How to take orders from Instagram without the back and forth
DMs, screenshots and "what do I owe you?" eat your day. How to set up one link where customers pick, pay the exact amount and you just make the order.
Utilica2 min read
If you sell on Instagram, you know the routine: someone DMs "is this still available?", you send prices, they ask how to pay, you send your username, they send the wrong amount, and you scroll back through screenshots to check who paid for what.
The fix is one link that does the asking, the adding up and the paying for you. Customers tap it from your bio, pick what they want, and pay the exact total. You get an order with a number, not a conversation.
What the link needs to do
A link in bio that only lists other links still sends people back to your DMs. To actually take orders, it needs:
- Your items with prices and photos, so nobody has to ask.
- A cart that adds it up, including sizes, quantities and tax.
- Payment with the amount already filled in, in the app the customer already uses.
- An order number and a receipt, so you both know what was paid for.
- A note box, for pickup times or "no onions".
How paying works
On a Utilica page, the customer taps to pay and their payment app opens with the total entered. Cash App, Venmo and PayPal open with the exact amount; Zelle shows your name, the amount and a note to copy into their bank's app. The money goes straight to you, and we take nothing from those payments. If you want cards too, switch them on through your own Stripe or Square account.
What changes for you
- No more typing totals. The page works out the order to the cent.
- No more matching screenshots. Each order has a number, and the payment note carries it.
- No more "is this available?" Mark something sold out and it can't be ordered.
- Every order in one list, with who paid, what for and what's waiting.
Setting it up
- Make a page and add what you sell, with a price and a photo each.
- Add the usernames people pay you at.
- Put the link in your Instagram bio, and pin a post or story that points to it.
- When someone DMs to order, reply with the link instead of a price list.
Don't want to set it up yourself? We'll build your page for you, free, usually within 24 hours.