Order statuses explained: new, reserved, paid, shipped, cancelled

An order status is a short label for where a sale sits between “client asked” and “money and goods are settled.” Without shared statuses, one person thinks the dress is sold, another still promises it in chat, and the courier never gets a pack list.

A practical starter set

Shops invent many names. These five cover most chat-commerce days:

• New — request captured; stock may not be held yet
• Reserved — units held for this order; not free for others
• Paid — money received (or confirmed); ready to pack/ship/pickup
• Shipped (or Picked up) — goods left your responsibility toward the client
• Cancelled — order stopped; reserves must return to free stock

Some teams add Waiting payment, Packing, Returning. Fine — as long as each status has a clear stock and money meaning.

What each status should mean for stock

• New — usually no reserve (or a short soft hold with expiry)
• Reserved / Paid — free stock down; on-hand still yours until ship
• Shipped — on-hand down (sale issued)
• Cancelled — release reserve; if already written out, reverse carefully

What each status should mean for money

• New / Reserved — unpaid or partially agreed
• Paid — cash/transfer captured; refunds need a separate path
• Shipped — revenue recognized per your accounting habit (sometimes on payment, sometimes on handover)
• Cancelled — no revenue; refund if prepaid

Why vague statuses hurt

“In progress” means nothing for the shelf. Prefer statuses that answer: Is it held? Is it paid? Has it left? Is it dead?

Habits that keep statuses honest

1. One board (or list) everyone updates — not three chats.
2. Reserve expiry for unpaid holds.
3. Cancel must free stock the same day.
4. Do not mark Shipped until packed and handed over.

Optional next step

Agree the five words on a sticky note first. Tools with an order board make the same statuses visible to the whole team — for example orders in datalizeCRM — but shared language already stops half of oversell fights.