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Create a Draft Order from an Existing Order
Create a Draft Order from an Existing Order

Use an Admin Buttons form and workflow trigger to speed up the process of duplicating orders and get them set up exactly as you want them.

Updated over 2 months ago

One of the most common use cases for the Admin Buttons Shopify app is duplicating an existing order and converting it into a draft order. Every store has their own unique application for this common task. Maybe you want the orders tagged a certain way or to add an order property with the reason for the new order. Maybe you want to apply certain discounts. And you might want to save a record of the new order in a spreadsheet.

With Admin Buttons, you can easily set up an automation to configure the new draft exactly as you want it, to save your team time with this task and reduce manual errors.

Here’s how you can set up and use this automation in your store.

Step 1: Button Template

In Admin Buttons, select the “Create a Draft Order” template. This pre-configured template contains all the necessary fields and logic.

Click "Use." The button configurations are all set to work with the corresponding Shopify Flow template. You can customize any of the title, description, label fields, button styling etc.

In the form, you can customize the discount name options, adding, editing or deleting them as you like. You can also add additional form fields as needed. If you do so, you'll also have to update your Flow workflow to use those fields.

Once you’re satisfied with the button’s settings, set the status to Active and save it. Then follow these quick steps to add the button to your order detail pages.

Step 2: Set Up the Automation in Shopify Flow

The next step is connecting the button to a workflow in Shopify Flow, where the actual draft order creation steps happen:

Find our Flow template: Create a draft order from an existing order with an Admin Button. Click Install and then "Turn On".

The Flow looks complicated but you don't need to edit it unless you're adding form fields. It completes several steps:

  • Confirms that the click is coming from the right Admin Buttons form

  • Creates a Draft Order using a Shopify Admin API action to generate a draft order based on the existing order’s details.

  • Applies the Discount, if selected

  • Adds Notes and Tags to the new draft and the original order for easy reference.

Step 3: Test Everything

Now that everything is set up, you can start using the button on your order pages:

1. Go to an Order Page.

2. Scroll to the Admin Buttons Section.

3. Click the Create Draft Order Button: Fill in the form, testing it with a discount, and click the button to generate a draft order.

Once the button runs, refresh the order page. You should see a note with the new draft order number. Navigate to your draft orders and you'll see the new order with your discount name and %age applied.

That's it! Your button is ready for your store team to use from any order page.

Additional customization

Once everything is working, you can customize the form and the workflow however you like. For instance:

  • Add “Redelivery Reason” Notes:

    Capture a specific reason for redelivery (e.g., damaged goods, incorrect item, or customer satisfaction). This note could be saved both to the original order and the newly created draft order for better tracking and communication.

  • Add an Optional Redelivery Fee:

    In some cases, you may want to charge a customer a redelivery fee. You can modify the form to include an option to add this fee to the draft order. Then, within the flow, you can set up conditional logic to determine if the fee should be applied and automatically add the extra charge to the new draft order.

  • Saving Redelivery Records to a Google Sheet:

    For tracking purposes, you can extend the automation to log each redelivery in a Google Sheet. After creating the draft order, you could set up Shopify Flow to pass relevant details—like the original order ID, customer name, and redelivery reason—into a Google Sheet to maintain a clear and centralized record of redeliveries.

To implement these customizations, you’ll need to make changes both in the Admin Buttons form and in the Shopify Flow automation:

  1. Add new fields to the form in Admin Buttons:
    For example, if you want to collect the “redelivery reason,” you can add a text input field. To handle a redelivery fee, add a checkbox or a price input field.

  2. Customize the Logic in Shopify Flow:
    After updating the form, go to your flow template and modify the existing flow to handle the new variables. For example, add a condition to check whether a redelivery reason was provided, and if so, add it to the original and draft order notes. Or send the redelivery data to Google Sheets using Flow's built-in Sheets connector.

By combining the customizable form with the flexibility of Shopify Flow, Admin Buttons enables merchants to tailor the automation to their exact workflow needs. Whether it’s adding custom notes, fees, or tracking data, you can easily extend the functionality of the draft order button and flow for various use cases, making your store’s admin tasks even more efficient.

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