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OutSmart Guide

Shipping or Pickup: the Ready Step

When the dispensary staff mark an order as packed, it moves to the Ready step. This page explains the last part of the work: either shipping the order and emailing the client the tracking details, or telling the client that the order is ready to be picked up and recording when they collect it.

Only the dispensary staff can do this, meaning the dispensary owner and the staff who have full access to the dispensary. Fulfilling an Order explains the steps before Ready.

The Ready Card

When an order is at Ready, its printout opens with a card at the top. You use this card to ship the order or to hand it over.

At the top left of the card are two tabs, Ship it and Pickup. The card opens on the tab that matches what the client chose for the order. At the top right, a label tells you what that choice was, for example The client chose: Ship to me or The client chose: Pick up at the clinic.

Shipping an Order

Click the Ship it tab, if it is not already selected.

On the printout of an order at the Ready step, the Ready card with the Ship it tab selected. The label at the top right says The client chose: Ship to me. Below are the fields Carrier set to Canada Post, Tracking number, and Email the client at, then the Message box with Your order is on its way!, and the buttons Preview email and Email the client and mark as Shipped.

The Ship it tab of the Ready card, filled in. The carrier and tracking number go into the email, and the order moves to Shipped once you send it.

  1. In Carrier, choose the company that is delivering the order.
  2. In Tracking number, type or paste the tracking number the carrier gave you.
  3. Check the address in Email the client at. It comes from the order, and you can change it for this email.
  4. Check the Message. It starts as Your order is on its way!, and you can change it or add to it. The tracking details and the office’s contact details are added below your message.
  5. Click Preview email to see the email exactly as the client will receive it. This step is optional.
  6. Click Email the client and mark as Shipped.

The client is emailed, and the order moves to Shipped. The order only moves to Shipped once the email has been sent, so if the email cannot be sent, the order stays at Ready.

The carrier list

The Carrier list shows the carriers your dispensary has set up. The last item in the list is Customize this list…. Choosing it opens a window that explains where the list is kept.

The Customize the carrier list window. It says the carriers in the list are set on the dispensary's Shipping page, and that to add or remove a carrier you go to your dispensary, click on the Dispensary Settings menu, and choose Shipping. There is an OK button.

The window that opens when you choose Customize this list at the bottom of the Carrier list. The carriers are set on the dispensary's Shipping page.

To add or remove a carrier, open your dispensary, click Dispensary Settings in the menu along the top, and choose Shipping. Shipping Carriers explains that page, including how to add your own courier with a tracking link.

Previewing the email

Preview email opens a window with the email the client will receive. The top of the window shows who the email is from, who it is to, its subject, and the PDF of the invoice that is attached to it.

The Preview email window for a shipping email. Shows From Willowbrook Natural Health via OutSmart, To marcus.hale@example.com, Subject Your Order #90 Has Shipped!, and the attached invoice PDF. Below is the email itself: Your order has been shipped!, Hi Marcus, the message, a note where the Pay Online button goes, the carrier and tracking number, and a Track My Order button. The buttons at the bottom are Back to edit and Email the client and mark as Shipped.

The preview of a shipping email. It comes from the office the order was placed at, and it includes the carrier, the tracking number and a Track My Order button.

The shipping email includes:

  • your message;
  • when the order still has a balance owing and your dispensary includes the payment button in its emails, a Pay Online button so the client can pay the balance by card (the preview shows a note in its place);
  • the carrier, the tracking number and a Track My Order button, which opens the carrier’s tracking for the parcel, or the carrier’s tracking page where the client enters the number;
  • the office’s contact details;
  • the invoice as a PDF attachment.

Click Back to edit to change the email, or Email the client and mark as Shipped to send it straight from the preview.

Having the Client Pick Up the Order

Click the Pickup tab, if it is not already selected.

On the printout of an order at the Ready step, the Ready card with the Pickup tab selected. The label at the top right says The client chose: Pick up at the clinic. Below are the field Email the client at and the Message box saying Your order is ready for pickup! Please bring your order number, #89, to the front desk. The buttons are Already picked up, Preview email and Email: ready for pickup.

