Available on every plan · Updated 12 September 2026
Also asked as: “record a phone order” · “whatsapp sale” · “counter sale” · “walk-in customer” · “sell something not in my catalogue”
Not every sale comes through your storefront. Orders → Add Order records the ones that did not: a customer at the counter, an order taken on WhatsApp, a phone call, a marketplace sale.
1. Say where the sale came from
Where did this sale come from? is required, and it is the answer to "how are my Instagram sales doing" later on: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Phone, In store / POS, Marketplace, Online store or Other.
2. Add what they bought
Search your catalogue and choose the exact variant; each result shows its code and price, and a product you do not track stock for says so.
Add custom item is for something that is not in your catalogue: an installation, a repair, a delivery surcharge, the balance on a bespoke job. Give it a name and a price. Nothing comes off a shelf for it, because there is no shelf.
3. Say who it is for, and where it was sold
Walk-in is somebody you are not keeping a record of, which is a complete answer, not a missing one. Add contact details for this order takes a name and a number if you want one on the order; that stays on this order and does not add anyone to your customer list. Customer picks somebody already on your list, and a delivery to them needs an address.
Sold at appears if you have more than one branch. Stock comes off that branch, and the sale is reported against it.
Items picked up is ticked for a walk-in and off for a named customer. A counter sale is already over when you type it in: the customer is holding the goods and walking out, so the order is recorded as finished and never sits in your unfulfilled queue.
4. Say what happened with the money
Three answers, and they are about timing:
- Already Paid: the money is in. Then say how, because that is what your Transactions list will report: Cash, Bank transfer, or the provider you took it through.
- Pay Now: take the payment on their behalf now. A card provider opens its own payment window; a bank transfer shows them your account details and the order waits for you to confirm it.
- Pay Later: invoice them. Choose whether they will pay on delivery or by transfer, and tick Send invoice/payment link to customer to email them the order and a link to pay from.
Cash is only here. It is the one payment method a shopper can never choose, because a website has no counter.
5. Create it
Choose Create order. The order opens, and a counter sale opens already Paid and Fulfilled: the sale, the money and the hand-over are all recorded, and the timeline says who took it and how it was paid.
If it does not work
- Create order does nothing: something required is missing and the form scrolls to it. The usual ones are the channel, at least one item, and a delivery address on an order for a named customer.
- A custom item will not save: it needs a price. There is no default, on purpose, so nothing is ever billed at nothing by accident.
- Pay Now offers nothing: no payment provider is connected yet. Record the sale as Already Paid or Pay Later, and connect one from Settings when you are ready.
- Add Order is refused: creating new orders needs a live subscription. Orders you already have stay fully manageable; see When a payment fails.
Email support@shoponent.com with your store name if anything here does not match what you see. We read and answer every message.