Request Signature & Payment
Once a quote is ready, you usually need two things from the customer: their signature to confirm the details, and their payment. OrderPilot sends both requests as emails from the quote's page. You choose the template, check the recipients, preview the email, and send it now or schedule it for later. You can also copy the sign link or invoice link and share it yourself.
This article explains how to request a signature and a payment, how the email composer works, how the customer payment setting controls when customers can pay, and how to check whether the customer opened your email.
Before You Start#
Consider the following questions before getting started:
Is the quote in Shopify yet?#
The Request signature and Request payment buttons appear once the quote has been created. A quote saved with Save as Draft must be created first. See Create Quotes/Orders.
Is email set up?#
Emails are sent from your own sender address, set up in “Settings”, then “Email settings”. If email is not ready, the composer shows Email isn’t ready to send yet with a link to the setup. See Email Settings & Notifications.
Does your shop hold back payment until you allow it?#
If Customers can pay only after payment is enabled on the order is on, customers cannot pay a quote until you enable payment for it. See Customer Payment below.
When Do the Buttons Appear?#
The buttons at the top of a quote or order follow the customer's progress. The most important next step is the highlighted (primary) button:
| Where the record is | Primary button |
|---|---|
| Not signed yet | Request signature |
| Signed, not fully paid | Request payment |
| Paid or partly paid, and ready for a purchase order | Create PO |
| In Ready to Ship or Partially Ready to Ship and placed in Shopify | Fulfill in Shopify |
Request signature stays available as a second button until the customer signs, and Request payment stays available until the record is fully paid. Both are greyed out while you have unsaved changes. Save or discard first.
How to Request a Signature?#
Step 1: Open the quote.
Step 2: Click “Request signature”. The Send an Email window opens with the Request signature template selected and the customer's email in To.
Step 3: Check the Subject and message. The email includes a Review and sign button that opens the signing page.
Step 4: Click “Send now”. OrderPilot shows Email queued for delivery.
The customer opens the link, reviews the quote, and signs. See Sign Quote/Order for what they see.
After the customer signs#
The Sign badge on the quote, and the Sign column in the Quotes list, change to Signed. The primary button changes to Request payment.
If you change anything the customer can see after they sign (a price, quantity, option, fee, discount, or shipping), the badge changes to Re-Sign and the customer must sign again. See Edit Quotes/Orders.
Note: Sign links do not expire. The Valid Until date printed on a quote is for the customer's information only. A rejected quote's sign link stops working.
How to Request Payment?#
Step 1: Open the quote or order.
Step 2: Click “Request payment”. The Send an Email window opens with the Request payment template selected.
Step 3: Check the message and click “Send now”. The email shows the amount due and a Pay now button that opens the customer's view of the quote, where they pay the balance (or the deposit, if the record has one) through Shopify checkout.
Sending a payment request also turns on customer payment for that record (see Customer Payment below).
When the customer pays, the payment badge updates (for example to Paid or Partially Paid). See Payments, Deposits & Refunds and Pay for Quote/Order.
The Send an Email Window#
The same window opens from Request signature, Request payment, and “Send email” in the ••• menu.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Subject | The email subject. Filled in from the template. |
| To | The customer's email. Separate several addresses with a comma. |
| Cc / Bcc | Click “Cc” or “Bcc” to show the field. Up to 5 addresses each. Your shop's default copies are filled in for you. |
| Choose an Email Template | Switch between Quote, Quote follow-up, Invoice, Request signature, Request payment, and any templates your shop added. Choosing a template replaces the subject and message. |
| Message | The email text, which you can edit before sending. |
The buttons at the bottom of the window:
- “Preview”: See the email as the customer will, on Mobile, Laptop, or Desktop width.
- “Save Draft”: Keep your edits to send later. The window shows when the draft was saved.
- “Schedule”: Pick a Date and Time (in your local time zone, at least one minute from now) and click “Schedule”. Scheduled emails are listed under Scheduled notifications, where you can cancel them.
