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Proofs for personalised Etsy orders

Personalisation proof automation reads the wording and options from each personalised Etsy order and fills your proof template with them. It tracks each proof until the buyer approves it, and only then adds the order to the making list.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a personalised Etsy order to a proof the buyer has approved.

  1. Step 01

    Order received

    Read new Etsy orders with the personalisation text and options the buyer chose.

  2. Step 02

    Proof prepared

    Fill a proof template in Google Drive with the wording, font and layout, and save an image named by order number.

  3. Step 03

    Proof sent

    A person checks the proof and sends it to the buyer through Etsy messages, asking them to approve or correct it.

  4. Step 04

    Approval tracked

    Track each proof in Google Sheets and alert the team when a buyer’s silence puts the dispatch date at risk.

  5. Step 05

    Released to make

    When a person marks the proof approved, add the order to that day’s making list.

The result

Names spelled right before anything is engraved.

Nothing is made until approval is recorded against the current version of the proof. A corrected proof replaces the old one and needs approving again.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for engravers, printers, embroiderers and other makers who retype personalisation into design software and lose time to spelling mistakes and missed approvals. A sensible first version covers your best-selling personalised product with one template, with every proof checked by a person before it goes to the buyer.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Etsy API access to your shop’s orders, including personalisation text and chosen options.
  2. 02A proof template in Google Drive, such as a Google Slides layout, with a placeholder for each personalised field.
  3. 03A Google Sheet for proofs and production, your dispatch times and the wording for proof messages.

What needs careful handling

Buyers type personalisation in many ways, with odd capitals, symbols or extra notes, so the proof shows exactly what was entered and any tidying is confirmed with the buyer. Some long names won’t fit the item, so the template flags text that runs over the space available rather than shrinking it silently. A buyer who doesn’t reply can put the dispatch date at risk, so your shop policy should say what happens then, and the sheet makes waiting orders easy to see.

Questions people ask.

Why not send proofs to buyers automatically?

Proofs go to buyers through Etsy messages, which a person sends. That keeps a human look on every proof, catching problems a template can’t, while the automation does the slow part of preparing it.

Does it work for orders from my own website too?

Yes. The same template and sheet can take orders from Shopify or another shop, where the personalisation is captured with the order. Proofs for those orders can then be sent by email after the same check.

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