Every order in WooCommerce has a Order Status. This shows you the current status of an order within the ordering, payment, or processing workflow.
For example, the status helps you see whether a payment is still pending, an order is ready for shipping, or has already been fully completed.
You can find the orders and their current status under:
WooCommerce
→ Orders
How to open an order, check payment information, and use order notes is explained in the article Managing WooCommerce orders: status, payment, and shipping.
Important: The order status is more than just an internal marker. WooCommerce and installed extensions can react to status changes and, for example, send emails or trigger other actions.
What order statuses are available in WooCommerce? #
WooCommerce Core uses the following basic order statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Temporary status that can be used during the ordering process in block-based checkout. |
| Payment pending | The order has been received, but the payment has not yet been completed. |
| In progress | The payment has been received, and the order is awaiting further processing or fulfillment. |
| On hold | The order is awaiting payment confirmation or further review. |
| Completed | The order has been fully processed and requires no further handling. |
| Cancelled | The order has been canceled and will not be processed further. |
| Refunded | The full order value has been recorded as a refund. |
| Failed | The payment failed or was declined. |
Additional plugins can add their own order statuses. If you see a status in your shop that is not listed here, this does not necessarily mean it is an error.
Payment pending #
The status Payment pending or rather Pending payment means that WooCommerce has received the order, but no payment has been made or confirmed yet.
Simplified:
Order placed
+
Payment not yet made
=
Payment pending
You should not treat such an order like a paid order in a normal advance-payment sale.
The customer must first complete the designated payment process.
Why is an order stuck on „Payment Pending“? #
There can be various reasons for this.
For example:
- the customer did not complete the payment process,
- the customer left the payment page,
- The payment confirmation is still pending,
- the payment provider was unable to successfully complete the payment,
- The customer still has to pay for the open order.
The actual cause depends on the payment method used.
Therefore, in the case of an unexpectedly open order, also check the order notes and the information provided by the payment service provider used.
What happens to open orders and inventory? #
WooCommerce can temporarily reserve stock for unpaid orders.
How long this inventory is held depends on the setting keep in stock or rather Hold Stock ab.
Once the corresponding time has expired, WooCommerce can automatically cancel eligible open orders and release the reserved stock.
We explain warehouse management in detail in the article Manage inventory, SKU, and delivery status in WooCommerce.
In progress #
The status In progress or rather Processing is one of the most important statuses for a normal shop with physical products.
WooCommerce basically uses it when:
Payment received
+
Inventory reduced
+
>Order still needs to be fulfilled
For a shop owner, this usually means:
The order has been paid for and is now awaiting your processing.
For a physical product, this can mean, for example, that you assemble, package, and ship the goods.
„In Progress is not an error #
Some shop owners expect a paid order to automatically and immediately Completed Jumps.
For normal physical products, this is not the intended WooCommerce workflow.
After all, WooCommerce doesn't automatically know when you've actually packed a package and handed it over to the shipping service.
Therefore, the typical procedure is:
Payment successful
↓
In progress
↓
Process and ship goods
↓
Completed
Why are some orders automatically completed? #
WooCommerce treats orders differently when no further physical fulfillment is required.
If a paid order contains exclusively products that are both as virtual as well as downloadable are set up, WooCommerce can automatically set the order to Completed Sit.
An example would be a fully digitally delivered product where, after successful payment, no goods need to be packaged or shipped anymore.
By contrast, processing is still necessary for normal physical products.
On hold #
The status On hold or rather En espera means that the order is awaiting payment confirmation or further review.
In the process, the inventory is generally reduced, but the payment still needs to be confirmed.
This status often occurs with payment methods where WooCommerce does not immediately receive final payment confirmation.
Sample bank transfer #
A classic example is the traditional bank transfer.
The process can look like this:
Customer ordered
↓
Order is being created
↓
Bank transfer was selected
↓
Payment is not yet confirmed in the account
↓
Order remains „On Hold“
↓
Payment arrives and is verified
↓
Order processing continues
Therefore, with manual payment methods, you may need to check yourself whether the payment has actually been received.
Important: Do not set an order to „Processing“ or „Completed“ simply because the customer says they have paid. Verify the payment according to the payment method used.
„Payment pending“ and „On hold“ are not the same #
At first glance, the two statuses appear similar, but they have different meanings.
| Status | What does it mean? |
|---|---|
| Payment pending | The order has been received, but payment has not yet been made or confirmed. Normally, WooCommerce waits for action from the customer. |
| On hold | The order is awaiting payment confirmation. The inventory has already been reduced, and the payment must be checked or confirmed. |
This distinction is particularly important when troubleshooting.
Completed #
The status Completed or rather Completed means that the order has been completely fulfilled and no further processing is required.
For a standard physical product, the process could be, for example:
Order paid
↓
Items compiled
↓
Goods shipped
↓
Order completed
So the status doesn't just say „paid“, but rather that the order has been completely processed from the shop's perspective.
When should I set an order to Completed? #
For a normal shipping order, you set the order to Completed, once the processing required by you is complete.
