Guide
Order confirmation message on WhatsApp: COD templates
Ready-to-send WhatsApp messages for every step of a cash on delivery order, in English and Roman Urdu: confirmation, the follow-up when nobody replies, tracking, delivery, a refused parcel and an advance for custom work. Then how to save them as quick replies so each one takes a few taps.
Each message below comes in English and in Roman Urdu, written the way it is typed on WhatsApp. Replace everything in square brackets, save them once as quick replies, and you will never type the same order message twice.
Why confirm before you book the courier
On cash on delivery, the buyer pays nothing until the rider is at the door. Everything that can go wrong with an order shows up either in the confirmation chat, where it costs you nothing, or at the door, where it costs you the courier charge both ways. A confirmation message catches:
- A wrong size or colour, which you fix in chat instead of in a return.
- A delivery charge the buyer did not notice, which surprises them at the door.
- Half an address or a wrong number, which the rider cannot find.
- An order nobody meant to place, where the buyer simply goes quiet.
A written yes also gives you a record if the buyer later says they never ordered. The full routine, with what to say on a confirmation call, signs of a fake order and the list of buyers who refused before, is in our guide to reducing COD returns. This page is the messages themselves.
What every order message needs
- Your brand name in the first line. The buyer may have messaged three shops that evening.
- The total at the door, in rupees. Price, delivery and the total, each on its own line. Use the courier charges calculator if you are not sure what delivery to quote.
- One question, easy to answer. “Reply YES” gets a one-word answer. “Let us know if everything is fine” gets silence.
- The buyer’s language. If they wrote to you in Roman Urdu, reply in Roman Urdu. If they wrote in English, reply in English.
- Short lines. The buyer reads this on a phone, between other chats. One fact per line is easier to check than a paragraph.
Order confirmation message template
Send it as soon as you see the order, while the buyer still remembers placing it. If the order came in through a chat, you already have most of the details. If buyers keep leaving things out, the WhatsApp order link generator makes a link whose message asks for name, address with landmark and size up front.
In English
In Roman Urdu
Change “baat kar rahi hoon” to “baat kar raha hoon” if a man is replying, or to “[Brand] ki taraf se” if several people answer the number. When the buyer replies, read their answer properly. “Ok” to a question about size is not a yes to the total.
Follow-up when there is no reply
Send this once, the next day. It gives a clean way to say no, and a no in chat costs you nothing compared with a parcel that comes back.
In English
In Roman Urdu
If the follow-up and a call both get nothing, do not book the parcel. Leave the order on hold and move on.
Dispatched message, with tracking number
Send this the same day you book the parcel. It is the order tracking message buyers look for when they ask “mera parcel kahan hai”.
In English
In Roman Urdu
Give the delivery time your courier really takes to that city, not the best case. Our comparison of the best courier services in Pakistan covers what each courier publishes. For the packing slip that goes in the same parcel, the shipping label maker and the invoice generator print one in rupees.
Out for delivery message
When the tracking page shows the parcel is out for delivery, a short message makes sure the buyer has the cash ready and answers the rider’s call.
In English
In Roman Urdu
Delivered thank-you message
Send it once the tracking shows delivered. It closes the order, tells the buyer where to come if something is wrong, and invites the photo you can later share with their permission.
In English
In Roman Urdu
Use the number of days from your own return policy. If you have not written one yet, our guide to a return and exchange policy in Pakistan has a sample. If the buyer does come back with a problem, our guide to handling customer complaints has the replies for each case.
When the parcel is not delivered or refused
Watch the tracking for a failed attempt. Message the buyer the same day, before the courier sends the parcel back. Ask your courier whether it can try again and how many attempts it makes, because that differs by courier.
Failed attempt, in English
Failed attempt, in Roman Urdu
If the parcel was refused, do not argue. Ask why, once, and write down the answer. The reason tells you whether the problem was the buyer, the listing, the price or the courier.
Refused, in English
Refused, in Roman Urdu
Advance payment request for custom orders
Anything made for one buyer, such as stitching to their measurements, a name printed on a gift or a custom cake, cannot be sold to someone else if they refuse it. Ask for part of the price before you start.
In English
In Roman Urdu
Check that the money has arrived in your own account or wallet before you start work. A screenshot alone is not proof. If advances become a regular thing, a JazzCash business account or Easypaisa merchant account keeps that money apart from your personal account.
