Order lifecycle
Route: /org/ecom/orders · Permission to move an order: Review and act on customer orders (status transitions)
1. The six states
An order is always in exactly one of six states. Four are the happy path; two are exits.
| Status | Badge | Means |
|---|---|---|
PLACED | Amber | The customer has ordered. Nothing has happened yet |
CONFIRMED | Blue | The store has accepted it |
SHIPPED | Violet | It has left |
DELIVERED | Emerald | It arrived |
CANCELLED | Slate | It will not be fulfilled |
REFUNDED | Rose | Money has gone back |
Active — the workbench's default scope — is the first three: PLACED, CONFIRMED, SHIPPED.
That is the definition of "still our problem".
2. How an order moves
An order's status and its payment status move independently. A DELIVERED order can still be
COD · TO COLLECT, and a PLACED order can already be COD · PAID. The card shows both because
neither implies the other.
3. Moving an order
Status changes are made from the order card and require Review and act on customer orders (status transitions). Without it the order is fully readable and cannot be moved.
4. Field reference
What each pill scopes to
| Pill | Statuses |
|---|---|
| Active | PLACED · CONFIRMED · SHIPPED |
| All | every status |
| Delivered | DELIVERED |
| Cancelled | CANCELLED |
| Refunded | orders with a processed refund — not the REFUNDED status alone |
It matches orders that have a processed refund attached. A partially refunded order therefore shows
under Refunded while its own status may still read DELIVERED.
That is deliberate — you usually want "orders where money went back", not "orders whose label says refunded".
5. The admin contract
| Prerequisite | Without it |
|---|---|
| Review and act on customer orders (status transitions) | Statuses cannot change |
| Approve Refund Request | Refunds cannot be completed |
6. Downstream
A status change is visible to the shopper in my orders, and drives what the operations board shows as outstanding.
7. Don't confuse this with…
| Thing | Why it differs |
|---|---|
| Order status | Where the order is |
| Payment status | Whether it is paid |
| Refund state | In-flight versus processed |
| Preorder review | A request that is not yet an order |
8. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| Cannot move an order | Missing Review and act on customer orders (status transitions) |
| A delivered order shows under Refunded | It has a processed refund |
| A delivered order is unpaid | Payment status is independent of status |
| An order vanished from the list | It left the Active scope |