Daily Order Processing

Order processing is your core daily task. This guide tells you exactly what to do at each stage of an order’s lifecycle.

1. Reviewing New PENDING Orders

PENDING orders are orders where payment has been placed but not yet confirmed or acted on.

1. Go to Orders in the sidebar
2. Apply the filter: Status = PENDING
3. Work through each PENDING order from oldest to newest
4. Open each order and verify:
   • Payment status shows PAID (if not, check the Payments section before proceeding)
   • The customer’s delivery address is complete
   • All ordered items are in stock

[!WARNING] Do not move an order to PROCESSING if the payment status is UNPAID or FAILED. Contact your Owner if you see a pattern of failed payments.

2. Moving an Order to PROCESSING

Once you’ve confirmed payment and stock:

1. Open the order
2. Click Update Status
3. Select PROCESSING
4. Add a reason note (e.g. “Payment verified. Preparing order.”)
5. Click Confirm

The customer receives a notification that their order is being prepared.

3. Marking Orders as CONFIRMED, SHIPPED, and DELIVERED

Progress the order as it moves through fulfilment:

Marking CONFIRMED

When items are physically pulled and packaged:

1. Open the order → Update Status → CONFIRMED
2. Add a note (e.g. “Items packed and ready for dispatch.”)
3. Click Confirm

Marking SHIPPED

When the order has been handed to the courier or dispatched:

1. Open the order → Update Status → SHIPPED
2. Add a note with tracking info if available (e.g. “Dispatched via DHL. Tracking: XY1234567.”)
3. Click Confirm

Marking DELIVERED

When you’ve confirmed with the courier or customer that the order has been received:

1. Open the order → Update Status → DELIVERED
2. Add a note (e.g. “Confirmed delivery by customer on 15 June.”)
3. Click Confirm

[!TIP] Always add a reason note at each status update. It creates a clear audit trail that helps resolve any disputes later.

4. Handling Cancellation Requests

If a customer contacts you to cancel their order, or if you need to cancel for operational reasons:

1. Check the current order status — you can only cancel orders in PENDING, PROCESSING, or CONFIRMED status
2. Open the order → click Cancel Order
3. Select the cancellation reason from the dropdown
4. Choose Restore Inventory (enabled by default — keep it on unless you have a reason not to)
5. Click Confirm Cancellation

[!WARNING] You cannot cancel orders in SHIPPED or DELIVERED status. If the customer wants to return a delivered order, direct them to request a return through their account. You will then process it as a return (RETURN_REQUESTED → RETURNED).

5. Checking Payment Status

To check whether an order has been paid:

1. Open the order detail page

2. Look at the Payment Status badge near the top:

   Status	Meaning
   UNPAID	No payment received
   PAID	Payment confirmed
   FAILED	Payment attempt failed
   REFUNDED	Full refund issued
   PARTIALLY_REFUNDED	Partial refund issued

3. Scroll to the Payment History section to see a full log of all payment events for this order

[!NOTE] If you believe a payment status is incorrect (e.g. a customer says they paid but the order shows UNPAID), escalate to your Owner. Only Owners should adjust payment status manually.

6. Generating Receipts for Customers

A customer may ask for a copy of their receipt by contacting the store. To generate one:

1. Open the order
2. Click Generate Receipt (if one hasn’t been generated yet) or Download PDF
3. The PDF is downloaded directly to your computer
4. Email it to the customer using the contact email on their profile

[!TIP] You can also direct the customer to download their receipt themselves from My Account → Orders → Download Receipt in the storefront. This saves you the step of emailing it.