Creating draft orders
You can create a draft order on behalf of your customer and then send them an invoice for the order. By default, the invoice contains a link to a checkout, where your customer can pay for their order.
Draft orders can contain the following information:
On this page
- Create a new draft order
- Duplicating an existing order or draft order
- Add products to a draft order
- Reserve item inventory in a draft order
- Lock product pricing on a draft order
- Add discounts to a draft order
- Add shipping to a draft order
- Add tags to a draft order
- Add or remove taxes from a draft order
- Add, change, or remove a customer from a draft order
- Set up payment terms for payments due later on a draft order
- Local currency on draft orders
- Change the market for an order
- Delete a draft order
- Checkout rules in draft orders
Create a new draft order
You can create a new draft order from the Drafts page of your Shopify admin. New drafts have no pre-filled order information, so you need to add all draft order details manually.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click Create order.
Add products to the order.
-
Customize the order:
- Add a customer
- Apply discounts
- Turn taxes on or off
- Add tags or a note
- Change the market to display a different local currency
-
Do one of the following actions:
- Send an invoice to the customer. By default, the invoice contains a link to a checkout that your customer can use to pay for the order.
- Accept payment from the customer.
- Set payment terms.
- Save the order as a draft so that you can update it later from the Drafts page.
You can also create orders with pre-filled customer information from existing customer profiles.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders.
- Tap the + button.
- Add products to the order.
- Customize the order:
- Add a customer
- Apply discounts
- Turn taxes on or off
- Add tags or a note
- Change the market to display a different local currency
- Do one of the following actions:
- Send an invoice to the customer. By default, the invoice contains a link to a checkout that your customer can use to pay for the order.
- Accept payment from the customer.
- Set payment terms.
- Save the order as a draft so that you can update it later from the Drafts page.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders.
- Tap the + button.
- Add products to the order.
- Customize the order:
- Add a customer
- Apply discounts
- Turn taxes on or off
- Add tags or a note
- Change the market to display a different local currency
- Do one of the following actions:
- Send an invoice to the customer. By default, the invoice contains a link to a checkout that your customer can use to pay for the order.
- Accept payment from the customer.
- Set payment terms.
- Save the order as a draft so that you can update it later from the Drafts page.
Duplicating an existing order or draft order
When you create a draft order, you can save time by duplicating an existing order or an existing draft order. Review the following examples when duplicating an existing order might be useful:
- You often manually create orders for returning customers.
- You want to change or edit an existing order.
When you duplicate an existing order or a draft order, a new draft order is created with the following duplicate information:
- Products. The duplicate line item contains the latest information for that product. If a product has been removed, then it won't be included in the duplicate draft order.
- Custom items.
- Customer information. If the customer has been deleted, then a customer is created based on the email, billing, and shipping addresses.
- Email, billing, and shipping addresses.
- Notes, note attributes, and tags.
- The market.
Discounts and shipping rates aren't duplicated in the draft order.
Duplicate an existing order
You can create a draft order by duplicating an existing order in your Shopify admin.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.
Click an existing order that you want to duplicate.
In the order details page, click Duplicate. A draft order is created with the same line items and customer information as the original order.
Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
-
When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a draft
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > All orders.
- Tap an existing order that you want to duplicate.
- Tap … > Duplicate.
- Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
- When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a draft
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > All orders.
- Tap an existing order that you want to duplicate.
- Tap ⋮ > Duplicate.
- Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
- When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a draft
If you save your order as a draft, then you can update it later from the Drafts page in your Shopify admin. When you accept payment for your draft order, an order is created for it on the Orders page.
Duplicate an existing draft order
You can create a draft order by duplicating an existing draft order in your Shopify admin.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order that you want to duplicate.
In the draft order details page, click Duplicate. A new draft order is created with the same line items and customer information as the original draft order.
Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
-
When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a new draft
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order that you want to duplicate.
- Tap … > Duplicate. A new draft order is created with the same line items and customer information as the original draft order.
- Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
- When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a draft
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order that you want to duplicate.
- Tap ⋮ > Duplicate. A new draft order is created with the same line items and customer information as the original draft order.
- Optional: Modify the draft order with any new details.
- When finished, do one of the following actions:
- send an invoice
- accept payment
- save it as a draft
If you save your order as a new draft, then you can update it later from the Drafts page in your Shopify admin. When you accept payment for your draft order, an order is created for it on the Orders page.
Add products to a draft order
You can add products and product bundles to your draft order.
