How to take furniture phone orders and deposits on Shopify
Updated · 4 min read
By Invenire Studios, makers of Countermade
The short answer
On POS Pro, email a furniture phone order from the cart with Send cart, or save a draft to email later. For delivery or pickup, use an admin draft invoice. POS takes an in-store deposit and the admin invoices the balance; a deposit by link needs Shopify Plus. For orders paid in full, Pay Link, from Countermade, makes a price-checked link from the POS cart.
Take the phone order in Shopify POS and email a checkout link
Say a customer who tried a sofa last weekend calls to buy it. On POS Pro, add it to the cart, tap the ⋯ (More actions) icon, then Send cart, and enter their email; they pay on your checkout. If they want to measure the doorway first, tap Create draft order instead and email it later from the Order icon > Drafts > Email to customer. Full steps: taking phone orders without asking for card details.
For delivery in your own van, or for pickup, use an admin draft or send yourself a test cart first: Shopify doesn’t document what a Send cart checkout offers.
Take a deposit on a furniture order and invoice the balance
If the customer pays a deposit in the store, perhaps when choosing a fabric, you collect the balance remotely. Shopify’s routes, as of October 2026 (Shopify names a plan only for a deposit by link):
| Situation | Native route |
|---|---|
| Deposit paid in the store | POS: Split payment, then Mark as partially paid (not in some EU locations, such as France, Italy and Spain) |
| Balance due before delivery | Admin: the order > Collect payment > Send invoice, or in POS, Collect payment if they come in |
| Deposit requested by link | Admin draft: Payment due later > + Require deposit (Shopify Plus only) |
| Deposit by link, not on Plus | Shopify app: Quick Sale, custom amount, Collect > Payment link (a separate sale, so take it off the order’s total yourself) |
| Balance by Send cart after an in-store deposit | Not possible: Shopify says Send cart can’t collect a balance |
Settle changes such as a new fabric first: after a refund, exchange or edit, Shopify won’t take further payments on a part-paid order. Then:
- For delivery, set it up in the POS cart first: Add customer, Add shipping address, then Shipping method, and pick a rate or tap Custom shipping rate (shipping from POS needs POS Pro).
- On Select payments, tap Split payment, choose a payment method, enter the deposit and complete it.
- Tap Mark as partially paid, then Mark as partial, then Done.
- Before delivery, open the order in the Shopify admin and click Collect payment > Send invoice, then Review invoice and Send invoice.
Test one invoice first: its checkout lets the customer pick shipping, so check delivery isn’t charged twice.
Set delivery, pickup and holds on an admin draft
A delivery method you choose on the draft can’t be changed at checkout, for retail customers too (Shopify’s B2B draft help). Shopify doesn’t document what a retail draft with no method offers, so choose Local delivery or Pickup in store on the draft before you send it:
- Once, under Settings > Shipping and delivery, turn on Local delivery for your location with a zone and price, and Pickup in store.
- In Orders > Drafts > Create order, add the pieces and customer.
- Click Add shipping or delivery and choose Local delivery, Pickup in store and your location, or Custom (such as “Two-person delivery” at your price). Click Apply.
- To hold a one-off piece, click ⋯ > Reserve inventory, set when the hold ends and click Done (the product must track inventory).
- Click Send invoice, or Share > Copy link.
Send it from the admin: loading it in POS removes a custom rate. POS carts and drafts have no documented stock hold.
Where Shopify’s tools get awkward for furniture orders
- POS sends carts and drafts by email only. To text one, see texting a Shopify payment link.
- Keying in a caller’s card carries more fraud risk. Shopify treats it as card-not-present (card payments over the phone).
- Commission depends on sign-in. Send cart credits the staff member signed in to POS with email, not a PIN; iOS shows who was credited. For drafts and invoices, check the sales by staff report before paying commission.
Where Pay Link fits: orders paid in full
Pay Link is part of Countermade, the Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios. It’s for POS Pro furniture stores that take full payment by link, and it creates a link to Shopify’s checkout from the POS cart. On a big-ticket order, a duplicate link or a wrong price is costly:
- The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout. Staff never see or type card details.
- A double tap makes one payment link, not two.
- Staff see the total before the link goes out, with a note when shipping will be added at checkout.
- Staff can see whether a link has been paid, so you know before booking delivery.
Checkout asks the customer for a delivery address and may add shipping, so check your shipping rates and turn on Pickup in store (step 1 above) before you send the first link.
Next step
If most of your phone orders are paid in full, Pay Link makes each link from the POS cart with the total shown up front. Join early access and we’ll email you when it’s ready for your store.
Get early access to Pay Link
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Common questions
Can I take a deposit on a Shopify phone order?
How do I set delivery or pickup on a phone order paid by link?
How do I send a link for the balance after a deposit?
Read next
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- Guide How to take phone orders on Shopify without asking for card details Send the caller a checkout link by email or text, set pickup, then check it’s paid.
- Guide How to send a Shopify draft order payment link by text message Shopify only emails invoices. Copy the checkout link and text it from your own phone.
- Guide Shopify payment links explained: draft orders, Quick Sale and POS Every way Shopify bills by link, what each creates and where the paid order lands.
- Guide Taking a card by phone in Shopify: key it in or send a link Key a caller’s card or send a checkout link: when each fits, and how to turn keying off.