When a customer places an order on your BigCommerce store, that order is assigned a unique ID number. It is specific to that order and is never assigned again. This is to prevent confusion when customers do not finish the checkout process, and to ensure that payment gateways do not decline new orders as a duplicate transaction.
Starting Order Number
A new store’s default starting order number is 100. You can change this number at any time, as long as the new value is greater than your highest used order number. For example, if your highest order number is 157, you must choose a number that is 158 or greater.
To change your starting order number, go to Settings › Miscellaneous and scroll down to the Order Settings section. Enter a new number as your Starting Order Number, then Save your changes.
Incomplete Orders
If a customer does not complete the checkout process, such as through a declined payment, the order attempt is still assigned an Order ID. The order is marked as Incomplete and given an order status of Pending.
These orders can be found under the More tab on the View Orders page.
See our FAQ about incomplete orders for more information.
Deleted Order IDs
Incomplete orders are deleted if the customer starts the checkout process over. There are several ways that this can occur, most commonly when a customer attempts a different payment method after a declined payment. Failed orders from sales channels, such as Facebook or Amazon will also be deleted.
Incomplete or deleted orders can help explain gaps in order IDs when viewing your orders list.
Your Store Logs will also contain an entry when an incomplete order is deleted.
FAQ
How can I locate a missing Order ID?
To locate an Order ID, check the Incomplete and Archived tabs on the View Orders page. You can also try searching for deleted orders.
The Store Logs provide a record of store information for the past 365 days, including orders. Searching for a particular order number will give you more information, such as whether it was deleted or completed.
Why do Incomplete and Deleted orders have Order IDs?
Information about an order attempt, such as products, shipping and billing addresses, and transaction details are attached to the Order ID. This is not only helpful for record keeping, but also for separating each order attempt as an individual event. Additionally, processes like creating an order via API require orders to begin in Incomplete status.
Can I reuse an archived order's ID number?
No, Order ID numbers cannot be reused, even if an order is archived. All orders must have a unique ID.
Can my first Order ID be lower than 100?
As long as no orders have been placed on your store, you can change the Starting Order Number to a number lower than 100. Once orders have been attempted or placed, the starting number must be greater than the highest used Order ID.
