We have a client claiming she has "missing orders" and she listed off a number of recent order #s for which there is no order to be found.

Could you tell us under what circumstances it is POSSIBLE to account for these missing order #s or why they may be missing?

I need to assure them that they are NOT missing VALID orders.

Thanks!

Tim Gorski

Hi Tim

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and she listed off a number of recent order #s for which there is no order to be found

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Are those order numbers supplied by her customers who have email confirmation with an valid Order ID?

It's possible to set how long to keep unauthorised orders before they are auto deleted. Admin>Main Settings>Order Management
Could that be a possibility?

Are all the orders numbers that are visible in the admin all following on from each other?

Also, you could make checks with your payment provider to see if you have / have not rec'd payments for the 'missing order(s)'

You could also check the database directly via phpMyAdmin to see if those in there tally with what's in the store admin.



Steve
Egerton Village, Bolton, UK

Are those order numbers supplied by her customers who have email confirmation with an valid Order ID?
Order 4251 (placed 12/2/20) and 4266 (placed 12/9/20) called to follow up, but no one else has. I believe she just searched for missing order numbers by sequence, but I'll have to double check with her.

It's possible to set how long to keep unauthorised orders before they are auto deleted. Admin>Main Settings>Order Management
Could that be a possibility?
All of the orders have been since 12/2/20 ... the auto delete was set for 2 weeks, but I have disabled that
Are all the orders numbers that are visible in the admin all following on from each other?
Yes, except for 4251, 4253, 4256, 4258, 4259, 4262, 4266, 4271, 4273, 4296 - the missing culprits
Also, you could make checks with your payment provider to see if you have / have not rec'd payments for the 'missing order(s)'
I was only able to find payments for 4251 and 4253 at Authorize.net, their payment gateway ... is it fair to assume if they didn't make it to Authorize.net, they wouldn't get to the payment provider?
You could also check the database directly via phpMyAdmin to see if those in there tally with what's in the store admin.
... but those 2 (4251 and 4253) were NOT visible via phpMyAdmin

I will check with her about whether she has had a call regarding any of the other missing order #s ... is there any thing else I should ask at that time?

Tim Gorski

Upon double checking I DID find 1 more order on Authorize.net, and they verified that it would be VERY unusual for an order to get to the payment processor WITHOUT going through them.

I also double checked the other 7 missing order nos.

Is there a log or something similar that would be able to verify if an order# was used or deleted?

Tim Gorski

Hi Tim
There isn't a log but have you tried searching for deleted orders?

Vince

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Of the original 10 missing order #s placed between 12/2 and 12/3, only 3 were found on Authorize.net, and NONE were found in "deleted" ... in fact, NO deleted orders can be found before 12/7/20 ... unless the merchant used the "Purge deleted" button ... unless THAT operation can somehow be traced? Unless someone accidentally clicked "Purge" instead of "Delete" due to the juxtaposition of the 2 buttons?

Upon further checking, I found 9 missing order #s from 12/7 to 12/9 (missing in sequence) that were ALL found in deleted orders.

So it's certainly curious that the more recent 9 missing orders could be traced to deleted orders, where NONE of the original 7 unaccounted order #s could be found? Almost as if the order WERE deleted, but without a trace?

I don't know what else to say or think, except that any rational or justification for those missing order numbers would be welcome.

Tim Gorski

CORRECTION: Clicked the "purge" instead of the "search" button.

Tim Gorski

The merchant has confirmed that the original 10 missing order #s were found be examining the order # sequence.

I'm waiting for an answer on whether or not anyone there is aware of having intentionally or accidentally purged the deleted orders.

Given the value of tying a purge event to a date, time and user, I'd think (IMHO) that the user would be given a chance to confirm the decision, along with capturing those 3 data points would be a valuable security checkpoint.

Tim Gorski

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I'd think (IMHO) that the user would be given a chance to confirm the decision

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Ok, that's probably a good idea and I'll look at adding a confirmation to the purge.

Vince

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Thanks, Vince ... say, is there a way to prevent the purging of deleted orders? Such as through permission level?

Tim Gorski

Hi Tim
There isn't, but I have added the code so you have to confirm the purging of orders to the incorders.php file in the v7.1 and v7.2 updaters.

Vince

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