Short answer
To edit an order on Shopify, go to Orders, open the order and click Edit, then add products or custom items, remove unfulfilled items or change quantities, and update the order. If the total goes up, send the customer an invoice; if it goes down, issue a refund.- Where
- Orders > [order] > Edit, in the admin or the Shopify app.
- Editable
- Unfulfilled items, quantities, custom items, shipping fees and manual discounts.
- Locked
- Fulfilled items, Shop Pay Installments orders, local delivery orders, app-created orders.
- Swaps
- Remove the unwanted item, then add the new one.
- Permission
- Store owner, or staff with the Edit orders permission.
Order edits are a pre-fulfillment job. Until an item ships, Shopify lets you add, remove and swap it on the original order, so you don't have to cancel and start again. Once it's fulfilled, the same request becomes a return or an exchange.
Edit an order
Every change happens in one editor and is saved only when you update the order.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click the order.
- Click Edit.
- To add a product, click Product, select it, then click Done. For something outside your catalog, such as a gift-wrap fee, click Custom item and enter a name, price and quantity.
- To remove an item, hover on it and click the ×. Removed items go back into stock at their original location unless you deselect Restock units.
- To change a quantity, enter the new number in the Quantity column. To add more of a variant already on the order, raise its quantity rather than adding it again.
- Optional: write a note under Reason for edit. The customer doesn't see it.
- Review the new total, then update the order.
To swap a medium for a large, remove the medium and add the large. You can also add or change manual discounts on single items and one custom discount on the whole order, and add a custom shipping charge, since rates aren't recalculated. Sidekick can also add or remove products, change quantities or apply a discount, leaving the changes in the order editor for you to review.
What you can't change
Shopify blocks some edits outright, and some apps miss the ones you make.
- Fulfilled items can't be removed or have their quantity changed.
- Orders paid with Shop Pay Installments can't be edited. Refund the order and create a new one.
- Local delivery orders can't be edited, and no order can switch delivery method, such as shipping to pickup.
- Orders imported or created by an app can only be edited by that app.
- Discount codes, automatic discounts and shipping discounts can't be added, changed or removed.
- You can't add a product bundle to an existing order.
- A fulfillment app or service may not pick up the edit. Check with it first, or you can ship an item the customer no longer pays for.
Settle the difference
After you edit, the order summary shows whether you owe the customer or they owe you.
- The total went up (an added item, a higher quantity, a custom shipping fee): send the customer an invoice with a link to checkout, or accept payment for the order. Express checkouts such as Apple Pay aren't available when they pay that balance.
- The total went down: update the order, then click Refund and refund the difference. The edit alone doesn't return any money.
- Nothing changed, for example a $0.00 custom item: no payment step. You choose whether to tell the customer.
The emails your customer receives about edits and invoices are templates under Settings > Notifications > Customer notifications, so you can match them to your store's voice.
What to tell customers
"Can I change my order?" is a race against fulfillment, so answer it before anything else in the queue. Ask for the order number and the exact change, check that the items are still unfulfilled, then confirm the new total in the same reply.
Good news, order #4831 hasn't shipped yet. I've swapped the medium for a large. The large is $8.00 more, so you'll get an email with a secure link to pay the difference, and the order ships once it's paid.
If the order has already shipped, say so plainly and offer a return or exchange. A new shipping address follows its own rules, covered in changing a Shopify shipping address. Ready-made replies for adding an item and removing an item cover the common cases, and the cancel an order page covers customers who want out entirely.
Where Aide helps
Change requests arrive at night and on weekends, while the fulfillment clock keeps running. The Aide AI Agent answers them in chat on your store, by email, and inside Zendesk, Gorgias and Front, with the customer's recent orders, items and totals beside the conversation.
For a shopper who proves the order is theirs (how verification works), Aide can change the shipping address, remove an unshipped item or add a note to the order. Changes that need a person go to your team, who can act from the conversation or the Aide panel inside Zendesk and Front: hold fulfillment while they make the edit in Shopify, or send a free replacement, a new $0 order to the original address. Each action leaves an internal note on the ticket.