BigCommerce Order Management

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:developer.bigcommerce.com rest orders for Orders API reference
2. Web-search bigcommerce order api v2 v3 for endpoint availability
3. Web-search bigcommerce order status list for status definitions

API Endpoints

V2 Orders (Primary)

Orders are primarily managed via V2 API:

V3 Order Extensions

Order Lifecycle

Status Flow

Incomplete → Pending → Awaiting Payment → Awaiting Fulfillment
    → Partially Shipped → Shipped → Completed
    → Awaiting Pickup → Picked Up
    → Cancelled / Declined / Refunded / Disputed

Standard Statuses

Custom Statuses

Create custom statuses via admin or API — they map to one of the standard status groups for reporting.

Order Structure

Order Fields

Key fields returned by GET /v2/orders/{id}:

• id — order number
• status_id — current status
• status — status label
• subtotal_inc_tax, subtotal_ex_tax
• total_inc_tax, total_ex_tax
• discount_amount
• shipping_cost_inc_tax, shipping_cost_ex_tax
• items_total — total number of items
• payment_method — payment provider
• currency_code
• billing_address — billing address object
• customer_id — associated customer
• date_created, date_modified

Line Items

GET /v2/orders/{id}/products returns:

• product_id, variant_id
• name, sku, quantity
• price_inc_tax, price_ex_tax
• total_inc_tax, total_ex_tax
• product_options — selected options

Creating Orders

Server-Side Order Creation

POST /v2/orders with:

• customer_id or billing_address
• products array with product_id, quantity, and optionally price_inc_tax
• status_id
• shipping_addresses array

Useful for: POS integrations, phone orders, order imports.

Shipments

Creating Shipments

POST /v2/orders/{id}/shipments:

{
  "tracking_number": "1Z999AA10123456784",
  "shipping_method": "UPS Ground",
  "shipping_provider": "ups",
  "items": [
    { "order_product_id": 15, "quantity": 1 }
  ]
}

Shipment Flow

1. Create shipment with tracking info and items
2. Order status auto-updates to "Partially Shipped" or "Shipped"
3. Customer receives shipping notification email
4. Tracking info displayed in customer order history

Refunds

Creating Refunds

POST /v3/orders/{id}/payment_actions/refund:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "item_type": "PRODUCT",
      "item_id": 123,
      "quantity": 1,
      "reason": "Customer requested return"
    }
  ]
}

Refund Types

• Full refund — refund the entire order amount
• Partial refund — refund specific items or custom amount
• Line-item refund — refund specific products with quantities

Order Metafields

Store custom data on orders (V3):

• POST /v3/orders/{id}/metafields
• Used for: external IDs, fulfillment notes, integration data
• namespace + key = unique per order

Querying Orders

Filters

• min_id / max_id — ID range
• min_date_created / max_date_created — date range
• status_id — filter by status
• customer_id — filter by customer
• email — filter by customer email
• payment_method — filter by payment provider
• is_deleted — include/exclude deleted orders

Pagination

V2 uses page and limit parameters, plus Link headers for navigation.

Best Practices

• Use webhooks (store/order/created, store/order/statusUpdated) for real-time order processing
• Fetch order details via API after receiving webhook (webhooks only contain the order ID)
• Handle all order statuses — don't assume a linear flow
• Use metafields for integration-specific data, not order notes
• Create shipments with tracking info for best customer experience
• Process refunds through the API for accurate financial records
• Implement idempotency — check if an order was already processed before acting

Fetch the BigCommerce Orders API reference for exact endpoint paths, request/response schemas, and status definitions before implementing.