Draft Deputy

• A product-first scanning workflow that creates and extends Shopify draft orders from SKUs.
• Reliable handling of large orders. A single draft carrying thirty or more line items saves completely, which the first version did not.
• Integration into the Shopify admin, so it sits inside the tool the merchant already has open rather than beside it.
• Product images and browsing in the scanning interface, so an operator can confirm the right item without leaving the flow.

The first version handled one SKU at a time. Live sellers move faster than that, so the scanner now has two modes: a single-SKU view with a large product image for confirming the item in hand, and a multiple-SKU mode that stacks scanned items with their images below each row. The same button switches between them.

Draft orders expire, and the expiry question used to be asked every time. Now a new order asks for one, an open order that is still valid does not, and an expired order prompts the operator to set a new date or start fresh. Session history carries a timestamp on every entry, marks expired sessions, and flags draft orders that have a reservation timer running, so a seller can find the right order from the last session without opening each one.

The app was handed to us in July 2026 and was submission-ready in August. Shopify’s review runs automated checks on webhooks and privacy pages, then a reviewer works through a full screencast of the app and comes back with specific changes and a seven-day window to make them.

The listing is published under the client’s own partner account, so their company is the developer of record. It launched unlisted first, which allows private installs on live stores for real selling sessions before the public listing goes up.

One deliberate call shaped the release. Session history was written to files rather than a database, fine at the volumes the app handles today, not the long-term answer.

Migrating it before submission would have delayed the App Store listing by weeks for a change no merchant would notice. We shipped, and scheduled the migration alongside the next piece of work. Knowing which shortcuts are safe to carry, and writing them down rather than forgetting them, is most of what shipping on time is made of.