> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.florists.digital/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Event Lifecycle > How events move from draft to completed — every status explained. **Every event in Digital Florists follows a clear path from the first conversation with your client through to the big day. Understanding each stage helps you stay on top of your bookings, keep clients informed, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks.** ## Event statuses As an event progresses, its status changes to reflect where it is in the journey. Here's every status you'll see, what it means, and what happens behind the scenes. ### Draft Your starting point. The event has been created and you're still building the quotation, adding items, and putting together the proposal. The client hasn't seen anything yet. ### Quote Sent You've sent the proposal to the client through their Client Portal. The ball is in their court — they're reviewing your pricing and details. ### Follow Up The client hasn't responded and it's time to reach out. This is your reminder to pick up the phone, send an email, or drop them a message. Don't let a good lead go cold. ### Quote Accepted Great news — the client has accepted your proposal. At this point, any **hire items** linked to the event are automatically reserved for the event date, so they can't be double-booked. ### Order Finalisation You're locking in the final details before the event. This is where you confirm table counts, guest numbers, and any last-minute changes. Moving an event into Order Finalisation is always a manual step you take yourself. If you've switched on the finalisation email under **Settings > Notifications**, moving into this status also emails the client to ask them to review the proposal and reply with any changes, so make sure everything you want confirmed is locked in on the quotation before you change the status. ### Order Created Orders have been created from the quotation and are ready for your team to start production and delivery planning. These orders appear on your dashboard just like everyday orders. ### Completed The event has been delivered and everything went smoothly. You're done! ### Cancelled The event has been cancelled. All linked tasks are automatically cancelled and any reserved hire items are released back into your inventory. ### Archived The event is filed away for your records. You can still view it, but it won't appear in your active event lists. ## What happens automatically? Some status changes trigger actions behind the scenes so you don't have to remember to do them yourself: | When this happens | What happens automatically | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | You send the proposal to the client | The event moves to **Quote Sent** | | The first payment is recorded on a **Draft**, **Quote Sent**, or **Follow Up** event | The event moves to **Quote Accepted** | | You create orders from the quotation | The event moves to **Order Created** | | Status moves to **Quote Accepted** | Hire items linked to the event are reserved for the event date (and stay reserved through Order Finalisation, Order Created, and Completed) | | Status moves to **Order Finalisation** | If you've turned on the finalisation email in Settings > Notifications, the client is emailed to review the details and confirm (only sent if they have an email address on file) | | Status moves to **Cancelled** | All linked tasks are cancelled and hire items are released | Everything else is a manual change — you decide when the event moves forward based on your conversations with the client and where things stand. Cancelling an event also cancels all associated tasks and releases any reserved hire items. This action cannot be undone. Make sure you've spoken with the client and confirmed the cancellation before changing the status. ## Payment statuses Payment is tracked separately from the event status, so you always know where you stand financially even if the event hasn't progressed yet. An event's payment status can be: * **Unpaid** — no payments received yet * **Partially Paid** — a deposit or part payment has been taken * **Paid** — the full amount has been received * **Over Paid** — more has been collected than the quoted total (you may need to issue a refund) Payment status updates as you record payments on the event, and for the most part it tracks separately from the event status. There's one thing to know: if you record the first payment on an event that's still in **Draft**, **Quote Sent**, or **Follow Up**, Digital Florists moves it to **Quote Accepted** for you, since taking money usually means the client has said yes. If you'd rather keep it where it was, you can move the status back by hand and it will stay there, and recording later payments won't move it again. ## Find events that have stalled Life gets busy and sometimes a booking sits in the same status for too long. To catch these, open the filters on your Events list and use the **Stuck days (in current stage)** box. Type a number of days, for example 7, and your list narrows down to events that have stayed in their current status for at least that long. These filtered results are especially useful for catching: * Proposals that were sent but never followed up * Accepted quotes that haven't moved to order creation * Events sitting in finalisation that need your attention It's worth checking this every week or so, so no booking falls through the gaps. You can also sort your list by when the status last changed, and each event shows when it was last updated, which makes the ones gathering dust easy to spot. Set up an [automation](/settings/automations) to send yourself a follow-up reminder email when an event has been in "Quote Sent" for more than a few days. You can also create automations that email clients automatically when a status or payment status changes — great for keeping everyone in the loop without extra work. ## Automation triggers Every status change and payment status change can be used as a trigger for your [automations](/settings/automations). This means you can set up rules like: * Send the client a thank-you email when their event is marked as **Completed** * Create a task for your team when an event moves to **Order Finalisation** * Notify yourself when a payment status changes to **Paid** * Send a follow-up email when an event enters the **Follow Up** status Automations keep your communication consistent and save you from having to remember every little step. Automations only fire when the status changes. If an event is already in "Quote Sent" and you save it without changing the status, the automation won't fire again. ## Common questions Yes. You're not locked into a strict order. If a client comes back after you've archived an event, you can change it back to an earlier status. Use whatever flow makes sense for the situation. **Completed** means the event day has passed and everything was delivered successfully. **Archived** means you've filed the event away so it no longer appears in your active lists. Most florists complete an event first, then archive it later during a tidy-up. No. Cancelling changes the event status and releases hire items, but it doesn't process a refund. You'll need to handle the refund separately through your payment provider and record it on the event. Yes. Each event keeps a log of every status change, including who made the change and when. This is useful for tracking the timeline of a booking or resolving any questions about what happened. ## What's next? Step-by-step guide to setting up a new event. Turn your quotation into production-ready orders. Record deposits, balances, and track what's owed. Set up rules to send emails and create tasks automatically.