Troubleshooting order problems
How to diagnose and fix common WooCommerce order issues — missing orders, stuck statuses, wrong emails, and more.
Something's gone wrong with an order. Don't panic — most order problems have straightforward solutions. This guide covers the most common issues and walks you through fixing them.
Quick summary
Most order problems fall into three categories: orders not appearing in the dashboard, orders stuck in the wrong status, or email notifications not sending. For each, start by checking the order status, then the payment gateway, then the WooCommerce status logs. Contact us if you're stuck.
Problem: A customer paid but no order appeared
This is one of the most alarming situations. Here's what to check:
Check your payment gateway dashboard first. Log in to Stripe or PayPal and look for the payment. If it's there, the money was collected.
Search WooCommerce Orders for "Failed" or "Pending" orders. Go to WooCommerce → Orders and filter by "Failed" status. The order may exist but with the wrong status.
Check the customer's email. Ask them for their order confirmation email. If they received one, the order exists — it may just be hard to find (try searching by their email).
Look at WooCommerce logs. Go to WooCommerce → Status → Logs and look for recent error entries related to payments.
If payment was taken and no order exists: Contact us. We'll check the gateway webhook settings — this is usually the cause.
If payment was taken but no order exists, do not process another payment
Contact the customer to let them know you're investigating. Do not ask them to pay again until you've confirmed no duplicate charge exists.
Problem: Order is stuck in "Pending payment"
Pending orders are ones where payment hasn't been confirmed. This can happen when:
- The customer abandoned checkout partway through.
- The payment gateway notification (webhook) didn't reach your site.
- A bank transfer hasn't been confirmed yet.
What to do:
- Check your payment gateway to see if the payment was actually taken.
- If payment was received, manually update the order status to "Processing."
- If payment was not received, the order is genuinely pending — you can contact the customer or let it expire.
Problem: Customer isn't receiving order emails
Check WooCommerce → Settings → Emails. Confirm the relevant email (e.g., "Processing order") is enabled.
Check that the email address on the order is correct. Open the order and verify the billing email.
Ask the customer to check their spam folder. WooCommerce emails often land in spam.
Test email delivery. Go to WooCommerce → Status → Tools → Send test email. If the test email arrives, the issue may be specific to that customer's email provider.
Check your site's email configuration. If no emails are arriving at all, your WordPress site may not be configured to send email correctly. A plugin like WP Mail SMTP fixes this. Contact us if needed.
Problem: Orders showing wrong or confusing amounts
If the order total doesn't look right:
- Check whether taxes were included or excluded in the displayed price.
- Check if a coupon was applied (the coupon deduction is shown in the order).
- Verify the shipping cost was calculated correctly.
- Look at the "Order notes" section for any adjustments made after the fact.
Problem: Stock levels aren't updating after orders
Go to the product page for the affected product.
Check that "Manage stock" is enabled for that product under the Inventory tab.
Check the order status. Stock is only reduced on orders in "Processing" or "Completed" status. Pending orders may not reduce stock until payment is confirmed, depending on settings.
Common questions
Related guides
- Understanding orders
- Order statuses explained
- Troubleshooting payment problems
- Store emails to customers explained
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