Interactive example · Agriculture
Selling beef and lamb direct, without the spreadsheet of who ordered which quarter
Selling direct earns more per animal, and it comes with a lot of admin: who's having which quarter, which cuts, which run, and who still owes a balance once the carcass weights are in. Below, a fictional Lancefield farm takes pre-orders online and allocates them to each animal, with packing lists by delivery run.
In short
A farm-direct meat ordering site lets customers pre-order a quarter, half or whole share, or a lamb or mixed box, choose their cuts and a delivery run, and pay a deposit. The farmer allocates each order to an animal, books processing, invoices the balance on final weight and prints packing lists for each run.
Interactive demo: Farm-direct meat pre-orders
Live demo · Tallis Hill Beef & Lamb, Lancefield is a fictional business with sample data. Nothing you do here is saved or sent.
- Choose a share or boxCompare a quarter and a half, with hanging weight and packed yield explained.
- Pick a delivery run and orderChoose your cuts and a run to your town, then pay the deposit. It's a demo; nothing is charged.
- Allocate it to an animalSwitch to the farm view and assign your order to a quarter of a steer.
- Print a packing listPick a delivery run and generate its packing list.
Example site · fictional farm, sample prices and orders
Family farmed since 1962 · Macedon Ranges
Grass-fed beef and lamb, straight from our paddocks.
Angus cattle and lambs raised on the slopes below Mount Macedon. Pre-order a share, and we bring it to your town, packed to your list.
100%
grass-fed
10 days
dry-aged
5 runs
to your town
Step 1 · Choose
What would you like?
Grass-fed Angus · dry-aged 10 days
Beef shares
Hanging weight is the carcass weight after processing; packed weight is what you take home after boning and trimming. You pay on hanging weight, and usually take home 65–70% of it. Final price is set when your side is weighed.
Fixed price · no weigh-in
Lamb & boxes
Freezer space guide
A quarter fits in a standard 200 L chest freezer, with room for the ice cream.
- BBQ box22 LFits the freezer on top of your fridge
- Whole lamb45 LTwo shelves of an upright
- Quarter beef100 LHalf of a standard 200 L chest freezer
- Half beef200 LA standard 200 L chest freezer, packed full
- Whole beef400 LTwo 200 L chest freezers
Rule of thumb: about 2 L of freezer per kilo of vacuum-packed meat. The line marks one 200 L chest freezer.
Tallis Hill Beef & Lamb is fictional. Prices, weights and yields are samples, and no payment is taken. In Victoria, meat for sale must be processed and packed at a PrimeSafe-licensed facility; a real build describes your processor and cold chain accurately.
What you just used
Every screen is a decision about how the work runs
Shares explained honestly
Pricing by hanging weight, with the difference between hanging and packed weight explained and an estimated range for the total. Customers know what they're buying before they commit.
Cuts chosen up front
Steak thickness, mince or sausages, roasts and bones for stock, chosen on a cut diagram. The butcher gets clear instructions, not a phone message.
Delivery runs with capacity
Each run has a date, a fee and a limited number of eskies. Customers pick the run to their town, and full runs close themselves.
Orders allocated to each animal
The farm view shows each animal divided into its shares. Orders are assigned as they come in, and shares remaining update on the website.
Deposits now, balances on final weight
A deposit secures the share, and the balance is invoiced once the carcass weights are in. Nobody chases payments by text.
Packing lists by run
Each delivery run gets a list of orders, boxes, estimated weights and cuts. Packing day starts from one sheet rather than a notebook.
Built for you
Your rules, not a template's
Built for your farm, it would follow how you sell:
- Your shares, boxes, pricing and cut options
- Your processing schedule and processor
- Your delivery runs, towns, fees and capacity
- Deposits and final-weight invoicing through Stripe or Square
- Waitlists when a processing date sells out
- Your farm's story, told on pages that search engines and AI assistants cite
Connects to what you already use
Where a tool offers an API or a calendar feed, the build talks to it directly. Your data stays in accounts you own.
- Stripe
- Square
- Xero
- Mailchimp
- SMS
- Google Maps
- Shopify
Custom ordering, an online store, or orders by message?
General online stores and farm-sales platforms can sell boxes well. Custom work fits when selling shares of an animal and running deliveries is what makes the business work.
| Criteria | Orders by message | Online store | Custom farm-direct ordering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares of an animal | Tracked by hand | Awkward to model | Built in, allocated per animal |
| Final-weight balances | Calculated by hand | Not supported | Invoiced automatically |
| Delivery runs | Text messages | Generic shipping | Runs by town with capacity |
| Cuts and instructions | Phone calls | Product options | Cut diagram per order |
| Ongoing cost | Your evenings | Monthly plan and fees | Hosting and support |
| Best when | A few regular customers each season | You sell fixed boxes with standard shipping | Shares, runs and balances take real time to manage |
How we'd build yours
Fixed price, agreed before we start
Follow one animal from paddock to esky
From the processing booking to the last delivery, we map how orders, cuts, weights and payments are handled today.
Fix the scope and the price
Shares, boxes, runs, payments and the farm view in the first version, with one fixed price you approve before we start.
Test on one processing date
The first processing run goes through the new system alongside your usual way, and we tidy anything that doesn't fit.
Open waitlists and measure
Sold-out dates collect a waitlist, so demand is visible, and we track orders, repeat customers and time saved on packing day.
What moves the price
Custom work is quoted individually, at a fixed price, once the scope is written down. These are the things that make the biggest difference.
- Products
- Shares of an animal are more complex than fixed boxes.
- Final-weight billing
- Deposits and balances need careful payment logic.
- Delivery runs
- Runs with capacity and fees add scheduling logic.
- Integrations
- Xero, Mailchimp or an existing store each add a connection.
When you shouldn't build this
If you sell to a handful of regulars each season, a simple order form and a spreadsheet is enough. If you sell fixed boxes with standard delivery, a general online store will do the job. Custom ordering pays off when shares of an animal, delivery runs and final-weight balances are taking your evenings.
Want this, with your name on it?
Tell us how the work runs today. We'll reply within one business day with what we'd build first, what we'd leave out, and whether an off-the-shelf tool would serve you better.
Common questions
Hanging weight is the carcass weight after processing and before boning and trimming. Packed weight is what the customer takes home. Packed weight is typically about 60 to 70 per cent of hanging weight, depending on the cuts chosen.
It depends on the animal and the cuts, but a quarter often packs down to somewhere around 45 to 55 kilograms of meat. That usually fits in a standard 200 litre chest freezer.
Yes, provided the meat is processed and packed at a PrimeSafe-licensed facility and handled and transported under the right conditions. Many farms sell shares and boxes direct, with delivery runs or farm pickup.
Customers pay a deposit to secure their share. Once the animal is processed and weighed, the balance is calculated on the actual weight and invoiced automatically before delivery.
Fixed boxes, yes. Shares of an animal with final-weight pricing, cut choices and allocation are awkward to model in a general store, which is where a custom ordering site earns its place.
More examples to try
All 16 examples- Wineries, breweries, distilleries and producersCellar door and wine club
- Quick-service restaurants, cafés and takeawaysOnline ordering for restaurants
- Quick-service restaurants, cafés and venuesSelf-order kiosk
Last reviewed . The business in the demo is fictional; names, prices and bookings are sample data.