In a traditional shop, this often means that the goods have been shipped.
However, the exact timing may depend on your business model.
For a product with personal pickup, „fulfilled“ can mean something different than for package shipping, for example.
Basic rule: „Completed means that no further normal processing is required for this order.
Cancelled #
The status Cancelled or rather Canceled means that the order will not be processed any further.
An order can be cancelled, for example, by an administrator or—in designated situations—by the customer.
When WooCommerce stock management is active, the stock that was reduced or reserved for the order items is added back to the available stock when an order is cancelled.
A cancellation is not automatically a refund #
This difference is particularly important.
Cancellation
=
Order will not be processed further
Refund
=
already paid amount will be returned
If an order has already been paid for, an actual refund may be necessary in addition to the cancellation or termination of the order.
Whether this refund can be processed directly via WooCommerce and the payment gateway depends on the payment method used.
We explain the correct procedure in the article Cancel order and issue refund.
Refunded #
The status Refunded or rather Refunded indicates that the full order value in WooCommerce is treated as refunded.
However, an important distinction is necessary here:
Technically, WooCommerce can record a refund in different ways.
With an automatic refund, a compatible payment extension can submit the repayment to the payment provider.
At a manual refund WooCommerce, on the other hand, only records the refund in the shop.
Very important: A refund entered manually in WooCommerce does not automatically return money to the customer. In this case, you must process the actual refund outside of WooCommerce via the payment method used.
That is why you should always know whether you are issuing an automatic or a manual refund.
Partial refund and full refund #
Not every refund applies to the entire order.
WooCommerce also enables partial refunds.
For example:
Order value:
CHF 150.00
Refund:
CHF 40.00
Remaining order value:
CHF 110.00
Therefore, in the event of a partial refund, the order does not automatically become a fully refunded order.
The status Refunded is intended for fully refunded orders.
Failed #
The status Failed or rather Failed means that a payment has failed or been declined.
Possible reasons may include, for example:
- the payment provider declined the payment,
- Authorization failed,
- the payment method used could not be charged,
- The payment process has failed technically.
The exact reason cannot be determined solely based on the „Failed“ status.
To do this, you need to check the order notes and – if available – the information or logs from the payment provider.
A failed order does not necessarily mean that the customer is lost for good #
Depending on the situation, a customer can pay again for an open or failed order.
WooCommerce can provide a payment link for eligible orders.
A registered customer may also find a corresponding payment option in their customer account.
Therefore, before creating a new order manually, you should first check whether the existing order can still be paid for.
Draft #
The status Draft or rather Draft is part of the modern block-based WooCommerce checkout.
This is a temporary status during the checkout process.
A draft is not yet a normally completed customer order.
WooCommerce can use such a data set when the customer tries to place the order in the block-based checkout.
Why am I seeing draft orders? #
In current WooCommerce versions, draft orders may be visible in a dedicated section of the order overview.
They occur due to the technical process of the block-based checkout and do not automatically mean that the customer has actually placed a completed order.
WooCommerce automatically cleans up inactive draft orders via a scheduled daily cleanup process.
Important: Therefore, you usually do not have to delete old draft orders manually.
The typical procedure for a normal order #
For a physical product with an instantly confirmed online payment, the normal process often looks like this:
Checkout
↓
Payment successful
↓
In progress
↓
Items are being processed and shipped
↓
Completed
With a payment method featuring delayed confirmation, however, the process could look like this:
Checkout
↓
On hold
↓
Payment being confirmed
↓
Processing
↓
Goods are being processed and shipped
↓
Completed
And if a payment is not completed:
Checkout
↓
Payment pending
↓
Payment failed
↓
Cancelled
These are typical workflows and not a rule that every extension has to implement in the exact same way. Payment providers and other plugins can influence the workflow.
Do not change order status arbitrarily #
You can manually change the status of an order in the WooCommerce backend.
That doesn't mean you should switch between statuses at will, though.
A status change can impact:
- Order confirmation emails
- Inventory
- Download permissions
- Payment extensions
- Shipping extensions
- other plugins connected to WooCommerce
The status should therefore always reflect the actual state of the order.
A status change does not automatically trigger a payment #
This point is particularly important.
Wenn du eine Bestellung manuell von:
Payment pending
on:
In progress
setzt, bedeutet das nicht automatisch, dass WooCommerce dadurch Geld beim Kunden einzieht.
Du änderst zunächst den Status der Bestellung.
Eine tatsächliche Zahlung wird über die verwendete Zahlungsmethode beziehungsweise den Zahlungsanbieter verarbeitet.
Therefore: Setze eine unbezahlte Bestellung nicht einfach auf einen bezahlten Status, um sie „weiterzubringen“. Prüfe zuerst, ob die Zahlung tatsächlich erfolgt ist.
Auch „Rückerstattet“ ist nicht automatisch eine Geldbewegung #
Dasselbe Prinzip gilt bei Rückerstattungen.
Eine manuelle Änderung oder manuell erfasste Rückerstattung in WooCommerce bedeutet nicht zwingend, dass der Zahlungsanbieter dem Kunden tatsächlich Geld zurücküberwiesen hat.
