Order cutoff times in Merchant Center and on your store
Your order cutoff is the time after which an order waits for the next business day. Set it in Merchant Center with its time zone, and print it on your store. Leave the setting blank and Google uses a default of 8:00 a.m. PST, which is almost certainly not when your warehouse stops packing.
Why this matters
Google’s “Set up estimated delivery time” page defines it: “The cut-off time is the time by which your customer needs to place an order for it to begin processing on the same day. Orders placed after this time don't begin processing until the following business day.” The shopper feels it straight away: “Customers who miss the cutoff will see an extra business day added to their delivery estimate.” And the default is the part that catches people out: “Cut-off time is an optional value. If you leave it blank, then the default time will be 8:00 a.m. PST.”
The account shipping settings page asks for two things together. For the order cutoff you “choose the time of day by which orders must be placed to process them on the same day”, and you “select the time zone in which this time is calculated.” If you send cutoffs in product data instead, Google’s “Shipping [shipping]” page says the handling cutoff time [handling_cutoff_time] “Specifies the exact time of day by which an order must be placed in order to be processed on that same business day”, and its time zone [handling_cutoff_timezone] comes with a warning worth reading twice: “If not specified, the system will default to the timezone of the shipping destination.” A UK shop selling into Germany with no time zone set has quietly moved its own cutoff.
On the store, the cutoff is a promise shoppers act on. “Order by 2pm for same-day dispatch” with no time zone, no mention of weekends and no word about bank holidays invites the Friday-evening order that expects Saturday dispatch. Write the time, the zone, the days and what happens after the cutoff, and use the same values in Merchant Center, so the “arrives by” date in the listing and the line on your product page tell the shopper the same thing. Cutoff and handling time work together; see handling time vs transit time and the shipping policy guide.
The free scan flags a shipping page with no handling time or no delivery time; the cutoff line itself is yours to add, and Merchant Center’s cutoff setting is outside the scan. Every shipping-page check is listed on the misrepresentation checker.
Typical evidence
“Same-day dispatch” owes the shopper a deadline
The moment your site says same-day or next-day, state the cutoff that makes it real — the hour after which today’s orders become tomorrow’s. Without one, the speed promise is hard to rely on.
The public signals this check looks for:
The store says “order before 2pm for same-day dispatch” with no time zone
The store says “order before 2pm for same-day dispatch” with no time zone.
Next-day delivery is advertised with no cutoff anywhere, so nobody knows when “next day” s…
Next-day delivery is advertised with no cutoff anywhere, so nobody knows when “next day” starts.
Merchant Center has no cutoff set, so the default applies instead of the time your warehou…
Merchant Center has no cutoff set, so the default applies instead of the time your warehouse uses.
The cutoff appears only in a promotional banner that is removed after the sale
The cutoff appears only in a promotional banner that is removed after the sale.
Same-day dispatch copy says nothing about weekends or public holidays
Same-day dispatch copy says nothing about weekends or public holidays.
What it looks like once it is right
“Orders placed by 1pm UK time, Monday to Friday, are dispatched the same day. Later orders, and orders at the weekend or on a bank holiday, are dispatched on the next working day.” Merchant Center’s cutoff is 1:00 p.m., Europe/London.
Common mistakes
Common mistake
Fix checklist
The rule, spelled out across the week
Before 2pm on a weekday ships today; after, or at the weekend, it’s the next working day.
Questions merchants ask
What happens if I do not set an order cutoff time in Merchant Center?
Google uses a default. Its estimated delivery time page says cut-off time is optional and that if you leave it blank, the default time is 8:00 a.m. PST. Set your own cutoff and time zone so the delivery estimate starts from your real packing day.
Does the order cutoff change the delivery date shoppers see on Google?
Yes. Google says customers who miss the cutoff see an extra business day added to their delivery estimate. A cutoff that is later than your real one makes the estimate a day too optimistic for late orders.
Do I need a time zone for the cutoff in product data?
Send one. Google's [shipping] attribute page says that if the cutoff time zone is not specified, the time zone of the shipping destination is used, which can move your cutoff for orders from other countries.
Remediation
Risk signal
Similar cases
Sources
- Set up estimated delivery time (cutoff, handling and transit time)Google Merchant Center Help — support.google.com
- Set up shipping settings for an entire accountGoogle Merchant Center Help — support.google.com
- Shipping [shipping] — cost, speed and handling in product dataGoogle Merchant Center Help — support.google.com
Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.
That is one issue. The library documents 134.
The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.