You can also choose whether or not to reserve the items in the draft order to ensure that the inventory can't be purchased by other customers.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
-
In the Products section, do any of the following:
- Enter the name of the product or product bundle that you want to add to your order.
- Click Browse to view a list of your store's products and collections.
- Create a custom item for the order by clicking Add custom item.
Select the individual products or variants that you want to include in the order.
Click Add. To remove a product from the order, click the
X
button beside it in the Products section.Check the quantity that you've added to the order. If you add a product with zero inventory and the product doesn't allow overselling, then an out of stock error is displayed to your customer when they try to complete the purchase.
Optional: Reserve the products included in an invoice or a draft order to prevent other customers from purchasing them.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the draft order that you want to add a product to.
- In the Products section, tap Add products to view a list of your store's products. You can also create a custom item for the order by tapping Add custom item.
- Tap the product or product bundle that you want to include in the order.
- Optional: To remove a product from the order, tap the trash can icon next to the product that you want to remove.
- Check the quantity that you've added to the order. If you add a product with zero inventory and the product doesn't allow overselling, then an out of stock error is displayed to your customer when they try to complete the purchase.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the draft order that you want to add a product to.
- In the Products section, tap Add products to view a list of your store's products. You can also create a custom item for the order by tapping Add custom item.
- Tap the product or product bundle that you want to include in the order.
- Optional: To remove a product from the order, tap the trash can icon next to the product that you want to remove.
- Check the quantity that you've added to the order. If you add a product with zero inventory and the product doesn't allow overselling, then an out of stock error is displayed to your customer when they try to complete the purchase.
Reserve item inventory in a draft order
When you Reserve inventory in a draft order, those inventory units are put in the Unavailable inventory state and can't be purchased by other customers. The items that you reserve are dedicated to that particular draft order. If you don't reserve items, then the quantities stay in the Available inventory state and can be purchased by other customers. You can learn more about inventory states.
To reserve an item, inventory tracking must be activated for that product.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
After adding your products to the draft order, click ... > Reserve inventory.
Select the date and time when the reserve will expire.
Click Done.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- After adding your products to the draft order, tap ... > Reserve inventory.
- Select the date and time when the reserve will expire.
- Tap Save.
- Tap Save to save the draft order.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- After adding your products to the draft order, tap ... > Reserve inventory.
- Select the date and time when the reserve will expire.
- Tap ✓.
- Tap ✓ to save the draft order.
Lock product pricing on a draft order
By default, draft orders update to reflect pricing changes to products made in the Shopify admin before a draft order can be completed. However, you can activate a pricing lock on a draft order to prevent the draft order from updating any price changes made to the original products after the time the pricing lock is applied.
This can be useful for situations where you want to honor a pricing quote made to a customer regardless of whether the product's price is changed at a later time.
The pricing lock applies to all existing products in a draft order, as well as any products added to the draft order after the pricing lock is applied. Products that have their prices locked display a lock symbol beside their price in the draft order. When you send an invoice or checkout link for the order to the customer, you have the option to set the lock for all product prices or automatically unlock all prices on the draft order.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
After adding your products to the draft order, click ... > Lock product pricing.
Click Update draft order.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- After adding your products to the draft order, tap ... > Lock product pricing.
- Tap Update draft order.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- After adding your products to the draft order, tap ... > Lock product pricing.
- Tap ✓ to update the draft order.
You can unlock product pricing at any time by selecting ... > Unlock product pricing.
Add discounts to a draft order
You can apply discounts to a draft order in the following ways:
- Add an existing discount code to the order, along with eligible line items.
- Add all eligible automatic discounts.
- Add a custom amount off discount to the order.
- Add a custom amount off discount to individual line items.
Learn more about applying discounts to a draft order.
Add shipping to a draft order
If the current order requires shipping, then you can choose a preset shipping rate, create a custom rate, or choose local delivery or pickup in store.
To use a location-based shipping rate, you first need to add a customer and a shipping address to the draft order. After you add a customer, you can choose from the shipping rates in your store's shipping settings.
Any delivery method customizations that you've activated in your checkout apply to draft orders by default.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
Click Add shipping or delivery.
-
In the Shipping and delivery options dialog, select a shipping option:
- To select from your store's available shipping rates, select Shipping rates, and then select an eligible shipping rate.
- To choose a local shipping method, select Local delivery, or select Pickup in store and then select one of your locations.
- To create a custom shipping rate, select Custom, and then enter the custom rate's name and cost.
Click Apply.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add shipping to.
- Tap Add shipping or delivery.
