WooCommerce: How to Manually Order Products (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Introduction:
WooCommerce, the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress, is typically associated with automated ordering processes. Customers browse your store, add products to their cart, and proceed through checkout, triggering an order in your dashboard. However, there are scenarios where you might need to create orders manually. This could be due to phone orders, offline sales, custom requests, or providing support when a customer faces issues during the checkout process. This article will guide you through the process of how to manually order products in WooCommerce, empowering you to handle various order scenarios with ease. We’ll cover the step-by-step instructions, considerations, and potential drawbacks of manual order creation.
Manually Ordering Products in WooCommerce: A Detailed Guide
Manually creating orders in WooCommerce allows you to bypass the standard customer-facing checkout process and input order details directly into your system. Here’s how to do it:
1. Accessing the “Add New Order” Screen
First, you need to navigate to the Orders section in your WooCommerce dashboard.
1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. In the left-hand menu, go to WooCommerce > Orders.
3. At the top of the Orders page, click the “Add Order” button. This will take you to the ‘Add new order’ screen.
2. Entering Customer Details
On the “Add new order” screen, you’ll need to input customer information.
- Existing Customer: If the customer already has an account on your website, you can search for them using the “Customer” field. Begin typing their name or email address, and WooCommerce will provide suggestions. Selecting an existing customer will automatically populate the billing and shipping address fields with their saved information.
- New Customer: If the customer is new, you can manually enter their billing and shipping information in the respective sections. Ensure you accurately capture all necessary details, including name, address, email, and phone number. Providing an accurate email address is important for sending order confirmations and updates.
- Adjust Quantity: Change the quantity of each product directly in the “Quantity” field.
- Set Prices: You can override the default product price by editing the “Total” field for that specific line item. This is useful for applying discounts or custom pricing. Be transparent about why you are adjusting the price.
- Add Taxes: If applicable, you can manually calculate and add taxes to the line items. WooCommerce’s tax settings should be configured beforehand for accurate calculations.
- Add a Fee: You can add custom fees, such as a handling fee or a custom shipping fee, by clicking “Add Fee”. Describe the fee clearly in the description field.
- Add a Shipping Method: Choose a shipping method by clicking “Add Shipping”. You can select an existing shipping method or add a custom shipping cost and description.
- Applying Coupons: If the customer has a valid coupon, you can apply it by entering the coupon code in the “Apply coupon” field.
- Verify Totals: Carefully review all totals, including product costs, taxes, shipping, and any discounts. Ensure everything is accurate before proceeding.
- Pending payment: The order has been created but payment hasn’t been received. This is the default status for manually created orders.
- Processing: Payment has been received and the order is being fulfilled.
- Completed: The order has been fulfilled and shipped to the customer.
- Cancelled: The order has been cancelled.
- Refunded: The order has been refunded.
- Failed: The order failed (e.g., payment error).
- Internal Notes: Notes visible only to administrators (e.g., special instructions from the customer).
- Notes to Customer: Notes that will be emailed to the customer (e.g., confirmation of order, tracking information).
- Manual Payment: Mark the order as “Processing” or “Completed” if payment was received via cash, check, or a direct bank transfer.
- Sending a Payment Request: You can send the customer a payment request via email with a link to pay through your chosen payment gateway. This functionality may require a plugin extension. Be careful about exposing sensitive information when sending emails.
3. Adding Products to the Order
This is where you add the specific items the customer wants to purchase.
1. Below the customer details, find the “Add items” section and click the “Add product(s)” button.
2. Start typing the name of the product you want to add. WooCommerce will display matching products.
3. Select the correct product.
4. Adjust the quantity as needed.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all the products the customer is ordering.
4. Managing Line Items
Each product you add to the order is a “line item.” You can further customize these items:
5. Setting Order Totals and Discounts
The order totals are automatically calculated based on the products added, quantities, prices, taxes, and shipping costs.
6. Choosing Order Status
Select the appropriate order status from the dropdown menu. Common statuses include:
Choosing the correct status is crucial for accurate order tracking and inventory management.
7. Adding Order Notes
Use the “Order notes” section to record any relevant information about the order. This is particularly helpful for:
8. Creating the Order
Once you’ve entered all the necessary information, click the “Create” button. This will finalize the order and add it to your WooCommerce order list.
9. Processing Payment (If Applicable)
If the customer hasn’t already paid, you’ll need to arrange payment. Options include:
// Example: Generating a direct payment link (This requires further implementation based on your payment gateway) $order_id = $order->get_id(); $payment_url = wc_get_checkout_url() . '?pay_for_order=true&key=' . $order->get_order_key();
echo “Pay for Order“;
10. Sending Order Confirmation Email
After the order is created (and ideally, after payment), you’ll want to send the customer an order confirmation email. WooCommerce typically sends this automatically, but it’s good practice to double-check. You can resend the order confirmation from the order details page.
Considerations and Potential Drawbacks
While manually creating Read more about Woocommerce How To Change The Shop Page orders is a useful feature, it’s essential to be aware of its limitations:
- Time-Consuming: Manually entering data can be time-consuming, especially for large orders.
- Potential for Errors: Manual data entry increases the risk of errors, such as incorrect product selections, prices, or shipping addresses. Double-check all information before finalizing the order.
- Inventory Management: Ensure your inventory is accurately updated when manually creating orders. You might need to manually adjust stock levels if your store isn’t automatically managing this.
- Payment Gateway Integration: Handling payments manually may not integrate seamlessly with your existing payment gateways, potentially requiring more manual intervention for refunds or cancellations.
- Scalability: Manually creating orders is not a scalable solution for high-volume sales. It’s best suited for occasional special cases.
Conclusion:
Knowing how to manually order products in WooCommerce provides flexibility and control over your order management. While not ideal for high-volume situations, it’s invaluable for handling phone orders, custom requests, and addressing customer issues. By following the steps outlined in this article and being mindful of the potential drawbacks, you can effectively leverage this feature to enhance your WooCommerce store’s capabilities and provide excellent customer service. Remember to prioritize accuracy and double-check all details before creating an order to minimize errors and ensure a smooth transaction. Consider exploring plugins that streamline manual order creation if you find yourself using this feature frequently.
