Handle Design Requests from Buyers in the Printcart Dashboard

Quick answer

When a buyer asks you to design for them, the request lands under Orders Management then Design Requests in the Printcart Dashboard. Open it, read the brief and the file the buyer sent, click Start working , keep private notes, reply to the buyer by email, then mark it ready for buyer review and completed . Every status change emails the buyer, and...

Key takeaways

✓Automate the handoff from order intake to artwork, approval, production status, and fulfillment tracking.

✓Define clear exception paths for missing artwork, manual approval, reorders, rush jobs, and repeat corporate buyers.

✓Use Handle Design Requests from Buyers in the Printcart Dashboard as an operating workflow, not a one-time setup task.

✓Document the approval owner, fallback process, and production handoff before customers start ordering.

✓Review the workflow after the first real orders and tighten the steps that cause rework.

Part 11 of 12 in the Printcart Dashboard tutorial series. Previous: Part 10, Handle quote requests. Next: Part 12, Invite your team to review proofs.

What do you need before you start?

A Printcart store connected to your shop (see Connect your store).
A buyer who sent a request. The Let us design for you button is currently on Wix product pages. We have not seen it on Shopify or WooCommerce stores.
Your plan: we have not checked whether your plan changes this screen, because our test store is on the Advanced plan. See Plans, tokens and upgrading.

What has and has not been checked. The screenshots come from a demo store called Demo Print Shop with made-up buyers on example.com. We ran every step on the real Printcart Dashboard against demo data. The demo data was built to match what the Printcart API does, which we read in its code. Our demo server recorded the emails and sent none. We have not yet verified a request from a real buyer on a live store, because our Printcart test store has no design requests, and we have not seen the emails that buyers receive.

How do you handle a design request in the Printcart Dashboard?

Step 1Open the Design Requests list

In the left menu open Orders Management, then Design Requests. Use the tabs All, Open, In progress, Ready, Completed and Declined. Click a buyer name or Open.

Expected result: A table lists each buyer, the start of the brief, the status and the date.

Design Requests list with five buyers, the Design Requests menu item, the Open tab and the first buyer highlighted

Step 2Read the brief and open the buyer's file

The Brief card shows what the buyer wrote and any details they sent, such as quantity or deadline. File from the buyer shows a preview and an Open link. The Buyer card has the name, email and phone. The Next step card offers the actions available for the current status.

Expected result: The header shows a reference starting with DR-, the buyer name and the status Open.

Design request detail page with the buyer file, the Start working button and the Buyer card highlighted

Step 3Start working

Click Start working. A dialog tells you exactly what happens: the buyer is emailed that the request is now In progress. You can add a Message for the buyer, which is included in that email. Confirm with Start working.

Expected result: The status changes to In progress and a green message confirms that the buyer was told by email.

Start working dialog saying the buyer will be emailed that the request is In progress, with a typed message for the buyer

Step 4Keep private notes and talk to the buyer

Use Add an internal note for your own team, and the buyer is never emailed those. Use Reply to the buyer and click Email reply to buyer to ask a question without changing the status. The replies you sent are listed under Conversation with the buyer.

Expected result: Your note appears under Internal notes, and your reply appears in the conversation.

Design request with a reply to the buyer typed in, the Email reply to buyer button and the Add an internal note box highlighted

Design request after sending a reply, showing the reply under Conversation with the buyer and the green message Reply is on its way

Step 5Mark it ready for the buyer to review

When your design is ready, click Mark ready for buyer review and confirm. There is no upload box for your finished artwork on this screen, so put a link to the file in your message to the buyer, for example a shared folder link, or send the proof another way.

Expected result: The status changes to Ready for review. The buyer is emailed. The next actions are Mark completed, Back to in progress and Decline.

Mark ready for buyer review dialog saying the buyer will be emailed that the request is now Ready for review

Step 6Mark it completed

When the buyer is happy, click Mark completed. The dialog warns you: the buyer is emailed and a new order is created from this request so it can go to production. Confirm with Mark completed.

Expected result: The status changes to Completed. The page says the order was created and that you will find it in Orders. A completed request offers no further actions.

Mark completed dialog saying a new order is created from this request so it can go to production

Completed design request with the green Completed label and a Next step note that the order was created

Step 7Find the order it created

Open Orders Management, then Orders. The new order is named Design request followed by the buyer name, with the status Pending. Open it with View order. See the known limits below before you rely on it.

Expected result: The order has the buyer's name and contact details. In our demo it showed no products and no files.

Orders list with a new Pending order named Design request and the buyer name highlighted at the bottom

Order page created from a design request showing No products attached to this order and No design or print file came with this order

Step 8Decline a request, or reopen it

If you cannot take the job, open the request, click Decline, explain why in Message for the buyer and confirm. A declined request offers Reopen.

Expected result: The status changes to Declined, the buyer is emailed, and the Next step card offers Reopen.

Decline dialog with a typed message to the buyer explaining why the request is declined

Declined design request with the red Declined label and a Reopen button under Next step

What are the known limits?

We found these while testing, and we have reported them to the team that builds the Printcart API. We will update this guide when they are fixed.

The order does not carry the brief and the files yet. When you complete a request, the order holds the buyer's name and contact details, but not the brief and not the buyer's file. Before you complete a request, copy the brief and download the buyer's file from the request page, and keep the request open. Do not delete it.
The email you receive links to Design Files, not to this screen. When a buyer sends a request, the notification email to you can lead to the Design Files page. Open Orders Management then Design Requests yourself.
No upload for your finished design. Share it with the buyer through a link in your message (step 5).

Troubleshooting

I do not see a request the buyer says they sent

Open the All tab, not only Open. If it is still missing, ask the buyer to check that they submitted the form to the right store.

The buyer did not get an email

Check the buyer's address on the Buyer card. We have not seen the emails on a live store, so if one is missing, ask the buyer to check spam and then message the Printcart team on WhatsApp with the request reference.

I completed a request by mistake

A completed request offers no further actions on this screen, and the order it created stays in Orders. Contact the Printcart team if you need it changed.

Is this the same as a quote request?

No. A quote request asks for a price on a product. A design request asks you to create the artwork. See Handle quote requests.

All 12 parts of the Printcart Dashboard series

Using a store platform? See the guides for Wix, WordPress and WooCommerce and Shopify. Back to all Printcart tutorials.

What should you do next?

Stuck on a step? Message the Printcart team on WhatsApp and include a screenshot of the screen you are on.

Printcart field note

What to verify before you roll out Handle Design Requests from Buyers in the Printcart Dashboard

This tutorial is written from Printcart implementation patterns across order operations, approval routing, and fulfillment handoff. Before treating it as complete, test the workflow with one real product, one real design file, and one real order path.

Can a customer complete the flow without staff intervention?

Does the production team receive the exact artwork, option, and approval data they need?

Is there a clear fallback when artwork, pricing, approval, or fulfillment data is missing?