> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tokensupply.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Orders and fulfilment lifecycle

> The full path an order takes, from arrival to a delivered and revealed key, including refunds, cancellations, deletion, and sales a channel already delivered.

An order is a request to buy one or more of your products. This page follows an order all the way through, so you know what each stage means and when keys actually change hands.

## Where orders come from

Orders can start in three ways, and they all end up in the same place once they arrive.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Manual entry" icon="paper-plane">
    You create the order yourself, for example after a sale made off-platform.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your storefront" icon="store">
    A buyer places the order on your store's own page.
  </Card>

  <Card title="A sales channel" icon="plug">
    A connected marketplace sends the order to you automatically.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## From order to delivered key

<Steps>
  <Step title="The order arrives">
    A new order is recorded as **Pending** with what was bought, by whom, and for how much. It moves to **Reserved** once keys are held for it, so they cannot be sold to anyone else.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fulfilment issues the keys">
    When the order is delivered, the reserved keys are marked **Sold** and issued to the order, which moves to **Delivered**. This is the moment stock is actually spent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A private delivery link is created">
    The buyer's delivery page is prepared and a private link is created for it. This link does not exist until delivery happens, so an order that has not been delivered has no delivery page yet.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The buyer collects and reveals">
    The buyer opens their link, reveals their keys, and can download an invoice. Once every key on the page has been revealed, the order moves to **Completed** on its own. You can also select **Mark as Completed** on a delivered order to close it yourself.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The private delivery link is created at delivery time, not when the order is placed. That is why you only see the link on an order after you have delivered it.
</Note>

## Sales a channel already delivered

Some channels deliver the keys themselves at checkout. TokenSupply records each such sale as one order that arrives already paid and **Completed**. It skips the reserve and deliver steps above, because the keys have already changed hands. A delivery page is created only when the channel tells TokenSupply which keys it handed over.

## When an order does not complete

Not every order ends in a delivery. These outcomes handle the rest.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Refunded" icon="credit-card">
    A refunded order returns money to the buyer. This is used when the sale needs to be reversed after delivery. Refunding revokes the buyer's delivery link straight away, and the order's keys are released back to your stock after 15 minutes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Cancelled" icon="paper-plane">
    A cancelled order is stopped before it is delivered. Any keys held for it are released back into your stock so they can be sold again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Deleted" icon="trash">
    Deleting an order takes it off your lists. An order that was never delivered is removed and its reserved keys are released. A delivered order keeps its record behind the scenes, so its keys stay **Sold** and traceable and the buyer's link keeps working. See [Delete an order](/guides/selling-fulfilment/delete-an-order).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create an order" icon="paper-plane" href="/guides/selling-fulfilment/create-an-order">
    Enter an order by hand.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How fulfilment works" icon="paper-plane" href="/guides/selling-fulfilment/how-fulfilment-works">
    Deliver keys to a buyer step by step.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The delivery portal" icon="globe" href="/guides/selling-fulfilment/the-delivery-portal">
    What the buyer sees when they collect their keys.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delivery and custom domains" icon="globe" href="/how-it-works/delivery-and-custom-domains">
    How delivery pages are hosted and kept private.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>