A standard postal rate — title must not contain "next-day" or "next day" (e.g. "Standard Postage").
2. A next-day rate — title must contain "next-day" or "next day" (e.g. "Next-day Dispatch"). Set its price to your standard postage price plus the next-day surcharge you entered in the app.

When a customer opts into next-day dispatch on the cart page, Blackout Dates hides the standard rate and shows only the next-day one — no double-charging.

Pickup and local delivery at checkout

For Shopify's native pickup and local delivery options to appear at checkout, the items in the cart must be marked as physical products and must have inventory at the pickup or local-delivery location. If either requirement is missing, Shopify won't offer the option regardless of what the customer chose on the cart — and the filter has nothing to show.

The app's Delivery Routing page walks through the location and inventory setup, and flags products that aren't currently eligible.

Troubleshooting

If checkout shows the wrong delivery options, open the app's Delivery page — the filter reinstalls on load and usually resolves the issue. If a red banner appears on that page, it names the exact cause (missing Shopify access scope, plan restriction, mutation failure) and how to fix it, so you don't have to guess at a silently broken checkout.

Questions?

Email us at help@blackoutdates.app and we'll help you get set up.