Shopify Draft Order Automation for B2B Quotes — Complete Guide

B2B quote workflows require a final step: converting the approved quote into a payable invoice. On Shopify, that means creating a draft order — a manual order with custom pricing that you send to the customer for payment. Manually re-entering quote data into Shopify Admin wastes time and introduces errors. This guide shows you how to automate draft order creation with one-click conversion and Shopify Flow workflows.

What Are Shopify Draft Orders?

A draft order is a manual order created by a merchant (not a customer). Unlike regular orders that customers create at checkout, draft orders let merchants:

• Set custom pricing for individual line items
• Apply custom discounts (percentage or fixed amount)
• Add products that aren't published in the online store
• Send an invoice link to the customer for payment
• Mark the order as paid offline (for wire transfers or checks)

Draft orders are essential for B2B workflows because they give merchants full control over pricing and payment terms.

When to Use Draft Orders

Use draft orders when:

• A customer negotiates custom pricing (different from catalog prices)
• You offer volume discounts or wholesale pricing
• You need to add custom line items (setup fees, shipping costs)
• The customer pays via invoice (net 30 terms, wire transfer, check)

For AddToQuote users, draft orders are the final step in the quote-to-invoice workflow.

Manual vs Automated Draft Order Creation

Manual Draft Order Creation (The Old Way)

Without automation, creating a draft order from a quote looks like this:

1. Review the approved quote in your CRM
2. Open Shopify Admin → Orders → Create order
3. Add the customer (search by email or create new)
4. Add each product from the quote (search by name or SKU)
5. Adjust quantities and prices to match the quote
6. Add custom line item properties (custom fields, notes)
7. Add shipping address
8. Send invoice link to customer

This process takes 3-5 minutes per quote and is error-prone (wrong quantity, wrong price, missing custom fields).

Automated Draft Order Creation (The New Way)

With AddToQuote, draft order creation is automated:

1. Open the approved quote in your CRM
2. Click "Create Invoice" button
3. Draft order is created in Shopify with all quote data
4. Send invoice link to customer

This process takes 10 seconds per quote and eliminates data entry errors.

One-Click Conversion in AddToQuote

Here's exactly what happens when you click "Create Invoice" in AddToQuote:

What Transfers to the Draft Order

All core quote data transfers automatically:

• Products — product name, SKU, variant ID
• Quantities — exact quantity from the quote
• Prices — custom pricing (may differ from catalog prices)
• Customer info — name, email, phone, company
• Shipping address — address from the quote form
• Custom fields — line item properties (e.g., "Engraving text: John Smith")
• Notes — internal notes visible to merchant only

What Doesn't Transfer

A few fields don't transfer because they're not part of the quote workflow:

• Payment method — customer selects this when paying the invoice
• Shipping method — merchant adds this manually in Shopify Admin
• Discounts — apply manually after draft order creation if needed

How to Create a Draft Order in AddToQuote

1. Navigate to CRM Pipeline or Quotes page
2. Click into the quote you want to convert
3. Verify the quote details (products, quantities, prices, customer info)
4. Click "Create Invoice" in the quote detail page
5. Wait 2-3 seconds while the app creates the draft order via Shopify API
6. Click "View in Shopify Admin" to open the draft order
7. Send the invoice link to the customer via email

The draft order is now visible in Shopify Admin → Orders → Drafts and can be edited like any other draft order.

Automating Draft Orders with Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow is a no-code automation tool available on Shopify Advanced and Plus plans. You can use Flow to auto-create draft orders when specific events occur (e.g., quote approved, quote moved to "Won" stage).

Example Flow Workflow: Auto-Create Draft Order on Quote Won

Here's how to set up a Flow workflow that auto-creates a draft order when a quote moves to the "Won" stage:

1. Open Shopify Admin → Apps → Flow
2. Click "Create workflow"
3. Select trigger: "AddToQuote - Quote Stage Changed"
4. Add condition: "New stage is Won"
5. Add action: "AddToQuote - Convert Quote to Draft Order" (Flow action extension)
6. Save and activate the workflow

Now, every time you drag a quote to the "Won" stage in your CRM pipeline, Flow automatically creates a draft order in the background.

Other Flow Automation Ideas

• Auto-assign quotes — when a quote is requested, assign it to a team member based on product tags
• Send notifications — when a draft order is created, send a Slack message to your sales channel
• Update inventory — when a draft order is paid, reduce inventory counts in an external system via webhook

Flow is powerful but requires Shopify Advanced or Plus. If you're on Basic or Standard, stick with one-click manual conversion.

