# The life of an order

> Every stage an order goes through, and what you do at each.

Source: https://docs.dashfordevs.com/v1/orders/life-of-an-order · Topic: Orders · Updated: 2026-11-07

```dfd-diagram
{
  "type": "flow",
  "title": "From checkout to delivered",
  "layout": "LR",
  "nodes": [
    { "id": "checkout", "label": "Customer checks out", "kind": "person", "detail": "On your website. Stock is reserved while they pay." },
    { "id": "pending", "label": "Pending", "kind": "state", "detail": "Placed and paid, waiting for you. Listed under Orders." },
    { "id": "processing", "label": "Processing", "kind": "state", "detail": "You are picking and packing it." },
    { "id": "shipped", "label": "Shipped", "kind": "state", "detail": "A label was bought and tracking added. The customer is told." },
    { "id": "delivered", "label": "Delivered", "kind": "state", "detail": "Done. It stays in reports and the customer's history." },
    { "id": "archived", "label": "Archived", "kind": "state", "detail": "Out of the way, never deleted. See Orders → Archived." }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "from": "checkout", "to": "pending" },
    { "from": "pending", "to": "processing" },
    { "from": "processing", "to": "shipped" },
    { "from": "shipped", "to": "delivered" },
    { "from": "delivered", "to": "archived", "style": "dashed" }
  ],
  "steps": [
    { "title": "A new order arrives", "focus": ["checkout", "pending"], "text": "The order appears under Orders with its items, customer and payment." },
    { "title": "You prepare it", "focus": ["processing"], "text": "Print a packing slip, pick the items, pack the box." },
    { "title": "You ship it", "focus": ["shipped"], "text": "Buy a label from your carrier, or add tracking by hand." },
    { "title": "It arrives", "focus": ["delivered", "archived"], "text": "Archive old orders to keep your list short. Nothing is ever lost." }
  ]
}
```

## Where to find orders

| Screen | Use it to |
| --- | --- |
| **Orders → All orders** | See every order, search, filter by status, open one. |
| **Orders → Print orders** | Print packing slips for many orders at once. |
| **Orders → Print labels** | Print shipping labels in a batch. |
| **Orders → Archived** | Find orders you archived. |
| **Orders → From transaction** | Create an order from a payment that has no order (for example, a payment taken by phone). |

## Opening an order

An order's page shows the items, quantities and prices, the customer and their address, the payment, any discount used, notes, files and the full history of changes. You can:

-   change its status;
-   edit items, prices or the address (every edit is recorded);
-   add an internal note your team sees and the customer never does;
-   attach files such as an invoice;
-   refund all or part of it, when your payment processor supports it.

**Who did what?** Every change to an order is recorded with who made it and when. Open **Organization → Logs** to see the steps behind any change.