How to create an order as a seller

To create and send an order to a buyer, you have 2 main options:

1. Select an existing buyer from your Customer Relationships page and start an order from there.
2. Add a new buyer to your Customer Relationships page and then start a new order with them.

In the instructions below we will show you how to start a new order from your Customer Relationships page.

Start by selecting or adding the customer

To get started, head to your Customers page, which can be found in the left panel navigation:

Next, you can either select an existing customer from your list or you can add a new customer by clicking the "Add Customer" button:

When adding a new customer you will be asked to enter the name of your customer into the search box. This step searches our database and makes sure the customer doesn't already have a Candid account:

If the customer shows up in the search results, click "Confirm" to add them to your customer list:

If the customer is not found in the search results, then you will want to click the "Add A New Company" button as seen in the image below:

When creating the customer's account you will be asked to enter the link to your customer's website. However, if they don't have a website you can also add them by clicking "Add Company Manually":

On the next screen, you just need to enter their company name. All the other fields are optional:

Your customer's account has now been created and is ready for you to create orders with. If you would like to further customize your customer's account, click here to learn more: How to update customer contact information

Order creation

On the next screen, you will be taken to the Customer Details page for the account you just created. From here, you have two main options to help you start an order:

1. Click the New Order button to start an order with the buyer.
2. Send your customer an Onboarding Link (seen in the image below). The onboarding link will take the customer to the account you created for them and allow them to shop from your catalog.

A note on how to use the onboarding link to set up your customer:

Emailing the onboarding link to the customer will let them know that you have created an account for them. We recommend also including a brief message explaining how they can place an order with you. You can even use our buyer tutorial to help them get started: A step-by-step introduction to buying on Candid

When the customer clicks on the onboarding link, they will be able to create a password for the account you created for them. Your catalog will also be pre-saved to their account for quick access and easy ordering.

How to add products to the order

After you click the New Order button, you will be taken to the draft order screen where you will see your catalog. Click on a product to begin adding it to the order:

On the next screen, click "Add to Order":

Then enter the quantity and click "Done":

At any time, you can edit or view the order in progress by clicking on the "Edit Order" tab in the left menu:

Final steps - send the order to the buyer

At this step, double-check the order and ensure the product details, such as pricing and quantity, look correct. When you have finished editing the order, click the "Send or Review Order" button to send it to the buyer for approval.

If your buyer has already approved the order (verbally or otherwise), you also have the option to instead select "Pre-Approve Order" from the drop-down menu seen in the image below:

Before the order is submitted or approved, you will be asked to select a delivery address for the buyer. This step is mandatory and cannot be skipped. If you are sending the order to the buyer, you also will see an option to add a message for them:

Invoicing and Shipping

Once the order has been approved, you can add final details such as shipping, delivery, and invoicing terms. In the next step you will be learning how to invoice your customer.

How to send an invoice to your customer

1. Click the Invoices & Payments tab of the order.
2. Fill in the invoice due date and terms as needed.
3. Add a note if you have anything else you would like your customer to know about their invoice.
4. If you have shipping charges, taxes, or fees, you can also add them to the invoice.
5. When you're finished, click Send Invoice:

Setting up billing terms

You can preset shipping fees, payment terms, and taxes. You can learn more by clicking on the links below:

How to calculate taxes on sales orders

How to set your shipping and payment terms

Other invoicing options

If you prefer not to use our Candid Pay invoicing system, then you will need to invoice and collect payment from the customer using a different method.

First, you will need to select Mark Invoiced Externally from the drop-down menu seen in the image below. This will mark the invoice as "Sent" and allow you to then choose your preferred invoicing method. Most sellers will send the customer a PDF copy of the order invoice instead.

How to share the invoice as a PDF

To download a PDF of the invoice, click on the Print / PDF tab seen in the left panel navigation:

From here, you can use the drop-down menu Print / Display Options to fully customize the look of the PDF:

When you are done customizing the PDF, click the PDF Print button to save the PDF to your computer or device:

The PDF is now saved to the downloads folder on your computer and can be shared with your customer in any way you like.

How to share the invoice as an order link

Another option is to share a link to the invoice with the customer. You can find the link in the left panel navigation of the order:

When you share the order link, it will take the customer to the PDF page view of the order. From here they can print or save a copy of the order. If you are using Candid Pay they will also be able to pay for their order.

How to add shipping or delivery details to the order

In the Shipping & Delivery tab, you can add the date shipped, carrier, and tracking info. You can also add order fulfillment dates by clicking on the Edit button seen in the image below:

Note: For ShipStation users, if you toggle the Ready To Ship button (seen in the image above), the order will be sent to ShipStation. When it's ready, shipping information will automatically be sent from ShipStation to Candid and populate the Fulfillment Details area on the order in Candid.

Collecting payment on an invoice

You have several options for collecting payments, depending on how you want to do business with your buyers. You can also use different collection methods for different customers.

Send the invoice via Candid to your customer:

Use this option if your buyer expects to be invoiced using our system. Sending an invoice also allows buyers to log into their accounts and pay for their invoices individually, or in bulk.

When you send the invoice via Candid, your customer will receive an email alerting them that they have received an invoice from you.

Below is an example of what the email looks like when you send an invoice:

Note that if you want the buyer to pay their invoice directly in Candid, you must set up Candid Pay first. If you choose to use a different method for collecting payment, make sure your buyers know how you would like them to pay. One option is to add a note to the invoice letting them know how you prefer to collect payment.

Manual Payment / Record Payment:

Use this option if you want to record a payment that was made outside of Candid.

Pay for the order using the Payment Terminal:

This allows you to pay the invoice using your buyer's card info. Note that this feature requires Candid Pay to be set up first.

With Candid Pay, you also have the ability to store customer payment methods, you can learn more about this here: How to save payment methods to your account

Mark the order as invoiced externally and collect payment outside of Candid:

Use this option only if you want to use a totally different system for invoicing. Keep in mind that invoicing customers outside of Candid can create more manual work for you since it bypasses the automated steps that are included with Candid Pay.

You can learn more about collecting payments from customers here: Customer Invoicing Options