Editing orders

Note

If you have a customized checkout, then you need to upgrade your checkout, so your customizations work after order editing functionality is added to your store.

Your customers might want to change an item, or you need to add or remove an item from an order. After an order is placed, you can edit your order in the following ways:

• add products
• remove items
• adjust item quantities
• apply a discount to an item
• adjust a manual discount on an existing item
• remove a manual discount on an existing item
• add shipping fees
• remove shipping fees

The edits that you can make to an order depend on the fulfillment status of the items. If an item has already been fulfilled, then you can't remove the item or adjust the quantity. However, you can edit unfulfilled items or add products to the order. The total cost of an order is updated as the order is edited. If the cost of the order changes, then you need to charge or refund your customer the cost difference.

To edit orders, you need to be the store owner or have the Edit orders permission. Learn more about Staff permissions.

Considerations before editing orders

Before you edit orders, learn more about the possible impacts and decide if you want to edit orders in your store.

Editing orders can affect the following areas in your store:

• Apps
• Discounts
• Shipping
• Fulfillment services
• Risk analysis
• Accelerated checkouts
• Currencies
• Analytics

You can create test orders to verify that editing orders works with your store.

Apps

Orders created by apps can't be edited in the Shopify admin or by other apps. Only the app that creates an order can edit the order. However, if an app creates a draft order and it's later converted to an order, then the order can be edited in your Shopify admin, and by other apps.

Additionally, some apps might not recognize order edits. After you edit an order, the data in your apps might be incorrect. Order editing is more likely to affect fulfillment apps. For example, if you edit an order to remove an item, then your fulfillment app might not remove the item. You can accidentally ship an item that was removed from the order and not paid for.

You can check with the app's developer to verify if the app needs to be updated. App developers can learn more from Editing orders using GraphQL.

Discounts

Manual line item discounts can be added, edited, or removed. Some order level discounts are recalculated after an order is edited.

Editing manual discounts

You can add a manual discount to an existing line item in the order, or update or remove a discount on an existing line item in the order.

Caution

If Avalara is active on your Shopify plan, then you can't add or edit discounts on existing line items in any of your stores.

Order level discounts can't be added, removed or updated. Additionally, the following line item discount types can't be edited:

• discount codes
• script discounts
• automatic discounts

Discount recalculation

Some discounts aren't recalculated after you edit an order. To make sure your customer is paying the correct amount, check the Total carefully on orders with discounts.

The following discount types are recalculated when an order is edited:

• Percentage discounts that apply to the entire order. These discounts are recalculated when you add new items or change item quantities.
• Discount codes for a fixed amount that apply to specific products or collections. These discounts are recalculated when you adjust the quantity of an item that already has the discount applied. This type of discount is recalculated only if the discount code can be used more than one time per order.

Shipping

Shipping methods and rates aren't recalculated when you edit an order, but you can add a custom shipping charge. If you swap or add items to an order and the weight or dimensions of the order increases, then you might need to charge more for shipping.

Orders that have local delivery as the delivery method can’t be edited. You also can't change the delivery method of your order, such as change from shipping to pickup.

Fulfillment services

Contact your fulfillment services to verify whether you can edit items that are fulfilled by the fulfillment service.

If your fulfillment services don't work with order edits, then editing an item can cause missed or incomplete orders.

If your fulfillment services do work with order edits, then new items or new quantities added to an order become new items to fulfill. Items that are removed from an order are no longer fulfillable items.

Risk analysis

If you collect payment from a customer after an order is edited, then the order's fraud analysis indicators and fraud protection status can change.

Accelerated checkouts

If you need to collect payment from your customer after you edit an order, then your customer won't have accelerated checkouts available through the new checkout. This affects checkouts, such as Apple Pay.

Currencies

Note

Editing orders placed in international currencies is only available to some stores.

If you edit an order after it's paid in a different currency, then the foreign exchange rate might be different than the rate that was previously used on the order, depending on the type of edit you're making:

• If you add a new item, then the foreign exchange rate that's current at the time of the edit is used.
• If you increase the quantity of an existing item, then the foreign exchange rate at the time the order was originally placed is used.
• If you remove an item or lower the quantity of an existing item, then the foreign exchange rate at the time the order was originally placed is used so that your customer isn't affected by exchange rate fluctuations. Learn more about the currency risk for refunds.

If you aren't eligible to edit orders in other currencies, or if you can't edit the specific order, then you can refund the order, then create a draft order using the market that you want, and email an invoice in your customer's local currency.

Analytics

If you edit an order after the day the order was placed, then the edit displays as a separate order in your reports. Reports display an edited order as a new order, even though a new order hasn't been created.

The following reports are affected:

• Orders over time
• Sales over time
• Average order value over time

Pickup in store orders

An in-store pickup order can be edited either before or after you prepare that order. You can edit in-store pickup orders only in your Shopify admin or on the Shopify app, not the POS app.

