Create Order Statuses

OrderPilot's order statuses describe where each quote and order is in your process, from the first draft to delivery. Your store starts with a set of built-in statuses, and you can add your own stages, such as “In Production” or “Quality Check”, arrange them in order, and decide what each one does: whether customers can see it, whether it sends an email or text, whether orders in it can go on a purchase order, and whether they can still be edited.

This article explains the built-in statuses, how to create and edit your own, how status notifications work, and which statuses OrderPilot changes automatically.

Why Custom Order Statuses Matter

Made-to-order retailers rarely work like a generic online store. An order doesn't just go from “Placed” to “Shipped”. It might wait for fabric, go into production, and pass a quality check first. Custom statuses let your team and your customers see exactly where each order stands.

Note: Most stores set up their statuses once and only revisit them when their process changes. Map out your stages on paper before building them in the app.

The Built-In Statuses

Every store starts with these statuses. System statuses can't be renamed, switched off, or deleted, because OrderPilot uses them to move orders automatically.

Status	Used for
Draft	A quote or order that's still being prepared. Draft never sends emails or texts.
Pending Review	Waiting for a manager to approve it.
Quote	An approved quote.
Order	A confirmed order.
Rejected	Rejected in review, or every item was rejected by the vendor.
Changes Requested	A reviewer asked for changes.
Partially Sent to Vendor	Some items are on purchase orders.
Sent to Vendor	Every item is on a purchase order.
Partially Ready to Ship	Some items have been received from the vendor.
Ready to Ship	Every item has been received.
Partially Shipped, Shipped	Shopify reports some or all items fulfilled.
Partially Delivered, Delivered	Shopify reports some or all items delivered.

Your store also starts with two custom statuses you can edit or delete: In Production and Quality Check.

Understanding Status Properties

Property	What it does	When to use it
Visible to Customers	Customers can see this status on their order tracking page.	Milestones the customer cares about, like “In Production” or “Ready to Ship”.
Email	Shows which email, if any, is sent when an order reaches this status. Emails are set up by adding the status to an email group.	Status changes the customer should hear about.
Also send when created on this status	Also sends the status email when a quote or order is created directly in this status, not only when it moves into it later.	Statuses an order can start in, such as Quote.
Active Status	Only active statuses can be used for orders.	Turn off to retire a custom status without deleting it.
Eligible for Purchase Orders	Orders in this status can be selected when creating purchase orders.	Statuses where production should begin.
Disable Edit	Orders in this status can't be edited. Staff can still use Force Edit on the order if a change is unavoidable.	Stages where a change would cause problems with the vendor or your records.

By default, Quote, Order, and Partially Sent to Vendor are eligible for purchase orders.

How to Create an Order Status?

Step 1: From the OrderPilot dashboard, go to “Settings”, then select “Order status” in the Orders and quotes group. Your statuses are listed in workflow order.

Step 2: Click “Add Order Status” to open the Create status form.

Step 3: Enter a Status Name that clearly describes the stage, for example “Awaiting Fabric”.

Note: Short and specific names work best. “In Production” is better than “Production Stage” and much better than “Stage 3”.

Step 4: Add a Description (optional). It's shown under the status in the list and helps your team know when to use it.

Step 5: Pick a Status Color from the palette, or click Color Editor to choose any color. Use distinct colors so statuses are easy to tell apart in the orders list.

Step 6: Set the switches described in the properties table above: Visible to Customers, Active Status, Eligible for Purchase Orders, and Disable Edit.

Step 7: Click “Create status”. The status is added to the end of your list.

Step 8: To send an email when orders reach the new status, add it to an email group (see below).

Status Notifications

Which email a status sends is decided in your email settings, by adding the status to an email group. The status form shows the result, for example “Sends Production Updates (In production notice) when an order reaches this status.”

To change it, click “Edit in Emails” in the Email section of the status form. This takes you to “Settings”, then “Email settings”, where you manage email groups and their templates. See Email Settings & Notifications.

Once a status belongs to an email group, the form shows Also send when created on this status. Leave it off if the email should only go out when an order moves into this status later.

Note: The Email section appears once email is set up for your store. If the status is in a group that has no published template yet, the form says so, and nothing is sent until the group has one.

How to Reorder Statuses?

The order of your statuses is the order your team works through them.

• Drag and drop: Click and hold a status row, drag it to its new position, and release.
• Arrow buttons: Use the up and down arrows on the right of each row to move a status one position at a time.

Editing & Deleting Statuses

Editing a Status

Click the edit icon on any status to open the Edit status form, make your changes, and click “Update status”.

For system statuses, the name and the Active Status switch are locked. You can still change the description, color, visibility, notifications, Eligible for Purchase Orders, and Disable Edit.

Deleting a Status

Click the delete icon to delete a custom status. System statuses have no delete icon. Before deleting, move any orders that use the status to another one, because orders left in a deleted status need to be updated by hand.

Reading the Status List

Each row shows the status name and color, a System badge for built-in statuses, and icons for its settings: a lock when Disable Edit is on, an eye when it's visible to customers, an envelope when it sends an email, a speech bubble when it sends a text, and a dot when it's active. Hover over an icon to see what it means.

Statuses OrderPilot Changes Automatically

Some statuses move on their own, so your team doesn't have to update every order by hand:

• Review: Approving a quote or order in review sets it to Quote or Order. See Review Quotes & Orders.
• Purchase orders: When some items are on sent purchase orders, the order moves to Partially Sent to Vendor; when every item is, it moves to Sent to Vendor. Draft purchase orders don't move the order. See Create Purchase Orders.
• Receiving: When some items are received, the order moves to Partially Ready to Ship; when every item is, Ready to Ship. If every item is rejected, it moves to Rejected. A quote that hasn't been confirmed yet doesn't move to the ready-to-ship statuses. Lines that never go on a purchase order don't count as received, so an order with such lines stays at Partially Ready to Ship until you change its status yourself.
• Shopify fulfillment: When Shopify reports items fulfilled or delivered, the order moves to Partially Shipped, Shipped, Partially Delivered, or Delivered.

Your custom statuses, such as In Production, are set by your team.

Best Practices

Map Your Workflow Before Building It

List every stage your orders go through, from first quote to delivery, including the internal ones customers never see. Then decide which ones need a status of their own.

Use “Disable Edit” for Locked Stages

Once an order is with the vendor, a change to price or specifications can cause problems. Turn on Disable Edit for those stages so no one changes an order by accident. Order and the vendor and shipping statuses have it on by default.

Only Notify Customers When It Helps

Every status email or text should tell the customer something useful. Too many messages train customers to ignore them.

Test Your Workflow Before Going Live

Create a test order and move it through every stage to check that the right emails go out and that locked stages behave as you expect.

Example: Adding a Production Stage

Harlow & Finch Interiors wants customers to know when their furniture is being built. They edit the starter In Production status:

Field	Value
Status Name	In Production
Description	Your piece is being built by our workshop partners
Visible to Customers	On
Active Status	On
Eligible for Purchase Orders	Off
Disable Edit	On

Then they add In Production to their “Production Updates” email group in Email settings. Now, when the team moves Olivia Bennett's Linden Sofa order to In Production, Olivia gets an email, sees the new status on her order tracking page, and the order is locked against accidental changes.

Need Help?

Not sure how to set up your workflow stages or which statuses should send emails? Reach out to us at support@bevycommerce.com, and we'll help you structure your workflow correctly.