As soon as a customer places an order through your WooCommerce store, the actual order processing begins. In the WordPress backend, you can check what was ordered, what the order status is, what payment and shipping information is available, and which customer data belongs to the order.
You can find the central order overview at:
WooCommerce
→ Orders
In this article, we show you how to find, open, and correctly read orders. We also explain what you should pay attention to regarding payment, shipping, and order status.
We explain how an order is created from the shopping cart to checkout in the article Understanding Cart and Checkout in WooCommerce.
Important: An order in WooCommerce does not automatically mean that it has been paid for or can be shipped yet. Always check the order status and payment information.
Where can I find the orders? #
Open in the WordPress backend:
WooCommerce
→ Orders
There WooCommerce displays the existing orders in an overview.
Depending on the view and activated columns, you will see the following for an order, among other things:
- Order number and customer
- Order date
- current order status
- Order total
- additional information if corresponding columns or extensions are enabled
Additional plugins can add more information and columns to this overview. Therefore, your order overview may look slightly different than in a screenshot or in another WooCommerce installation.
What does the order number mean? #
Each order has an order number that you can use to easily retrieve it.
For example:
Order #1847
This number helps you, for example, with customer inquiries, internal searching, and order allocation.
Extensions can change the appearance or numbering of orders. Therefore, the order number does not have to follow the same scheme in every WooCommerce store.
Search and filter orders #
In a small shop with few orders, you can usually find an order immediately. As the number of orders increases, the search and filter functions become more important.
In the order overview, you can filter orders by their status, among other things.
For example, you can specifically display orders that still need to be processed.
The search function helps you find a specific order again.
Depending on the WooCommerce version and the order storage used, additional search and filter options are available.
Practical Tip: When a customer has a question about an order, the order number is usually the easiest information to quickly find the correct order.
View an order quickly #
WooCommerce offers a preview function in the order overview. Using the corresponding icon, you can view important information of an order without opening the complete order.
For example, the preview can show:
- Order number
- Status
- Billing information
- Payment method
- Shipping information
- ordered products
This view may be sufficient for a quick check. If you need to check details or make changes, you open the full order.
Open an order completely #
Click on the desired order in the order overview.
The order page contains several sections with different information. Particularly important are:
- general order data
- Billing address
- Shipping address
- Payment information
- ordered products
- Shipping
- Taxes and Totals
- Order notes
Which additional information appears also depends on the plugins and payment or shipping solutions used.
Understanding the general order data #
In the order details section, you will find key information about the order.
These include, among others:
- Order number
- Date and time
- Order Status
- Customer or guest
- Payment information
When a registered customer places an order, WooCommerce can link the order to their customer account.
However, with a guest order, a normal user account does not necessarily exist. You can find out more in the article Setting up customer accounts and guest checkout in WooCommerce.
Check billing address and shipping address #
WooCommerce distinguishes between billing and shipping information.
For example, the invoice data can include:
- Name
- Companies
- Address
- Land
- Email address
- Phone number
The delivery address shows where a physical order should be shipped.
Billing and shipping addresses can be identical, but they do not have to be.
Example: A customer uses their private address as the billing address, but has the package delivered to their workplace. The shipping address is then decisive for the dispatch.
Check the ordered products #
In the order items section, you can see which products the customer has ordered.
Depending on the order, WooCommerce shows there, among other things:
- Product
- Variant or selected properties
- Quantity
- Price
- Discounts
- Taxes
- Total amount
With a variable product, you should pay special attention to which specific variant was ordered.
For example:
Classic T-Shirt
Color:
Black
Size:
M
Quantity:
2
For the delivery, not only the product name is important, but also the actually ordered version.
Understanding the order total #
Below the individual items, WooCommerce displays the order calculation.
Depending on the order, things that may appear there include, for example:
Subtotal products
- Voucher/Discount
+ Shipping
+ Taxes
= Total amount
Which positions are available depends on the order and your shop configuration.
