SAKU Receipts: How to issue invoices and quotes before payment

You can issue invoices and quotes for orders that haven't been paid yet, such as bank transfer or cash on delivery orders, and even at the quote stage before a purchase. There are two ways to do this.

What you need before you start

• SAKU Receipts is installed
• To show the buttons to customers in Method 2: you have added the document buttons to the order status page, and turned on (True) "Show Invoice (請求書表示)" and "Show Quotation (見積書表示)" in the block settings and saved (see "How to add receipt buttons to the order status page (customer account)")
• To use remarks by payment method (the bank account example): the Pro or Hydrogen plan

Which method should you choose?

• Method 1: you want to send an invoice or quote at the quote stage, before a purchase. No order is created yet (you issue the documents from a draft order).
• Method 2: the customer has already placed an unpaid order, such as bank transfer or cash on delivery. Either the customer or your store can issue the documents.

In this article

• How to create an invoice or quote from a draft order and send it
• How customers and your store can each issue invoices and quotes for unpaid orders
• Why receipts and delivery notes can't be issued for unpaid orders

Where to go: Shopify admin → Apps → "SAKU Receipt" → "Draft Orders" / "Orders"

Method 1: Create a draft order and send an invoice or quote

Overall flow:

1. Create a draft order
2. Download the invoice or quote from "Draft Orders" in the app
3. Send it to the customer
4. If the customer wants to buy, request payment by email with "Send invoice" in Shopify

1️⃣ Create a draft order

In Shopify admin, go to "Orders" → "Drafts" and create a draft order.

Select the products, then select a customer (or create a new one).

If you only need to issue an invoice or quote at this stage, don't click "Create order". Leave it as a draft. You're done when the draft order appears in the list of drafts.

2️⃣ Open the invoice or quote from "Draft Orders" in the app

Open "Draft Orders" in the app's (SAKU Receipt) left menu to see the draft orders you created. Draft orders have two buttons: "Invoice" and "Quotation". (There are no "Receipt" or "Delivery Note" buttons.)

Click a button to open the preview. Check the recipient name, then click "Print" at the bottom right to print or save as a PDF. You're done when the print dialog or the PDF opens.

Draft orders with the status "COMPLETED" are treated as paid, and all others (such as "OPEN") as unpaid. Invoices and quotes can be issued in either status.

Whatever you type in the search box on the Draft Orders page is passed to Shopify's search as is. If you can't find the draft you're looking for, clear the search box and look through the list.

3️⃣ When the customer decides to buy, request payment from Shopify

When the customer wants to buy, open the draft order, check "Payment due later" and click "Create order".

Note: Clicking "Create order" changes the draft order's status to "COMPLETED".

Open the order from "Orders" (or "Drafts") and click "Send invoice".

This lets you request payment from the customer by email.

Method 2: When a customer orders with bank transfer or a similar method

If the customer chose a payment method that isn't charged at checkout, such as bank transfer or cash on delivery, invoices and quotes can be issued from either the customer side or your store.

1️⃣ Download on the customer side

Customers can download the invoice and quote from their order status page. The receipt button is grayed out and shows "Receipt available after payment". Clicking the "Delivery Note" button shows "Payment has not been completed for this order."

To show these buttons to customers, turn on (True) "Show Invoice (請求書表示)" and "Show Quotation (見積書表示)" in the order status page block settings and save. For the steps, see "How to add receipt buttons to the order status page (customer account)".

2️⃣ Download on your store's side

In the app's "Orders" page, unpaid orders show "PENDING" (awaiting payment) in the "Payment Status" badge. You can still issue invoices and quotes for these orders.

Clicking the "Receipt" or "Delivery Note" button shows "Payment has not been completed for this order." and the document can't be issued.

[Pro and Hydrogen plans] Example: you can automatically add your bank account details to invoices for orders paid by bank transfer. In the "Remarks" section of the app's Settings page, choose "Invoice" as the document to edit, and create a rule that uses "Insert after the default remarks" when the payment method is bank transfer. (Draft orders have no payment method, so payment method rules don't apply to the draft orders in Method 1.) For details, see "How to change remarks by payment method or tag (remarks for each document)". You can also type in "Additional remarks for this document" in the preview on the "Orders" or "Draft Orders" page to add remarks to that printed invoice only. (This isn't saved. See "How to add remarks to individual orders when printing from the admin".)

Receipts after payment

Once you've confirmed the payment, open the order in Shopify (its status is "Payment pending"), click "Collect payment" and choose "Mark as paid". In the "Mark as paid" confirmation dialog, click "Mark as paid" to confirm.

When the page is reopened, the receipt button returns to normal and the receipt shows the payment confirmation date. For details, see "How to issue receipts for cash on delivery and bank transfer orders".

Troubleshooting

• The invoice and quote buttons don't appear on the customer's page
  Turn on (True) "Show Invoice (請求書表示)" and "Show Quotation (見積書表示)" in the order status page block settings and save (see "How to add receipt buttons to the order status page (customer account)").
• The receipt isn't available even though the order has been paid
  Check that the order's payment status in Shopify is "Paid".