Draft Order Lifecycle

Once a draft order is created, it goes through these stages:

1. Draft Order Created

The draft order exists in Shopify Admin but hasn't been sent to the customer yet. You can:

• Edit products, quantities, or prices
• Add discounts or shipping costs
• Add custom line item properties
• Add tags or notes

2. Invoice Sent

You send the invoice link to the customer via email. The customer clicks the link and is redirected to a Shopify checkout page with the draft order pre-filled. They can:

• Review the order details
• Enter payment info (credit card, PayPal, etc.)
• Complete the purchase

3. Draft Order Paid

The customer completes payment. The draft order is converted to a regular Shopify order and appears in Shopify Admin → Orders. You can now:

• Fulfill the order (print shipping labels, pack items)
• Send tracking info to the customer
• Mark the order as fulfilled

4. Order Fulfilled

You ship the order and mark it as fulfilled in Shopify. The customer receives a tracking number via email.

The full lifecycle from quote to fulfillment looks like this:

Quote Requested → Quote Sent → Quote Approved → Draft Order Created → Invoice Sent → Payment Received → Order Fulfilled

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: Customer Info Missing

Problem: The customer email or phone is missing from the quote, so the draft order can't be created.

Solution: Make email and phone fields required in your quote form. Navigate to Settings → Widget Settings → Form Fields and mark these fields as required.

Issue 2: Products Out of Stock

Problem: The quoted product is out of stock, so Shopify prevents draft order creation.

Solution: Enable "Allow overselling" in Shopify Admin → Settings → Products → Inventory. This lets you create draft orders even if inventory is zero.

Issue 3: Wrong Pricing

Problem: The draft order shows catalog prices instead of custom quote prices.

Solution: Verify the quote has custom pricing entered. If the quote uses default product prices, the draft order will too. Always set custom prices in the quote before converting.

Issue 4: Custom Fields Missing

Problem: Custom fields (e.g., "Engraving text") don't appear in the draft order.

Solution: Ensure custom fields are configured as line item properties in AddToQuote. Navigate to Settings → Product Options to set up custom fields correctly.

Issue 5: Invoice Link Expires

Problem: The invoice link you send to the customer expires after 30 days.

Solution: Draft order invoice links are valid for 30 days by default. If the customer doesn't pay within that time, regenerate the invoice link in Shopify Admin.

Cost Tracking and Analytics

AddToQuote tracks draft order creation in your analytics dashboard:

• Quotes converted — total number of quotes converted to draft orders
• Conversion rate — percentage of quotes that become draft orders
• Average deal value — average revenue per converted quote

Review these metrics monthly to identify trends:

• Low conversion rate (<20%) — quotes are being lost before conversion (pricing, timing, competition)
• High conversion rate (>50%) — strong sales process, fast response times
• High average deal value — targeting larger buyers or selling high-ticket products

Use these insights to optimize your quote workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Shopify draft order?

A draft order is a manual order created by a merchant in Shopify Admin. Unlike regular orders (created by customers at checkout), draft orders let merchants set custom pricing, add discounts, and send invoices to customers for payment. They're essential for B2B workflows where pricing is negotiated before purchase.

How does quote-to-draft-order conversion work?

When a customer accepts a quote, the merchant clicks "Create Invoice" in AddToQuote. The app automatically creates a Shopify draft order with the quoted products, quantities, prices, and customer info. The merchant can then send the draft order invoice link to the customer for payment.

Can I automate draft order creation with Shopify Flow?

Yes. On Shopify Advanced and Plus plans, you can use Shopify Flow to auto-create draft orders when a quote moves to the "Won" stage or when a specific event occurs (e.g., customer approves quote via email). AddToQuote provides Flow triggers for all quote events.

What data transfers from quote to draft order?

All core data transfers: product names, SKUs, quantities, prices, customer name, email, phone, shipping address, and custom line item properties (e.g., custom fields, notes). The draft order matches the quote exactly so the customer pays the agreed price.

Can I edit the draft order after creation?

Yes. After AddToQuote creates the draft order, you can edit it in Shopify Admin to add products, adjust quantities, apply discounts, or change the shipping address. The draft order is a normal Shopify order object and supports all standard editing features.

Bottom Line

Automating draft order creation eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and speeds up your B2B quote-to-invoice workflow. With AddToQuote, you can convert quotes to draft orders in 10 seconds with one click, or use Shopify Flow to fully automate the process. Whether you're handling 5 quotes per week or 50, automation saves hours of admin work and ensures customers get accurate invoices every time.

Install AddToQuote from the Shopify App Store to start automating draft orders today, or book a free demo to see the feature in action. For more on draft orders, read our guide on converting Shopify quotes to draft orders or learn about Shopify Flow automation.