Orders with pending payment

If an order is in Pending payment status, then you might be unable to edit order items and discounts. Learn more about orders with pending payments.

Orders with taxes and duties

If an order has duties and taxes charged, such as a DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) order, then you can't edit the order.

Add products to an order

You can add products to your order. If you add items to an order, then you can email an invoice to your customer with a link to the checkout page, or you can accept payment for the order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. In the Add product section, enter the name of the product that you want to add to the order, or click Browse to view a list of your store's products and collections. You can also create a custom item for the order by clicking Add custom item.

5. Select the individual products or variants that you want to add to the order.

Note

You can't add a product variant that's already on the order. Instead, edit the item quantity of the variant that’s already on the order.

1. Click Done.
2. Optional: Add a note about the edit under Reason for edit. This note isn’t displayed to your customer.
3. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Remove items from an order

You can remove items from your order. If you want to swap items, then you need to remove the unwanted item and add a new item.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under the item that you want to remove, click Remove item.

5. Optional: If you don’t want to return the item to inventory, then deselect Restock item. Items that you remove are automatically restocked to their original location.

6. Optional: Add a note about the edit under Reason for edit. This note isn’t displayed to your customer.

7. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Adjust item quantities in an order

You can increase or descrease item quantity in your order. If you increase item quantity in your order, then you can email an invoice to your customer with a link to the checkout page, or you can accept payment for the order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under the item that you want to edit, click Adjust quantity.

5. Enter a new item quantity.

6. Click Done.

7. Optional: If you reduced the quantity, and don’t want to return the item to inventory, then deselect Restock item. Items that you remove are automatically restocked to their original location.

8. Optional: Add a note about the edit under Reason for edit. This note isn’t displayed to your customer.

9. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Apply discounts to an item on an order

You can apply discounts to individual items on an order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under the line item that you want to discount, click Apply discount.

5. Select the discount type, enter the discount value, and add the reason for the discount. This note is displayed to your customers.

6. Click Apply.

7. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Adjust a discount on an existing item

You can manually adjust a discount on an existing item in an order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under the discounted line item that you want to update, click Edit discount.

5. Adjust the discount type, discount value, and the reason for the discount.

6. Click Done.

7. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Remove a discount on an existing item

You can remove a discount on an existing item in an order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under the discounted line item that you want to update, click Edit discount.

5. Click Remove discount.

6. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Add shipping fees

You can add a custom shipping rate to your order. After you add a shipping rate, you can edit or delete the rate before updating the order, or you can add a new shipping rate.

When you add a shipping rate, you can email an invoice to your customer with a link to the checkout page, or you can accept payment for the order.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. In the Payment section click Add shipping fee.

5. Enter the name and a price for the shipping rate.

6. Click Done.

7. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Remove shipping fees

You can also remove a shipping rate from your order. If you want to edit a shipping rate, then you need to remove the shipping rate and add a new shipping rate.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

2. Click the order that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. In the Payment section click Edit shipping fees.

5. Click the trash can icon next to the shipping rate that you want to remove.

6. Click Remove.

7. After you finish editing the order, review and update the order.

Reviewing and updating an edited order

Caution

Discounts might not update when you edit an order. Check the order total carefully.

Shipping methods and rates aren't recalculated when an order is edited. If the weight or dimensions of the order increases, then you might need to charge more for shipping.

After you edit an order, you need to review the updated total to check that it's correct. Depending on the edits you made, the total cost of the order might increase or decrease from what your customer paid at checkout.

After you edit an order, do one of the following actions depending on what happens to the order total:

• If the order total increases, then collect payment from your customer.
• If the order total decreases, then refund payment to your customer.
• If there is no change to the order total, then you can notify your customer of the edit.

After you edit an order, you can customize the order edit invoice or notification that's sent to your customer by editing the template.

Collecting payment when order total increases

If the cost of the edited order increases, then you need to collect payment from your customer. The Summary displays that there is an Amount to collect.

You can send an invoice to your customer with a link to the checkout page, or you can accept payment for the order.

Refund payment when order total decreases

If the total cost of the edited order decreases, then you need to update the order and issue your customer a refund. The amount to refund is displayed in the Summary section.

Caution

The refund isn't complete when you send your customer a notification. You need to refund your customer after you update the order.

Steps:

Desktop

1. If you don’t want to send your customer a notification that the order has changed, then deselect Send notification to customer.
2. Click Update order to finish editing the order.
3. From the order that you edited, copy the amount that you owe your customer. You'll need this amount later.
4. Click Refund.
5. Optional: Add a note about the edit under Reason for refund. This note isn't displayed to customers.
6. Under Refund amount, enter the amount that you owe your customer.
7. Optional: To send your customer a notification, select Send a notification to the customer.
8. Click Refund.

Notifying customer when there is no change to order total

If the order cost hasn’t changed, then you don’t need to refund or collect payment. By default, your customer is sent a notification about the edit. If you don’t want to send your customer a notification, then deselect Send notification to customer and click Update order to finish editing the order.