> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.cloudbridal.com/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Making a Sale

CloudBridal streamlines the sales process, from item selection to payment processing and order tracking. This guide walks you through creating different types of orders and managing the sales workflow.

## Types of Orders

CloudBridal supports three different types of orders:

1. **Special order**: For items not in your current inventory that need to be ordered from vendors. This tracks the process from initial order to final pickup.
2. **From inventory**: For items you currently have in stock, or for services your store provides.
3. **Rental**: For items you rent out to customers from your inventory, tracking from rental to return.

## Creating an Order

You can create orders in two ways:

1. From the [Orders page](https://go.cloudbridal.com/orders) by clicking **New order**
2. From a customer's profile by clicking **New order** in the Overview tab

## Walk-in Orders

For quick transactions without creating a full customer profile:

1. From the Orders page, click **New order**
2. Select **Walk-in Customer** option
3. A temporary "Walk-in" customer profile is created
4. Complete the order as normal
5. You can convert this to a full customer profile later if needed

## Special Order Process

![A special order in the order form](https://cloudbridal.com/images/help/order-form.webp)

When creating a special order:

1. Select **Special order** as the order type
2. Fill out the order details:

- **Order status**: Begins as "New", or "Ordered" if your shop places orders right away (**Where special orders start** in [Orders settings](https://go.cloudbridal.com/settings/orders))
- **Vendor**: Select from your vendor list
- **Item**: Search for an inventory item or enter manually. Items for the customer's type are listed first
- **Color**: Select the desired color
- **Size**: Enter based on measurements
- **Add-ons**: Extras such as a rush shipping fee. Pick the vendor's add-ons in the **Add-ons** field; they're listed in the **Add-ons** section of the price, where you can change each one's name, notes and price. Alterations, additional work, additional fees and custom add-ons are under **Other add-ons**. See [Vendor Addons Docs](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/vendors-fnmb5d/) and [Inventory Addons Docs](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/inventory-management-1ray8x9/#3-available-addons-for-special-order) for setup
- **Internal notes**: Notes about the order for your team
- **Measurements**: See [Measurements on an Order](#measurements-on-an-order)
- **Price Information**: System uses inventory prices by default
- **Sales associate**: The staff member credited with the sale, in the **Associated staff** card. When you have two or more active sales associates, click the split icon beside the field to split the sale between staff members: **Add staff member** and set each person's percentage, and the sales associate keeps the remainder. Reports credit the money and the sale by those percentages — see [Reports & Tools](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/reports-tool-b4mb2m/).
- **Event**: Appears when the customer has more than one event. Pick which event the order is for — required on a new order. With a single event, the order is assigned to it automatically. See [Prospects & Customers](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/prospects-customers-1eiw48m/).

3. For items with orderable varieties, you can select specific varieties with different price points. See [Inventory Item Varieties Docs](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/inventory-management-1ray8x9/#3-varieties-available-for-special-order) for more information.
4. **Adding Additional Items**: Click **Add item** to include more items, services, etc. These follow the same process, as each line item is its own order.

### Measurements on an Order

A new order starts from the customer's newest measurements, and says so ("Filled from the measurements taken" and the date). Click **Clear** to start empty. Values you've already typed, and orders already saved, are never overwritten.

**Measured by** starts as **Taken by the shop**; change it if the customer gave you their measurements. Measurements saved from an order to the customer's profile show who took them and which order they came from.

## From Inventory Process

For items you have in stock:

1. Select **From inventory** as the order type
2. Search for the item by name
3. Select the specific variant (size, color) from your inventory
4. The system will automatically decrease inventory quantity. If the item doesn't have quantities enabled (e.g. services), the quantity is disregarded. If the sale is later cancelled or returned, you can put that stock back with **Return to stock** — see [Returns, Refunds & Exchanges](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/returns-refunds-exchanges-h6e3zy/).

| Tip: Making a layaway order from inventory? You can set the order status to "On hold".

