How butchers can take Christmas orders in Shopify POS
Updated · 6 min read
By Invenire Studios, makers of Countermade
The short answer
Save each phone or counter order for a Christmas turkey, ham or roast as a draft order in Shopify POS (a POS Pro feature), with the collection date first in the note. The customer pays at collection, or you take a deposit at the counter with Split payment. If the customer pays in full now, ring it up as a pickup order instead. Prep Ticket, from Countermade, prints a price-free cutting-room ticket from the draft.
How do I run a Christmas turkey order book in Shopify POS before the December rush?
Build the order in the POS cart, put the collection date at the top of the note and save it as a draft order. There’s no field for a collection date on each order, so the note carries it. Taking pre-orders at the counter in Shopify POS covers the general routine.
- Add the products, using weight-band variants if you sell that way (for example, “5–6 kg”).
- Add the customer.
- Tap the horizontal menu icon (⋯) > Add note, type the date, then the cuts, and tap Save. For example: “COLLECT 23 DEC AM / turkey 5–6 kg, crown only / ham on the bone, half”.
- Tap the menu icon > Create draft order.
- Give the customer the draft number.
A recent cart won’t do. By default it deletes after 24 hours and doesn’t reserve stock (recent carts vs draft orders).
How do butchers price a Christmas turkey before it’s weighed in Shopify POS?
If the customer picks a fixed item or a weight band when ordering, the price is set and they can pay now. If you weigh the bird at collection, keep an unpaid draft and charge on the day, or take a deposit now and collect the balance then.
| How the price is set | Best way to take payment | On collection day |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price, or a weight band the customer picks when ordering (a whole ham, a hamper box, a “5–6 kg” turkey) | At the counter: in full now as a pickup order (add the Pickup all items tile to your home screen first). By phone: send the draft’s checkout link (below) | Hand it over |
| Band set when the bird is weighed at collection | Leave it as an unpaid draft | Weigh, load the draft, swap in the right band variant, take payment |
| A deposit now, with the bird weighed at collection | Some butchers charge the top band they expect (say a 6–7 kg turkey) and take a deposit at the counter (below) | Weigh, collect the balance, then refund the difference if the bird comes in a band lighter. Refund last, because a refund or an edit on a part-paid order stops Shopify taking more payments on it |
Can I take a deposit on a Christmas turkey in Shopify POS?
Yes: load the draft and take the deposit at checkout. When you take a payment on it, Shopify creates an order for it under Orders. A part-paid order carries a Partially paid label. Some EU locations, such as France, Italy and Spain, can’t mark a sale partially paid in Shopify POS; deposits on Shopify, plan by plan covers other routes.
- On the Select payments screen, tap Split payment, enter the deposit and take it.
- Tap Mark as partially paid, check the details, tap Mark as partial, then Done.
How do I reserve a limited turkey or goose on a Shopify draft order?
Sell limited birds as tracked products and reserve them on the draft, with an expiry after your last collection day. Reserved units move to Committed, out of other customers’ reach. More on holds in holding an item for a customer in Shopify POS. Reserving needs inventory tracking, so a goose typed in as a custom item can’t be held.
In the Shopify admin or the Shopify app, open the draft, click the menu icon > Reserve inventory (Reserve items in the app) and set the expiry.
What should a butcher’s cutting-room ticket show for a Christmas order?
The cut, quantity, customer and collection date, with no prices. Shopify won’t print a draft until it’s completed and converted to an order, and printing the draft’s admin page from a browser includes prices, so an unpaid draft has no clean ticket for the cutting room. See every native way to print a draft.
Prep Ticket prints a price-free ticket from the draft with the item names, quantities, customer and notes, so the cutting room gets the cuts, weight band and collection date from the note. It needs Shopify POS Pro, prints through the iPad’s print dialog (AirPrint) and works with drafts made in POS or the admin.
Print each ticket while the order is still a draft, before you take a deposit and before a phone customer pays by link, then file it under its collection day. For a pickup order paid in full at the counter, print Shopify’s optional pickup slip and file it with that day’s tickets. Bakers print Christmas cake orders the same way: see bakery order tickets in Shopify POS.
Can a phone customer pay for their Christmas turkey online before collecting it?
Yes, when the price is fixed. Email the draft from POS, or send or share it from the admin, so the customer can check out online.
- From POS: tap the Order icon > Drafts, then the vertical menu icon (⋮) next to the draft > Email to customer.
- From the admin: open the draft and click Send invoice, or Share > Copy link. Product prices are locked by default, so the customer pays what you quoted. Don’t mark the draft Paid before the money arrives.
- Pickup: so checkout offers Pick up as well as Ship, turn on Pickup in store for your location in the admin (Settings > Shipping and delivery). If shipping still shows, see the pickup link guide.
Pay Link, from Countermade, makes the link from the POS cart. Staff see the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping (so turn pickup on as above), and can see whether the link has been paid. A double tap makes one link, not two. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, and staff never see or type card details. It needs Shopify POS Pro and takes the full amount. See the full phone-order workflow.
How do I hand over Christmas turkeys and hams on collection day in Shopify POS?
For an unpaid draft, type the draft number into POS search, or tap the cart’s horizontal menu icon (⋯) > Load draft order and filter the list. A part-paid or paid order sits under Orders: search by the customer’s name or order number, and keep each collection day’s tickets together.
| Order state | Where to find it | What to tap |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid draft | Load draft order (filter by Sale type: Admin for drafts made in the admin) | Weigh, Load to cart, swap in its band variant, take payment |
| Part-paid | Orders, labeled Partially paid | Check the note on the order’s details screen and weigh. Tap Collect payment for the balance, then refund any lighter-band difference and hand the bird over |
| Paid pickup order (made in POS, or a link order where the customer chose Pick up at checkout) | Orders | When it’s cut and bagged, Ready for pickup > Send notification. At collection, Mark as picked up |
Get early access to Prep Ticket and Pay Link
Prep Ticket and Pay Link are Countermade’s Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios. Neither is on the Shopify App Store yet: get early access and we’ll email you when they’re ready to try.
Pick one app or both
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Common questions
Can Shopify POS sell turkeys by actual weight?
Does Shopify POS have a Christmas pre-order feature for butchers?
Can I take Christmas orders on Shopify POS Lite?
Can I print the Christmas orders for the cutting room?
Can a customer add a ham to their Christmas order later?
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