Fulfilling COD orders: tracking numbers and the fulfilled status

Mark a COD order as fulfilled in Shopify on the day the parcel leaves, and add the courier's tracking number when you do. Shopify can then email the shopper a shipping confirmation with tracking, and your order history keeps a record that the parcel went out. Without that record, a refused parcel looks the same as an order you cancelled before shipping, and your refusal numbers come out wrong.

What does "fulfilled" mean in Shopify?

Fulfilling an order means recording in Shopify that you shipped its items. Each order has a fulfillment status, such as Unfulfilled, Partially fulfilled or Fulfilled.

Fulfillment status and payment status are separate. A COD order is usually fulfilled days before it is paid, because the courier has to deliver it, collect the cash and pay you first:

For the payment side, see how to mark COD orders as paid.

How do you fulfill a COD order with a tracking number?

These steps follow Shopify's help page on adding tracking numbers:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click the order.
2. In the Unfulfilled or In progress section, click Mark as fulfilled.
3. Type the courier's number in the Tracking number field. Shopify might recognise the format and choose the carrier for you.
4. If no carrier is chosen, or the wrong one is, pick yours from the Shipping carrier menu. If your courier isn't listed, choose Other and paste the complete tracking URL, including the digits your courier gave you.
5. To email the shopper, select Send a notification to the customer. Shopify only offers this when the order has the customer's email address.
6. Click Mark as fulfilled.

Forgot the tracking number? Open the order and click Add tracking in the Fulfilled section, enter the number and click Save. You can send the shopper a shipping update at the same time.

Can you fulfill many COD orders at once?

Yes. Go to Orders, select the orders (the Unfulfilled tab helps), click Mark as, then Fulfilled. You can tick Send a notification to the customer, then click Mark as fulfilled.

Shopify's help page on bulk fulfillment doesn't describe adding tracking numbers in bulk. It says you can add tracking numbers to the orders afterwards, one by one. If a courier integration or shipping app fulfills orders for you, check that it adds the tracking number too.

Why should a COD shopper get tracking?

A COD shopper has paid nothing yet, so the shipping message is a reminder that a parcel and a bill are on the way. Shopify's Shipping confirmation email is sent when you fulfill an order, and it includes the tracking number. With a tracking link, the shopper can see when to expect the courier and have the cash ready.

Shopify also has Out for delivery and Delivered emails. Shopify sends these only when the carrier or a fulfillment app sends a tracking event with that status, and it says timing and accuracy vary by carrier. Your courier may also send its own SMS or WhatsApp messages. Check what it sends so the shopper doesn't get confusing or duplicate messages. For message ideas, see confirming COD orders by phone, SMS or WhatsApp.

If Shopify can't follow your courier's delivery status, a Mark as delivered button appears on the fulfillment, so you can record delivery yourself when the courier confirms it.

Why does the fulfilled status matter for refused orders?

When a COD parcel comes back refused, you usually cancel the order. Shopify lets you cancel an order that is fulfilled but unpaid. Its help page says cancelling stops you collecting payment for that order.

Your cancelled orders then fall into two groups:

• Cancelled and fulfilled: the parcel went out and came back. Depending on your courier contract, you may have paid for the trip out and the trip back.
• Cancelled and unfulfilled: you stopped the order before it shipped, so it cost you no shipping.

That split feeds two numbers:

• Your RTO rate. RTO (return to origin) means the courier brings an undelivered parcel back to you. The rate is RTO parcels divided by parcels handed to the courier, and fulfilled orders are your count of parcels handed over. See RTO explained.
• Khaleeji COD's money-lost report. It takes the cancelled COD orders placed in the last 60 days that Shopify recorded at least one fulfillment for, and multiplies that count by the shipping out plus shipping back costs you enter. Parcels you send without fulfilling the order count as never shipped, so the figure comes out too low.

How do you keep the fulfillment record accurate?

• Fulfill on the day the parcel leaves, not when you pack it.
• If you fulfilled an order by mistake and the parcel never left, cancel the fulfillment before you cancel the order. Shopify returns the order to Unfulfilled when you cancel a fulfillment.
• If the parcel did go out and came back, leave the fulfillment in place and cancel the order.
• Shopify won't cancel a partially fulfilled order. Cancel the fulfillment first, or use refunds and returns instead.
• When you cancel, choose a Reason for cancellation and add a Staff note such as "Refused at door, courier ref 123". Notes like this make refusals easy to tell apart from other cancellations later.
• After a refused parcel comes back, check that the items are back in your stock counts.

How do you find refused orders that had shipped?

On the Orders page, filter Order status to Canceled and Fulfillment status to Fulfilled, then click Save to keep the view. Shopify's order filters don't include payment method, so export the list and filter the Payment Method column for your COD name. The full method is in how to find cancelled COD orders.