If an order total looks unexpected, you should therefore not only look at the final amount, but check the individual components.
Shipping information in the order #
For an order with shipping, WooCommerce displays the used shipping method and the corresponding shipping costs in the order items.
For example:
Shipping:
Flat rate
Costs:
CHF 8.50
Which shipping method was available at checkout depends on your shipping zones and shipping rules.
We cover the interior in detail in the article Set up shipping zones, shipping methods, and shipping costs.
WooCommerce is not automatically a shipment tracking #
The WooCommerce core order contains the order and shipping information. However, complete package tracking with a tracking number, package status, and automatic shipment tracking is not automatically included with every WooCommerce core installation.
Such functions can be added, for example, by a shipping extension, a parcel service, or another integration.
If you see a tracking field in your order, this may be due to an additionally installed extension.
Check payment method of an order #
You can see which payment method was used in the order.
Examples can be:
Bank transfer
Credit card
PayPal
other established payment providers
Which payment methods are actually offered depends on your WooCommerce settings and the installed payment extensions.
We will cover the interior design in the article Setting up and managing payment methods in WooCommerce.
Payment method does not mean payment confirmation #
If an order states „Credit card“ or „PayPal“ as the payment method, for example, this initially only means that this method was used for the order.
You must determine whether the payment was actually successfully completed based on the order status and—depending on the payment provider—the available payment or transaction information.
For example, a payment service provider can transmit a transaction number or further information to WooCommerce.
Important: Do not rely solely on the name of the payment method. Before shipping a paid order, verify whether the payment process intended for this payment method has actually been successfully completed.
Classify order status correctly #
Every WooCommerce order has a status. This indicates where the order is in the ordering, payment, or processing workflow.
WooCommerce core statuses include, among others:
- Payment pending
- In progress
- On hold
- Completed
- Cancelled
- Refunded
- Failed
With modern block-based checkouts, the status can additionally Draft occur for temporary checkout orders.
Plugins can add their own additional order statuses.
We explain deliberately and separately in the next article what each status means precisely and when you should use it. WooCommerce Order Status Simply Explained.
„In progress“ usually means: Now you have to do something #
For a normal order with physical products, the status means In progress or rather Processing basically, that the payment has been received and the order is awaiting further processing.
For a classic shipping product, this would be, for example:
Payment successful
↓
Order „In Progress“
↓
Assemble goods
↓
Ship goods
↓
Complete order
WooCommerce does not automatically set such an order to „Completed“ simply because you actually took the package to the post office.
The actual shipping process takes place outside of WooCommerce, unless an additional shipping solution integrates this process with the store.
Pure virtual and downloadable orders can be treated differently #
Orders containing exclusively products that both both virtual and downloadable are, can be automatically completed by WooCommerce after successful payment.
That is logical, because with such orders no physical goods need to be packed and shipped anymore.
For physical products, on the other hand, processing by the shop is usually still necessary.
On hold #
The status On hold or rather En espera means that the order is awaiting further confirmation or action.
This can occur, for example, with a payment method where the payment is not immediately and automatically confirmed.
A typical example can be a bank transfer.
You shouldn't just set such an order to „Completed“ without knowing why it is in that status.
What does „Payment pending“ mean? #
At Payment pending or rather Pending payment the order has been received, but payment has not yet been confirmed.
The order normally awaits action from the customer or the completion of the intended payment process.
For example, with a correspondingly available unpaid order, a customer can make up for the payment via a payment link.
Resend unpaid order for payment #
WooCommerce enables a payment link for suitable unpaid orders.
In the order, you can use the order actions to send the order details or invoice to the customer.
The corresponding email may contain a link that allows the customer to pay for the open order.
For a registered customer, an unpaid order can also be found in the area My Account → Orders a payment action be available.
Important: WooCommerce generally accepts only one payment for an order. Therefore, if products that incur a cost are subsequently added to an order that has already been paid for, a second payment for the same order is not automatically provided for.