The Pickup tab of the Ready card. Email the client that the order is ready, or click Already picked up when the client has collected it already.

  1. Check the address in Email the client at.
  2. Check the Message. It starts by telling the client the order is ready and asking them to bring the order number to the front desk. The office’s contact details are added below your message.
  3. Click Preview email to see the email first, if you would like to.
  4. Click Email: ready for pickup.

The client is emailed. The order stays at Ready until the client collects it, because it has not left the clinic yet. The card now shows when the client was told, who told them, and the address the email went to.

The Ready card after the pickup email was sent. A green box says The client was told it is ready on Sun, Nov 8 at 7:17 PM, by Dr. Anika Rao, to aaliyah.grant@example.com, with a Send it again button. Below, under the heading When the client collects the order, it says to open the order from the Transactions list and click Mark as Picked Up, and shows the green Mark as Picked Up button.

The Ready card after the client was told the order is ready. Send it again repeats the email. Mark as Picked Up is for when the client collects the order.

To email the client again, click Send it again.

When the client collects the order

Open the order from the Transactions list and click Mark as Picked Up. A window asks you to confirm, because once the order is picked up it can no longer be cancelled.

The Mark As Picked Up? window. It says the order moves to Picked Up, and it can no longer be cancelled. The buttons are Not yet and Mark as Picked Up.

The window that confirms the client has collected the order. Not yet leaves the order at Ready.

Click Mark as Picked Up. The order moves to Picked Up, which is its last step. No email is sent at this point.

When the client collects an order before you have emailed them, click Already picked up on the Pickup tab instead. The same window opens, and the order moves to Picked Up without an email.

When the Client Chose Pickup but the Order Needs Shipping

Sometimes an order that the client chose to pick up has to be shipped instead. When you click the Ship it tab on such an order, a yellow box explains your two choices, because the order has no shipping address and no shipping charge on it.

The Ship it tab of the Ready card for an order whose client chose pickup. A yellow box says This order has no shipping on it, and explains two choices: Ship it at no charge, by choosing the client's address below, and Charge for shipping, through Order Review, with a button Change the delivery in Order Review. Below are the Ship to address list and the carrier, tracking number, email and message fields.

Shipping an order whose client chose pickup. Ship it at no charge from here, or take the order back to add a shipping charge.

  • Ship it at no charge. Choose the client’s address in Ship to, or choose Add a new address to type in a new one, which is also saved to the client’s address book. Then fill in the carrier and tracking number and ship the order as usual. The address is recorded with the shipment, and the order and its totals do not change.
  • Charge for shipping. Click Change the delivery in Order Review. The order goes back to Submitted and opens in the order screen. Change the delivery to shipping, add the shipping charge as a line, and save. Then begin fulfilling the order again to bring it back to Ready.

After the Order Is Shipped or Picked Up

The order’s step bar shows Shipped or Picked Up as its last step, and the Fulfillment column of the Transactions list shows the same.

At the bottom of an order's printout at the Shipped step, the dark step bar. Shows all the steps green up to Shipped, which is current, and the Ready dot outlined in blue. The Activity Logs, Notes, Email Invoice and Print buttons are at the right.

The step bar of a shipped order. The Ready dot is outlined in blue, so the order can be taken back to Ready if it was marked by mistake.

If an order was marked as shipped or picked up by mistake, click the Ready dot on the step bar. The order goes back to Ready, and you can ship it or hand it over again.

Troubleshooting

The carrier I need is not in the list

The carriers come from the dispensary’s Shipping page, under Dispensary Settings. Add the carrier there, then come back to the order. Shipping Carriers explains how.

The order did not move to Shipped

The order only moves to Shipped once the shipping email has been sent. Check the address in Email the client at, then click Email the client and mark as Shipped again.

The client did not receive the email

Check the address in Email the client at on the Ready card. After a pickup email, the card shows the address it was sent to, and Send it again repeats it. To correct the client’s email address, update it on the patient’s record, then click Update beside Client on the order’s printout.