diff --git a/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/__tests__/transform-idable-fields.js b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/__tests__/transform-idable-fields.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c8f8113cf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/__tests__/transform-idable-fields.js
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+import { transformIdableFields } from "../transform-idable-fields"
+
+describe("transformIdableFields", () => {
+  test("one field", () => {
+    const test = {
+      shipping_address: "test_id",
+    }
+
+    const result = transformIdableFields(test, ["shipping_address"])
+
+    expect(test).toEqual(test)
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      shipping_address_id: "test_id",
+    })
+  })
+
+  test("duplicate field", () => {
+    const test = {
+      shipping_address: "test_id",
+      shipping_address_id: "something else",
+    }
+
+    const result = transformIdableFields(test, ["shipping_address"])
+
+    expect(test).toEqual(test)
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      shipping_address_id: "test_id",
+    })
+  })
+
+  test("many fields", () => {
+    const test = {
+      shipping_address: "test_id",
+      customer: "cus_test",
+      region: "reg_test",
+      something: "else",
+    }
+
+    const result = transformIdableFields(test, [
+      "shipping_address",
+      "customer",
+      "region",
+    ])
+
+    expect(test).toEqual(test)
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      shipping_address_id: "test_id",
+      customer_id: "cus_test",
+      region_id: "reg_test",
+      something: "else",
+    })
+  })
+
+  test("mix fields", () => {
+    const test = {
+      shipping_address: {
+        address_1: "my home",
+      },
+      customer: "cus_test",
+      region: "reg_test",
+      something: "else",
+    }
+
+    const result = transformIdableFields(test, [
+      "shipping_address",
+      "customer",
+      "region",
+    ])
+
+    expect(test).toEqual(test)
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      shipping_address: {
+        address_1: "my home",
+      },
+      customer_id: "cus_test",
+      region_id: "reg_test",
+      something: "else",
+    })
+  })
+
+  test("no fields", () => {
+    const test = {
+      something: "else",
+      and: "more",
+      maybe: "one more",
+    }
+
+    const result = transformIdableFields(test, [
+      "shipping_address",
+      "customer",
+      "region",
+    ])
+
+    expect(test).toEqual(test)
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      something: "else",
+      and: "more",
+      maybe: "one more",
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/index.js b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/index.js
index d30a469a72..c12fd278ef 100644
--- a/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/index.js
+++ b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/index.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 export { countries } from "./countries"
 export { isoCountryLookup } from "./countries"
+export { transformIdableFields } from "./transform-idable-fields"
 export { default as Validator } from "./validator"
 export { default as MedusaError } from "./errors"
 export { default as getConfigFile } from "./get-config-file"
diff --git a/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/transform-idable-fields.js b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/transform-idable-fields.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eabfaeace5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/medusa-core-utils/src/transform-idable-fields.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Takes an object and a list of fields to tranform in that object. If the field
+ * exists on the object and its value is a string it will append `_id` to the 
+ * field name. This is used when allowing API calls to hold either ID or object
+ * values in the payload. The method returns a new object with the 
+ * transformation.
+ * @param {Object} obj - the object to transform
+ * @param {Array<String>} fields - the fields to apply transformation to
+ * @returns {Object} the transformed object
+ */
+export const transformIdableFields = (obj, fields) => {
+  const ret = { ...obj }
+
+  for (const key of fields) {
+    if (key in obj && typeof ret[key] === "string") {
+      ret[`${key}_id`] = ret[key]
+      delete ret[key]
+    }
+  }
+
+  return ret
+}
diff --git a/packages/medusa/src/api/routes/admin/draft-orders/create-draft-order.js b/packages/medusa/src/api/routes/admin/draft-orders/create-draft-order.js
index 3c0e358a9e..216618836b 100644
--- a/packages/medusa/src/api/routes/admin/draft-orders/create-draft-order.js
+++ b/packages/medusa/src/api/routes/admin/draft-orders/create-draft-order.js
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-import { MedusaError, Validator } from "medusa-core-utils"
+import {
+  MedusaError,
+  Validator,
+  transformIdableFields,
+} from "medusa-core-utils"
 import { defaultFields, defaultRelations } from "."
 
 /**
@@ -133,11 +137,13 @@ export default async (req, res) => {
     metadata: Validator.object().optional(),
   })
 
-  const { value, error } = schema.validate(req.body)
+  let { value, error } = schema.validate(req.body)
   if (error) {
     throw new MedusaError(MedusaError.Types.INVALID_DATA, error.details)
   }
 
+  value = transformIdableFields(value, ["shipping_address", "billing_address"])
+
   try {
     const draftOrderService = req.scope.resolve("draftOrderService")
     let draftOrder = await draftOrderService.create(value)
diff --git a/packages/medusa/src/services/cart.js b/packages/medusa/src/services/cart.js
index 958b73000d..6c2bd03792 100644
--- a/packages/medusa/src/services/cart.js
+++ b/packages/medusa/src/services/cart.js
@@ -306,8 +306,8 @@ class CartService extends BaseService {
 
       const regCountries = region.countries.map(({ iso_2 }) => iso_2)
 
-      if (data.shipping_address && typeof data.shipping_address === `string`) {
-        const addr = await addressRepo.findOne(data.shipping_address)
+      if (data.shipping_address_id) {
+        const addr = await addressRepo.findOne(data.shipping_address_id)
         data.shipping_address = addr
       }
 
@@ -650,16 +650,14 @@ class CartService extends BaseService {
       }
 
       const addrRepo = manager.getCustomRepository(this.addressRepository_)
-      if ("shipping_address" in update) {
-        await this.updateShippingAddress_(
-          cart,
-          update.shipping_address,
-          addrRepo
-        )
+      if ("shipping_address_id" in update || "shipping_address" in update) {
+        const address = update.shipping_address_id || update.shipping_address
+        await this.updateShippingAddress_(cart, address, addrRepo)
       }
 
-      if ("billing_address" in update) {
-        await this.updateBillingAddress_(cart, update.billing_address, addrRepo)
+      if ("billing_address_id" in update || "billing_address" in update) {
+        const address = update.billing_address_id || update.billing_address
+        await this.updateBillingAddress_(cart, address, addrRepo)
       }
 
       if ("discounts" in update) {