This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to navigate and utilize the manual order approval process for customized designs within the Gelato platform. It outlines the steps involved in setting up the manual approval workflow, and approving orders, and highlights important considerations to ensure a smooth fulfillment process.
Understanding Manual Order Approval
The manual order approval feature is particularly beneficial for businesses that offer customized designs. It provides a window to finalize designs based on customer input after an order is placed, ensuring the delivered product aligns perfectly with customer expectations. It's important to note that this feature is applicable only to products that are integrated with Gelato.
Setting up Manual Order Approval
Follow these steps to enable the Manual Order Approval Workflow:
Go to the Stores section in your Gelato Dashboard.
Select your store and click on "Edit store details."
Locate the "Order Approval" setting and switch it from "Automatic" to "Manual."
Save your changes.
Once "Manual" is selected, every order will require your approval before it progresses to production. This allows for design edits or customization uploads based on specific order requirements.
Note: Until you approve the pending order, your Gelato wallet won’t be charged. This means the order isn’t placed or paid until approval.
Approving an Order
Orders for connected items will appear in the "Pending Approval" status. Here's how to approve them:
Go to the Orders section and locate the order you want to approve. You'll see its status as "Pending Approval." Click on the order to view its details.
Review the order details carefully. Once confirmed, click "Approve" to proceed.
You can now edit the design by clicking the three dots next to the file and selecting either "Change file" or "Edit design" (the option shown depends on how the original file was made). Follow the prompts to finalize your customized design. At this stage, you also have the option to add a new product.
Click on "Continue to shipping" to finalize the order. For a detailed walkthrough of placing orders through the Dashboard, refer to the Getting Started with Manual Orders article.
Important Considerations
For businesses using manual approval for custom designs, it's recommended to edit the original product rather than add a new one. This ensures that order status updates are accurately reflected in your store, especially for platforms like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and BigCommerce. Removing the original product can disrupt the fulfillment notification process.
If you prefer to switch back to an automatic approval workflow, ensure your company details are complete on the Company Information page within the Gelato Dashboard (Settings > Company). Without this, orders might default to "Pending Approval" instead of being fulfilled automatically.
Gelato+ subscribers have the advanced option to automate the manual approval process. This feature allows orders to be automatically approved upon uploading the final design file. To learn more, refer to the Preparation For Automation Process article.