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Convert a quote to a draft order

Read time: 5 minutes. Who it's for: Merchants taking an accepted quote across the finish line - turning it into a real Shopify order the buyer can pay for.

When a buyer accepts your proposal, the quote is agreed but not yet an order. Converting it creates a native Shopify draft order, from which you send an invoice or hand the buyer to checkout. This is the simple, full-acceptance path, and it works on every QuotWay plan - Lite, Starter, Professional, and Enterprise.

What converting actually does

Why a draft order, and not a custom order type? Because QuotWay doesn't reinvent Shopify's order system. When you convert, QuotWay creates a standard Shopify draft order with the agreed line items, prices, and any locked shipping. From that point on, it's an ordinary Shopify draft order - you invoice, collect payment, and fulfill exactly as you would for any other order. Your reports, taxes, and apps all see a normal Shopify order.

Before you start

  • The buyer has accepted the proposal. The quote shows FULLY_ACCEPTED. (If only some lines are accepted, you're on the advanced path - see the note at the end.)
  • The product variants on the quote still exist in Shopify, and the buyer is linked to a Shopify customer record.
  • You know how the buyer will pay: a Shopify invoice (you email them a payment link) or checkout (they complete the order themselves).

The accept-to-order flow

Here's the full round trip, end to end:

  1. You send a proposal. The quote moves to PROPOSAL_SENT. The buyer gets a name-only email - it names the quote and links to where they review it, but never shows prices in the email body.
  2. The buyer accepts every line. They review the proposal in the Buyer portal or their Shopify customer account and accept the whole proposal. The quote flips to FULLY_ACCEPTED. (If a buyer-side approval workflow applies, the quote sits at AWAITING_BUYER_APPROVAL until their chain clears, then lands on FULLY_ACCEPTED.)
  3. You convert. Open the accepted quote and select Convert to draft order. QuotWay creates the Shopify draft order with the agreed lines and prices.
  4. The quote flips to FULLY_CONVERTED. Every accepted line is now in the draft order. The quote's timeline records the conversion and links to the Shopify order.
  5. You invoice or check out in Shopify. Open the draft order in your Shopify admin, send the invoice (or complete the order), and collect payment the normal Shopify way.

That's the whole loop: request → proposal → accept → convert → pay.

Shipping and tax at conversion

Shopify recalculates tax and shipping when the draft order is created. If your proposal locked a final shipping rate, QuotWay forwards it onto the draft order. If shipping was left pending, you set it at draft-order time in Shopify.

If Shopify's recalculated tax or shipping differs from the proposed amount by more than your configured threshold, QuotWay pauses the conversion so you can review it before an order goes out. See Troubleshooting common issues for how to reconcile drift.

After you convert

The buyer ends up with a standard Shopify order and pays through Shopify - there's no QuotWay-specific payment step. Refunds, cancellations, and fulfillment all happen in Shopify against that order, and QuotWay reflects the resulting state back on the quote.

When one order isn't enough

This article covers the simple path: the buyer accepts everything, and you create one draft order. If your buyer wants to accept only some lines, or you need to split an accepted quote into several draft orders (different addresses, warehouses, or shipments), that's the next level up.

⚠️ Partial acceptance and split conversion require the Professional plan or higher.

See Partial acceptance and split conversion for accepting a subset of lines and creating multiple draft orders from one quote - including the PARTIALLY_ACCEPTED and PARTIALLY_CONVERTED states.

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