Offer cash on delivery
Cash on delivery (COD) lets customers pay in cash when the order reaches them, instead of paying online at checkout. It reassures customers who want to see the order before they pay.
Cash on delivery has no switch on the Payments page. You turn it on for each shipping method and delivery zone in Logistics, so you decide where you accept it and what fee customers pay for it. A customer sees cash on delivery at checkout only when the shipping method they choose offers it in their city.
Where you turn on cash on delivery
Each kind of delivery has its own Cash on delivery (COD) switch, on the zones where you set customer prices:
| Delivery | Where you turn it on | Who collects the cash |
|---|---|---|
| Zid Ship methods | Logistics > Shipping methods > the method > Customization tab, on each zone | The carrier, which Zid then settles to you |
| Local delivery with your couriers | Logistics > Local delivery > the option > Zones & Pricing tab, on each zone | Your couriers |
| Your own carrier account (custom shipping) | The carrier's page > Shipping zone customization, on each zone | The carrier, which pays you under your contract |
| Other shipping providers | The provider's Customization card, on each zone | The provider, under your agreement with it |
| Pickup in store | The pickup option of an inventory location. See Pickup in store. | You, when the customer collects the order |
If your store has Logistics > Zones, you can also turn on cash on delivery when you set a method's price inside a zone. See Delivery zones. The sections below walk through the delivery options.
Turn on cash on delivery for a Zid Ship method
On a Zid Ship method, cash on delivery is set per custom zone. If the method has no custom zones yet, create them first: once a method has zones, it covers only the cities in them.
Open Logistics > Shipping methods and select the method.
Open the Customization tab. If the method has no zones yet, select Create zone and add zones that cover every city you serve, as in Create a zone.
Select Edit on the zone.
Turn on Cash on delivery (COD) and enter the COD rate customers pay. To stop offering it in this zone, turn the switch off.
Select Save.
Repeat the steps for each zone. To offer cash on delivery in some cities only, put those cities in their own zone. The COD column of the zones table shows the fee of each zone, or a dash where cash on delivery is off.
Under COD rate, Zid shows Merchant rate is followed by the fee Zid charges you for each cash on delivery shipment with this method, so you can compare the two.
Methods without cash on delivery
The switch doesn't appear on methods that don't support cash on delivery:
Smart locker methods: customers pay online, because lockers take only electronic payment on pickup. See Smart locker drop-off.
International methods: their rate shows cash on delivery as Not supported.
To check a method before you activate it, open Rate > View details on its Overview tab: the Cash on delivery (COD) line shows the fee, or Not supported.
Turn on cash on delivery for local delivery
Open Logistics > Local delivery and select View on the option.
On the Zones & Pricing tab, select Edit on a zone, or Add zone to add one.
Turn on Cash on delivery (COD) and enter the COD rate.
Save the zone.
You can also turn it on for the first zone while you add a new local delivery option. See Add a local delivery option.
Turn on cash on delivery with your own carrier
When you ship with your own account at a carrier, cash on delivery depends on the carrier and your contract with it. The Custom shipping methods list shows Supported or Not supported in the Cash on delivery column of each carrier.
For a carrier that supports it, turn on Cash on delivery (COD) and enter the COD rate on each shipping zone. See Set shipping zones and prices.
Other shipping providers work the same way, on each zone of the provider's Customization card. See Set zones and rates for a provider.
Cash on delivery fees
Two different fees are involved:
| Fee | Who pays it | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| The COD rate you set on a zone | The customer | Added to the order total at checkout when the customer chooses cash on delivery |
| The Zid Ship cash on delivery fee | You | Rate > View details on the method, and Merchant rate is under COD rate. Zid deducts it from your Zid wallet; the Transactions log lists it as COD fees |
The two are independent: you can charge customers more or less than the fee Zid charges you. Label packages don't cover the cash on delivery fee, which is still charged from your wallet. With your own carrier, the carrier charges you under your contract, and local delivery carries no Zid fee.
To waive the fee for customers, create a discount with Free cash on delivery, for example for orders above an amount. See Create a discount code.
Limit who can pay cash on delivery
Cash on delivery orders cost you more when customers refuse them at the door. These settings narrow who can choose it:
| To | Use |
|---|---|
| Hide it above a cart amount, in some cities, or for some products | A payment constraint with the cart total, customer location, products or product categories condition. See Shipping and payment constraints. |
| Hide it from customers who cancel or don't complete their orders | A payment constraint with the customer's cancelled orders, incomplete COD orders or total orders condition |
| Hide it from one customer | The Cash on delivery switch in the customer's Settings card. See Payment and marketing settings. |
| Choose whether guests can pay cash on delivery | Buy as a guest in checkout settings. See Guest checkout. |
| Offer it in some cities only | Turn it on only on the zones that cover those cities |
To hide cash on delivery above an amount:
Open Settings > General > Shipping and payment constraints, then the Payment constraints tab.
Select Create constraint.
Enter the Constraint name and choose cash on delivery in Payment options.
Select Add condition, choose the cart total condition and enter the amount in Cart minimum price.
Select Save.
Constraints are available on the Growth, Professional and Enterprise plans. The per-customer switch also depends on your plan.
What customers see
At checkout, customers see cash on delivery among the payment methods when the shipping method they chose offers it in their city, and no constraint or customer setting hides it. Choosing it adds the COD rate of that zone to the order total. If a constraint leaves a customer without any payment method, they see your custom error message, when you set one.
Manage cash on delivery orders
Cash on delivery orders arrive in Orders like any other order, unpaid until the cash is collected.
To list them, filter the orders by Payment method > Cash on delivery (COD). See Orders.
You can change the payment status of a cash on delivery order yourself, for example to Paid once the cash is in hand. See Change the payment status.
A manual order can use cash on delivery only when it's on for the customer; otherwise you see COD is not activated for this customer. See Manual orders.
In the Zid POS app, a cashier on POS Pro who creates an order from another inventory location can choose cash on delivery when it's active in your store. See Check stock and order from another location.
How cash on delivery money reaches you
| Delivery | How you get the money |
|---|---|
| Zid Ship | The carrier collects the cash and Zid settles it to your Zid wallet. Follow it on the COD settlement tab of Logistics > Transactions log. |
| Your own carrier or provider | The carrier pays you directly, as your contract says. These amounts don't appear in Zid's settlements. |
| Local delivery and pickup | You or your couriers collect the cash yourselves. |
The COD settlement tab lists the orders paid in cash on delivery with Zid Ship, with the amounts the carriers owe you or have already settled. Settled amounts show Credit as the payment type, and the Reference opens the matching transaction in your Zid wallet. See Review shipping charges and COD settlements.
The Payments figures of logistics analytics add up the cash on delivery collected, the amounts still pending and the date of the next transfer. See Payments and logistics analytics.
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