Streamlining Your Workflow: How to Print a Shopify Draft Order

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Understanding Shopify Draft Orders
  3. Merchant Struggles and Creative Solutions
  4. Third-Party Apps and Workarounds
  5. Step-by-Step Guide to Print Draft Orders
  6. Conclusion
  7. FAQ Section

Introduction

Have you ever been caught in the delicate balance of needing to print a draft order on Shopify without finalizing the sale and affecting your accounting? For many businesses, especially those that merge physical and online retail or cater to B2B transactions, this process is a critical part of the workflow. Yet, it can be surprisingly complicated and frustrating. If you've faced similar difficulties or are simply interested in understanding how to efficiently print a Shopify draft order, this blog post is tailored for you.

We’ll take a closer look at the significance of draft orders within the Shopify ecosystem, how they currently operate, and the creative solutions business owners have come up with. Finally, we'll provide a comprehensive walkthrough on printing Shopify draft orders to help streamline your order management and fulfill your store’s needs seamlessly.

Understanding Shopify Draft Orders

Creating draft orders in Shopify is often necessary when dealing with wholesale transactions, customized orders, or when sales need to be recorded differently from the standard online retail process. In simplest terms, a draft order lets you record an order that isn't initiated by the customer through the front end. This functionality within Shopify extends various conveniences: - Allows businesses to reserve inventory. - Enables sending of invoices and accepting payments at a later date. - Offers control over applying taxes and discounts.

Despite these benefits, merchants face a conspicuous limitation—printing a draft order isn’t a straightforward process on Shopify's native platform. The lack of a direct print option for draft orders can become a roadblock, especially in situations where a physical copy of the order is needed for internal approval or for preparation of shipments.

Merchant Struggles and Creative Solutions

Several Shopify users have voiced their need to print packing slips and other documents related directly to draft orders for reasons ranging from internal processing to customer previews. Because performing this action isn’t natively supported, users often find workarounds or resort to additional extensions to fulfill these needs. Coupled with the sentiment that Shopify's focus on new feature rollouts does not align with the basic needs of many shop owners, frustration has brewed in the community among users who need this simple yet essential function.

Interestingly, merchants have noodled through some ingenious ways to address this challenge. Some have resorted to developing custom applications or tools that allow them to generate a PDF of the draft order, while others find solace in third-party apps that bring additional functionalities, including the ability to print draft orders.

Third-Party Apps and Workarounds

Several applications available on the Shopify App Store offer the ability to print or convert draft orders to PDFs. Notable among them is Order Printer Pro, recommended by fellow users, it’s capable of printing draft orders and is available on a free plan that accommodates up to 50 orders a month.

Another app that crept up is Draft Order Invoice - Conspire, which allows customers to view and pay outstanding draft orders from their account pages, an elegant solution to circumventing the issue of customers not receiving draft order invoices via email. For more styling options and a quote-focused invoicing tool, HKT: Order Printer PDF Invoice lets its users customize, create, and print invoices quickly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Print Draft Orders

To help you navigate through the process of printing a Shopify draft order, here’s a method that leverages available apps:

  1. First, explore the Shopify App Store for an Order Printing app that suits your needs. Look for features that let you print documents without the need for coding and ensure support for draft orders.
  2. Install the app of your choosing. Opt for free plans first to test its compatibility with your store's workflow. Common names recommended by merchants are Order Printer Pro, Draft Order Invoice - Conspire, and HKT: Order Printer PDF Invoice.
  3. Once installed, set up the app following the on-screen guidance. This usually involves configuring how your document looks and deciding which elements to include in your prints—like taxes, discounts, or shipping details.
  4. After setting up, move to your Draft Orders page under the 'Orders' section of your Shopify backend.
  5. If using Order Printer Pro, select the draft order you wish to print, choose 'More actions', and then 'Print'.
  6. Format your output as needed, ensuring any headers or footers added by your browser are removed for a professional appearance.
  7. Finally, print out your document. You can also convert it into a PDF for digital storage or emailing purposes.

Remember, the specifics may vary slightly with each app, but the steps should flow similarly on most Printing apps aligned for Shopify use.

Conclusion

In an era where merchants juggle multiple channels and complex sales processes, the ability to manage all aspects of ordering within Shopify, including the seemingly trivial task of printing draft orders, is invaluable. Although it's disappointing for retailers to find that such a basic feature requires extra stretching, third-party apps present workarounds while Shopify may or may not address the community's request.

By identifying the right application and refining your draft order printing procedures, your Shopify business can maintain precision and efficiency—even as you await the ideally simplified solution of a built-in print feature. Efficient incorporation of these third-party solutions not only addresses the immediate problem but also sometimes uncovers greater efficiencies and improvements in your sales administration processes.

FAQ Section

Q: Can I print a Shopify draft order without a third-party app? A: It's not directly possible through Shopify's native tools, which is why merchants often use third-party apps.

Q: Are there any free applications to print Shopify draft orders? A: Yes, Order Printer Pro offers a free plan capable of handling up to 50 orders monthly.

Q: Will using third-party apps affect my Shopify store’s performance? A: Quality third-party apps are typically built to integrate smoothly and should not significantly impact your store's performance.

Q: How can I ensure that printing draft orders is secure and compliant with my data policies? A: Always read through the privacy policies of any third-party app to ensure it matches your company's data policy standards.

Q: What support is available if I encounter issues with a third-party printing app? A: App developers often offer customer support, so you should reach out to them with any technical issues or questions.

App Stack