Your store organises the delivery
Each store adds and manages its own delivery people on Soko. Your shop chooses who delivers, creates their accounts and assigns orders to them. Setting up at least one available delivery person is part of getting your shop ready to accept delivery orders. If you already call a trusted bodaboda for WhatsApp or phone orders, start by adding that person.
Once added, the rider uses Soko Delivery to see assigned orders, customer locations and contact details, and record pickup and completion. Your team can organise a nearby pickup with someone who knows the shop and agree how customer payments come back.
You can add an unlimited number of delivery people. Start with the team you need today, then add more according to your order volume and their availability. Having another rider ready can keep a customer’s order moving when your usual rider is busy. Each rider account belongs to the store or branch that adds it.
Two simple ways to build your delivery team
- Salary Based: a delivery person you employ and pay a salary. The customer’s delivery fee is credited to your store; you pay the employee under your salary arrangement. This can suit a shop that wants regular delivery cover.
- Freelancer: a bodaboda or other delivery person you work with per trip, without employing them on a salary. The customer’s delivery fee is credited as the rider’s delivery earnings. This is a practical way to start with someone you already call when an order needs delivering.
Choose the type that matches your agreement with each person. Your store can have both types, so you can combine regular cover with extra help at busy times. Agree availability, payment and cash return before the first delivery; the account type records the arrangement and does not pay a salary for you.
Your reach still depends on the available Soko zone, the rider’s capacity and a journey you can fulfil reliably. Set prices and estimates for the area you can serve well.
Set your own delivery prices
Open Store configuration → Delivery settings and enter the minimum delivery charge, per km delivery charge and maximum delivery charge.
The normal distance charge is the greater of minimum charge and distance × per km charge, then capped by a valid positive maximum. The minimum is a floor, not an amount added to every kilometre charge. Free-delivery rules can change the final amount.
Scroll sideways to compare all columns.
| Example settings: minimum TSh 1,000, rate TSh 600/km, maximum TSh 6,000 | Normal charge |
|---|---|
| 1 km: 1 × TSh 600 = TSh 600, below the minimum | TSh 1,000 |
| 5 km: 5 × TSh 600 = TSh 3,000 | TSh 3,000 |
| 10 km: 10 × TSh 600 = TSh 6,000, equal to the cap | TSh 6,000 |
| 12 km: 12 × TSh 600 = TSh 7,200, above the cap | TSh 6,000 |
These figures are examples, not suggested tariffs. Agree workable terms with the rider before setting a cap. Leave the maximum empty when you do not want a cap. The calculation treats zero as uncapped, but the form can reject zero when the minimum is positive. Neither an empty maximum nor zero is a free-delivery setting. A cap below the minimum is not a valid way to lower the minimum.
Put the delivery arrangement into practice
- Agree with a rider which days they can collect, how you will contact them and what happens when they are unavailable.
- Agree the fee for the area you intend to serve, who collects customer money and when the shop receives its share.
- Create the rider’s account and help them sign in before you advertise delivery.
- Save your delivery charges in Store configuration. Check a nearby and a farther customer address to see the actual charge shown.
- Explain the first order to the rider: where to collect it, how to check the order number, what remains unpaid and how to record completion.
- After delivery, compare the order and payment record with the money collected. Resolve differences before the next shift.
A maximum delivery charge limits the price, not the distance a rider must travel. A free-delivery distance controls a free offer, not necessarily the shop’s whole service area. Check whether you can reliably fulfil the trip before accepting the order.
Cash and mobile money on delivery
With cash on delivery, your own rider collects the amount due and returns or accounts for the cash according to your arrangement. Agree who keeps the delivery fee, when collections are reconciled, and what happens if a customer needs change.
If you allow a customer to pay to your store’s mobile-money number on delivery, give the rider the correct number and account name. Confirm receipt in the store’s own payment records before treating the amount as collected. A transfer directly to your number is handled as your collection arrangement; it is not automatically the same as an in-app digital payment. Do not collect twice on an order already shown as paid.
Give customers a reason to order again
Fast, dependable delivery can help turn a first order into repeat business. When customers receive the right products promptly, they have a reason to choose your shop again and recommend it to others. Building that confidence can help you grow orders over time.
Match your available riders to the work ahead: review scheduled orders, agree who is on duty, prepare packages promptly and assign someone who can collect. Add more delivery people as demand grows so orders do not have to wait for one busy rider. Aim for quick service through good preparation and reliable handovers, never pressure to ride unsafely.
Keep the delivery promise realistic
Watch travel time, basket size and available riders. A lower delivery charge can encourage orders. If it is below the rider’s agreed fee, decide how your shop will pay the difference. Use distance-limited coupons for a controlled local offer rather than promising free delivery everywhere.
Next: add and train your delivery person and reconcile collections.