Boreham Wood entered the play-offs having finished fourth in the 2017–18 National League while Tranmere Rovers finished two places above in second. The play-off format was changed for this season with second and third place teams receiving a bye to the semi-finals while the fourth to seventh place teams played a qualifying round to determine the other two semi-finalists. Boreham Wood beat seventh-placed Fylde 2–1 in their qualifying round and third-placed Sutton United 3-2 in the semi-final. Tranmere faced sixth-placed Ebbsfleet United in their semi-final, after Ebbsfleet beat Aldershot Town in the other qualifying round via a penalty-shootout, Tranmere won 4–2 to reach the final.