How Do I Send a Payment Link for a Custom or Manual Order?
Agree the order in chat and send the payment link in the same conversation. AeroChat confirms the items, price and delivery with the customer, sends an Airwallex payment link for the total or for a deposit, and posts the confirmation back into the chat once Airwallex confirms the payment. Your team can also send the link themselves after agreeing a custom price. It works on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, web chat and email.
Why manual orders are hard to get paid for
Custom makers, wholesale sellers and stores that take orders by phone all hit the same wall on the Shopify Community. A woodworker builds to order and wants half up front. A wholesale seller wants buyers to pay offline invoices online. A merchant creates an order with a manual payment method and then finds no simple way to send a card payment link for it. Others report invoices with payment terms that customers cannot pay until the terms are removed, and bulk invoices that took days to arrive.
Deposits are the most common ask. Merchants want a deposit to start the work, then the balance before delivery, without an add-on app for each step. And once the link is out, they want to know who has paid and who has not, before they accept the next order from that customer.
The usual fixes and their limits
- A Shopify draft order invoice. Shopify lets you send an invoice from a draft order with a secure checkout link. It suits a full payment for a set of items. Merchants say deposits and split payments take workarounds, and the invoice arrives by email, which some customers miss.
- A deposit or partial payment app. These add deposit options to products or draft orders. They add a monthly fee and another place to check.
- Bank transfer details in a message. It costs nothing, but you have to match each transfer to an order by hand and chase the ones that never arrive.
- A payment link from your payment provider. Most gateways can create a link in their dashboard. Someone still has to make each one, copy it into the conversation and check later whether it was paid.
How to handle it in chat with AeroChat
The customer asks for a custom piece or a bulk order in chat. AeroChat collects what they want and their timing, and quotes prices from your Shopify catalog where the items exist. For custom work, it hands the conversation to your team with a summary, and your team agrees the price. Then AeroChat, or your team from the inbox, sends an Airwallex payment link for the deposit or the full amount. The confirmation posts back into the chat automatically once Airwallex confirms the payment. If the customer comes back with a question before paying, AeroChat answers it and resends the same link.
Customer: Hi, I’d like the walnut dining table made 6 feet long instead of 5. Is that possible? (example)
AeroChat: Yes, we make it to order. The 6-foot walnut table is US$1,800 and takes 5 weeks (example). We take a 50% deposit to start. Would you like to go ahead?
Customer: Yes, let’s do it.
AeroChat: Here’s your secure link for the US$900 deposit. We’ll start as soon as it’s paid.
AeroChat: Deposit received, thank you. Your table goes into the workshop this week. We’ll send the balance link before delivery.
In Airwallex: the US$900 deposit settles into your Airwallex balance. In AeroChat: the conversation is tagged “deposit paid” for your team.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks for a custom size, a custom finish or a bulk order, follow these steps.
- Ask what they want, the quantity and when they need it.
- If it matches a price list in our knowledge base, quote it. If not, hand the conversation to our sales team with a short summary and wait for them to agree a price.
- Once the price is agreed, tell the customer we take a 50% deposit (example) and send an Airwallex payment link for the deposit.
- Once the deposit is paid, thank them, tag the conversation “deposit paid” and give them the expected completion date.
- When our team says the order is ready, send an Airwallex payment link for the balance. Confirm delivery once it is paid.
- If they ask a question before paying, answer it and resend the same link.
Never start work or confirm delivery before the matching payment is confirmed. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the deposit share and the hand-over step to match how you take custom orders before you paste it.
What to connect
- Airwallex. Airwallex is built into AeroChat: connect your Airwallex Business Account in the dashboard. AeroChat never sees card numbers and never holds your funds. Money settles directly into your Airwallex balance. No Airwallex account yet? Open one here.
- Your Shopify store. Built in. Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect your store, so AeroChat quotes from your catalog and shipping rates.
- Your price list for custom work. Add it to AeroChat’s knowledge, so standard custom options get quoted without waiting for your team.
Questions
Can I take a deposit and then the balance?
Yes. AeroChat sends one Airwallex link for the deposit and, when you say the order is ready, a second link for the balance. Each payment is confirmed in the chat.
How does AeroChat know the customer paid?
Every payment gets confirmed twice: once the moment Airwallex’s webhook fires, and again when the customer lands on the confirmation page.
Can my team send the link instead of the AI?
Yes. A team member who takes over the conversation can create the same secure payment link from the inbox.
Which plan includes payment links?
Payment links are on Growth and above, with a 7-day free trial. See WhatsApp payment links for more ways to use them.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Get paid for custom orders in the chat
Install AeroChat, connect Airwallex, paste the custom order recipe, and ask your own store chat for a made-to-order item.
7-day free trial.