How warranty coverage works

How it works

Coverage terms are counted in months. OrderPilot checks 6 levels and uses the most specific level containing a number. A blank level is skipped.

1. 1Default warrantyStart with the store's general term.
2. 2By vendorApply a vendor-specific term.
3. 3By categoryApply a category-specific term.
4. 4By category and vendorApply the combined rule.
5. 5By productApply the template or Shopify product's own term.
6. 6On the orderApply an authorized change for this sale.

The product level uses the template for a template line, or the Shopify product for a catalog line. It doesn't apply both. A line without a vendor skips the vendor levels.

A term can cover the whole product or an individual option. Warranty setup covers the general rules; coverage exceptions covers options and Shopify products.

Terms are frozen on the sold line. Changing your rules affects orders placed afterward, not the terms already agreed on existing orders.

An extended warranty plan adds months to the base term. Only one plan attaches to a line. It doesn't cover an excluded option unless an authorized order change lifts that exclusion.

When cover starts and stops

Each physical unit has its own start date. Partial deliveries can therefore produce different coverage dates for units from the same order.

1. 1SaleThe agreed terms are recorded on the line.
2. 2DeliveryThe unit's coverage clock starts.
3. 3CoverageReturns or claim outcomes can stop it; goodwill can extend its end.
4. 4End dateCoverage ends on the unit's applicable final day.

An hourly check catches missed Shopify updates. If an item still shows Starts at delivery, check the delivery evidence before starting coverage by hand.

A Shopify refund with a return stops coverage on the returned units. Mark returned, a delivered claim replacement, and money back through a claim can also stop coverage.

Goodwill extends an end date; it never shortens it. Replacement coverage follows your replacement-warranty rule: retain the expiry, retain it with a minimum period, or start a full term.

Coverage dates use UTC calendar days. Near midnight, the displayed date can differ from the local date you expected. Check the actual handover record before correcting it.

Where you'll see it

Staff see coverage on line chips, the order's Warranty panel, and Coverage look-up. Check a product explains how the rules resolve for a selected product.

Use Warranty on an order for the stored terms and units. That record is more useful than recalculating an old sale from today's settings.

Customers see frozen terms inline on quote PDFs, invoice PDFs, and the signing page. PDFs use months, such as Product (24 months) and Fabric (Excluded). Unset terms are omitted.

Order emails can express whole-year terms as years. A sold warranty plan appears beneath its item with its recorded quantity and total. The plan row has no warranty of its own.

Purchase-order PDFs don't print warranty terms. POS doesn't show terms on screen. A printed customer document and the POS screen therefore aren't the same coverage view.

The portal's Warranty tab lists bought plans on placed orders. Use the staff coverage record to verify dates; don't describe the portal list as a complete base-coverage register.

The choices you have

Set the default, vendor, category, combined, and product terms to match the warranty you sell. Use an authorized order override for an exception agreed on one sale.

All set option terms print on customer documents. Check those terms when reviewing the customer's quote.

You can sell an extended plan, maintain serials, and record manual coverage corrections. Those choices don't change the need to identify the physical unit and the original agreement.

Do it

Set up warranty coverage, add coverage exceptions, and review the result with Warranty on an order. Use manual coverage actions for a recorded correction.