How to take phone orders in Shopify

Updated September 25, 2026

When a customer calls to place an order, Shopify gives you two good options: build a draft order in your Shopify admin, or use an app made for phone orders. This guide walks through both, then covers getting paid and a few tips for taking orders by phone.

Option 1: Create a draft order in Shopify admin

A draft order is Shopify’s built-in way to create an order for a customer. It works for phone, email, and in-person sales. Shopify’s own guide is Creating draft orders.

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts, then click Create order.
2. Search for the products the customer wants and add them to the order.
3. Add the customer. Search for an existing customer, or create a new one with their name, email, and phone number.
4. Add shipping or delivery. Shopify needs the customer’s address before it can show location-based rates. You can also offer local delivery or in-store pickup.
5. Check the total. Taxes are based on your store’s tax settings and the customer’s address.
6. Get paid, or save the draft to finish later.

Getting paid for a phone order

Shopify gives you three ways to finish a draft order (Shopify’s guide):

• Send an invoice. Shopify emails the customer a link to pay online at checkout.
• Collect payment > Mark as paid. Use this when the customer has already paid another way.
• Collect payment > Credit card. Enter the customer’s card yourself. This needs Shopify Payments.

Where it gets slow on a call

Draft orders work well. On a live phone call, though, a few things add up:

• A customer’s past orders are on their customer page, so reordering means opening another page and searching for each product again.
• Products, customer, shipping, and payment are separate steps you work through one at a time.
• The admin is designed for a desktop, so it’s harder to use on a tablet at the counter or a phone.

Option 2: Use a phone order app

Hello Order puts the whole draft order on one screen inside your Shopify admin:

1. Search the customer by name or phone, or add a new one.
2. Add items straight from their past orders, or search your products.
3. Choose pickup, delivery, or shipping. Your store’s own locations and rates load automatically.
4. Choose how to get paid: email the invoice, save a draft, or mark it as paid.
5. Click Checkout. Hello Order creates a real Shopify draft order, tagged hello-order, that you can find and edit in your admin.

It costs $5 USD a month after a 30-day free trial. See how to get started.

Tips for taking orders by phone

• Get an email address. An emailed invoice lets the customer pay online, so card numbers never pass through you.
• Read the order back before you finish: items, quantities, pickup or delivery date, and the total.
• Add a note for anything special, like a pickup time or a gift message.
• Tag phone orders so you can find and report on them later. Hello Order tags them automatically.

Common questions

Can I take a credit card number over the phone?

Shopify lets you enter a card in the admin if you use Shopify Payments. Emailing an invoice is often simpler, and the customer enters their own card details at checkout. Hello Order never takes card numbers: it sends Shopify’s invoice, or marks the order as paid.

Are phone orders real Shopify orders?

Yes. A draft order becomes a regular order once it’s paid or marked as paid, with the same inventory, taxes, and reports as any other order.

Do I need an app to take phone orders?

No. Draft orders work on their own. An app like Hello Order is worth it if you take phone orders often and want each one to be faster.