Accept cash on delivery in Shopify
Cash on delivery is a manual payment method: the customer orders now and pays the courier in cash when the parcel arrives. Shopify takes no payment at checkout and adds no transaction fee for it, but the order is marked unpaid until the money reaches you, so your follow-up has to be deliberate.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | $74.00 of products, $9.00 shipping |
| Due on delivery | $83.00 |
| Shopify transaction fee | $0.00, manual methods are exempt |
| Courier COD charge | Separate, set by the courier |
| Order status | Unpaid until you mark it paid |
Download the record: cod-order-log.csv (120 bytes).
A log of the cash on delivery orders in this tutorial, with the amount due on delivery and the paid status. The due column sums to $166.00.
1Open Payments settings
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2Find the manual payment methods
In the Payment providers section, look at the suggested manual payment methods. Common types of manual payments include cash on delivery, money orders, and bank transfers.
3Select Cash on Delivery
Select Cash on Delivery (COD) from the suggested manual payment methods. Orders that accept manual payments are marked as unpaid on the Orders page, so expect every COD order to arrive unpaid.
4Write the payment instructions
Add payment instructions the customer sees on the order confirmation page after they complete their order, such as Pay the rider in cash when your order arrives. Clear instructions cut down on refused parcels, because the customer knows the exact amount and the exact moment they pay.
5Activate the method
Activate the method and save. Cash on delivery now appears as a choice at checkout alongside your card payments.
6Mark the order paid when the cash arrives
When the courier returns the cash, open the order and mark it as paid. Until you do, the order stays unpaid in your admin, and your payout and sales reports treat it as money you have not yet received.
The arithmetic
The arithmetic is the amount the courier collects, and the fee column is what Shopify does not charge:
| Order | Products + shipping | Due on delivery | Shopify fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1045 | $74.00 + $9.00 | $83.00 | $0.00 |
| #1046 | $74.00 + $9.00 | $83.00 | $0.00 |
| Two COD orders together | $148.00 + $18.00 | $166.00 | $0.00 |
Both orders are $74.00 of products plus $9.00 of shipping, which is $83.00 due on delivery each, and $166.00 for the two together. Manual payment methods are not charged third-party transaction fees, so the Shopify fee on both is $0.00; the courier's own COD charge is separate and is set by the courier.
Held at the counter
COD orders get no fraud score. Shopify's fraud analysis covers online card orders it can verify. Cash on delivery orders most likely get no risk score, so a COD order that looks wrong needs its own check before you ship.
A refused parcel costs you twice. A customer who refuses the parcel at the door leaves you with the outbound shipping and the return shipping, and no payment at all. Keep the instructions short and the amount exact, so the customer is not surprised at the door.
Manual means unpaid until you say so. Orders that accept manual payments are marked as unpaid on the Orders page. Do not fulfil a COD order and assume it is paid: the money is not yours until the courier brings it back and you mark the order paid.
Sources
- Manual payment methods — Shopify's help pages: cash on delivery as a suggested manual method, the unpaid marking on manual orders, and custom manual methods.
- Pricing plans and billing overview — Shopify's help pages: manual payment methods such as cash and cash on delivery are not charged third-party transaction fees.