Guides
How to Take Orders on Instagram Without Losing Track of Them
How to take orders on Instagram: show what you sell, collect details in one saved reply, run pre-orders, confirm in writing and keep orders out of your DMs.
7 min read
Short answer: to take orders on Instagram, use your DMs to talk and something else to keep the order. Switch to a professional account, show what you sell in your highlights and link in bio, and collect every detail in one saved reply. Confirm each order in writing with the price, date and deposit. Then copy it into one order list and send your customer a link to check progress.
Instagram is where many customers first see your work. A cake on a Reel, a dress in a story or a ring in a carousel starts the conversation, and the order usually follows in a DM. The trouble starts a week later. You have twenty chats, three of them are orders, and one customer paid a deposit that you can only find by scrolling. The seven steps below keep the selling in Instagram and move the order somewhere it cannot get lost.
1. Switch to a professional account
A professional account (Business or Creator) is free. You switch in your Instagram settings, and you keep your posts and followers. It gives you the tools a seller needs in the inbox:
- Saved replies. You save a message once and bring it up with a short word. This is the most useful tool for orders.
- Inbox folders. Messages are split into Primary and General, so you can keep active orders in one place.
- Contact options on your profile, such as a message button, an email address or a phone number.
- Insights, so you can see which posts bring in messages.
Instagram also has a welcome message and has tested chat labels such as “Ordered” and “Paid” for business accounts. What you see depends on your account type and region, so check your own inbox settings.
2. Show what you sell before anyone asks
The first DM is often “how much?” or “do you make this in blue?”. You answer fewer of these when your profile already shows the basics.
- Story highlights for each product type or service, with prices or “from” prices.
- A pinned post that explains how to order: what to send, how far ahead to book and how payment works.
- A link in bio to a list of what you sell, such as a store page, a price list or a simple form.
If you make everything to order, you can still show your most common sizes or packages with a starting price. Customers then ask about a real option instead of starting from nothing.
3. Collect every detail in one message
The slow part of a DM order is the back-and-forth. “What size?”, “Which date?” and “Pickup or delivery?” can take a whole day of replies. Save one reply that asks for everything at once.
Order request saved reply (illustrative, save it with the shortcut 'order')
Thank you for your message. To place an order, please reply with:
- What you would like (size, colour, quantity, any text or design)
- The date you need it
- Pickup or delivery, and your address if delivery
- Your name and phone number I will send you the price and the deposit amount.
One message from you and one reply from your customer gives you what you need to quote. Our customer order form template has a longer version of these questions for custom work.
4. Run pre-orders and order forms
Instagram has no built-in order form. You have two good options, and many sellers use both.
A form linked in your bio. A free form, such as Google Forms, asks the same questions as your saved reply. Each answer lands in one sheet, so you are not copying details out of DMs. This works well for busy seasons and for pre-orders.
A store page linked in your bio. Customers choose items from a list, see your prices and send you a request. You still agree the final details in a message.
Pre-orders need a little more structure, because many customers order at once. Post the item with four facts in the caption:
- The order window, for example “Orders open until Friday at 8 pm”.
- The ready or delivery date.
- How many you will make. Close the pre-order when you reach it.
- How to pay. A deposit or full payment confirms each place.
Pin the post while the pre-order is open. When it closes, edit the caption to say so. Then nobody sends a DM after you have stopped.
5. Confirm the order and take a deposit
When your customer says yes, send one message that repeats what you agreed. Include what you are making, the date, the total price, the deposit and the balance.
Order confirmation (illustrative)
Thank you, your order is confirmed. Item: 2-tier birthday cake, vanilla, “Happy 30th Sam” Ready: Saturday 14 June, pickup at 3 pm Total: 85.00 Deposit: 40.00, received today Balance: 45.00, due at pickup
This takes a minute and gives you both a record. If there is a question later, you can both scroll up to the same message. We have more copy-and-paste order messages for confirmations, deposit requests, delays and balance reminders. They are written for WhatsApp, but they work the same way in Instagram DMs.
For custom work, take a deposit before you buy materials. In WISMO’s order data, the median deposit was 50% of the order price, but sellers’ typical deposits ranged from 8% to 68%. Our guide on how much deposit to take explains how to choose your own figure.
6. Move the order out of your DMs
This is where Instagram-only selling breaks. Your inbox shows the newest chat at the top. An order needs to be sorted by the date it is due. A busy week of new messages pushes Saturday’s order out of view, even though it is the most urgent one.
