The Order Management system in OpenCart provides comprehensive tools for processing customer orders, managing order status, generating invoices, and handling shipping.
Order Overview Each order in OpenCart contains:
Customer Information - Name, email, phone, account detailsOrder Products - Items purchased with quantities and pricesAddresses - Billing and shipping addressesPayment Information - Payment method and statusShipping Information - Shipping method and trackingOrder Totals - Subtotal, taxes, discounts, and grand totalOrder Status - Current order stateOrder History - Status changes and comments
Order Filters Find orders quickly using comprehensive filters:
Available Filters $filter_data = [ 'filter_order_id' => 12345 , 'filter_customer_id' => 100 , 'filter_customer' => 'John Smith' , 'filter_store_id' => 0 , 'filter_order_status' => 'Processing' , 'filter_order_status_id' => 2 , 'filter_total' => '100.00' , 'filter_date_from' => '2026-01-01' , 'filter_date_to' => '2026-03-31' , 'filter_date_modified_from' => '2026-01-01' , 'filter_date_modified_to' => '2026-03-31' ];
Use date filters to analyze orders by time period. The date_from/date_to filters search by order creation date, while date_modified filters search by last modification date.
Order Structure $order_info = [ 'order_id' => 12345 , 'invoice_no' => 100 , 'invoice_prefix' => 'INV-2026-' , 'store_id' => 0 , 'store_name' => 'Your Store' , 'store_url' => 'https://yourstore.com/' , 'customer_id' => 100 , 'customer_group_id' => 1 , 'firstname' => 'John' , 'lastname' => 'Smith' , 'email' => '[email protected] ' , 'telephone' => '+1-555-0123' , 'language_code' => 'en-gb' , 'currency_code' => 'USD' , 'currency_value' => 1.0000 , 'order_status_id' => 2 , 'order_status' => 'Processing' , 'date_added' => '2026-03-04 10:30:00' , 'date_modified' => '2026-03-04 11:00:00' ];
Order Products $order_products = [ [ 'order_product_id' => 1 , 'product_id' => 42 , 'name' => 'MacBook Pro 16"' , 'model' => 'MBP-16-2024' , 'quantity' => 1 , 'price' => 2399.00 , 'tax' => 191.92 , 'total' => 2399.00 , 'reward' => 100 ] ];
Product Options $order_options = [ [ 'order_option_id' => 1 , 'order_product_id' => 1 , 'product_option_id' => 5 , 'product_option_value_id' => 23 , 'name' => 'Color' , 'value' => 'Space Gray' , 'type' => 'select' ] ];
Payment Address $payment_address = [ 'payment_address_id' => 123 , 'payment_firstname' => 'John' , 'payment_lastname' => 'Smith' , 'payment_company' => 'Acme Corp' , 'payment_address_1' => '123 Main Street' , 'payment_address_2' => 'Suite 100' , 'payment_city' => 'New York' , 'payment_postcode' => '10001' , 'payment_zone' => 'New York' , 'payment_zone_id' => 48 , 'payment_country' => 'United States' , 'payment_country_id' => 223 , 'payment_custom_field' => [] ];
Payment Method $payment_method = [ 'name' => 'Credit Card' , 'code' => 'stripe.stripe' ];
Shipping Address $shipping_address = [ 'shipping_address_id' => 124 , 'shipping_firstname' => 'John' , 'shipping_lastname' => 'Smith' , 'shipping_company' => '' , 'shipping_address_1' => '456 Oak Avenue' , 'shipping_address_2' => 'Apt 5B' , 'shipping_city' => 'Los Angeles' , 'shipping_postcode' => '90001' , 'shipping_zone' => 'California' , 'shipping_zone_id' => 12 , 'shipping_country' => 'United States' , 'shipping_country_id' => 223 , 'shipping_custom_field' => [] ];
Shipping Method $shipping_method = [ 'name' => 'UPS Ground' , 'code' => 'ups.ground' , 'cost' => 15.00 , 'tax_class_id' => 9 ];
Order Totals Order totals break down the final price:
$order_totals = [ [ 'order_total_id' => 1 , 'code' => 'sub_total' , 'title' => 'Sub-Total' , 'value' => 2399.00 , 'sort_order' => 1 ], [ 'order_total_id' => 2 , 'code' => 'shipping' , 'title' => 'UPS Ground' , 'value' => 15.00 , 'sort_order' => 3 ], [ 'order_total_id' => 3 , 'code' => 'tax' , 'title' => 'Sales Tax' , 'value' => 191.92 , 'sort_order' => 5 ], [ 'order_total_id' => 4 , 'code' => 'total' , 'title' => 'Total' , 'value' => 2605.92 , 'sort_order' => 9 ] ];
Order Total Extension Types
Order totals are added by extensions and can include:
sub_total - Product subtotalshipping - Shipping costtax - Tax amountcoupon - Discount from coupon codevoucher - Gift voucher amountreward - Reward points discountlow_order_fee - Fee for orders below minimumtotal - Grand total Order Status Manage order progression through status changes:
Common Order Statuses
Pending - Order placed, awaiting paymentProcessing - Payment received, preparing orderShipped - Order dispatched to customerComplete - Order delivered and finalizedCanceled - Order canceled by customer or adminRefunded - Payment returned to customerFailed - Payment failed or order could not be processed
Order statuses are customizable. You can create custom statuses that match your business workflow in the Localisation > Order Status section.
