Order Workflow & Stages
Every order in your store moves through a series of stages from checkout to completion. By default, IndieMade uses a standard set of order statuses. If you want more control, you can enable custom order stages to rename the steps, add your own intermediate steps, and build a workflow that matches how you actually fulfill orders.
Default Order Statuses
Without custom stages enabled, every order moves through these statuses automatically:
| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| In Checkout | Customer has started checkout but has not submitted the order yet. |
| Payment Pending | Order was submitted but payment has not cleared yet (common with PayPal or manual payment methods). |
| Payment Received | Payment has been confirmed and cleared. |
| Processing | You are working on the order - packing, making, or preparing it for shipment. |
| Completed | Order is finished and shipped or picked up. |
| Canceled | Order was canceled. |
These statuses update automatically as orders move through checkout and payment. You can also manually change an order's status from the order detail page.
Enabling Custom Order Stages
If the default statuses are not enough, you can enable custom stages to add your own steps to the workflow.
- Go to Dashboard → Settings → Store Settings.
- Scroll to the Order Workflow section.
- Check Customize my order workflow.
- Save your settings.
- Click the Set up your order workflow link to configure your stages.
The Workflow Settings Page
The workflow settings page (Dashboard → Settings → Order Stages) shows your entire order pipeline as a visual timeline with colored steps connected by a vertical line. Each of the 6 core stages is shown with its color and label.
What You Can Do
- Rename stages - Click the label of most stages to change what it is called. For example, rename "Payment Received" to "Paid" or "Completed" to "Shipped". The stages "In Checkout" and "Canceled" cannot be renamed.
- Add custom steps - Under each stage (except In Checkout), you will see a "Your Steps" area where you can add intermediate steps. Click + Add, type a name, and your step is added.
- Remove custom steps - Click remove next to any custom step to delete it.
- Reorder custom steps - Drag custom steps to change their order within a stage.
- Reset everything - Click Reset to defaults to remove all custom steps and restore original labels.
System Stages vs. Custom Steps
The 6 core stages (In Checkout, Payment Pending, Payment Received, Processing, Completed, Canceled) are system stages - they always exist and cannot be deleted. They are marked with a "system" badge in the settings.
Any steps you add are custom steps that sit underneath one of the system stages. They represent intermediate checkpoints within that phase of the order.
Example: A Custom Workflow
Here is an example of how a handmade jewelry store might set up their workflow:
| Stage | Custom Steps |
|---|---|
| In Checkout | (no custom steps) |
| Payment Pending | Awaiting Bank Transfer |
| Payment Received | Confirmed, Ready to Start |
| Processing | Cutting & Shaping, Polishing, Quality Check, Packaging, Label Printed |
| Completed | Shipped, Delivered |
| Canceled | (none) |
In this example, the store owner added 5 custom steps under "Processing" to track each phase of their handmade production process. When they open an order, they can move it through these steps one by one.
How Stages Work with Orders
On the Order List
Each order shows its current stage as a color-coded badge. The colors help you scan your order list quickly:
- Gray - In Checkout
- Amber - Payment Pending
- Green - Payment Received
- Teal - Processing
- Blue - Completed
- Red - Canceled
Custom steps inherit the color of their parent stage. For example, "Quality Check" under Processing will show in teal.
On the Order Detail Page
When you open an order, the status dropdown shows all available stages grouped by their parent stage. Select the stage you want and save. If you move an order to a custom step under a different parent stage, the order's underlying status changes automatically. For example, moving an order from "Packaging" (under Processing) to "Shipped" (under Completed) automatically marks the order as completed.
Automatic Stage Assignment
When an order's status changes through normal operations (customer completes checkout, payment clears, integrations update the order), the stage is automatically set to the system default for that status. For example:
- Customer pays → stage automatically set to "Payment Received"
- You mark an order complete → stage automatically set to "Completed"
After the automatic assignment, you can manually move the order to any custom step within that stage or any other stage.
Tips
- Start simple. You can always add more custom steps later as your process evolves.
- The Processing stage is where most custom steps belong - this is your production and fulfillment phase.
- Custom stages do not trigger email notifications. If you need to notify the customer, use the shipping confirmation email which is sent when you update the shipment status.
- If you use integrations like Printify or Etsy, orders synced from those services will be assigned to the system default stage for their current status. You can then move them to your custom steps as needed.
- You can filter your order list by stage to see all orders at a particular step in your workflow.