# Order Operations

The complete manual for running orders in the OmniCart admin — from the moment an order
comes in through payment, fulfillment, and any changes or returns after the sale. This is
the operations manager's reference for the full order lifecycle.

> Looking for the API instead? See the [Usage Guide](/usage-guide) and the
> [Admin API](/admin/fulfillment-orders) reference.

## The order lifecycle at a glance

A typical order moves through these stages, and each has its own page below:

1. **An order arrives** → find it and read its status → **[Order Basics](/order-ops/basics)**
2. **Take payment** → capture the payment, or issue a refund → **[Transactions & Refunds](/order-ops/transactions-refunds)**
3. **Ship it** → allocate and fulfill the items → **[Fulfilling an Order](/order-ops/fulfilling)**
4. **After the sale** → returns, exchanges, or damage claims → **[Returns, Exchanges & Claims](/order-ops/returns-exchanges-claims)**
5. **Changes** → edit line items, fix an address, or cancel → **[Editing & Cancelling Orders](/order-ops/editing-cancelling)**

## Pages in this manual

- **[Order Basics](/order-ops/basics)** — find an order, read the detail page and its
  panels, understand payment vs. fulfillment status, add notes, read the activity timeline.
- **[Transactions & Refunds](/order-ops/transactions-refunds)** — payment status, capturing
  a payment, and issuing full or partial refunds (money handling).
- **[Fulfilling an Order](/order-ops/fulfilling)** — allocate and fulfill items from an
  order, add tracking, and how it relates to the warehouse queue.
- **[Returns, Exchanges & Claims](/order-ops/returns-exchanges-claims)** — handle
  post-purchase changes: return items for a refund, swap items, and resolve damaged or
  wrong-item claims.
- **[Editing & Cancelling Orders](/order-ops/editing-cancelling)** — edit line items,
  change addresses, transfer ownership, and cancel an order.

> **New to running orders?** Start with [Order Basics](/order-ops/basics) — everything
> else builds on knowing your way around the order detail page.

---

Working the daily shipping queue or sync instead? See the
[Fulfillment Operations](/guides/fulfillment-operations) guide.