## Rental Process

For rental items when renting out of your stock:

1. Select **Rental** as the order type
2. Fill out standard order information plus:

- **Rental status**: Defaults to "Rented"
- **Due date**: When the item must be returned
- If rental tracking is enabled for the item type, you'll also see reservation dates

![A rental order with its due date and reservation dates](https://cloudbridal.com/images/help/rental-order.webp)

## Order Documents

While creating a new order or quote, click **Preview document** in the header to see the customer-facing document — with your terms and the order details filled in — before anything is saved. The preview is watermarked, and the order number is assigned when you save.

After creating an order, generate order documents for the customer. See [Documents & Agreements Setup](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/documents-agreements-setup-pqkft/) for more information on how to configure your document templates.

1. If **Customers sign off on new orders** is on in [Orders settings](https://go.cloudbridal.com/settings/orders), the order document opens after you create a new order, before payment
2. CloudBridal will automatically select a document template for the order based on the current status of the order and how your templates are configured.
3. Preview the document before saving the document
4. Choose how to finalize the document

### Signature Options

- **Digital Signature (**${color}[#4338ca](Ultimate Plan)**)**: Have the customer sign in store — on your device's signature pad or on your Stripe smart card reader — or send a signing link by email or direct link
- **Physical Signature**: Print the document for physical signature. You can then click the **Save** button to store a copy of the document within CloudBridal.

E-Signed documents are saved to the customer's profile for future reference. See [Documents & Agreements Setup](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/documents-agreements-setup-pqkft/) for the full set of signing options.

## Payments

See [Payments & Processing](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/payments-processing-nuv3ia/) for more details about how payments are recorded and processed within CloudBridal.

## Smart Order Helpers

**_Plan Requirement_**: ${color}[#4338ca](**Ultimate**)

This feature automatically applies add-ons, fees, or discounts based on predefined rules. See the [Order Settings](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/orders-setup-yzpc9f/) documentation for more information.

## Updating the Order Status

Click the order's status badge, on the order form or on the order in the customer's **Orders** card, and choose the step to move it to.

- When a step has a date, such as the ordered or arrival date, CloudBridal asks for it. Moving to **Ordered** shows the ordered date (today) and the expected arrival from the vendor's lead time.
- Moving an order back to an earlier step clears the dates of the later steps, and CloudBridal says which before you save. Only admins can move an order back.
- On an order that's on a purchase order, **Scheduled** and **Ordered** show **Set by PO #n**: the purchase order moves the order. See [Purchase Orders](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/purchase-orders-11v96nc/).

To cancel or return an order, use **Cancel order** or **Record a return** instead of the status menu.

## Post-Sale Actions

After recording a sale, you may have various actions to take in the future. For example:

- For special orders, you will need to process the order through the vendor. You can use the [Purchase Orders](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/purchase-orders-11v96nc/) feature for tracking this process.
- You will need to ensure that the customer's order status is updated as the order progresses. The goal is to eventually move it into the **Completed** status.
- If the customer has not paid in full, you will need to record any future payments.
- When the customer picks up their item, you may want to generate a pick-up agreement.
- If the sale falls through or the customer returns an item, use **Cancel order** / **Record a return** from the order rather than changing its status. See [Returns, Refunds & Exchanges](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/returns-refunds-exchanges-h6e3zy/).

This list is not exhaustive, and you will need to determine what actions are needed for your business based on your own workflows.

## Related Documentation

- [Tracking Alterations in CloudBridal](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/tracking-alterations-in-cloudbridal-180m0eg/) — a single alteration fee, an itemized alterations menu, and fittings as appointments
- [Payments & Processing](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/payments-processing-nuv3ia/)
- [Returns, Refunds & Exchanges](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/returns-refunds-exchanges-h6e3zy/)
- [Quotes](https://help.cloudbridal.com/en/article/quotes-1qb11me/)