Orders: from inbox to fulfilled

The **Orders** inbox is where every sale lands — storefront checkouts, POS sales, and orders pulled in from connected marketplaces all arrive in one list at /dashboard/orders, so fulfillment is one workflow. Each order carries its financial status (did money move), fulfillment status (did goods move), and a full timeline. ## Understanding statuses 1. **pending** — placed but not paid (typical for bank-transfer and mobile-money checkout). 2. **paid** — money received, goods not shipped yet. This is your fulfillment queue. 3. **partially_paid** — a part payment was collected (direct-debit methods take a percentage up front based on your store's verification). 4. **fulfilled** / **partially_fulfilled** — shipped, fully or in part. 5. **refunded** — money returned to the customer. 6. **cancelled** — closed without fulfillment. ## How to fulfill an order 1. Open the order from the inbox. Review the line items, addresses, and the timeline of everything that has happened so far. 2. In the fulfillment panel, choose a **carrier** and enter the **tracking number**. The platform recognizes major carriers and builds a public tracking URL automatically. 3. Tick **partial fulfillment** if only some lines ship now — the order becomes partially fulfilled rather than done. 4. Optionally set an **estimated delivery date**; it shows in the customer's order portal. 5. Confirm. The order's status updates, a timeline event is appended, your notification bell gets the event, and the customer is emailed the shipped notification with the tracking link. ## Invoices, notes, and emailing the customer 1. Print or save an invoice from the order's invoice page at /dashboard/orders/invoice/<id> — it renders with your store branding and is suitable for packing or PDF archiving. 2. Use **order notes** for context: the **staff note** is private to your team, the **customer note** is visible to the buyer, and tags help you filter (wholesale, priority, gift). 3. Click **email the customer** to send a custom message with a subject line. It goes out in the branded order-status template, with the order number and your message body — useful for "your size is back in stock" or delay explanations. ## How to refund 1. Open the order and choose **Refund**. 2. Select **full** or **partial** and enter the amount and a **reason** — the reason is stored on the refund record, which matters at reconciliation time. 3. Confirm. A full refund sets the order to **refunded** and adjusts that customer's lifetime spend; a partial refund marks the order partially paid and leaves the status otherwise intact. Every refund is appended to the order timeline. ## Marketplace orders Orders synced from Shopify or WooCommerce appear in this inbox with SHOP- or WOO-prefixed numbers and a **marketplace** tag, imported with their line items, totals, and addresses. Fulfill them exactly like native orders; the timeline notes where they came from. ## What happens next Fulfilled orders move customers forward too: their lifetime value and order history in **Customers** update automatically. Refunds flow into analytics, so revenue reporting stays honest. ## Tips 1. Filter the inbox by financial status each morning — **paid and unfulfilled** is your pick-and-pack list. 2. Always write a refund reason; future-you will not remember why order 1042 was refunded in March. 3. The customer note field is a good place for delivery instructions the shopper asked for over chat. ## FAQ **Can I fulfill one item now and the rest later?** Yes — partial fulfillment keeps the order open at partially_fulfilled, and you can fulfill the remaining lines in a second pass, each with its own tracking number. **Does the customer get an email automatically when I fulfill?** Yes. Fulfillment triggers the shipped email with carrier and tracking. The email action is for messages outside that flow — custom explanations, apologies, follow-ups. **Do marketplace orders double-count in analytics?** No. They are imported once, deduplicated by their marketplace order number, and counted like any other order.