Purchase order statuses
What each PO status means, who moves the PO from one to the next, and how PO status affects your customer's orders.
A purchase order moves along a fixed path from draft to closed. Some steps are taken by you, some by the factory, and some only by shipments. Knowing who owns each step tells you what to do when a PO seems stuck.
#The statuses
| Status | What it means | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared. The factory cannot see it. | Created by you. |
| Submitted | Sent to the factory. Waiting for them to accept. | Submit to Factory or ✉ Email factory. |
| Not Approved | The factory requested changes. The linked orders stay at Submitted, because the PO is what needs fixing. | The factory. |
| Production | The factory has accepted and is making the goods. | The factory (Accept), or you for a factory not on the portal. |
| Ready to Ship | Production is complete. | The factory (Production complete), or you. |
| Shipping | Goods have left the factory. | Only a shipment (Ship now — left factory). |
| Delivered | Goods have arrived at your warehouse. | Only a shipment (Received at warehouse or closing it). |
| Closed | Delivered and paid in full. | Automatic when both are true. |
| On Hold / Partial On Hold | All or some lines are paused. | You or the factory. |
#How orders follow
- When a PO goes to Production, its orders follow.
- When the factory marks production complete, each order on the PO becomes Ready to Ship if it has a freight method, or Awaiting Shipping Instructions if it does not. The second means the factory is waiting on you: set the order's freight method and it moves on by itself.
- Not Approved does not move the orders. They stay at Submitted.
- Shipments move POs and orders to Shipping and then to Received or Delivered. See How freight and shipments work.
#Who moves the PO along
A factory on the portal owns its status. They accept, request changes and mark production complete. The PO shows 🔒 Set by the factory, and you cannot change these steps yourself, so your board and theirs never disagree.
A factory not on the portal cannot press anything, so you do it. Click the stage you want in the PO's stage bar (an Invite factory option is offered too). Setting Production is also what makes the PO's lines available on Freight. You can upload production photos to the PO yourself when the factory sends them another way.
Good to know
Shipping and Delivered are never set by hand, for anyone. They mean goods have physically left and arrived, and only a shipment knows that. Use Ship now — left factory and Received at warehouse on Freight.
#The PO list
The Purchase Orders page has tabs All, Draft (including Not Approved), In production (Submitted, Production, Ready to Ship), Shipping and Delivered (including Closed). Hide Completed and Hide Closed are on by default; turn them off to find older POs.
Row colours and markers:
- Amber — Draft.
- Red with URGENT — an order on it asked for a date inside the standard lead time.
- Grey — Closed.
- Changes pill — a customer sent back a production photo.
- N new — unread factory messages.
- "payment requested" under the status — the factory has asked to be paid.
Click a row for a quick view (Overview, Line items, Messages, Files) and Open full PO for the workspace.
#A price change holds production
While a factory price proposal on the PO or one of its products is waiting for your decision, the PO cannot go into production. The factory's Accept is held and you cannot set it by hand. Approve or reject the proposal to release it. See Factory change requests and price proposals.
#Common questions
Why can't I change the status? It shows Set by the factory: a portal factory drives it.
How do I set Shipping or Delivered? Through a shipment on Freight.
The PO is Delivered but not Closed. It is not paid in full yet. See Paying factories.
An order says Awaiting Shipping Instructions. It has no freight method. Set one on the order.