Understanding Order on Hold Rules

The Order on Hold Rules page, located Sites > Your site > Order On Hold Rules, is designed to give you control over your order processing automation. By default, Spark Shipping tries to send orders to vendors as quickly as possible. These rules act as a "filter" to stop specific orders for manual review.

The logic of this page depends on the main switch and on which orders you choose to hold. A Right now: note at the top of the page sums up what your current settings do. Use this guide to ensure your orders are being held exactly how you intended.

The first option, Place new orders on hold, dictates how the rest of the page behaves. It is the foundation for all other settings on this screen: nothing on this page holds an order unless it is on.

1. The "Hold All" Approach (Select Hold ALL new orders)

If you turn on Place new orders on hold and select Hold ALL new orders:

What happens: Every single new order will be placed "On Hold."
The Logic: This is a "safety-first" mode. No automation will occur, and you must manually process every order to send to a vendor.

2. The "Conditional Hold" Approach (Select Hold only orders that match conditions)

If you select Hold only orders that match conditions and check one or more conditions, the logic shifts:

What happens: Spark Shipping will ONLY hold orders that meet those specific conditions. All other orders will bypass the hold and process automatically.
The Logic: This creates an "Exception-Only" workflow. You trust the system to handle standard orders but want it to flag specific issues (like a PO Box or high-value order).
Note: If you select this option but leave every condition unchecked, every order is held.

Breakdown of Hold Conditions

When you enable specific rules, Spark Shipping looks for these "Flags":

By Order Value: Holds orders whose Grand Total is at or over a specific dollar amount. If the amount is blank or 0, every order is held.
Order has a bundle product: Holds orders with one or more bundle or super bundle products.
Order has a PO Box
Order has multiple line items: Useful if you want to manually verify with the vendor if items can be consolidated into one shipment to save on shipping costs.
Order has product(s) out of stock: Prevents "Dead Orders" from being sent to vendors who cannot fulfill them. Also holds orders where your total stock is lower than the quantity ordered.
Order has a state code/region that does not match any of the contiguous US states (Also known as lower 48): Automatically catches orders from Alaska, Hawaii, or US Territories. Orders to Washington, DC and orders shipping outside the US are held too.
Current price less than suggested price: If your selling price accidentally drops below your "Suggested Price," the system stops the order.

Quick Reference Table

If you want to...	Do this:
Manually review every order	Turn on Place new orders on hold and select Hold ALL new orders.
Only review "Risky" orders	Turn on Place new orders on hold, select Hold only orders that match conditions AND check your specific filters.
Disable all holds (Fully Auto)	Turn off Place new orders on hold.

Final Step: After making your selections, you must click the Update Order on Hold Rules button at the bottom of the page to apply your changes.

Other ways an order is put on hold

These work separately from the rules above:

Skip Fulfillment Days (in Advanced Options): orders created in your store more than this many days before they reach Spark Shipping are put on hold. The default is 3.
Order workflows: a workflow can hold an order by setting its Order Item Status to On Hold, or release it from these rules with the Process Order (skip On Hold rules) action.

The rules on this page are checked only the first time Spark Shipping processes a new order. To send a held order, open it and click Process, or use Reports > Orders On Hold.