Sales orders, committing stock, picking, rates and labels, and the one thing about postage that is not ours.
A line on a sales order commits stock to that order. A serialized line commits a specific unit, chosen by scanning or by picking from the sellable pool; a bulk line commits a quantity. Committed stock is counted as held, not available, so two orders cannot promise the same unit, and the commitment is released if the line is removed or the order cancelled.
An order is Draft until it is confirmed. Confirmed means paid or accepted and ready to pick.
The pick list PDF (from the order, or for a batch of orders from Shipping) lists every committed unit with its bin. A line that needs more than one unit shows its quantity as a black block ("×3") so it cannot be read as a single; the serial or IMEI prints large under its barcode, grouped for reading, and any custom field on the unit prints in bold under the title. Picking by scan confirms each identifier against the order and refuses one that is not on it, which is what stops a similar-looking unit leaving in the wrong box.
Shipping is done through a shipping account you connect under Settings, Integrations: ShipStation, or a carrier account through ShipEngine. On a confirmed order, Ship opens the rate shop: the parcel's weight and size (from the product's measurements, or typed), the ship-from warehouse, and the carrier services with their prices. Choose one and buy the label; it prints from the order, and the tracking number is recorded and pushed to the channel the order came from.
Postage is never ours. The label is bought through your own ShipStation or carrier account, under your own billing there, and that account has to be funded before the first label will print. SerialFlow never holds postage money and never charges you for a label. If a label refuses to buy, the account balance at the carrier is the first thing to check.
A bought label can be voided from the order within the carrier's window, and the refund is between you and the carrier.
A rate cannot be quoted without a ship-from address. It is the warehouse's address under Settings, Warehouses, and the dashboard asks for it while the workspace is empty for exactly this reason.
An order to another country needs customs information: a description, a harmonised code and a value per line, which come from the product. The commercial invoice PDF is generated from the order and the carrier's customs form is filled from the same data.
The order moves to Shipped, the units to Sold, the sale is posted to the ledger against the units' cost, and the profit on the order is on its Financials tab and in the analytics hub.