← All documentation · Catalog & Commerce
Orders, invoices, payments & returns
Run your commerce operations in LogAI: track and fulfil orders, sell at the counter with Point of Sale, ship with a courier and track parcels, build GST invoices that manage stock, collect payments with Razorpay links, process refunds and exchanges, and recover abandoned carts.
12 min read · Last updated
Commerce is your money section, one page per subject: Orders, Payments, Invoices, Carts and Returns — each with stat cards, search, filters, CSV export and bulk actions — plus Books, which shows what you're owed, what you've collected, what you spend and what's in the bank (see Books). (Orders through Returns used to be tabs of one Accounts screen; the content is the same, the sidebar now takes you straight to each.)
Create an invoice
- Open the wizard. On the Invoices tab, click
Create Invoice. A step-by-step builder opens with a live invoice preview. (First time? The wizard checks that your organization address and tax settings (HSN codes) are configured, and links you to Settings if not.) - Fill the details. Title, the
Customer, status (Pending to keep it as a draft, Approved to issue it), notes, and invoice date (today or earlier — future dates aren't allowed). The invoiceNumberis assigned when you save, from your record numbering settings; the field previews the next one. If the customer is missing address fields, a warning lists exactly what's needed with anEdit Detailsshortcut — the invoice can't submit until the address is complete. - Add line items. Click
Add Items, then per line: product (and variant for variable products), HSN code, quantity, rate, and discount. Totals, GST tax breakdowns, and the preview recalculate live. Quantities are stock-checked — “Only N available in stock.” The chosen variant prints under the item name on the invoice (e.g. “Colour: Red / Size: M”); the template'sVariant under the itemswitch in Invoice templates turns it off. - Save. Click
Save All→Done. The invoice view opens withDownload(A4 PDF),PrintandRecord payment, a Balance due panel, a Payments & credits card and a full activity log.
Invoices move stock: Every saved line immediately deducts its quantity from product/variant stock; deleting the invoice restores it. An invoice can be edited only while it's Pending — once Approved it's locked for edits but keeps taking payments until it's Paid. An invoice with payments or credits against it can't be deleted or cancelled; remove or void those payments first.
Invoice status and balance due
An invoice's status follows its money. You choose Pending or Approved (and Cancelled); Partially paid and Paid are worked out from the payments and credits applied to it, so they can't be picked by hand.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | A draft. Not owed yet, still editable, no due date. |
| Approved | Issued and owed. The due date is set now — invoice date plus the customer's payment terms, or your default terms from Books settings. |
| Partially paid | Some money or credit has been applied; the rest is the balance due. |
| Paid | The balance due is zero. No further payments can be recorded. |
| Cancelled | Taken off the books. Only possible while nothing has been paid or credited against it. |
Lists and the invoice view show the amount still due and a due chip — “Due in 3 d”, “Due today”, “12 d overdue” or “Paid 2 d ago”. With Books on, the Invoices stat cards read Outstanding, Overdue, Collected this month and Drafts. In the Invoices list, the open icon beside a customer's name always opens that customer's details, even when the invoice is linked to a lead.
Collect payments
The quickest way to record money is Settle up — from the invoice's Payments & credits card (prefilled with its balance), a customer's Money card, or Books. Enter the amount, date, method and reference, and LogAI puts it against the customer's open invoices; anything left over becomes their credit. Partial payments, advances, TDS or bank-charge deductions and one payment for several invoices are all covered in Record payments and settle up.
The invoice's Payments & credits card also lists every payment applied to it (click one for its details), offers Apply when the customer has credit available, and holds a Promise to pay date. Record payment on the invoice and Create Payment on the Payments page still work too: a Credit payment marked Paid is applied to the linked invoice (or kept as credit when there's none); Not Paid records money you're expecting; a Debit payment refunds the customer from their unused credit. Recording a payment on a Pending invoice approves it first.
Razorpay payment links: With Razorpay configured, choose type Credit, toggle Share a payment link and click Create & generate link — you get a link with one-click WhatsApp and Email sharing. When your customer pays, it's marked received and applied to the invoice automatically; anything beyond the balance stays as their credit.
