> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cartble.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Manage and fulfill orders from your dashboard
> Track every order from placement to fulfillment, manage statuses, handle refunds, and run a real-time Kitchen Display System for food businesses.
Every sale your store generates lands in the Orders section of your admin dashboard. From here you can view order details, update fulfillment status, process refunds, and — if you run a food or on-demand business — push tickets straight to a Kitchen Display System (KDS) for your kitchen staff. Whether you sell physical goods, digital downloads, services, or meals, orders follow a consistent lifecycle that keeps you in control at every step.
## How orders flow
When a customer completes checkout, Cartble immediately creates an order record in your dashboard. The order captures the customer's details, the items purchased, the delivery type chosen, any discounts applied, and the payment outcome. Your job from that point is to move the order through its fulfillment stages until it reaches the customer.
```
Customer checks out → Order created (pending) → Payment confirmed (paid) → You fulfill → Completed
```
## Order statuses
Cartble tracks two independent status dimensions for every order: **financial status** and **fulfillment status**.
### Financial status
| Status | What it means |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `pending` | Payment has not yet been confirmed (e.g., awaiting bank transfer). |
| `paid` | Payment was successfully captured. |
| `partially_paid` | A partial payment was received; the remainder is still outstanding. |
| `refunded` | The full order amount has been returned to the customer. |
| `voided` | The order was cancelled before payment was captured. |
### Fulfillment status
| Status | What it means |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| `unfulfilled` | No items have been shipped or handed off yet. |
| `partially_fulfilled` | Some items have been fulfilled; others are still pending. |
| `fulfilled` | All items have been delivered or handed off. |
| `restocked` | Items were returned and inventory was added back. |
Legacy orders may also carry a single combined `status` field with values such as `pending`, `processing`, `shipped`, `delivered`, or `cancelled`. New orders use the split financial/fulfillment model above.
## Managing orders in the dashboard
Navigate to **Admin → Orders** to see your full order list.
Use the status filter tabs at the top of the list to narrow orders down by financial or fulfillment status — for example, quickly surfacing all `paid` + `unfulfilled` orders that are ready to ship.
Type into the search bar to find a specific order by transaction number (e.g., `#1001`) or by customer name or email address.
Click any order to open its detail view. You'll see the full item breakdown, applied discounts, shipping address, and current status — plus quick action buttons.
Mark an order as fulfilled directly from its detail page once you've dispatched the goods or completed the service.
## Delivery types
Every order records the delivery method the customer selected at checkout. Cartble supports three delivery types out of the box:
The customer provided a shipping address and expects the order to be delivered to their location. The order detail view displays the full shipping address.
The customer will collect the order from your physical location. No shipping address is required. Use this for in-store pickup or curbside collection.
The customer is ordering from a table in your venue (common in restaurants). The table identifier is stored in the order metadata.
You can control which delivery types appear at checkout under **Settings → Checkout → Enabled Delivery Types**. Disable any types that don't apply to your business.
## Kitchen Display System (KDS)
If you operate a food, café, or on-demand delivery business, the Kitchen Display System gives your kitchen staff a real-time, auto-refreshing view of incoming orders — no paper tickets required.
Go to **Admin → Kitchen Orders** in your dashboard. The KDS panel opens and immediately begins listening for new orders in real time.
Orders flow across three columns as your team works through them:
* **Queued** — new orders waiting to be started.
* **In Preparation** — orders actively being prepared in the kitchen.
* **Ready** — orders finished and waiting for pickup or dispatch.
Each order card shows the transaction number, customer name, delivery type (`delivery`, `pickup`, or `table`), item list with any modifiers selected, and the time elapsed since the order was placed.
Tap individual items on a card to mark them as done as your team prepares them. When you are ready to move the order to the next stage, press the **Advance** button at the bottom of the card — this moves the order from Queued → In Preparation → Ready in sequence.
Click the fullscreen toggle in the top-right corner of the KDS to expand it to your full screen — ideal for a dedicated kitchen tablet or monitor.
The KDS also supports scheduled orders. Orders that the customer placed in advance show a calendar badge with the scheduled date and time slot so your team can prepare them at the right moment.
### KDS audio alerts
The KDS plays a kitchen bell chime whenever a new order arrives, so staff are immediately notified even when they aren't looking at the screen. Use the sound toggle at the top of the KDS panel to mute or unmute alerts.
## Booking and appointment orders
If your store uses the **Bookings** blueprint (services, appointments, classes), orders also carry scheduling metadata — including the session duration, assigned staff member, and booked time slot. You can view upcoming appointments directly from the order detail page.
Sort your orders by scheduled date to see a chronological view of upcoming sessions and prepare your team's schedule in advance.
## Refunds and order actions
From any order's detail page you can:
* **Refund** the order — this updates the financial status to `refunded` and records the refund amount.
* **Cancel** the order — this voids the transaction and, if inventory tracking is enabled, returns stock to your catalog.
* **Restock items** — mark items as restocked when a returned order's goods are added back to your available inventory.
Refunds processed through Cartble update the order record, but the actual funds transfer depends on your payment provider. For Stripe payments, the refund is also submitted to Stripe automatically. For manual payments (e.g., bank transfer), you must return the funds to the customer directly.