GLOSSARY · D
Draft order
An order created by a merchant on a customer’s behalf; common in B2B and phone sales.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters for a Shopify store.
Not every order starts in the online checkout. Phone orders, custom quotes and wholesale buyers need orders created by staff, with the right prices and payment options.
Draft orders let staff build an order in the admin, apply custom pricing or discounts, and send the customer an invoice to pay online — common in B2B and high-touch sales.
HOW CREATIVE LABS HANDLES IT
What we do about it on every project.
01
Standardise the process
Templates and staff permissions keep pricing and discounts consistent across the team.
03
Move repeat buyers to self-serve
Regular wholesale buyers get B2B accounts so drafts are only for the exceptions.
EXAMPLE
A typical example.
A furniture brand quotes custom upholstery by phone.
Staff build a draft order with the custom fabric line item and delivery fee, send the invoice by email, and the customer pays through the normal checkout.
COMMON MISTAKES
What usually goes wrong.
Using drafts as a wholesale system
Manual drafts for every repeat buyer don't scale; B2B catalogs do.
Ad-hoc discounts
Without rules, staff discounts drift and margins suffer.
Leaving drafts open
Old unpaid drafts clutter reports and hold reserved stock if you reserve inventory.
DRAFT ORDER
2 questions
Can customers pay a draft order online?
Yes. You send an invoice from the draft and the customer pays through Shopify checkout.
Do draft orders reserve inventory?
Only if you choose to reserve items when creating the draft; otherwise stock is committed when it becomes an order.
Related terms
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