The Payments list shows each payment's Method, Received date and Allocation — Applied, Partly applied, Credit (not yet applied to an invoice), Refund or Voided. Click a row to open it, remove it from an invoice, or void it if it was recorded by mistake.
Track and fulfil orders
Orders arrive from your online storefront and from the built-in Point of Sale (Create Order): add products to the ticket, pick the customer and shipping address, choose Razorpay or Cash on Delivery, apply a coupon, and Create Order. Products that collect extra details show their fields right on the ticket line. With a courier connected, the ticket also shows how many couriers deliver to the customer's pincode and lets you pre-pick one for the shipment. Order numbers come from your record numbering settings — ORD-{org}-{sequence} by default, and your organization's number is always included.
| Order lifecycle | Notes |
|---|---|
| Created → Processed → Confirmed → Shipped → Out for Delivery → Delivered | The order sidebar's Mark as next button advances one step; a dropdown sets any status manually. With a courier connected, scans move these on their own. |
| Cancelled / Failed | Terminal problem states. |
| RTO Initiated → RTO Delivered | Set automatically when a courier returns an undelivered parcel to you. RTO orders never auto-invoice. |
| Refund Initiated → Refunded | Driven by the returns flow; a fully-refunded order flips to Refunded. |
| Cash on Delivery | Starts at Confirmed automatically; Collect COD in the order sidebar records the cash payment. |
Each order's sidebar shows the customer, line items with full GST breakdowns (IGST/CGST/SGST), coupon discounts, the delivery charge and its tax, addresses, and payment details — plus printable receipts and shipping labels as PDFs. The Status history section lists every status change; click its header to collapse it.
Ship the order
Every order's sidebar has a Shipment section. With a courier account connected and a shipping address on the order, Create shipment opens a dialog: pick the pickup location, confirm the parcel, compare live courier rates and delivery estimates, choose a courier and click Book shipment to schedule the pickup and get the tracking number. It's offered for any order that isn't Cancelled, Failed, Delivered, RTO Delivered, Refund Initiated or Refunded, and the booking itself needs the order to be Processed, Confirmed or On hold.
- After booking the section shows the courier, tracking number, estimated delivery and pickup date, with
LabelandManifestto print, a link to the courier's tracking page, andRefresh trackingto pull the latest scans. - Statuses look after themselves — picked up moves the order to Shipped, out for delivery and delivered follow, and the delivered step creates the invoice as it always has.
- Problems have buttons —
Retry booking stepresumes a booking that stalled,Cancel shipmentworks until pickup, andRestore stockputs items back into inventory when a parcel comes back to you. Once an order has a shipment, a replacement can't be booked from the order yet — see courier shipping.
No courier account? Nothing breaks: Create shipment still shows, but the dialog can't fetch rates until a courier is connected under Store → Configuration → Shipping Providers; meanwhile you keep moving orders through Shipped → Delivered by hand exactly as before. What the *customer* pays for delivery is set separately under delivery charges.
Returns and exchanges
- Create the return. From an eligible order (Processed through Delivered) click
Create return / exchange, or use Returns →New Return. Choose Refund (money back) or Exchange (replace items — variable products can swap variants). - Pick the items. Set per-item quantities up to what's still returnable, add a reason, and decide whether to
Restock itemswhen they're received (on by default). The footer estimates the refund tax-inclusive. - Work the lifecycle. Returns move Requested → Approved → Received → Refunded or Exchanged (creates a replacement order automatically). Rejected and Cancelled are terminal. A refund issues a credit note for the returned items, uses it against anything still owed on the order's invoice, and records the refund for the rest — capped at what was actually received for the order.
Recover abandoned carts
Commerce → Carts (abandoned carts) lists storefront carts that never checked out, classified by freshness — Hot (under 1 hour), Warm (under 24 hours), Cold (older). Open a cart to see the shopper, items, totals, and coupon history, then either send an existing coupon or click Create new coupon for this lead for a personal offer. The recovery email (“You left something behind! – {your store}”) lists their items and the code.
SMTP required for recovery emails: Recovery coupons send through your organization's own email (SMTP) settings — configure them first, and make sure the lead has an email address, or nothing goes out.
