Checkout: order methods & form

Settings → Checkout (or search *checkout* in Settings) decides how customers place an order and exactly what details they give you. Customers can order through a normal Direct Order checkout — paying online via Razorpay, with Cash on Delivery, or by Bank Transfer / UPI — or send their cart to you as a WhatsApp message. All of these are included on the free plan, and every order, whichever method, lands in your Orders tab. This page also sets which contact fields are required, a minimum order value, branded order numbers, trust badges and the wording on the checkout screen. Remember to press Save in the bar at the bottom when you are done.

Order methods

In the Order methods card, pick a Default method — Direct Order (a normal checkout form that creates the order, emails you, and takes payment online or on delivery) or WhatsApp (the customer fills in their details, the order is saved, and their cart opens as a pre-written WhatsApp message to your number). The default is simply the option pre-selected when a customer reaches checkout; they can switch to the other if you show both. Then tick which options to offer:

• Show WhatsApp checkout — let customers send their cart over WhatsApp to confirm. Needs your WhatsApp number (with country code) under Settings → Store details. The message lists every item, the customer's address, any coupon, delivery and the total, and ends with your store link. You settle payment in the chat.
• Show Cash on Delivery — the customer pays when the order arrives. When it is on, an Extra COD charge field appears: enter an amount (e.g. ₹50) to add a cash-handling fee to COD orders only. It is shown next to the COD option at checkout, added to the total and printed on the invoice; online and WhatsApp orders are never charged it. Leave it at 0 for no surcharge.
• Show Pay with UPI / Bank Transfer — offers a Bank Transfer / UPI option that places the order with the note *Store will share payment details after order*. Your UPI ID, bank details and payment instructions come from Settings → Payments & invoices: the customer sees them the moment the order is placed — on the order-placed screen and in their confirmation email — and they are printed on the invoice, so fill those in if you use this option.

Which payment method makes sense? COD wins orders from first-time buyers but brings returns and cash handling; prepaid is cleaner but converts lower. The COD vs prepaid calculator shows the maths for your margins, and Set up payments the right way walks through a sensible combination.

Checkout form fields

The Checkout form fields card decides which details customers must give. The customer's name is always asked for. For Email, Phone and Delivery Address you tick Show and, separately, Required:

• Phone — keep it required. It is needed for delivery, for couriers, and for you to reach the customer. Indian numbers are checked to be a valid 10-digit mobile.
• Email — used for the customer's order confirmation email. It is only enforced on Direct Orders; a WhatsApp order never blocks on email.
• Delivery Address — when required, the customer fills in *Flat / House No. & Building*, *Area, Street & Locality*, *City*, *State* and a 6-digit *Pincode*. All five are needed for a courier to print a label, which is why they are required together. If you only sell pickups or digital goods, untick Show.
• Order Notes — tick Show to add a free-text box for special instructions (gift message, delivery time). You can set its Notes label and Notes placeholder.

The checkout checks the details before the button activates and rejects obvious junk (a one-letter name, a phone number of repeated digits), so the orders you receive are real and shippable.

Customer accounts

Tick Enable customer accounts to let shoppers create an account with email and password on your store. They get an account page with their order history and saved delivery details, checkout pre-fills for them, and the header account icon (under Navigation & menu → Header icons) opens their account. Guest checkout always stays available, so nobody is forced to sign up. Password-reset emails are sent on your store's behalf.

Minimum order, order IDs, badges & wording

• Minimum order — set a Minimum order value and the Message when below minimum (e.g. *Minimum order is ₹500*). Customers see the message until their cart reaches the value. Set it to 0 for no minimum.
• Order ID format — give orders branded sequential numbers. Enter an Order ID prefix (letters, numbers and dashes, up to 12 characters) and Start counting from; the card previews the result, e.g. *MYSTORE-0001, MYSTORE-0002*. Leave the prefix empty to keep random IDs like *ORD-A3X7K2*. The counter only moves forward and never reissues a number. Order numbers are also the invoice numbers — see Invoices.
• Trust badges — short reassurance lines shown below the checkout button, such as *100% secure payments* or *Ships in 24 hours*. Press + Add Badge for each line.
• Checkout wording — open *Customise titles, button text & success message* to change the Checkout title, Checkout subtitle, Direct order button text (e.g. *Place Order*), WhatsApp button text (e.g. *Checkout on WhatsApp*) and the Success message shown after an order is placed.

What happens after an order is placed

Every order — Direct or WhatsApp, paid or COD — is saved to your Orders tab, you get an email, the Android app sends a push notification, and the customer gets a confirmation email if they gave one. Stock is deducted when a COD, UPI or WhatsApp order is placed; for Razorpay orders it is deducted only once the payment succeeds, so an abandoned payment never holds stock. If you have connected the WhatsApp Business API, the customer also gets a WhatsApp confirmation from your number — see WhatsApp order notifications. Managing the order from there is covered in Manage orders & shipments.

Good to know & troubleshooting

• The WhatsApp button is missing on my store — either Show WhatsApp checkout is off, or your WhatsApp number in Store details is empty or missing the country code (91 for India).
• No payment options appear at checkout — Razorpay is not connected and both Show Cash on Delivery and Show Pay with UPI / Bank Transfer are off. Turn at least one on, or connect Razorpay.
• Customers say the order button is greyed out — a required field is empty or invalid. The message under the field (e.g. *Enter a valid 6-digit pincode to continue.*) says which. If you do not need an address, untick its Show box.
• The COD charge is not showing — it only appears when the customer selects Cash on Delivery, and only on Direct Orders. WhatsApp orders never carry it.
• Delivery charges are set separately under Settings → Shipping — see Set delivery charges. The COD charge stacks on top of the delivery charge.
• Want a WhatsApp order link outside the store (for a story or a bio)? The WhatsApp link generator makes a pre-filled message link in seconds.