- Select a shipping rate option, or tap Custom rate to enter a custom shipping rate.
- Tap Save.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add shipping to.
- Tap Add shipping or delivery.
- Select a shipping rate option, or tap Custom rate to enter a custom shipping rate.
- Tap ✓.
Add tags to a draft order
You can organize your orders beyond whether they're captured, paid, and fulfilled by adding tags. You can filter orders by tag, and then save the order view for that tag so that you can quickly access those orders in the future.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Tags section, enter the tag names separated by a comma. Order tags are limited to 40 characters per tag.
Optional: To select from your previously used tags, click the pencil icon and you can search your tags. Click Save to add the tags to your order.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add a tag to.
- In the Tags section, tap # Tag.
- In the search box, enter the tag names separated by commas and then add the tag. You can also search your tags. Order tags are limited to 40 characters per tag.
- Tap the tags that you want to add.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add a tag to.
- In the Tags section, tap # Tag.
- In the search box, enter the tag names separated by commas and then add the tag. You can also search your tags. Order tags are limited to 40 characters per tag.
- Tap the tags that you want to add.
Add or remove taxes from a draft order
By default, draft orders include taxes based on your store's tax settings and the customer's shipping address. If you don't have a shipping address on file, then taxes are based on the customer's billing address instead.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Payment section, click Estimated tax.
Select or deselect Charge taxes.
Click Apply to save your changes.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want change.
- In the Payment section, toggle Charge taxes on or off.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want change.
- In the Payment section, toggle Charge taxes on or off.
Add, change, or remove a customer from a draft order
You can add a customer, change the customer's information, or remove a customer from a draft order.
Add a customer to a draft order
You can add a new or existing customer to a draft order. Adding a customer is necessary when you want to use a location-based shipping rate for the current order.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Customer section, click the Search or create a customer field.
-
Add a customer to the order:
- If you already have a customer profile for this customer, then type their name, and then click the customer's name from the drop-down options.
- If you're adding a new customer, then click Create a new customer, enter their details, and then click Save customer. This customer is now saved to your store.
Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add a customer to.
- In the Customer section, tap + Add customer.
- Tap a customer, or tap + to create a new customer.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to add a customer to.
- In the Customer section, tap Add customer.
- Tap a customer, or tap + to create a new customer.
Change a customer's contact information
You can modify a customer's information from a draft order.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Customer section of the order, click …, and then click Edit contact information, Edit shipping address, or Edit billing address.
Make any required changes.
Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to change.
- In the Customer section of the order, tap …, and then tap Edit contact information, Edit shipping address, or Edit billing address.
- Make your changes to the customer information, then tap Save.
- Tap Save to save the order.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to change.
- In the Customer section of the order, tap …, and then tap Edit contact information, Edit shipping address, or Edit billing address.
- Make your changes to the customer information, then tap ✓.
- Tap ✓ to save the order.
Remove a customer from a draft order
You can remove a customer from a draft order. This won't remove the customer from the customer list in your Shopify admin.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Customer section of the draft order, click … > Remove customer.
Click Update draft order to save the draft order.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to change.
- In the Customer section of the draft order, tap … > Remove customer.
- Tap Save to save the draft order.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap the order that you want to change.
- In the Customer section of the draft order, tap … > Remove customer.
- Tap ✓ to save the draft order.
Set up payment terms for payments due later on a draft order
Payment terms let you set the date that payment is due on an order. After you set the payment terms, you can send an invoice or accept payment for the order.
Review the following table to learn more about the different types of payment terms:
Payment term | Description |
---|---|
Due on receipt | The payment is due on the date that you send the invoice to your customer. |
Due on fulfillment | The payment is due on the date that you fulfill all items in the order. |
Net term | The payment is due within the specified number of days from the issue date. The available terms are net 7, net 15, net 30, net 45, net 60, and net 90. |
Fixed term | The payment is due on a specific date. |
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click an existing draft order or click Create order to create a new draft order.
In the Payment section, select Payment due later.
From the Payment terms drop-down menu, select a payment term for your order.
Optional: To add a deposit to your draft order, click + Require deposit, and then enter a percentage amount deposit requirement, such as 20%. This option is available only on the Shopify Plus plan.
Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- In the Payment section, select Payment due later.
- From the Payment terms drop-down menu, select a payment term for your order.
- Optional: To add a deposit to your draft order, tap + Require deposit, and then enter a percentage amount deposit requirement, such as 20%. This option is available only on the Shopify Plus plan.
- Tap Save.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap an existing draft order or tap + to create a new draft order.