Access
Each page is its own permission item: Orders, Invoices, Payments, Returns and Carts. View browses, Create adds (an order, an invoice, a payment, a return), Update changes status and edits (approving an invoice included), Delete removes, and Manage unlocks the bigger actions — collecting COD and booking, printing or cancelling shipments on Orders, refunding or exchanging a Return, and sending recovery coupons from Carts. Each level is its own switch and these actions also need the everyday level behind them (usually Update; Create to book a shipment), so give Manage alongside it. Balances, Settle up, statements, business expenses and bank matching sit under the separate Books item (see Books). Invoicing additionally requires your organization address and HSN tax settings to be configured. The xLog assistant can create orders and invoices and record payments under these same flags.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I start adding items to my invoice?
Two possible blocks: “Configuration Required” means your organization address or tax settings (HSN codes) are missing — complete them via the Configure Now link. A red customer warning means the selected customer lacks address fields; fill them via Edit Details.
Does creating an invoice reduce stock?
Yes — each saved line immediately deducts from the product or variant's stock, quantities are capped at what's available, and deleting the invoice restores the stock. An invoice with payments or credits against it can't be deleted until those are removed.
How do I send a customer an online payment link?
Open the invoice → Record payment (or Payments → Create Payment), choose type Credit, toggle “Share a payment link”, and generate. Share via the built-in WhatsApp/Email/Copy buttons; when your customer pays, the payment is marked received and applied to the invoice. Requires Razorpay credentials in Settings.
Can I edit an invoice after it's approved or paid?
No — invoices are editable only while Pending. Approved and Partially paid invoices are locked for edits but still take payments; Paid invoices take no further payments. Download and print remain available.
How do I record a partial payment on an invoice?
Open the invoice and click Settle up in its Payments & credits card, enter what the customer paid and save. The invoice becomes Partially paid and shows the balance due. Customer deducted TDS? Pick the TDS reason for the shortfall and the invoice closes as Paid — see Record payments.
Why can't I set an invoice to Paid myself?
Paid and Partially paid are worked out from the payments and credits applied to the invoice, so the status always matches the money. Record the payment and the status updates on its own.
Why can't I cancel or delete this invoice?
It has payments or credits against it. Open each payment from the invoice's Payments & credits card and remove it from the invoice (the money goes back to the customer's credit) or void it, then cancel or delete.
How are orders created?
Two ways: customers checking out on your online storefront, and you at the counter via Create Order — the full-screen Point of Sale with product search, coupons, shipping, and Razorpay or Cash on Delivery.
When can an order be returned?
Once it's Processed, Confirmed, Shipped, Out for Delivery, or Delivered. Choose Refund or Exchange, per-item quantities up to what's still returnable, and optional restocking. Refunds record a refund payment; exchanges create a replacement order automatically.
What makes an abandoned cart Hot, Warm, or Cold?
Age alone: under 1 hour is Hot, under 24 hours Warm, 24+ hours Cold. Only carts that still contain items appear — they come from your storefront and can't be created manually.
Why didn't my cart recovery email send?
Recovery emails go through your organization's own SMTP settings and need the shopper's email on file. Configure Email settings first; failed sends roll back the sent counter.
Can I download invoices and receipts as PDFs?
Yes — invoices download/print as A4 PDFs from the invoice view, and orders offer printable receipts and shipping labels from the order sidebar.
How do I book a courier for an order?
Open the order and click Create shipment in the Shipment section of its sidebar, then pick a courier and click Book shipment. The button appears once the order has a shipping address; booking also needs a connected courier account and an order that's Processed, Confirmed or On hold — see courier shipping.
What are the RTO statuses?
RTO Initiated and RTO Delivered mean the courier is returning, or has returned, an undeliverable parcel. They're set automatically from courier scans, and RTO orders never auto-create an invoice. When the parcel is back, Restore stock returns sellable items to inventory.
Can the Point of Sale tell me if delivery is possible?
Yes — with a courier connected, the POS ticket checks the customer's pincode as you build the sale, shows how many couriers serve it (and whether COD is available), and lets you pre-select one for the shipment.
Open the LogAI app — start free, no credit card required.