Order statuses: what do they mean?

Order statuses: what do they mean?

Ecommerce – Orders – Order Statuses: What Do They Mean?

⏱ Estimated time: 4 minutes

👤 Role: Reservations Teams, Finance Teams, Front Office Managers

What you'll learn:

  • How to filter and view the status of orders in your dashboard.

  • The difference between successful, failed, and "In Progress" transactions.

  • Critical warnings regarding temporary reservations and manual entries.

When should I use this?

Use this guide to audit your daily sales and troubleshoot missing bookings. Understanding these statuses is vital for ensuring that every guest who has paid actually has a reservation in your internal systems (PMS/Premier).

Key Logic:

The platform tracks the "Handshake" between the guest's payment and your property's availability. An order status tells you exactly where that guest is in the journey—whether they are still browsing, have successfully booked, or if the connection failed after they paid.

Step-by-step:

1. Access the Orders List

  1. Log in to the Ecommerce platform.

  2. Click Orders from the left-hand sidebar menu.

  3. You will see a list of all transactions. You can use the Order Status dropdown menu at the top to filter the list (e.g., to see only 'In Progress' orders).

2. Status Definitions

Status

What it means

Action Required

COMPLETE

Payment was successful and the booking was automatically created in your third-party system (PMS/Premier).

None. The process worked perfectly.

IN PROGRESS

🚨 Action Needed. Payment was successfully taken, but the booking failed to reach your PMS due to a timeout or API error.

Manual Entry Required. You must manually add this booking to your PMS and assign the payment. Check the [Error Log] for details.

PENDING PAYMENT

The guest is currently on the site or has abandoned their basket before paying.

None. Do not manually complete these. Temporary inventory holds will expire automatically (15-30 mins).

FAILED

The transaction was unsuccessful (e.g., card declined or technical error before payment).

None. No payment was taken and no booking exists.

CANCELLED

The order was manually marked as cancelled within the Ecommerce platform.

Manual Cleanup. Ensure you have also cancelled the booking in your PMS and issued a refund if necessary.

Important Deep-Dive:

Understanding 'Pending Payment' & Temporary Holds

When a guest enters the checkout, the platform "holds" the inventory (the room or spa slot) so no one else can take it while they type their card details.

  • SynXis: Holds for 15 minutes. If not paid, it becomes "Ignored" and inventory returns to the pool.

  • Premier: Holds for 30 minutes. If not paid, the booking and guest details disappear.

⚠️ WARNING: Never manually "force" a booking onto a temporary hold in your PMS. These slots are programmed to delete themselves if the platform doesn't send a "Success" signal. Always create a fresh, manual booking if a guest calls to finish an abandoned order.

Handling 'In Progress' Orders

This is the most important status to monitor. An 'In Progress' status means you have the guest's money, but you do not have their booking in your diary.

  • Check the Payments tab to confirm the funds are there.

  • Check the Error Log to see why it didn't sync.

  • Manually type the reservation into your PMS immediately to avoid overbooking.

Best practice:

The Daily Audit: At the start of every shift, filter your orders by In Progress. If any appear, resolve them immediately so the guest arrives to a confirmed reservation. A clean dashboard should only show 'Complete', 'Failed', or 'Pending Payment' (for active shoppers).

  • [How to find the error log for an order]

  • [How to issue a refund]

  • [How to manually add an In Progress booking]

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