Understanding order notes #
The Order notes belong to the most important areas in order control.
WooCommerce and installed extensions can log events there.
This may include, for example:
- Status changes
- Payment results
- Inventory changes
- Payment service provider information
- manually added notes
Therefore, if an order has an unexpected status or a payment is unclear, it is worth taking a look at the order notes.
Private note or message to the customer? #
For manual order notes, WooCommerce distinguishes between internal notes and notes intended for the customer.
A Private note is for internal documentation.
Example:
Customer confirmed a change of delivery address by phone.
A Customer note can be transmitted to the customer against it.
Example:
Your order is expected to ship on Monday.
Important: Before saving a note, check whether it is to remain internal or be sent to the customer. Internal information does not belong in a customer note.
Change order status manually #
You can manually change the status of an order in the backend.
To do this, select the desired status in the open order and save or update the order.
A status change can trigger further actions. Depending on the status and shop configuration, WooCommerce emails can be sent or other extensions can become active, for example.
Do not change a status just to make the order overview look „neater.“.
Basic rule: The order status should reflect the actual state of the order.
Process multiple orders simultaneously #
Group actions are also available in the order overview.
With this, you can, for example, set several selected orders to a specific status together.
This can save time for larger order quantities.
Carefully check in advance which orders are marked. A batch action affects all selected orders.
Process an order #
WooCommerce allows you to edit various details of an order. However, which changes are possible depends on the current order status.
For existing orders, product items, shipping, vouchers, fees, and other order data can generally only be changed in certain statuses that are still editable.
WooCommerce specifically mentions for this Payment pending and On hold.
Therefore, you should not treat an already paid order that is currently being processed like an open shopping cart.
We explain the complete procedure in the article Process and manually create order.
Why can I no longer change an order item? #
If products, quantities, or other items of an order cannot be edited, the order status may be the cause.
WooCommerce restricts the editing of order items once an order is in a correspondingly advanced or paid status.
This prevents an already processed order from being modified arbitrarily at a later point.
Therefore, check the current order status first before assuming there is a technical error.
Cancel or refund order #
A cancellation and a refund are not the same thing.
In the event of a cancellation, an order will not be processed any further.
Additionally, a refund involves returning all or part of an amount that has already been paid.
Whether WooCommerce can automatically issue a refund through the payment provider depends on the payment method used and its integration.
Therefore, we are addressing this important topic separately in the article. Cancel order and issue refund.
Do not simply delete the order #
If an order has been canceled or is no longer being fulfilled, you should not delete it from WooCommerce for that reason alone.
The order status serves to traceably depict the current state of an order.
In addition, order data may be relevant for accounting, traceability, customer service, or legal retention requirements.
Important: Which order data you have to keep for how long depends on the regulations that apply to your business. WooCommerce does not decide this legal question for you.
An order can receive additional information from plugins #
WooCommerce is extensible. Therefore, an order can contain significantly more information than a pure WooCommerce core order.
For example, a payment service provider can add transaction information.
A shipping solution can add tracking data.
An invoice plugin can add invoice numbers or PDF documents.
Other extensions can add their own order statuses, metadata, or actions.
If you see a field or a function that does not appear in this manual, this does not necessarily mean it is an error.
Do not consider ordering and payment separately in case of problems #
For example, if an order is set to „Payment pending“, „Failed“, or another unexpected status, you should first check which payment method was used.
Afterwards, the following often helps:
- Order Status
- Payment method
- Transaction information, if available
- Order notes
- Payment service provider logs, if available
Combined, this information provides a much better picture than the order status alone.
Process a typical paid shipping order #
For a normal physical product order, your workflow could look like this, for example:
New order appears
↓
Check order status
↓
Check payment
↓
Check products and variants
↓
Check shipping address
↓
Check shipping method
↓
Pick and pack items
↓
Ship goods
↓
Set order to „Completed“
When using a shipping extension, individual steps can be automated or executed directly from within WooCommerce.
