Tracking special orders (fulfilling POS sales partially)

[hstb]

Using Shopify POS. Still looking to solve.

We do a lot of special/unfulfilled order items in our store. And a huge majority of the time, the sale will be mostly regular items together with special order items on the same transaction. Additionally, sometimes we'll even need to do a partial quantity fulfilled and a partial quantity special order.

In Shopify POS, a sale is either completely fulfilled or completely unfulfilled. We need a way to mix and match. Unfortunately, we've had to use a separate spreadsheet to track customers' orders. There's the potential for data entry mistakes, partial information, it requires extra work (and therefore time wasted for customer), and the receipt isn't clear to the customer. It also means we can't create POs for unfulfilled items.

Do you have this challenge? How do you handle it? Is there another POS system that handles this? We'd consider switching. I've looked at the POS API to see if we can build a POS app but the API seems limited at the moment .

Open to your suggestions! Thanks!

[JoesIdeas]

Could you import your POS orders into an online Shopify store to manage there?

We (Order Automator app) have users that have both online store + POS, and their POS orders show up in their online store. Once in their online store they have the power to have line items fulfilled separately.

Our app automates order processes (like fulfilling certain line items, sending notifications to staff based on the products in the order, adding notes, etc)... but even if not using an app, I think just importing orders to Shopify online store admin would allow you more control to improve your current system.

[hstb]

We use Shopify admin. But orders that hit admin from POS are already marked
fulfilled.

[JoesIdeas]

Hmmm, sounds like there's a process that is marking them fulfilled automatically.

I know in Shopify admin there's a setting (Settings > Checkout) to automatically mark line items fulfilled after the order is paid.

If that's enabled, you could change to only fulfill gift cards, like this:

If that's not the case, check the order timeline notes to see if there are any clues to why those items are being automatically fulfilled.

I would expect all items to come into Shopify admin "unfulfilled", so the above setting should solve that (unless you have an app that handles fulfillment, then check that). If POS is fulfilling the items, see if there's a similar setting there.

[Daniela-M]

Hi @hstb,

Managing pickup orders can be challenging at times, and even when employees are doing their best, the customer experience can easily fall... WeSupply's In-Store pickup functionality could be of interest if you're seeking a portal to manage pickup orders. If you're unable to fulfill orders or choose to cancel them, you can do so as well. You can also notify customers when an order is ready to pickup or has been picked up, and the customer gets access to a great portal with all of their receipts.

Here's an overview of the experience!

I hope this information helps. ✌️