This guide takes you from a fresh install to your first tracked delivery. If you haven’t installed the plugin yet, start with the Installation page.
Step 1 — Create a delivery person
The Delivery Person role is registered for you as soon as the plugin runs — no setup needed.
- Go to Users → Add New.
- Fill in the username, email and password — this is a real login your driver will use on the storefront.
- Choose Delivery Person in the Role dropdown and click Add New User.
You can also change an existing user’s role to Delivery Person. Repeat for every driver.
With Pro, the user’s profile screen gains a Delivery Person section: phone number, vehicle, an On duty toggle, a Max active deliveries capacity and zone checkboxes. Fill these in now if you plan to use automatic assignment — see Delivery Persons.
Step 2 — Check your settings
Go to WooCommerce → Delivery Manager. The free plugin has two switches:
- Auto Complete Delivery — when an order is moved to Completed, mark the delivery as delivered too.
- Complete Order on Delivery — when the driver confirms delivery, move the WooCommerce order to Completed.
Pick whichever matches how you already use order statuses (most stores turn on the second one), and click Save Changes. Every option is explained on the Settings page.
Step 3 — Assign a driver to an order
- Go to WooCommerce → Orders and open any order.
- Find the Delivery Details metabox near the top of the screen.
- Start typing in Select Delivery Person — the field searches your Delivery Person users by name, username and email as you type.
- Pick the driver and click Update.
The plugin records the assignment timestamp and writes a WooCommerce order note (“Delivery person assigned: …”), so the order history shows exactly who took it and when.
With Pro the metabox also carries a Delivery status dropdown, a Status note, an Expected delivery date and a Time slot, plus proof of delivery, delivery notes and the full delivery log. You can skip the metabox entirely and assign from the orders list, in bulk, or from the dispatch board.
Step 4 — Deliver as the driver
Log in as the delivery person (an incognito window is handy) and go to My Account → Deliveries.
The driver sees a table of the orders assigned to them — order number, customer, date assigned, delivery status and a link to open each one. Opening a delivery shows the customer’s name, address, phone, email and the items to deliver, plus two checkboxes:
- Mark as Out for Delivery — tick it when leaving the store.
- Mark as Delivered — tick it on the doorstep.
Each tick saves immediately over AJAX, stamps the time on the order and adds an order note.
With Pro this screen becomes a mobile-first delivery app: Today / Active / Completed / Failed tabs, a search box, an on-duty toggle, today’s stats, Navigate / Call / WhatsApp buttons, and a confirmation dialog that captures a note, a photo, a signature and the recipient’s name. See Delivery Persons.
Step 5 — Look at the customer’s view
Open the order as the customer — My Account → Orders → View, or the order-received page straight after checkout. Below the order details you’ll find Delivery Details: a status badge, the expected delivery date, and an icon-based timeline running from Order Placed through the driver assignment, Out for Delivery and Delivered.
That’s the whole free loop: assign → driver updates → customer sees it.
With Pro the timeline is redesigned with your accent colour, uses your own statuses and their customer-facing descriptions, and can show public notes and the proof-of-delivery summary. Customers can also follow along without logging in via the tracking page, and get emailed at each step.
Step 6 (Pro) — Turn on dispatch
Once more than one or two orders a day are moving, set up automatic assignment:
- Go to WooCommerce → Delivery Manager → Zones & Assignment.
- Add a zone — give it a name, choose Match by (postcode, city, state, country or WooCommerce shipping zone), paste the values, and tick the drivers who cover it.
- Under Automatic assignment, set Mode to Round robin or Least loaded, and pick the order status that should trigger assignment (Processing by default).
- Save, then watch WooCommerce → Delivery Dispatch: new orders land in the Unassigned lane and drop into a driver’s lane by themselves.
Full details on Zones & Automatic Assignment.
Where to go next
- Assigning Deliveries — every way to get an order to a driver.
- Delivery Statuses (Pro) — build your own workflow.
- Settings — every option explained.
- Pro Features — proof of delivery, emails, tracking page, reports and more.