One-person sock maker has Shopify Sidekick build Flow automations that track the order queue and show customers a start date

What they did

They added two shop metafields, one for queue length in days and one for the order being worked on. They asked Sidekick to build flows that add days when a new order comes in (based on how many pairs it contains), subtract a day every workday except their Saturday off, recalculate when an order is fulfilled, and set the next unfulfilled order as the current one. They also asked Sidekick for a bit of Liquid code that adds the queue length to today's date (skipping Saturdays) and pasted it into a section on the store and into the order confirmation email.

How it went

Their order queue now runs on its own, and customers see when their order is expected to start, so expectations are clear.

Worth knowing

• Review each flow Sidekick proposes before turning it on, and place a test order to confirm the dates add up. The estimate assumes you keep your production pace.
• Price check: Shopify: no free plan; Basic: US$39/month, or US$29/month on a yearly plan (US$348/year) (checked Oct 28, 2026).

Try it yourself

Paste this into a chatbot, then add your own details underneath.

I make each order by hand at about [X] items per day and don't work on [days off]. Build Shopify Flow workflows that keep a shop metafield called queue_days up to date: add days when a new order is placed based on item quantity, subtract one each workday, and recalculate when I fulfill an order. Then write a short Liquid snippet that shows customers 'Your order should start by [date]' using queue_days and skipping my days off.

Original post

See @KevinCotedge's original post on X → (Dec 17, 2025)