- In the Payment section, select Payment due later.
- From the Payment terms drop-down menu, select a payment term for your order.
- Optional: To add a deposit to your draft order, tap + Require deposit, and then enter a percentage amount deposit requirement, such as 20%. This option is available only on the Shopify Plus plan.
- Tap ✓.
Local currency on draft orders
If you use International to sell internationally, then the local currency, pricing, taxes, and duties are determined by the market that's associated with the order.
The market that's associated with the order is determined by the shipping address of the customer. Adding a customer to the order updates the pricing and displays your customer's local currency.
On draft orders that display a local currency other than store currency, the foreign exchange rate is calculated when you create the draft order. This rate is fixed and used on the invoice regardless of whether the exchange rate changes. However, if you save the order as a draft and edit it afterwards, then pricing on the whole order is updated with the foreign exchange rate that's current at the time of the edit.
If you want to use different pricing and currency for a draft order, then change the pricing and review the following impacts of changing the pricing on an order:
- Taxes are included or excluded from item prices. For example, orders with the United States market exclude taxes from prices, but orders with the Germany market include taxes in prices.
- Tax rates vary by market. At checkout, if a customer changes the shipping address to an address that's outside the market, then the correct tax rate for the customer’s shipping address is charged, but the market on the order, with its tax included or excluded setting, is unchanged.
- If you use a third-party service to determine the foreign exchange rate for a market, then pricing on an order is determined by the service’s exchange rate. However, the rate that Shopify Payments uses to calculate your payout is based on the market that's selected in Shopify. Therefore, the amount charged on the order can differ from the amount you receive in payment. For more information, refer to currency conversions and exchange rates.
- Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): If you are obliged to sell a product at the MSRP in a customer’s market, then you could be in breach of contract if you switch markets and use an alternative market price.
Change the market for an order
If you use Shopify International and you want to change the pricing and currency for your order, then you need to change the pricing. The Market section for your order is displayed only when a market other than your primary market is activated. If you want to change to particular market pricing, then you need to activate that market and local currency for the market.
Before you change the pricing, make sure to review the impact of changing the pricing.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click a draft order that you want to edit.
In the Market section, click the pencil icon.
Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
Click Change pricing.
Click Save.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, go to Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap a draft order that you want to edit.
- In the Market section, tap the pencil icon.
- Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
- Tap Change pricing.
- Tap Save.
Android
- From the Shopify app, go to Orders > Draft orders.
- Tap a draft order that you want to edit.
- In the Market section, tap the pencil icon.
- Select a market to apply its pricing to your draft order.
- Tap Change pricing.
- Tap ✓.
Order pricing is displayed in the customer's local currency except when you make the following custom changes to the order:
- If you add a custom line item or order discount, then the Discount value displays in store currency.
- If you add a custom shipping price, then the Price displays in store currency.
- If you add a custom item, then the Price displays in store currency.
After you make these custom changes, they're displayed on the order in the customer's local currency.
Delete a draft order
You can delete draft orders whether the draft order is open or completed. Deleting a completed draft order doesn't delete the order created from the draft.
Steps:
Desktop
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
Click the draft order that you want to delete.
Click Delete draft order.
In the modal, click Delete draft order to confirm and delete the draft.
iPhone
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders.
- Tap Drafts.
- Tap the draft order that you want to delete.
- Tap …, and then tap Delete draft order.
- In the modal, tap Delete to confirm and delete the draft.
Android
- From the Shopify app, tap Orders > Draft orders to open an existing order.
- Tap Draft orders.
- Tap the draft order that you want to delete.
- Tap ⋮, and then tap Delete draft order.
- In the modal, tap DELETE to confirm and delete the draft.
Checkout rules in draft orders
Any checkout validation rules that you've set up in the Checkout rules section of the Checkout settings also apply to draft orders. When creating a draft order, if any validation rules haven't been met, then a banner displays that says Business rules that apply to this draft order which contains a list of the applicable checkout rules that haven't been satisfied.
You can resolve the warning by adjusting the contents of the draft order to satisfy the validation rules, or you can choose to collect payment for the order anyway. If you choose to collect payment for the draft order, then you're warned about any unresolved checkout rules, which you can choose to resolve or Ignore and create order.
If you choose to send an invoice or a direct checkout link to a customer for a draft order with unresolved checkout validation rules, then you can activate an option to ignore all checkout rules before the invoice is sent or the link is copied. If this option isn't activated on a draft order with unresolved checkout rules, then the customer won't be able to complete the checkout.