Collect pre-orders for a book or launch

The Book / Pre-order section lets you promote a launch - a book, a course or any other product - and collect pre-orders straight from your website, without setting up a store. It is separate from the online store: there is no cart, no stock and no card payment.

How buyers pay

Payment is by EFT (bank transfer). A pre-order with a price is recorded as awaiting payment. After a buyer sends the form they are shown the amount, your bank details and their pre-order number, for example PRE-1001, to use as the payment reference. A pre-order with no price is a simple reservation.

Setting it up

1. 1Open your website in the editor and find the Book / Pre-order group.
2. 2Tick Collect pre-orders.
3. 3Set the button label and the pre-order price in rand. Use 0 for a reservation with no payment.
4. 4Enter your bank details, a privacy note and the message buyers see once they have ordered.
5. 5Save your website.

On your site the form stays folded away behind your button until a visitor presses it or follows a link to it.

What buyers give you

• Their name, email address and phone number.
• A full delivery address.
• The quantity, and optional notes.
• A tick to confirm they agree to you using their details. They cannot order without it.

Managing pre-orders

Pre-orders appears in your website's menu once the section is switched on. It lists each pre-order with its number, buyer, product, date, quantity, place, payment status, status and total, and you can filter by All, Reserved, Confirmed, Fulfilled or Cancelled.

• Mark paid - once the transfer shows in your bank account. It also confirms the pre-order. Undo paid reverses it.
• Fulfilled - once you have sent the order.
• Cancel, and Reopen if you cancelled by mistake.
• Export CSV - downloads the pre-orders you are looking at, including each buyer's email, phone number and full address. Those details are not shown on the page itself.

What it does not do

• It does not take card payments or confirm a payment by itself. You confirm each one by hand.
• It does not send any email, to you or to your buyers.
• It does not track stock or use coupons.