From order to payout: the cash-on-delivery cycle

Purpose#

This page follows a cash-on-delivery (COD) parcel from the merchant's order to the merchant's payout and shows who does what at each stage. The platform keeps accounts only: every cash handover and every payout is recorded by a person, and the system sends no money to banks, wallets or couriers. Where the cycle depends on how the company or the platform is set up, the page says so.

Where the money goes, by merchant type#

The route depends on who the merchant is and who delivers the parcel.

The cycle step by step#

1. Create the shipment

   In New parcel (or by import; independent merchants can also use the API or a linked store) the server calculates the fee, checks that the merchant plan or the company's subscription is active, and checks that the balance covers what is deducted. If the balance is short, the panel refuses to create the parcel. A new parcel normally shows Received Warehouse straight away.

2. Hand the parcel over

   A merchant of a delivery company can send a pickup request («طلب مندوب يستلم الطرود», Arabic in every interface language); staff assign a courier on the «طلبات الاستلام» (pickup requests) page (it only records the courier) and then press «تم الاستلام» (collected). Independent merchants are told their parcels reach the shipping company automatically on creation and need no request. Staff can set Transfer to hub and Received by hub when a parcel moves between branches. If the merchant's pickup location is a warehouse, the warehouse supervisor records goods in and parcels released. None of these steps moves money.

3. Assign a courier and deliver

   On Parcel distribution staff give parcels that are Received Warehouse or Received by hub to a courier. The courier records delivered (the whole COD) or partial delivered (the amount actually collected) in the mobile app; staff can also press Deliver on the board. The entry is posted once: the collected amount goes to the courier's Cash in their custody and the courier's commission to Their commissions due. A final failure starts the return instead, and the fee is refunded by the refund percentage that applies.

4. Settle with the courier

   On Courier settlements staff choose I received cash from them (reduces the cash in custody) or I paid their earnings (reduces the commissions due) and enter an amount that cannot exceed the balance. A merchant with a private delivery company does the same under Couriers and commissions. This does not change what the merchant is owed.

5. Credit the merchant

   The merchant's side is posted at the moment of delivery, as in the table above. It does not wait for the courier's cash to reach the company, or for the company's cash to reach the platform.

6. Pay the merchant out

   For a merchant of a delivery company, staff open Company merchants and their wallets and record I paid them (or I received from them when the figure is negative); the amount cannot exceed the balance. An independent merchant opens My wallet, fills in the Request dues withdrawal card (an amount up to the COD dues, the payout method and its details) and presses Submit request. The amount moves at once to "Withdrawal under review". The super admin transfers the money outside the platform, presses Transferred, types the transfer reference when prompted and confirms; or presses Reject, gives a reason, and the amount returns to the COD dues.

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1. Choose the pickup place
2. Choose the delivery company
3. Enter the recipient's name and phone
4. Set the cash-on-delivery amount
5. Your invoice number, to recognise the parcel later

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1. Each courier's cash and commission due
2. Choose the movement: receive cash or pay dues
3. Enter the amount
4. Save the movement

What depends on configuration#

• Plan or subscription: creating parcels needs an active merchant plan (when the platform has merchant plans) or, for a merchant of a company, the company's active subscription.
• Fees: the delivery pricing method and each merchant's From COD or From their balance in advance setting are the company's; platform fees and the refund rules for independent merchants are the super admin's, while the refund percentage for a delivery company's own merchants is set by the company on Company merchants and their wallets; the courier's commission is the courier's own setting or the company's default.
• Branches and warehouse: both are optional. The warehouse service is off until the super admin enables it.
• Payout schedule: the super admin may set transfer days and a cut-off hour, shown on the withdrawal card; without them requests are handled as they arrive.
• Shipping balance: independent merchants top it up by a manual transfer that the super admin reviews, or online when a gateway is enabled.

Common mistakes#

• Expecting COD to arrive in cash at delivery. The dues are credited at delivery, but cash moves only when people record the courier, company and platform settlements.
• A merchant of a delivery company looking for platform withdrawal. It is refused with a message beginning «حسابك تابع لشركة توصيل» (Arabic in every interface language). The company settles with the merchant.
• Trying to withdraw the shipping balance. Only the COD dues can be withdrawn.
• Expecting a courier settlement to change the merchant's dues. The two are separate.

Limits and notes#

• Ledgers are kept in US dollars and shown in the display currency.
• Settlements and withdrawals only record what happened; approving a withdrawal calls no bank or gateway.
• Cancelling a delivery reverses its entries, which can leave a balance negative.
• On a merchant's own account with a shipping company, only the held fee is released at delivery; the platform does not credit the COD.
• Courier settlements is a page for company staff accounts; a merchant who owns a delivery company settles couriers from Couriers and commissions under My delivery company.