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Draft orders and invoices

Create an order on behalf of a customer

Julia avatar
Written by Julia
Updated over a week ago

Some customers, especially B2B buyers, prefer placing orders by phone or email.

You can create such orders for them via your X-Cart Admin: Add the customer’s details, the products they want, and their preferred payment and shipping methods. Then send an invoice or set payment terms. Once payment is received or terms are confirmed, the draft turns into an active order on your Orders page.

Here we walk you through how it works and what your customers see when paying through a draft order.

Why draft orders for customers

Order drafting allows you to create and manage orders initiated outside your online store—such as over the phone, through in-person communication, or via email requests. You can:

  • Build a custom order and send an invoice with a secure payment link.

  • Recreate orders from other sales channels.

  • Offer discounts or wholesale pricing.

  • Combine online and retail sales in one workflow.

In the automotive and aftermarket space, many buyers confirm part compatibility or request quotes before paying. Order drafting helps you build tailored orders, add the right parts, and send an invoice when ready. Draft orders are also ideal for B2B sellers or repair shops bundling labor and parts together.

How it works

You start by creating an order draft. Each draft has its own ID (for example, Draft #0003), separate from regular orders, so it’s easy to track:

Drafts don’t have fulfillment or payment statuses until they’re sent to the customer.

As you add products and select a shipping method, X-Cart automatically calculates the subtotal, shipping cost, and grand total.

When you save the draft, the order is split into shipments based on your Order Routing rules (this can be done automatically or manually).

Once you send the order and the customer completes the payment, the draft is converted into an active order and appears on your Orders page.

Create a draft order and add products

  1. Go to Orders › Orders.

  2. Click New order. This opens a page for creating a new order draft.

  3. On the General info tab, click Add products.

  4. Add product items to the order draft one by one. Adjust the price, core charge and quantity values in the respective fields.

  5. Click Recalculate totals.

  6. Click Save draft.

Always recalculate totals after changing product quantities or adding or removing items.

Delete a product from a draft order

  1. Hover over the list of product items in the product table.

  2. Click on the trash icon to the right of the table to delete the last entry.

  3. Click Recalculate totals.

  4. Click Save draft.

Only products not assigned to a shipment an be removed

Add customer details

On the General Info tab of your draft order details page:

  1. Click Add customer.

  2. In the popup, select the customer you'd like to assign for the order.

  3. Click Save changes.

You can use the Change customer button to select a different customer.

If the customer profile includes a shipping address, it will be displayed. The same address is used as the billing address by default.

Adjust the shipping and billing information

You can adjust the customer's shipping and billing addresses.

  1. Click the Change address button next to the addresses section.

  2. Make any address changes you require.

  3. Click Recalculate totals.

  4. Click Save changes.

Adjust the payment method selection

You can adjust the payment method selection.

  1. In the Payment method section, select the payment method you require.

  2. Click Recalculate totals.

  3. Click Save changes.

Select the shipping method

  1. Go to the Shipments tab to assign shipments to each product.

  2. Select a shipping method and shipping rate for each shipment.

  3. Click Save draft to apply the changes.

Apply a discount, a sales tax, and a shipping cost

  1. Go to the General Info tab and locate the Discount, Sales Tax, and Shipping Cost fields.

  2. Click any of these fields to apply or adjust the corresponding value.

    Note: The Actual shipping cost line below the Shipping cost field allows you to view the shipping cost from the Shipments tab.

  3. Click Recalculate totals.

  4. Click Save draft.

Send the order to the customer

  1. When the order is ready, click Create order.

  2. Review all details carefully.

  3. Click Create to open the draft invoice preview.

  4. Click Send to email the invoice to the customer.

Once sent, the draft converts into an active order. The customer receives an email with the invoice and a payment link.

After the invoice is sent to the customer, the order is assigned the following statuses:

  • Fulfillment status: New

  • Payment status: Awaiting payment

At the same time, a countdown is initiated. If the customer does not complete the payment within 24 hours, the order is automatically canceled, and the items included in the order are returned to stock.

Delete a draft order

Deleting a draft order works the same way as deleting a regular order:

  1. Go to Orders › Orders.

  2. To delete a single draft order, click the trash icon next to it.

  3. To delete multiple draft orders, select them using the checkboxes and click the trash icon at the bottom of the list.

Customer experience

When a draft order is created, an email notification similar to the following is sent to the customer (you can edit the wording if needed):

Subject: New invoice #%invoice_number%

Body:

Hey [First name Last name],

As promised, here's an invoice for your order. Please check it to make sure everything is correct and proceed with payment.

Note: the order must be paid within 24 hours, otherwise it will be automatically canceled.

Link: Pay for the order (above the invoice number, leading to the payment page)

Can't find the answers you're looking for?

Email us at support@x-cart.com. We will be happy to help!

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