Collecting the balance: payment link, POS or invoice?

Say the sofa is due to arrive Thursday and the customer owes $2,600. They're away until Wednesday, the delivery crew doesn't take cards, and the invoice sent earlier is buried under promotional email. The sofa is ready for its entrance; the payment conversation is still looking for its shoes.

Use an online payment link as the usual retail route before delivery, POS for a customer collecting in person, and an invoice when the payer needs a document. Checks and wires can work too, provided the receipt is recorded against the order. The collection channel can vary; the balance should not.

Agree when the balance is due before choosing how to collect it

The payment terms should identify the due event. A retail store might collect before confirming delivery, before dispatch, or at pickup. A trade account may have agreed credit terms. Set that expectation during the sale so the final request doesn't introduce a new condition.

Whether to hold delivery depends on that agreement, the current payment position, and any unresolved customer issue. Don't promise delivery under approved net terms and then treat the whole balance as overdue merely because the truck is ready.

Name the person who verifies payment before release. A message saying the customer intends to pay is different from a completed payment. The balance-tracking guide explains the history that person should review.

Use a payment link when the customer is elsewhere

A payment link lets the customer complete checkout without returning to the showroom. In OrderPilot, the customer can reach payment from a request email or their order portal, with payment access and signing requirements respected.

The link resolves the current payment route when opened. If the agreement changed and needs a new signature, the customer can be directed to sign first. If payment access is closed, an old email should not be treated as authority to pay an unfinished quote.

For the illustrative $2,600 balance, send the request when the piece and delivery arrangements are ready for the agreed collection stage. Tell the customer what payment unlocks and when the store needs to see it. Verify the recorded payment before treating the delivery release as complete.

Avoid overlapping requests from several colleagues. The customer should not receive a portal request from sales, a separate collection email from accounting, and an unexplained call from delivery for the same amount.

Use POS when payment and pickup happen together

POS is a natural route when the customer is already at the store. The associate opens the order, reviews what remains, takes the payment through the supported checkout flow, and records the pieces being handed over.

Shopify's partial-payment documentation explains collecting a later amount from a partially paid POS order. It also warns that refunds, exchanges, or edits can prevent further collection on that native workflow. Review the order's route before promising that any changed sale can simply be finished at the register.

A mixed order needs a line-by-line handoff. The side table may leave today while the sofa stays on order. OrderPilot's fulfillment follows the goods leaving, rather than treating payment as proof of delivery. The mixed pickup and delivery guide covers that distinction.

Use an invoice when the payer needs a document

An invoice gives a bookkeeper or trade customer a fixed account of the amount requested. OrderPilot's invoice PDF can carry the balance and a pay button, so the document and payment route travel together.

An invoice is not a separate kind of money. The customer may pay it through a link, send a wire, or bring a check. The store still records the completed payment against the sale.

Shopify's own draft-order invoice flow also supports payment terms. Its July 8, 2024 announcement describes sending those invoices to let customers review their negotiated order before paying when due. That native document flow is distinct from OrderPilot's invoice PDF and order payment link.

Keep an issued invoice as part of the history. If the sale changes, send an updated document that explains the difference instead of pretending the earlier version never existed.

Record checks and wires before sending another request

Checks, wires, ACH, and financing-company receipts arrive outside the customer checkout. Match the receipt to the order, establish the amount actually received, and record it through the route the order and plan support.

Resolve any outstanding payable request before collecting the same amount another way. If a customer sends the $2,600 by wire, the back office should not leave an unused deposit request available and separately mark an inaccurate amount paid.

Use the outside-payment guide for the daily routine. Record the method and reconciliation reference in the available note field, then verify the updated balance and send the customer an acknowledgment where needed.

Do not assume that recording the payment cancels every message someone scheduled earlier. Review queued customer communications and withdraw or update a request that no longer makes sense. OrderPilot's optional automatic quiet-quote reminder is a separate, limited feature, not an automatic balance-chasing program.

Do not build delivery around an old card authorization

An authorization is permission to capture within the provider's window, not money held indefinitely for the finished sofa. Shopify states that its standard Shopify Payments card authorization period is seven days, with provider and setup differences.

A made-to-order lead time can extend far beyond that window. Plan a completed deposit and a later supported balance collection, rather than assuming a card authorized at the first appointment remains collectible at delivery.

The deposit plan comparison helps set up the earlier stage. By the time the balance request goes out, staff should know what has already settled and what still needs a fresh customer payment.

Keep payment at the door an agreed exception

OrderPilot has no delivery-driver payment app. If your business uses separate approved payment equipment at the door, define who operates it, how receipt is confirmed, and how the payment reaches the order record.

For most remote retail collections, a link before dispatch is easier to reconcile than a delivery team waiting at the customer's home. If the customer pays by link while the crew is there, the office should verify the completed payment before giving the agreed handover instruction.

Never improvise by writing a card number on a delivery sheet. The customer can use the secure checkout route while staff keep the furniture and payment records accurate.

Give trade terms their own collection schedule

For a net-30 account, the agreed due date is part of the sale. Delivery can occur before payment if that is what the approved terms allow. Send the invoice to the correct accounts-payable contact and include the reference they need to match it.

Separate the trade customer's credit arrangement from the retail default. A store rule that every delivery waits for a zero balance would defeat agreed net terms. The payment access and terms guide explains how customer access and due dates work together.

Choose the store's default route

Choose one default for each common sale and train the handoff. Pair that choice with when customers can pay, so a clear request reaches them at the right point in the order.

Sources

1. Capturing payments for your orders — Shopify Help Center.
2. Multiple and partial payments on Shopify POS — Shopify Help Center.
3. Send draft order invoices with payment terms — Shopify, July 8, 2024.