Bei Zahlungen und Rückzahlungen musst du deshalb immer unterscheiden zwischen:
Status in WooCommerce
und
tatsächlicher Geldbewegung
Genau deshalb behandeln wir Rückerstattungen im Artikel Cancel order and issue refund ausführlich.
Bestellstatus und E-Mails #
WooCommerce verwendet Bestellereignisse und Statusänderungen auch für verschiedene E-Mail-Benachrichtigungen.
Ein Kunde kann beispielsweise eine Benachrichtigung erhalten, wenn seine Bestellung abgeschlossen wurde.
Welche E-Mails aktiviert sind und an wen sie gesendet werden, kannst du in den WooCommerce-E-Mail-Einstellungen konfigurieren.
Das behandeln wir ausführlich im Artikel Set up WooCommerce emails and order notifications.
Plugins können eigene Bestellstatus hinzufügen #
Die hier beschriebenen Status gehören zu WooCommerce Core.
Erweiterungen können zusätzliche Status einführen, beispielsweise für besondere Produktions-, Versand-, Vorbestellungs- oder andere Arbeitsabläufe.
Du könntest in einem erweiterten Shop beispielsweise zusätzliche Bezeichnungen sehen, die im normalen WooCommerce nicht vorhanden sind.
Wenn ein unbekannter Status auftaucht, solltest du deshalb prüfen, welches Plugin ihn hinzugefügt hat und welche Bedeutung der Entwickler dafür vorgesehen hat.
Warum steht eine Bestellung im falschen Status? #
Wenn eine Bestellung nicht in den erwarteten Status wechselt, solltest du den Status nicht einfach manuell korrigieren, ohne die Ursache zu prüfen.
Kontrolliere zuerst:
- Welche Zahlungsmethode wurde verwendet?
- Was steht in den Bestellnotizen?
- Gibt es eine Transaktionsnummer?
- Was zeigt der Zahlungsanbieter?
- Gab es eine Fehlermeldung?
- Verwendet der Shop zusätzliche Zahlungs- oder Bestellplugins?
Bei Online-Zahlungsanbietern kann beispielsweise eine fehlende oder fehlerhafte Kommunikation zwischen Zahlungsanbieter und WooCommerce dazu führen, dass ein Status nicht wie erwartet aktualisiert wird.
Die systematische Fehlersuche behandeln wir später im Artikel Systematically finding WooCommerce issues: status, logs, and error diagnostics.
Welcher Status benötigt deine Aufmerksamkeit? #
Als Shopbetreiber solltest du besonders auf Bestellungen achten, die noch eine Handlung benötigen.
In progress bedeutet bei einer normalen physischen Bestellung beispielsweise, dass die Zahlung erfolgt ist und die Bestellung ausgeführt werden muss.
On hold verlangt möglicherweise eine Prüfung der Zahlung.
Payment pending bedeutet, dass noch keine bestätigte Zahlung vorliegt.
Failed weist darauf hin, dass beim Zahlungsprozess etwas nicht funktioniert hat.
A abgeschlossene Bestellung benötigt dagegen normalerweise keine weitere reguläre Bearbeitung.
Bestellstatus immer zusammen mit den Bestelldetails beurteilen #
Der Status liefert dir eine schnelle Orientierung, aber nicht immer die vollständige Erklärung.
Wenn etwas unklar ist, betrachte deshalb immer:
Bestellstatus
+
Zahlungsmethode
+
Bestellnotizen
+
Transaktionsinformationen
+
tatsächlicher Geschäftsablauf
Erst diese Informationen zusammen zeigen dir zuverlässig, was mit einer Bestellung passiert ist und welche Handlung sinnvoll ist.
What's next? #
Nachdem du die Bestellstatus kennst, schauen wir uns als Nächstes an, wie eine bestehende Bestellung bearbeitet und wie eine Bestellung direkt im WooCommerce-Backend manuell angelegt werden kann.
We continue with Process and manually create order.
Summary #
Der WooCommerce-Bestellstatus zeigt, wo sich eine Bestellung im Bestell-, Zahlungs- und Bearbeitungsprozess befindet.
Payment pending bedeutet, dass noch keine Zahlung erfolgt beziehungsweise bestätigt ist. On hold bedeutet, dass eine Zahlungsbestätigung oder Prüfung aussteht. In progress zeigt bei einer normalen Bestellung an, dass die Zahlung eingegangen ist und die Bestellung ausgeführt werden muss.
Completed bedeutet, dass keine weitere normale Bearbeitung erforderlich ist. Cancelled, Refunded and Failed kennzeichnen entsprechend abgebrochene, vollständig rückerstattete oder fehlgeschlagene Bestellungen.
Beim blockbasierten Checkout kann zusätzlich der temporäre Status Draft occur.
Ändere einen Bestellstatus nicht willkürlich. Ein Statuswechsel kann weitere Vorgänge in WooCommerce und installierten Erweiterungen auslösen und ersetzt insbesondere keine tatsächliche Zahlung oder Rückzahlung.
