Key Terms You Need to Know
Before diving into how orders are fulfilled, let’s clarify some essential terms:
Listings
These are the products available in your online store. Each listing contains different variants, which are the individual items customers can buy.
Variants
A variant (or listing variant) is a specific option within a listing. For example, if you sell an art print in two framing options (unframed and framed oak) and three sizes (8x10, 11x14, 16x20), you have six variants in total (2 frames × 3 sizes = 6 unique items).
Products
Products (or Artelo products) are the items you create inside Artelo that we print and ship on your behalf. Each product is typically connected to a specific listing variant in your store.
Product Sets
A Product Set is a group of related Artelo products that share a design but come in different sizes or frame options. These sets act like folders that organize all variations of a listing in one place.
Connecting Listing Variants
For Artelo to automatically fulfill an order, the order items (i.e., the listing variants purchased in that order) must be connected to Artelo products.
How Artelo Syncs and Fulfills Your Orders
When you connect your online store to Artelo, we automatically import all your listings. However, not all orders are imported the same way. Artelo offers two fulfillment methods, so you can choose how your orders are handled:
1. Connected-Only Fulfillment
Imports an order only if at least one item is linked to an Artelo product.
Does not import orders that don’t contain an Artelo product.
Best if you only want to fulfill orders that include Artelo products.
Requires fully connecting the listings (all or a subset of your listings) for auto fulfillment. This requires quite a bit of upfront work.
2. On-the-Fly Fulfillment
Imports all orders as long as at least one item isn’t marked as "ignored."
Also imports orders containing Artelo products.
Does not import orders where all items are ignored.
Best if you want to import most orders, even if some products aren’t linked to Artelo.
Allows you to connect your listings on an "as-needed" basis. Over time, you'll end up connecting all of your listings without needing to do everything all at once.
How to Choose Your Fulfillment Method in Artelo
1. Connect Your Store
After integrating your store, Artelo will automatically sync your listings.
2. Set Your Fulfillment Method
On Artelo's Integrations page, go to "View Store" under your connected store.
Click "Store Settings" on the top right corner of the page, then select "Order Import Rules".
Choose between:
Connected-Only Fulfillment (imports only orders with linked Artelo products).
On-the-Fly Fulfillment (imports more orders, even if some variants are unlinked).
(Optional) Filter by destination country—for example, if you'd like to view orders from US customers, toggle the setting on, and input United States. You can select multiple countries.
Click "Save" to confirm.
Managing Orders in Artelo
Navigate to the Orders page.
Once orders are imported, they appear in different tabs based on their status. Here’s what each tab means:
All – Shows every order.
Action Required – Orders that need your input before they can be processed.
In Production – Orders that are currently being fulfilled.
Shipped – Orders that have been completed and shipped.
Manual – Orders you create manually, without an e-commerce integration.
Archived – Orders that were ignored and will not be fulfilled.
Handling Orders in the "Action Required" Tab
If an order needs your attention, it will appear under the Action Required tab. You’ll need to decide what to do with each item before it can be processed.
Click on an order's "Unfulfilled" status.
A window will pop up showing all items in the order.
If a variant is not connected to an Artelo product, you have two options:
Option 1: Ignore the Item
Don’t Fulfill – Artelo won’t fulfill this item for this order.
Don’t Fulfill & Ignore Variant – Artelo won’t fulfill this item now or in future orders by marking the underlying variant as "ignored."
Option 2: Fulfill the Item
Fulfill with New Product – Create a one-time product just for this order. This product will not be saved for future use.
Fulfill with Existing Product – Use an Artelo product you’ve already created.
Create Product Set & Auto-Fulfill – Creates a new product set with all of the size and framing options for a listing. After creating the product set, you connect the newly created products to the variants on your listing for future fulfillment automation.
Finalizing and Sending Orders to Production
In the pop-up window, you also have these options:
1. Ignore the Order – The entire order is skipped and moved to Archived.
2. Send to Production – The order moves to In Production and will be fulfilled.
Understanding Order Status Updates
Once you finalize an order, the Fulfillment Status will update to one of these:
Ignored – The order (or item) has been skipped.
Received – The order has been accepted and is being processed.
Pending Approval – You haven’t finished selecting fulfillment options, so the order isn’t in production yet.
If an order is stuck in Pending Approval, you must review it and confirm fulfillment before Artelo can proceed.
Summary: Making Artelo Work for You
Connect your store, and Artelo will automatically sync your listings.
Choose your fulfillment method based on whether you want to import all orders or only those with linked Artelo products.
Manage your orders in the Action Required tab to decide how each item should be fulfilled.
Finalize your choices and send orders to production to get them printed and shipped.