Checkout without taking payment

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A user seeks a way for wholesale customers to complete checkout without immediate payment, preferring to calculate shipping manually and invoice afterward.

Recommended Solution:

  • Use Shopify’s built-in “manual payment method” feature (Settings → Payments → Manual payment methods)
  • Create a custom option labeled “Pay by Invoice” or similar
  • Customers can complete checkout without entering payment details; orders appear as “pending”

Post-Checkout Workflow:

  • Calculate shipping costs manually
  • Send invoice via Shopify’s “Create invoice” feature or draft orders
  • Optional: Automate PDF invoices using apps like Order Printer Pro

Status: The original poster confirmed they will implement the manual payment method solution. No custom theme or complex apps required for basic functionality, though Cash on Delivery apps were mentioned as an alternative approach.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Just wondering if there are any Shopify themes or setups that let customers checkout without paying?

I’m setting up a separate website for wholesale and would prefer to calculate shipping manually, then send out an invoice afterwards. Open to using apps or workarounds if that’s the way to go, just wondering what others have done in similar situations.
Thanks!

2

Hello @kaorimtodd

You actually don’t need a special theme. Shopify’s built-in “manual payment method” will do exactly what you need. Here’s the quick setup:

  1. Go to Settings → Payments.
  2. Scroll down to Manual payment methods and click Create custom payment method.
  3. Name it something like “Pay by Invoice” or “Invoice me later.”
  4. In the instructions, tell them you’ll email a custom shipping quote and invoice within 24 hours.
  5. Save.

Now at checkout your wholesale customers can pick “Pay by Invoice” and complete the order without entering card details—their order will show as pending in Shopify. You can then calculate shipping, open the order in your admin, and click Create invoice (or use a draft order) to send them an actual pay-now link via email.

If you want to automate those invoices, check out a free app like Order Printer Pro (it lets you email a PDF invoice directly from Shopify) or use Shopify’s draft-order email feature. But the core “checkout without payment” is just that one manual payment method; no need for a custom theme or heavy app.

3 Likes
3

Hey there @kaorimtodd Generally, I believe that Shopify does not have provisions for what you are looking for but there are third party apps like the cash on delivery app which can help facilitate postponing payment till after checkout.

1 Like
4

Perfect, thanks so much! I’ll give this a go :grinning_face:

5

Thank you!