How to manage alterations, repairs and work orders on Shopify POS

Short answer: Shopify POS doesn't have work orders as of October 2026, so shops track alterations, repairs and custom jobs on paper tickets, in a spreadsheet, or with a separate app. A good system gives every job a number, the customer's details and measurements, a status and a promised date, and ties any deposit to the job.

What every work order should include

• A job number on a tag attached to the item and on the customer's claim slip.
• The customer: name, phone or email, and how they want to be told it's ready.
• The work: what's being done, measurements or specs, and photos of the item when it came in.
• Price and deposit: the quote, what was paid up front and the balance due.
• Dates: received, promised and completed.
• Status: received, in progress, waiting on parts or customer, ready, picked up.

Running it alongside Shopify POS

1. Take the deposit in Shopify POS on the customer's profile, so payments stay in your sales records, and write the job number in the order note.
2. Log the job on your ticket or spreadsheet with everything above.
3. Review the board daily: what's due today, what's late, what's waiting on the customer.
4. Tell the customer as soon as it's ready, and again if it's been waiting a week.
5. Close out at pickup: collect the balance in Shopify POS and mark the job picked up.

Save customer measurements

For alterations, fittings and sizing, keep measurements and preferences on the customer's profile, such as a note or saved fields. The next job, and the next sale, gets easier when staff can see them at the register.

Where it breaks down

• Tickets get lost, and staff can't see job status from the register.
• Deposits and balances drift apart from the ticket.
• Jobs ready for pickup sit for weeks because nobody followed up.

Those are the gaps a work order app fills: tickets, deposits, status and customer messages kept together with the sale.