Managing Orders

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Orders are created when a customer completes the checkout process. Each order is given a unique Order ID. An order also has a Status. Order statuses let you know how far along the order is, starting with “Pending payment” and ending with “Completed.” The following order statuses are used:
  • Pending payment — Order received, no payment initiated. Awaiting payment (unpaid).
  • Failed — Payment failed or was declined (unpaid). Note that this status may not show immediately and instead show as Pending until verified (e.g., PayPal).
  • Processing — Payment received (paid) and stock has been reduced; order is awaiting fulfillment. All product orders require processing.
  • Completed — Order fulfilled and complete – requires no further action.
  • On hold — Awaiting payment – stock is reduced, but you need to confirm payment.
  • Cancelled — Cancelled by an admin or the customer – stock is increased, no further action required. Please note: This status does not refund the customer.
  • Refunded — Refunded by an admin – no further action required.

Filter and arrange orders

When a shop starts taking orders, the Orders management page begins to fill up. Go to: WooCommerce > Orders.Filter orders by Date (month/year) or by registered customer.
  • Select the month, or search for a customer.
  • Select Filter.
 Arrange orders in ascending or descending order by Order number, Date or Total by select the heading. Note that the “Total” column does not take the refunded amount into consideration. Click the order number and customer name to see the Single Order page, where you can also Edit order details, Update Status, and Add Notes.

Viewing and editing a single order

From the Single Order page not only can you view all order data, but also edit and update.
  • Change the order status.
  • Edit order items – modify the product, prices, and taxes.
  • Stock – Reduce and restore stock for an order.
  • Order Actions – Email order details to customer (handy if manually creating an order for your customers) or Regenerate download permissions
  • Apply coupons. You will need to know the coupon code to apply to the order. Coupon usage counts are tracked, and coupons can also be removed from orders. Note: the order must be unpaid for coupons to have an affect
 Editing Order DetailsMost of the details can be updated and/or changes. To change the date and time, use the dropdown date selector and the quantity selectors for the time, to change the status, choose the right status in the dropdown, to change the customer, select the current customer and search for the new customer. Under "Billing" you can change the billing address, email, phone number, payment method and details,... Under "Shipping" you can change the shipping address and customer provided note. Once you’ve made the necessary changes, select Update to update the order.

Order Items and Totals

The next panel on the order page is the Order Items panel. This contains the product items, the shipping details, and the order summary. Apart from refunding, order items can not be edited, unless the order status is “Pending payment”, or “On hold.”To edit a item. Select the pencil icon next to a product line to edit.The following product items can be edited:
  • Add Meta — Add and remove meta to change product variable options.
  • Quantity — Number of items the customer is purchasing.
  • Total — Line price and line tax before pre-tax discounts.
  • Tax — Tax cost. For example, if a customer is tax-exempt you may want to remove the taxes.
Other actions. Next, you can do four actions at the bottom of this window.Add item(s) — this will show you six new options:
  • Add product(s) — Add additional products to the order.
  • Add fee — Add an additional fee, such as gift wrapping.
  • Add shipping — Add a shipping cost. When you’ve done this, select the pencil icon to update the name, the method, the cost, and the tax.
  • Add tax — Add an additional tax code to every section in the order.
  • Cancel — Cancel if you do not want to make any changes.
  • Save — Save once the changes are made.
 Once you’ve done this, you can select Recalculate if you want to automatically perform new calculations based on store settings. This can be handy if you are adding or removing products, coupons, shipping methods, etc. Note that any tax changes that you’ve manually included will be removed as the tax settings in your store will apply based on the customer address.

Order notes

The Order Notes panel displays notes attached to the order and can be used for storing event details, such as payment results or reducing stock levels, or adding notes to the order for customers to view. Some payment gateways also add notes for debugging.The following note types are possible:
  • Purple: System status notices, such as payment gateway details.
  • Grey: General status updates, such as status changes or private notes. Customers do not see these notes but may receive notification of them, e.g., when the status changes from processing to completed, an email may be sent (depending on your settings).
  • Blue: Notes to the customer. Customers receive notes via email but can view them by viewing an order in their My account section.
 Notes can be a powerful tool for communicating with customers or other store managers. Need to add a tracking number for shipping? Is stock delayed? Add a customer note, and they are automatically notified. To add a note:
  • Use the textarea to add the content of the note.
  • Select Private note or Note to customer in the dropdown.
  • Select Add.

Manually adding an order

To add an order:
  1. Go to: WooCommerce > Orders.
  2. Use Add New at the top of the page. The Single Order page appears.
  3. Input customer details, add line items, apply coupons, apply fees and calculate totals.
  4. Set a status for the new order, e.g., If it needs to be paid, use “Pending payment.”
  5. Save.
 Use the Order Actions dropdown to Email order details to the customer with payment instructions.