Draft Orders
Draft orders let you create an order on behalf of a customer directly from the admin panel â without them going through the storefront checkout. This is useful for:
- Phone or WhatsApp orders
- In-person sales (market stalls, pop-ups)
- Re-creating a failed checkout manually
- Corporate or wholesale orders negotiated offline
Creating a draft order
Go to Orders â Drafts and click + Create draft order.
Step 1: Choose a region
Select the region this order will be placed in. The region determines which currency and tax settings apply, and which payment and shipping providers are available.
Step 2: Add items
Search for products by name or SKU. For each item, select the variant (if applicable) and set the quantity.
You can override the unit price for any item in a draft order. This is useful for negotiated pricing, loyalty discounts, or correcting a pricing error â without creating a promotion.
Step 3: Add a customer
Search for an existing customer by name or email, or enter new customer details. If a matching customer is found, their saved addresses appear for quick selection.
Step 4: Shipping address
Select from the customer's saved addresses or enter a new one. The shipping address determines which shipping options are available.
Step 5: Shipping method
Choose a shipping option from the available providers for this region. The shipping cost is added to the order total.
You can set a custom shipping price if needed â for example, if you've already agreed to free shipping with the customer over the phone.
Step 6: Payment method
Choose how the customer will pay:
| Option | When to use |
|---|---|
| Manual | Payment collected outside the system (cash, bank transfer, M-Pesa confirmation) |
| PesaPal | Send a payment link to the customer to pay online |
| Gift card | Apply a gift card code to the order |
Step 7: Review and place
Review the order summary â items, shipping, taxes, and total. When satisfied, click Place order. The draft is converted to a live order and follows the standard fulfillment flow from this point.
After placing a draft order
Once placed, a draft order becomes a regular order. You can:
- Mark it as paid if using Manual payment (go to the order â Mark as paid)
- Fulfill it by creating a fulfillment and marking it delivered
- Issue a refund if anything goes wrong
A draft order is not yet an "order" until you click Place order. Until then, no payment is captured and no notifications are sent to the customer. You can delete drafts freely before placing.
Finding existing drafts
Drafts are listed under Orders â Drafts. They stay in the drafts list indefinitely until placed or deleted. Use the search bar to find a draft by customer name or email.