Creating zones
Define the delivery or pickup region a zone covers, then attach rules to start generating bookable slots.
On this page
What a zone is
A zone is the top-level object in SlotSmith: a named delivery or pickup region — “Downtown same-day,” “Store pickup — Main St,” or a full postal-code list. A zone by itself generates no slots; you attach one or more rules to it first.
Create a zone
- Go to SlotSmith → Zones → Create zone.
- Name the zone. This name is customer-facing, so keep it short and geographic (“North Shore,” not “Zone 4”).
- Choose a coverage type:
- Radius — a distance in kilometers or miles from a pinned address.
- Postal code list — an explicit list or range of postal codes.
- Store pickup — no delivery coverage; customers select this zone to collect in person.
- Save. The zone is created in Draft and generates no slots yet.
Attach a rule
A draft zone needs at least one rule before it can be published. From the zone detail page, select Add rule and set:
- Cutoff time — the latest time a same-day slot can still be booked.
- Lead time — minimum notice before the earliest bookable slot.
- Capacity — how many orders a single slot can hold before it’s full.
See Rule basics for the full set of options, including recurring schedules and blackout dates.
Publish
Once a rule is attached, toggle Published on the zone list page. Published zones appear in the storefront delivery picker for any address that matches their coverage. Unpublishing a zone does not cancel orders already booked against it — existing slot bookings are honored.
Zone priority when regions overlap
If a customer’s address matches more than one published zone, SlotSmith uses zone priority to pick which one is offered. See Zone priorities to set the order explicitly instead of relying on the default (most specific coverage wins).
API access
Zones are also available over the Admin API — see GET /admin/api/2026-07/zones.json to list, create, update, and delete zones programmatically.