WISMO’s order data shows how long you hold each order and how many you hold at once:
7 days
Among sellers with five or more orders, the median seller had 6 orders open at the same time at their busiest. Six orders, each with a week of messages and photos, is where details start to slip.
So after you confirm an order, copy it into one list. A notebook works if you take a few orders a week. A spreadsheet works if you keep it updated, and our free order tracker template already has the columns. An order app works when you want reminders, payment records and a link for your customer.
The rule is simple. The list holds the order, and the chat holds the conversation. Plan your day from the list, not from your inbox.
7. Send a link instead of answering “any update?”
After you confirm an order, the most common DM is some form of “is it ready yet?”. Each one means stopping work, finding the order and typing an answer.
You can answer it once. Send your customer a tracking link with the confirmation. The link shows the current stage of the order and your latest notes, and it opens in any browser without an app. Across 130 WISMO orders whose tracking link was opened, customers opened it a median of 5 times before the order finished.
Median 5
Each of those opens is a question that did not reach the seller’s inbox. Our guide to stopping “where is my order?” messages goes into more detail.
Do you need Instagram Shopping?
Probably not, if you make things to order. Instagram Shopping lets you tag products in posts so customers can see prices and visit a shop. It suits sellers with fixed products and a website shop behind them. Instagram removed the Shop tab from the main app navigation in February 2023, but said shopping would continue in feed, stories, Reels and ads.
For custom and made-to-order work, the price and the date are agreed in a conversation. DMs, a written confirmation and a proper order list handle that well. If you want customers to browse your items first, a store page linked in your bio is a lighter option than a full shop.
How WISMO does this
WISMO is an order app for sellers who take orders in chats. It covers steps 4 to 7 above.
- A free store page at your own address on wismo.live. Put it in your bio. Customers browse your catalogue and send an enquiry, and you accept it as an order. Nothing is paid on the page. The free page shows a small “Powered by WISMO” line, and Pro removes it.
- One order list sorted by due date, with a push reminder the day before an order is due. You can mark where each order came from, so you can see how many came from Instagram.
- Payments against each order. Record the deposit and the balance as they arrive, so “who still owes me?” is one filter.
- A tracking link for every order. Share it in the DM, and your customer checks the stage instead of messaging you.
Your first 30 orders are free. WISMO for Instagram sellers shows how it fits your shop, and the WhatsApp version of this guide covers the same system for WhatsApp.
The whole system on one page
| Step | In Instagram | Outside Instagram |
|---|---|---|
| Show what you sell | Highlights, pinned post, link in bio | A store page or price list |
| Collect the details | A saved reply, or a form in your bio | Not needed |
| Run a pre-order | A pinned post with a window, date and limit | Count places as they are paid |
| Agree the order | A written confirmation in the DM | Copy it into your order list |
| Take a deposit | A deposit request message | Record it against the order |
| Keep the customer informed | Send the tracking link once | Update the stage in your list |
| Get paid in full | A balance reminder before the due date | Record the balance when it arrives |
Instagram is where customers find you and talk to you. Your order list is where the work gets done on time.
Common questions
How do I take orders on Instagram?
Switch to a professional account, show what you sell in your highlights and link in bio, and save one reply that asks for every detail you need. When the customer says yes, confirm the order in writing with the price, date and deposit. Then copy the order into a list outside Instagram and work from that list.
Can customers order directly through Instagram DMs?
Yes. Most small sellers take orders in DMs. The customer sends a message, you agree the details and the payment, and you confirm it in the chat. Instagram does not keep a list of those orders for you, so you need to write each one down somewhere you can sort by due date.
How do I do pre-orders on Instagram?
Post the item with a clear order window, a delivery or ready date and a quantity limit. Ask customers to send their details in a DM or through a form linked in your bio. Take payment or a deposit to confirm each place, and close the pre-order when you reach your limit or the closing date.
Can I make an order form on Instagram?
Instagram has no built-in order form. Most sellers put a link in their bio to a free form, such as Google Forms, or to a store page where customers choose items and send a request. You can also use a saved reply in DMs that lists the questions to answer, which works as a simple form.
Do I need Instagram Shopping to sell on Instagram?
No. Instagram Shopping suits sellers with fixed products and a website shop. If you make things to order or agree each price in chat, DMs plus a written confirmation and an order list work well. Instagram removed the Shop tab from its main navigation in February 2023, and most small sellers take orders by DM.
Sources
About the author
Ashish Vijay is the founder of WISMO, an order management app for small sellers and independent makers. He builds the product, talks to the sellers who use it, and writes these guides from what that work turns up.
