When a customer places an order, here is how you take it from a notification to a package on its way. Logan is your teammate for orders, shipping and everything after the sale, so ask him anything along the way.

You will get an email with a subject that starts with "New order" and your order number, which looks like #2607119X4K. The order also shows on your Dashboard right away. To open it, ask Logan or go to Orders > Orders in the left sidebar.

There you can see the line items, the customer, the shipping address and the current status.

This is the part that surprises most people on their first sale. When a customer checks out, their card is held for the order total. Nothing is charged yet and nothing lands in your payout balance.

The card is charged when you fulfill the order. That is true whichever way you fulfill it, so the money follows the goods going out, not the order coming in.

This is the shortest path and the one we recommend. On the order, choose Create shipping label. You will see live carrier rates with prices, so pick the one you want and choose Purchase label.

Buying the label does all of this at once:

The order moves to delivered on its own. You do not need to update it manually.

You pay for the label itself from your payout balance or a card. The shipping your customer paid at checkout is yours and is there to cover it. From there it is over to you: print the label, tape it to your box and hand it to the carrier.

Alternatively you can use your own carrier account or buy your own label at the counter. That works, it just means a couple of steps are yours instead of ours.

On the order, choose Fulfill manually, then pick Shipped. Add the carrier, then add the tracking number if you have one.

A tracking number is highly encouraged. It protects you if a customer says their order never arrived, which is the main reason to add one. The field is optional though, so a missing tracking number never blocks you from getting paid.

What changes on this path:

A pickup order has no label. When the customer collects it, open the order and choose Fulfill manually, then pick Other. That charges the card and closes the order.

A digital order works the same way through Digital delivery, which sends the customer their files or instructions.

A held payment does not last forever. If the order is not fulfilled within 7 days, the hold expires, the customer is never charged and the order is cancelled automatically.

We email you reminders before that happens, so you are not relying on memory. Still, it is worth knowing the deadline exists, especially on a made-to-order piece that takes a while.

If you need more time, you do not have to lose the payment. Choose Fulfill manually, then Made to order / Pre-order. The card is charged now and the order stays open, so when the item is ready you just open it again and choose Create shipping label or Fulfill manually. That is the right move for something you are still making, a backorder or a pre-order.

Your label price and what the customer pays at checkout are calculated from the package weight and box size. Ask Logan to set your default parcel. Or open Orders > Shipping/Pickup setup and set it in the Default parcel section. Set a realistic Weight and Dimensions there so your labels price correctly. An off weight or box size can mean a wrong price and a carrier adjustment later. If a few items are much heavier or lighter, you can set a weight on those products and it takes over for them. Most stores just use the default.

Also set Fulfillment time to the number of business days you really need to make the item and get it to the carrier. Minicart adds it to the carrier's transit time when it shows your customer an estimated arrival, so guessing low makes you look late.

Charging the card is not the same as the money landing in your account. Proceeds from a sale, minus fees, are typically available 1 to 3 business days later. A reserve holds part of each sale a little longer. For the full picture, including how free and paid plans differ, see How payouts work.

Logan handles everything after the sale, so ask him about an order's status, a shipping address, a new label or a refund. Or work through any order under Orders > Orders in the left sidebar. For more on order statuses and digital orders, see View and fulfill an order.