# Create an order on the customer's behalf.

How to create a Shopify draft order, send the invoice or mark it paid, discount it down to free, and use it for replacements, phone orders and exchanges done by hand.

Go to Orders > Drafts > Create order, add products and the customer, then click Send invoice so the customer pays through a checkout link, or Collect payment > Mark as paid if you've already been paid. Once paid, the draft becomes a regular order.

Source: https://aide.app/guides/shopify-draft-orders · Updated 2026-11-08 · By Ziyad Basheer

| | |
|---|---|
| Where | Orders > Drafts, or Duplicate on an existing order. |
| Discount codes | Up to 5 per order; no shipping or Buy X get Y codes. |
| Card payments | Entering a card by hand works only through Shopify Payments. |
| Auto-delete | Drafts created since April 1, 2025 delete after a year inactive. |
| Inventory | Unreserved draft items can still be bought by other customers. |

A draft order is an order you build for the customer in your Shopify admin. Support teams use it whenever an order has to exist that the customer didn't place through checkout: a replacement, a phone order, an exchange done by hand.

## Create a draft order

Start from scratch, or copy an existing order to save typing.

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts and click Create order.
2. Click Product, search for the item and click Done. For something not in your catalog, click Custom item and enter a name, price and quantity.
3. Add the customer. You need their email address or phone number, or no order confirmation is sent.
4. Adjust as needed: discounts, shipping, taxes, tags or a note.
5. Send an invoice, collect payment, or save it as a draft for later.

To copy an order, open it in Orders and click Duplicate. The new draft keeps the products and customer details but not the discounts or shipping rate. Items in a draft aren't held for the customer unless you click the menu icon and choose Reserve inventory.

## Get paid

A draft becomes a real order on your Orders page once it's paid. There are three ways.

- *Send an invoice.* In the Payment section, click Send invoice, write a message, click Review invoice, then Send invoice. The customer pays through a checkout link and the order is marked Paid.
- *Charge a card.* Click Collect payment and enter the card details. This only works through Shopify Payments, once its verification is complete.
- *Mark as paid.* For money you already have, click Collect payment > Mark as paid, check the Amount received, and click Create order. The customer gets an order confirmation email.

Never mark a draft as paid before the customer pays through the invoice. The checkout link stops working.

## Discount it or make it free

Discounts on a draft are set by hand, since automatic discounts don't apply to drafts on their own.

1. In the Payment section, click Add discount.
2. Enter a discount code, check Apply all eligible automatic discounts, or check Add custom order discount.
3. For a custom discount, set an amount or a percentage. The Reason for discount is visible to the customer, so write it for them.
4. Click Done.

Shipping discount codes don't work on drafts. To change shipping, click Add shipping or delivery, choose Custom, and enter a name and cost, such as "Free replacement shipping" at $0.00.

## Draft orders for support

Most support teams use drafts for three jobs.

- *Replacement for a damaged or wrong item.* Duplicate the original order, remove anything that arrived fine, add a 100% custom order discount and a $0.00 custom shipping rate, then Collect payment > Mark as paid. Reply with the [damaged item template](https://aide.app/templates/damaged-item) or the [wrong item received template](https://aide.app/templates/wrong-item-received).
- *Phone and email orders.* Build the order while you talk, then send the invoice so the customer pays on your own checkout.
- *Exchanges by hand.* When an exchange can't go through Shopify's returns, handle the return and refund on the original order, then send the new item as a draft order. See [how to do an exchange on Shopify](https://aide.app/guides/shopify-exchanges).

Tag replacement orders ("replacement") and leave a timeline comment on the original, so the next teammate can link the two.

> Your replacement is order #4902. It ships to the same address as #4831, and there's nothing to pay or send back.

## Where Aide helps

For the most common case, a replacement, you don't need a draft order. A teammate can [send a free replacement](https://aide.app/shopify/order-edits) straight from the support conversation, or from the Aide panel inside Zendesk and Front: pick the items and quantities, and Shopify gets a new $0 order shipped to the original order's address.

The action leaves an internal note on the ticket, so the helpdesk records what was sent. Replacements also count toward your approval threshold by the value of the items sent, so a large one waits on the order until an Owner or Admin approves or rejects it. The same panel handles refunds, cancellations, address changes and returns.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I create a draft order in Shopify?

From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts and click Create order. Add products, add the customer, and adjust discounts, shipping, tags or a note, then send an invoice, collect payment, or save it as a draft.

### How do I send an invoice for a Shopify draft order?

Open the draft in Orders > Drafts, click Send invoice in the Payment section, write a message, click Review invoice, then Send invoice. The customer pays through the checkout link and the draft becomes a paid order.

### How do I make a free replacement order in Shopify?

Open the original order and click Duplicate to start a draft with the same items and customer. Add a 100% custom order discount and a $0.00 custom shipping rate, then click Collect payment > Mark as paid > Create order.

### Can customers use a discount code on a Shopify draft order invoice?

Not by default. Select Discount codes in the Send invoice dialog to allow it, and do it for each draft, since the setting applies to one draft order at a time.

### Why doesn't the checkout link on my draft order invoice work?

Usually because the draft was marked as paid before the customer paid, which breaks the invoice link. A checkout also fails if an item is out of stock and overselling is off.

### Can I send a replacement without creating a draft order?

With Aide, a teammate can send a free replacement from the support conversation. Aide creates a new $0 order for the chosen items, shipped to the original order's address.

## Set it up
- [Cancel, refund and change Shopify orders from a conversation](https://docs.aide.app/shopify/shopify-order-actions)

## Related
- [How to do an exchange on Shopify](https://aide.app/guides/shopify-exchanges)
- [Wrong item received reply template](https://aide.app/templates/wrong-item-received)
- [Damaged item reply template](https://aide.app/templates/damaged-item)

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