Shopify payment links explained: draft orders, Quick Sale and POS

Every kind of Shopify payment link, side by side

“Not documented” means Shopify’s help doesn’t say. To check out in POS with Mark unpaid and invoice the order later on terms such as Net 30, see phone orders at a Shopify trade counter. POS Pay by link is something else: Shopify documents it for in-store customers paying by QR code or link on their own device.

Send a draft order invoice or checkout link from the Shopify admin

To email an invoice:

1. In the Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts.
2. Open a draft, or click Create order.
3. In the Payments section, click Send invoice.
4. Write a message and set the options: Product prices (on by default; locks prices), Discount codes (lets the customer apply one) and Ignore all checkout rules.
5. Click Review invoice, then Send invoice.

For a link you can paste anywhere, follow steps 1 and 2, click Share, set the same options and click Copy link. When the customer pays, the draft becomes an order marked Paid.

Before you send:

• Add the customer’s email address or phone number; Shopify needs one to complete the draft.
• Out-of-stock items block checkout.
• If you share a checkout link from the Shopify app, you can’t turn on Discount codes; use a computer for that.
• If the customer will collect, turn on Pickup in store for your location, then on the draft choose Add shipping or delivery > Pickup in store > your location > Apply before you send. Shopify says the customer can’t change it at checkout.

Percentage-based deposits on draft orders need Shopify Plus; see how furniture stores handle deposits on big orders. For phone orders, see the full phone-order workflow and typing a card in yourself vs sending a link.

Send a cart or a draft from Shopify POS

Send cart needs a POS Pro location. To send one:

1. Add the products to the cart.
2. Tap the ⋯ (More actions) icon at the top of the cart, then Send cart.
3. Enter the customer’s email address and, if you like, a message.
4. Tap Send.

On iPhone and iPad you can see which staff member was credited. The cart stays a draft until the customer pays. Send cart takes the whole order, not a balance after part-payment.

To save the cart as a draft and email it later:

1. Tap ⋯ at the top of the cart, then Create draft order.
2. Later, tap the Order icon, then Drafts.
3. Tap the menu icon next to the draft, then Email to customer.

Both routes send email only. For a customer who wants a text, see how to get a draft’s link to a customer’s phone.

Create a Quick Sale payment link in the Shopify app

Quick Sale runs in the Shopify app on your phone, not in POS. To make a link:

1. Tap Menu, then Quick Sale.
2. Add products or a custom amount.
3. Tap Collect, then Payment link.
4. Let the customer scan the QR code, or tap Share link (text or another app) or Copy link.
5. Tap Done. The link waits under ⋯ > Transactions > Pending links, and the sale shows under Paid once the customer pays.

Before you rely on it:

• You need a payment provider (Shopify Payments, where it’s available) and the Quick Sale staff permission.
• Out-of-stock items show “Payment link unavailable” until you restock or remove them.

Make a checkout link for a product

With the Buy Button channel installed, open a product, click More actions > Create checkout link, choose a variant and click Copy link. Everyone who opens it gets a fresh checkout for one unit by default: good for one product sent to many people, not for one customer’s order.

Where the paid order shows up in Shopify

What Shopify documents. Orders that started as draft orders show as “Draft Orders” in the Total sales by sales channel and Net sales by channel reports. Send cart is the exception: it’s credited to the POS channel, your store and the staff member who sent it (if they signed in to POS with email, not a PIN), so it appears in the POS-only retail reports too, such as Retail sales by Point of Sale location.

How a paid POS draft shows up. When a draft saved in Shopify POS is paid through its link, the sales report shows the store and the staff member, but the channel reads “Draft Orders” and the order isn’t marked as a POS sale.

Drafts made by an app showed the app’s name as the channel, with no store or staff credit. Test an order of your own before relying on a POS draft or an app.

The POS Orders screen. By default, the screen lists only POS sales at your location. For a Send cart order, check the Orders page in the Shopify admin. For any other draft paid by its link, switch Sale type to Online and check the location filter.

Avoid duplicate and broken draft links

• Delete drafts you don’t need. A draft’s link can be paid as soon as the draft exists, and a second draft for the same order gives a second working link. A deleted draft’s link showed “This invoice is not available”, but a checkout already in progress could still complete, so check Orders afterwards.
• Don’t mark a draft Paid before the money arrives. Shopify warns this breaks the invoice link.

Where Pay Link fits

Pay Link, from Countermade (the Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios), is for POS Pro stores that take orders by phone and want the payment link made from the POS cart. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, so staff never see or type card details. Staff see the total before the link goes out, with a note when shipping will be added at checkout. A double tap makes one link, not two, and staff can see whether a link has been paid.

Checkout asks for a delivery address and may add shipping; turn on Pickup in store (see Before you send) so the customer can choose pickup.

Compare it with Send cart in which option suits a POS counter, see payment link apps and their prices, or read about Pay Link, our Shopify POS payment link app.

Next step

Before you rely on a route, send yourself a test link by it, pay it, and check where the order lands: the Orders page in the admin and, for a draft paid by link, POS Orders with Sale type set to Online.

If you want the link made from the POS cart, with the total shown up front, join early access and we’ll email you when Pay Link is ready for your store.