Quick Summary
Each entity (stock item, order, listing) defines its own status and state values — there is no universal Status that applies to everything. The table below shows what each entity uses.
Status and State by entity
- Stock Items
- Orders
- Listings
- Status controls whether the item can be assigned to new orders
- State reflects whether the item is at hand or with a customer
Why two dimensions?
Status answers a slow-changing question: “What kind of thing is this right now in its lifecycle?” State answers a fast-changing question: “What’s happening with this thing operationally?” Keeping the two separate lets you reason about each independently. A stock item with status Active can have state Out (rented to a customer), and both are valid at the same time. You can:- Filter by status to clean up your workspace (hide Inactive items, show only Active ones)
- Filter by state to make operational decisions (which items are currently Out, which are In and ready for a new order)
Worked Examples
Stock Item
A bike rental shop has the same bike go through these combinations over time:
Both the repair and the sale read Inactive, because the status tracks whether the item counts toward availability, not why it stopped counting. Record the reason as a note or a ledger entry on the item. Read more: Stock Item Status.
Order
Related articles
Stock Item Status
Active, Inactive, Draft
Stock Item State
In vs Out — physical location
Order Lifecycle
Draft / Open / Active / Closed plus payment & fulfillment
Listings
Publishing status: Public / Draft
Archiving and Deletion
The lifecycle axis that sits beside status