- “Send now”: Send the email.
- The arrow next to Send now, then “Send test email…”: Send a copy to an address you choose. The customer is not emailed, and your draft is kept.
Note: The quote's salespeople are copied on the email automatically when it is sent, as long as there is room within the 5-address limit. Addresses in Also copy these addresses, on the Notifications tab of “Settings”, then “Email settings”, are copied too. The Default CC tab applies only to purchase order and sales order emails. See Email Settings & Notifications.
Copy Sign Link and Copy Invoice Link#
To share a link yourself, for example in a text message, click the ••• button at the top of the record (or on its row in the list) and choose:
| Menu item | What it copies | Unavailable when |
|---|---|---|
| Copy Sign Link | The link to the signing page. | The record is still a draft. |
| Copy Invoice Link | The Shopify checkout link for the balance. | The record is still a draft, its Shopify draft was deleted, nothing is left to pay, or Shopify is still catching up with your latest save. |
A greyed-out item says why underneath it.
Note: Copying the invoice link turns on customer payment for that record, because the link lets the customer pay. OrderPilot confirms with Invoice link copied. Customer payment is now on for this order.
Customer Payment#
When Customers can pay only after payment is enabled on the order is turned on in “Settings”, then “Order defaults” (in the Customer payment card), new quotes and orders start with payment off. Customers see no pay button on the sign page, their order page, or in emails until you turn it on. Payments you collect yourself are never blocked.
The record's summary card then shows a Customer payment row with Not enabled for customer.
How to enable payment?#
Step 1: In the Customer payment row, click “Enable payment”.
Step 2: The Enable customer payment? window shows the amount the customer will be asked to pay (the full balance, or the deposit). Choose:
- “Enable & send payment request” to turn payment on and open the Request payment email, or
- “Enable” to turn payment on without emailing.
The row now shows Enabled with who turned it on and when.
Payment also turns on when you send a payment request, record a payment, or copy the invoice link.
How to turn payment off again?#
Click “Disable”, then “Disable payment”. Pay buttons and links disappear from the sign page, order page, and emails. If there are open payment requests, the window lists them with a “Cancel request” button for each. Payments already received are not changed.
Note: A Shopify checkout link the customer already has cannot be withdrawn. Cancel the open payment request to stop it working.
Checking Whether the Customer Opened It#
Step 1: Open the quote and scroll to the Activity card.
Step 2: Click “View all emails”. A window lists every email sent for this record.
- Signing page at the top says whether the customer has opened the sign link, how many times, and when (or Not opened yet).
- Each email shows its subject, recipients, delivery Status, Opened, and When. Use All statuses to filter by delivery status.
- Opened reads Likely opened with a count, No sign of an open, or Mail scanner only (an automated mail scanner opened it, not a person). Test emails are marked Test.
Note: Open tracking is an estimate. Some email apps open every email automatically, and others block tracking, so treat it as a hint rather than proof.
Example: Signature, Then Payment#
Daniel Okafor is ordering a Halsey Platform Bed ($2,400) and wants to sign from home.
- The designer creates the quote and clicks “Request signature”. They add a short note to the message and click “Send now”.
- That evening, View all emails shows Likely opened once, and the quote's Sign badge reads Signed.
- The primary button is now Request payment. The designer clicks it and sends the Request payment email.
- Daniel pays through Shopify checkout. The quote is signed and paid, so OrderPilot moves it to Order automatically, and the primary button changes to Create PO.
Important Notes & Tips#
Signature first, then payment#
Asking for the signature first means the customer confirms every detail before any money changes hands. It also reduces disputes later.
Save before you send#
Request signature and Request payment are greyed out while the quote has unsaved changes, so the customer always receives the version you saved.
Use Schedule for follow-ups#
Write the Quote follow-up email while the conversation is fresh and schedule it for a few days later.
Need Help?#
Need help sending signature or payment requests, or checking whether a customer has signed or paid? Reach out to us at support@bevycommerce.com, and we'll help you manage the signature and payment flow.