Last verified: 2026-02-18
Overview
When a buyer places a purchase order with you, it appears in your Customer Orders tab. As a vendor, you review incoming orders, accept them, approve payments at the item level, create shipments, and track fulfillment. This guide covers the complete workflow from receiving an order to closing it.
What happens in the system
Order arrival - When a buyer submits a purchase order, it appears in your Customer Orders tab with "Pending" status and shows "Awaiting vendor approval"
Acceptance notification - When you accept an order, the buyer receives a notification
Status tracking - Both you and the buyer can see order status in real time
Margin tracking - The Customer Orders table shows your margin (in dollars and percentage) on each order
Item-level payment tracking - Each line item tracks its own payment approval status
What does NOT happen
No automatic acceptance - Orders remain "Pending Approval" until you manually accept them via the Accept Order button
No automatic fulfillment - Accepting an order does not ship products or deduct inventory automatically
No payment collection - StockApp tracks whether you have approved payment, but does not collect or transfer funds
No inventory deduction - Your inventory levels are not automatically reduced when orders are placed or accepted
Prerequisites
Before you start, ensure you have:
Active vendor account with products in your catalog
Buyers who have placed purchase orders with you
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Navigate to Your Customer Orders
Location: Orders > Customer Orders tab
Navigate to the Orders section in the left sidebar, then click the Customer Orders tab to view all purchase orders from your buyers.
Metric tiles at the top:
Total Orders: Count of all incoming orders, with total vendor count
Order Value: Total revenue from all orders, with total units
ETA: Delayed order count (Last 24h) - click to filter to delayed orders
Activities: Issue and update counts (Last 24h) - click to filter
Pending: Orders awaiting your acceptance - click to filter
Open: Orders you've accepted and are processing - click to filter
The order table shows:
Order #: Unique order number
Placed: Date the order was placed
Customer: Name of the buyer
Status: Current order status (Pending, Open, Closed, Cancelled)
Vendors: Number of upstream vendors for reshared items (shown as "—" if none)
Items: Number of line items
Promised ETA: Expected delivery date range
Order Total: Revenue from the buyer
Margin / %: Your profit amount and percentage on this order
Step 2: Quick-Accept a Pending Order
For pending orders, an Approve button appears directly in the Actions column alongside View Order. Click Approve to accept the order immediately without opening the order detail.
This moves the order to Open status and notifies the buyer.
Step 3: Review and Accept an Order
For a more detailed review before accepting:
Click View Order on a pending order
Review the order summary cards:
Status card: Shows "Pending Approval" with an Accept Order button; also shows payment and fulfillment badges (Unpaid, Unfulfilled)
Total: Order value plus your margin
ETA: Current and promised delivery dates
Payment Terms: Payment terms (e.g., Net 30) with due date
Bill To / Ship To: Buyer's billing and shipping addresses
Review the Item Details section below the summary cards to check each product, quantity, pricing, and your margin per item
Click Accept Order in the Status card to accept
Step 4: Approve Payments
Each line item in the order has an Approve payment button. This lets you confirm you are ready to receive payment for each item.
Click Approve payment on individual items to approve them one by one
Or click Approve all payments ($X.XX) at the top of the Item Details section to approve all at once
Note: Payment approval in StockApp is a tracking signal between you and the buyer — it does not process any actual transactions.
Step 5: Fulfill Order Items
Once items are ready to ship:
Click the Fulfill items button in the order header (top right)
The Create Shipment dialog opens with two tabs: Ship to Customer and Pickup
In the Items section, check the boxes next to items you are shipping in this shipment
In the Shipping section, fill in:
Carrier: Select from UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Freight, or Other
Tracking Number: The shipment's tracking number
Shipping Cost: Optional freight cost
BOL Number: Bill of lading number (for freight)
Tracking URL: Direct link to tracking page
Use Additional Details to add package dimensions, freight forwarding info, or customer contact
Add any Shipping Notes at the bottom
The right sidebar shows a Summary (Lines, Units, Total Value) and the Ship To address
Click Save to create the shipment
You can create multiple shipments for a single order if items ship at different times.
Fulfilling from an Upstream Vendor
For reshared items that need to be ordered from your upstream vendor, the item in the detail panel shows an Order from [Vendor Name] button. Click this to start a purchase order with your upstream vendor for that item.
Step 6: Manage Order Actions
The Manage order button in the order header opens a dropdown with these actions:
Close order: Mark the order as fully complete (prompts for confirmation)
Lock items: Prevent further changes to line items
Move items: Move items to a different order (disabled when unavailable)
Cancel order: Cancel the entire order (prompts for confirmation)
Step 7: Communicate About the Order
Add an internal note:
In the Order Activity section at the bottom of the order page, click inside the "Add an internal note..." text field
Type your note
Use Add attachment to attach a file
Click Flag issue to flag a problem with the order (visible to both parties)
Internal notes are visible to your team only. The Order Activity timeline shows all events including when the order was placed and any notes added.
What changes over time
Pending to Open - When you accept the order, the status changes and the buyer is notified
Payment tracking - As you approve payments item by item, each line item reflects the updated status
Shipment updates - Each shipment you create appears in the order history with tracking information
Open to Closed - When fulfillment is complete, use Manage order > Close order
Common Issues
Issue: "I can't find the order in Customer Orders"
Symptom: You were expecting an order but don't see it
Cause:
You might be looking at the wrong tab (Purchase Orders shows your orders as a buyer; Customer Orders shows orders from your buyers)
Filters are hiding the order
Solution:
Make sure you're on the Customer Orders tab (not Purchase Orders)
Clear any filters by clicking the filter dropdowns and selecting "All vendors" and "All statuses"
Verify the buyer actually placed the order (not still in their cart)
Issue: "I don't see the Approve button on a Pending order"
Symptom: The Actions column shows only View Order, no Approve button
Cause:
The order may already have been accepted (check the Status column - it should say "Pending" for the Approve button to appear)
You may not have permission to accept orders for this account
Solution:
Confirm the order status is "Pending" - only pending orders show the Approve button
Check your user permissions with your account admin
Issue: "Accept Order button is not visible on the order detail"
Symptom: You open an order but don't see the Accept Order button in the Status card
Cause:
The order has already been accepted (Status is Open, not Pending Approval)
Your user role does not have permission to accept orders
Solution:
If Status shows "Open", the order was already accepted
Contact your account admin to verify your permissions
Issue: "I need to reopen a closed order"
Symptom: An order was closed but needs more fulfillment actions
Cause: The order was manually closed via Manage order > Close order
Solution:
There is no reopen button - contact support if an order was closed by mistake
To prevent accidental closes, verify all items are shipped before closing an order
Issue: "Order doesn't show margin data"
Symptom: The Margin column is empty or shows "—" for some orders
Cause:
Orders where some items lack cost information show margin with an asterisk (e.g., "$756.70*") indicating partial data
Items without cost entered in your catalog will not contribute to margin calculations
Solution:
Ensure your products have a Cost field filled in so margin can be calculated correctly
Items with "*" next to the margin value indicate partial data — some line items are missing cost info