Order lifecycle and statuses
How an order moves from draft to completed, and what each status means for your stock.
Every job you take on starts the same way: a client needs equipment, somewhere, on certain dates. You price it, confirm it, get the equipment ready, send it out, bring it back and invoice it. In Filmo, all of that lives in one place: the order.
Think of an order as the job's folder. It holds who the client is, when the equipment goes out and comes back, what's going, what it costs, and every quote, invoice and contract you send for it.
Two things make orders easy to work with:
- A new order doesn't touch your stock. It's a «Draft»: you can build it, price it and send a quote while the equipment stays free for every other job. It's only held when you click «Reserve».
- Documents are made from the order. You create the quote, the invoice or the contract from the order itself, so they always match what you're renting out.
How a job moves through Filmo
Let's follow a real one. Landmark Venues is hosting a wedding and needs three large frame tents, 120 Chiavari chairs and twelve round tables for the weekend.
- Create the order Add Landmark Venues, the wedding dates and the equipment, and save it as a draft. See Create an order.
- Send a quote, if they want one In the «Documents» card, click «Add» and choose «Quote».
- Reserve when they confirm Click «Reserve». Filmo checks the tents, chairs and tables are free that weekend and holds them for you. See Reserve equipment for an order.
- Prepare and deliver On the «Delivery» page, mark what's been prepared and what's gone out. See Prepare an order for delivery and Deliver an order and finish the delivery.
- Bring it back and check it in On the «Return» page, mark what came back and its condition, then . See Return and check in equipment.
- Invoice and close Create the invoice from «Documents». Once everything is checked in, the order is «Completed».
Filmo also puts the delivery and the return in your Calendar as soon as you reserve, so the warehouse knows what's coming.
What each status means
You only change the status yourself once, from «Draft» to «Reserved». From then on, Filmo moves the order along as the equipment is prepared, delivered and returned. When only part of it has moved, you'll see the step in progress, such as «Delivering...».
| Status | What's going on | It changes when | Equipment held? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | You're still putting the job together. | You save a new order | No |
| Reserved | The equipment is held for the job's dates. | You click «Reserve» | Yes |
| Preparing... / Prepared | The warehouse is getting it ready. | Equipment is marked as prepared | Yes |
| Delivering... / In use | It's on its way or with the client. | Equipment is marked as delivered | Yes |
| Returning... / Returned | It's back, waiting to be checked. | Equipment is marked as returned | Yes |
| Checking in... | Some of it has been checked. | Part of it is checked in | Until it's checked in |
| Completed | The job is closed. | Everything is checked in | No |
| Cancelled | The job isn't going ahead. | You click «Cancel order» | No |
Note: «Archived» isn't a status. An archived order keeps its status and simply leaves your list; turn on the «Archived» filter to see it again.
Good to know
- Changes to an existing order aren't saved as you type. When you change something, the «Unsaved changes» bar appears; click «Save» when you're done.
- You can save an order without a client, but you'll need one before you create any document.
- Orders are never deleted. If a job falls through you cancel it, and to clear it from your list you archive it.
- Some things lock as the job moves on. Once equipment is prepared you can't change its quantity, and a cancelled or completed order can't take new lines or new dates.
Up next
See where everything is on screen: The orders list and order page.