Order History Track all changes to an order:
$order_histories = [ [ 'order_history_id' => 1 , 'order_status_id' => 1 , 'order_status' => 'Pending' , 'notify' => 1 , 'comment' => 'Order received' , 'date_added' => '2026-03-04 10:30:00' ], [ 'order_history_id' => 2 , 'order_status_id' => 2 , 'order_status' => 'Processing' , 'notify' => 1 , 'comment' => 'Payment confirmed via Stripe' , 'date_added' => '2026-03-04 10:35:00' ], [ 'order_history_id' => 3 , 'order_status_id' => 3 , 'order_status' => 'Shipped' , 'notify' => 1 , 'comment' => 'Tracking: 1Z999AA10123456784' , 'date_added' => '2026-03-05 14:20:00' ] ];
Changing order status can trigger customer email notifications. Use the “Notify Customer” option carefully to avoid sending unnecessary emails.
Invoice Generation Invoice Numbers OpenCart automatically generates invoice numbers:
$invoice_display = $order_info [ 'invoice_prefix' ] . $order_info [ 'invoice_no' ]; // Result: "INV-2026-100"
Printing Invoices Generate printable invoices for orders:
// Generate invoice for single order $invoice_url = $this -> url -> link ( 'sale/order.invoice' , 'user_token=' . $this -> session -> data [ 'user_token' ] . '&order_id=' . $order_id ); // Generate invoices for multiple orders $invoice_url = $this -> url -> link ( 'sale/order.invoice' , 'user_token=' . $this -> session -> data [ 'user_token' ] ); // POST: selected[] = [order_id_1, order_id_2, ...]
Invoices include store information, customer details, ordered products, and order totals. The invoice template can be customized in the view files.
Shipping Documents Generate shipping labels and packing slips:
// Generate shipping document $shipping_url = $this -> url -> link ( 'sale/order.shipping' , 'user_token=' . $this -> session -> data [ 'user_token' ] . '&order_id=' . $order_id );
Shipping documents include:
Store and customer addresses
Product list with quantities
Product weights and dimensions
Shipping method
Creating/Editing Orders Admin Order Creation Create orders manually from the admin panel:
Select Customer - Choose existing customer or create newAdd Products - Select products and quantitiesChoose Addresses - Set billing and shipping addressesSelect Payment Method - Choose payment optionSelect Shipping Method - Choose shipping carrierAdd Order Totals - Apply discounts, calculate tax and shippingSet Order Status - Set initial order statusAdd Comments - Include order notes Order Modification Modifying completed orders can affect inventory levels and financial reports. Be careful when editing orders that have already been processed or shipped.
Subscriptions & Recurring Orders Handle subscription-based products:
$subscription_info = [ 'subscription_plan_id' => 5 , 'price' => 29.99 , 'cycle' => 1 , 'frequency' => 'month' , 'duration' => 12 , 'trial_status' => 1 , 'trial_price' => 0.00 , 'trial_cycle' => 1 , 'trial_frequency' => 'month' , 'trial_duration' => 1 ];
Reward Points Manage reward points from orders:
// Points earned from order $points_earned = $this -> model_sale_order -> getRewardTotal ( $order_id ); // Points used in order $points_used = 500 ; // Deducted from customer balance
Affiliate Tracking Track affiliate commissions:
$affiliate_info = [ 'affiliate_id' => 25 , 'affiliate' => 'John Doe' , 'commission' => 52.12 // Amount owed to affiliate ];
Order Reporting Track additional order metrics:
// Customer's IP information $order_tracking = [ 'ip' => '192.168.1.1' , 'forwarded_ip' => '' , 'user_agent' => 'Mozilla/5.0...' , 'accept_language' => 'en-US,en;q=0.9' ];
Bulk Operations
Delete Orders Remove multiple orders at once
Print Invoices Generate invoices for multiple orders
Print Shipping Create shipping documents in bulk
Export Orders Export order data for reporting
Best Practices
Update Status Promptly - Keep customers informed of order progressAdd Tracking Numbers - Include shipping tracking in order commentsVerify Addresses - Check shipping addresses before processingMonitor Payment Status - Ensure payments are confirmed before shippingUse Comments - Document important order informationGenerate Invoices - Create invoices for completed ordersCheck Inventory - Verify stock levels before confirming ordersHandle Refunds Properly - Update order status when issuing refundsArchive Old Orders - Keep system performant by archiving old dataRegular Backups - Backup order data regularly
Technical Reference Controller Location: /upload/admin/controller/sale/order.php
Key methods:
index() - Display order listinginfo() - Show order details and edit formcall() - API call to storefront for order operationsdelete() - Delete ordersinvoice() - Generate invoice documentsshipping() - Generate shipping documentshistory() - Display order historycreateInvoiceNo() - Generate invoice number
Model Location: /upload/admin/model/sale/order.php
Key methods:
getOrder() - Fetch order datagetOrders() - Get order list with filtersgetProducts() - Get order productsgetOptions() - Get product optionsgetTotals() - Get order totalsgetHistories() - Get order status historyaddHistory() - Add status change to history