The exact procedure therefore always depends on how your shop is organized.
The process looks different with a bank transfer #
With a manual payment method like bank transfer, the order can initially be set to Awaiting Payment.
A possible sequence of events is then:
Order received
↓
Payment not yet confirmed
↓
Check payment on bank account
↓
Payment has been received
↓
Update order status accordingly
↓
Process and ship goods
Du solltest den Status deshalb nicht unabhängig von der tatsächlich verwendeten Zahlungsmethode beurteilen.
Bestellungen regelmässig kontrollieren #
Verlasse dich nicht ausschliesslich auf E-Mail-Benachrichtigungen.
Die WooCommerce-Bestellübersicht ist die zentrale Stelle, an der du den tatsächlichen Zustand deiner Bestellungen kontrollieren kannst.
Eine E-Mail kann beispielsweise aufgrund eines Mailproblems nicht zugestellt werden, während die Bestellung trotzdem korrekt in WooCommerce vorhanden ist.
Wie WooCommerce-Bestellbenachrichtigungen funktionieren, erklären wir im Artikel Set up WooCommerce emails and order notifications.
Was solltest du bei einer neuen Bestellung kontrollieren? #
Für eine normale Bestellung sind insbesondere folgende Punkte wichtig:
- Welchen Bestellstatus hat die Bestellung?
- Welche Zahlungsmethode wurde verwendet?
- Ist die Zahlung entsprechend dem vorgesehenen Ablauf bestätigt?
- Welche Produkte und Varianten wurden bestellt?
- Stimmen die Mengen?
- Welche Lieferadresse wurde angegeben?
- Welche Versandart wurde gewählt?
- Gibt es eine Kundennotiz?
- Gibt es auffällige Bestellnotizen oder Fehlermeldungen?
Erst wenn du diese Informationen geprüft hast, solltest du die Bestellung entsprechend deinem Geschäftsablauf weiterverarbeiten.
Wenn eine Bestellung nicht so aussieht wie erwartet #
Ändere nicht sofort Status, Beträge oder andere Bestelldaten.
Prüfe zuerst, was tatsächlich passiert ist.
Besonders hilfreich sind dabei der aktuelle Status, die Bestellnotizen, die verwendete Zahlungsmethode und mögliche Protokolle der beteiligten Erweiterungen.
Eine systematische technische Fehlersuche behandeln wir später im Artikel Systematically finding WooCommerce issues: status, logs, and error diagnostics.
What's next? #
Der Bestellstatus ist für die tägliche Arbeit besonders wichtig. Er zeigt dir, ob eine Bestellung noch auf Zahlung wartet, bearbeitet werden muss, abgeschlossen, storniert oder zurückerstattet wurde.
Im nächsten Artikel schauen wir uns deshalb die einzelnen Status genauer an: WooCommerce Order Status Simply Explained.
Summary #
Alle Bestellungen findest du unter WooCommerce → Orders. Dort kannst du Bestellungen suchen, filtern, öffnen und ihren aktuellen Zustand kontrollieren.
Eine Bestellung enthält unter anderem Kunden- und Adressdaten, bestellte Produkte und Varianten, Versandinformationen, Zahlungsinformationen, Bestellsummen und Bestellnotizen.
Eine vorhandene Bestellung bedeutet nicht automatisch, dass sie bezahlt wurde. Kontrolliere deshalb immer den Bestellstatus und die zur verwendeten Zahlungsmethode gehörenden Informationen.
Die Bestellnotizen sind besonders hilfreich, weil WooCommerce und Erweiterungen dort wichtige Ereignisse wie Statusänderungen, Zahlungsvorgänge oder Bestandsänderungen protokollieren können.
Ändere einen Bestellstatus nicht willkürlich. Er sollte den tatsächlichen Zustand der Bestellung widerspiegeln, da Statusänderungen weitere Vorgänge wie E-Mail-Benachrichtigungen oder Aktionen von Erweiterungen auslösen können.
