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How to tag orders

Every pending order has a Set Tag button. A tag is a colour-coded label you define, in your own words, for tracking where an order sits in your process. This tutorial covers what a tag changes, what it does not, how to create your own, and the workflows rental companies run with them.

5 steps5 minBeginner

Step 01

Understand what a tag is for

An order carries two separate things, and it helps to keep them apart.

  • The order status is Pending, Quote, Cancelled, or Completed. Party Rental Studio uses it everywhere: which tab the order sits in, whether inventory is held, what the customer sees. You change it with the status button on the order page.
  • A tag is your own label, layered on top, for pending orders. Two come ready made, Confirmed and Raincheck, and you can create as many more as you need.

A tag changes nothing on its own. It does not move the order between tabs, send an email, hold inventory, or touch the balance. Its whole job is to show your team, at a glance, where each pending order stands in your own process, and to let you filter the list by it.

Set Tag on a pending order card. Confirmed and Raincheck come with every account. The other three were added by this business.

Note: Tags are internal. They never print on the invoice, the Delivery Sheet or the Packing Slip, and customers never see them in emails or on your website. Use whatever shorthand your crew already uses out loud.

Step 02

Tag an order

You can tag an order straight from the list, or from the order page.

From the Orders page

  1. Click Orders in the top navigation and stay on the Pending tab.
  2. On the order's card, click Set Tag on the right.
  3. Pick a tag. The button takes on that tag's name and colour straight away.

From the order page

  1. Open the order. The tag button sits at the top, right next to the order status button.
  2. Pick a tag the same way. To change it later, pick a different one. An order carries one tag at a time.
On the order page the tag sits next to the order status. Pending is the order status. On Hold is your tag.

Tip: Tagging from the list is the fast way to work through a day's orders. Filter to This Week, then tag each one as you confirm it by phone.

Step 03

Create your own tags

Confirmed and Raincheck are a starting point. The useful part is naming the stages your own operation moves through.

  1. Open Set Tag on any pending order and click Add Tag at the bottom of the list.
  2. Type the tag name. Keep it short so it reads well as a badge, for example On Hold rather than On hold pending customer callback.
  3. Pick one of the four colours: red, green, amber, or slate. Colour is what your team scans for, so use it consistently, for example red for anything that needs action today.
  4. Click Save. The tag is added to your account and appears in the list on every order.

You can also create one from the Orders page filters: open Tag and click Add new tag. It is the same list either way.

Name the tag and pick one of the four colours. It is available on every order as soon as you save.

Heads up: There is no way to rename or delete a tag yet, so agree on the names with your team before you add them. A short list your crew knows by heart beats a long one nobody uses.

Step 04

Filter and find tagged orders

Once orders carry tags, the label follows them around the back office.

Filter the Orders page

  1. On the Orders page, open the filters and click Tag.
  2. Pick a tag. The list narrows to orders carrying it, and the filter stays in the page address, so you can bookmark a view such as everything On Hold.
  3. Click the x on the Tag chip, or choose View All, to clear it.

Where the tag shows

  • Order cards on the Pending tab, in the tag's colour.
  • Week and Month calendars, as a small badge in the corner of each order.
  • Dashboard, beside each upcoming event.
  • Search results, when you look an order up from the header.
The Tag filter on the Orders page shows the same list. Pick one and the list narrows to orders carrying that tag.
Step 05

Pick a workflow that fits your operation

Because an order carries one tag, tags work best when your list describes one thing: the stage an order is in. Here are setups rental companies run with them.

WorkflowTags to create, and why
Delivery day boardLoaded, Out for Delivery, Delivered, Picked Up. Dispatch tags each order as it moves through the day, so anyone in the office can answer "has the Alvarez order left yet?" without calling the driver.
Weather callsRaincheck, Weather Watch, Rescheduled. Inflatables and tents live and die by the forecast. Tag the at-risk orders on Thursday and work only that list on Friday.
Waiting on the customerWaiting on Deposit, Need Site Info, Need COI, On Hold. For a pending order that cannot move until something arrives: a deposit, a site address, a signed agreement, a certificate of insurance for the venue.
Confirmation callsCalled, Left Voicemail, Confirmed by Phone. Sales works the pending list the week before each event and marks how each contact went.
Subrentals and crewSubrented, Needs Second Crew, Needs Truck. Flag orders that depend on gear or people you do not have yet, so they get sorted before the truck is loading.
Repeat and multi-day eventsMulti-Day, Recurring, VIP Client. Festivals, schools and churches that book the same setup on a schedule and need different handling from a Saturday birthday.

Note: Money does not need a tag. Every order already shows Paid, Partial, or Unpaid next to its balance, and the Orders page can filter on that. Spend the tag on the stage of the job instead.