Save them as WhatsApp Business quick replies
Typing these out for every order is how mistakes creep in. The WhatsApp Business app lets you save each one as a quick reply. Per WhatsApp’s help page on quick replies:
- Open the Tools tab and tap Quick replies.
- Tap the add button, then Message, and paste the template.
- Tap Shortcut and give it a short word, then Save.
In any chat, type “/” in the message box to see your quick replies, pick one, and it drops into the box so you can fill in the brackets before you send. The same page says you can store up to 50 quick replies, that media in quick replies does not work on WhatsApp Web or Desktop, and that a deleted quick reply cannot be recovered, so keep a copy of your templates in your phone’s notes.
Shortcuts that are easy to remember:
- /confirm and /confirmur for the confirmation
- /followup for no reply
- /dispatch for the tracking message
- /out, /delivered, /missed, /refused
- /advance for custom orders
The app also sends two messages on its own: an away message outside your business hours, and a greeting message. WhatsApp sends the greeting when someone messages you for the first time, or after 14 days with no messages in that chat. Use it to ask for order details up front: “Thank you for messaging [Brand]. To order, send the product name, size, your name and full address with a landmark.”
Labels for each order stage
Labels let you see at a glance which chats are waiting for what. Per WhatsApp’s help page on labels, you can create up to 20 and put more than one on a chat. WhatsApp is renaming labels to lists and rolling that out gradually, so your app may show Tools > Lists instead. Per its page on lists, you tap and hold a chat to add it to one. A set that matches the messages above:
- New order: confirmation not sent yet.
- Waiting reply: confirmation sent, no YES.
- Confirmed: ready to book.
- Advance due: custom order, payment not in yet.
- Shipped: tracking number sent.
- Delivered and Returned.
Move the chat to the next label each time you send the next message. At the end of the day, open Waiting reply and send the follow-ups in one go.
Who you can message on WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy says you may only contact people who have given you their number and have agreed to receive messages from you. It also says you must respect any request to stop, and that WhatsApp may limit how many messages a business can send based on people blocking and reporting it.
A buyer who placed an order and gave you their number for delivery expects to hear about that order. The confirmation message is a good place to say so plainly: “we will send your tracking number on this chat”. Sending offers to the same number is a different thing. Ask first, and see our guide to WhatsApp marketing in Pakistan for broadcasts, opt-out and what gets numbers banned.
If you want these messages to go out by themselves, that needs the WhatsApp Business Platform through a provider, and Meta charges for the messages; its pricing page has the current rates, and our guide to click to WhatsApp ads explains which messages are free after a buyer taps an ad. For a store confirming its orders by hand, the free Business app with quick replies is enough.
On Storelala, you book PostEx, Leopards or TCS right from the order screen, and the tracking number goes to your buyer on WhatsApp. Orders reach you on WhatsApp too, so the details for your dispatched message are already on the order.
Questions sellers ask
How do I write an order confirmation message on WhatsApp?
Start with your brand name and the buyer’s name, then list the item, colour, size, price, delivery charge and the total the buyer pays the rider. Add the full address with a landmark, and ask the buyer to reply YES before you dispatch. Write it in the language the buyer used to message you.
What should an order confirmation message to a customer include?
For a cash on delivery order: what they ordered, the price, the delivery charge, the total at the door, the delivery address, the phone number the rider will call, roughly when it will arrive, and a clear question they can answer with yes or no.
What is an order tracking message?
The message you send when the parcel leaves you. It names the courier, gives the tracking number, says roughly how many days delivery takes, and reminds the buyer of the amount to pay and to pick up the rider’s call.
What if the customer does not reply to the confirmation message?
Send one follow-up the next day that offers a clear yes or no, and try a call. If there is still no answer, hold the order instead of booking it. If a buyer will not answer you, there is no reason to expect them to answer the rider.
Can WhatsApp Business send order confirmation messages automatically?
The WhatsApp Business app can send a greeting message automatically when someone first messages you, and an away message outside business hours, but order confirmations and tracking updates are sent by you, ideally as saved quick replies. Fully automatic order updates need the WhatsApp Business Platform through a provider, and Meta charges for those messages.
Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan: your own store at yourbrand.storelala.com, cash on delivery, JazzCash, Easypaisa and cards at checkout, PostEx, Leopards and TCS booked from the order screen, and no marketplace commission. It works from your phone and is free to start, with no card needed. Start your store and send your first confirmation today.
