Send to courier, cancel, courier's answer
Book a parcel with Send to courier, cancel a booking, handle a request the courier never answered, and why each delivery is booked only once.
What it is
When a sales order ships with a courier's shipping method, the app books the parcel with that courier by itself: once the goods are packed and the invoice exists, one parcel request goes out for that delivery, with what the customer still owes as the cash on delivery amount. This guide covers what happens around that booking: the Send to courier… action when a parcel needs to go now, Cancel courier booking, the state "Waiting for the courier's answer" with its Check with the courier and Release the courier request… actions, and the rule that each delivery is booked only once.
Why it matters: a parcel booked twice costs you two delivery charges and confuses the rider and the customer. A parcel never booked sits on your shelf while the customer waits. The app is built so that neither happens silently. After every step it tells you what happened to the parcel, or why nothing was sent.
Example: a shop sells a dress for BDT 1,250 plus BDT 90 delivery. The customer paid BDT 90 in advance by mobile wallet. The invoice is BDT 1,340, already paid BDT 90, so the courier is asked to collect BDT 1,250. If the booking request times out, the invoice shows "Waiting for Steadfast's answer" and nothing is sent again until you check or release it.
Who it is for
- Shop owners and staff who pack and ship cash on delivery orders
- Warehouse staff who run picks, packs and deliveries in bulk
- Managers who fix a parcel the courier refused, or a booking that was cancelled by mistake
- Anyone who wonders "is it safe to press again?"
Before you start#
- A courier is connected under Integrations (Steadfast, Pathao, RedX and others). See Couriers and shipping for connecting and for labels, rates and pickups.
- The sales order uses that courier's shipping method. An order with a non-courier method is never booked.
- Send to courier…, Check with the courier, Release the courier request… and Cancel courier booking need the right to edit deliveries (Ship & delivery). People without it do not see these actions.
- Whether the invoice waits for the courier's report before it is settled is set under Settings › Sales › Approvals › Cash-on-delivery parcels. See Cash on delivery settlement.
Step by step#
This is the usual flow when the automatic booking did not send a parcel (for example after the courier refused it, after you cancelled it, or after a released request).
- Open Sales › Invoices (or Sales › Ship & delivery) and find the invoice or delivery.
- Open its row menu and choose Send to courier…. On the order page and in the order's progress drawer the same action is a small Send to courier… button on the invoice line.
- Read the question "Send invoice {invoice} to {carrier}?". It says the parcel is booked now, with what is still owed on the invoice as cash on delivery.
- Check the customer's phone number and address on the order before you go on.
- Press Send to courier (or Not now to stop).
- Read the answer. A booked parcel says, for example, "Invoice INV-0412 is booked with Steadfast: tracking SF123456, cash on delivery 1,250." If nothing was sent, the reason is shown instead.
Send to courier… only appears when the booking rule would send the parcel now: it was never booked, its request was released, the courier refused it, or its booking was cancelled. If you do not see it, the parcel is already booked, still waiting, or not allowed (see Troubleshooting).
How to book many parcels at once#
There is no bulk Send to courier on the lists yet. Many parcels are booked through the normal steps:
- Open Sales › Picks & packs (or Sales › Ship & delivery).
- Tick the rows you want.
- Choose the step in the bulk menu, for example Mark as packed or Make the delivery.
- Confirm. Each one runs in turn, exactly as its own button does; one that cannot be done is reported and the rest go on.
- Read the result: the parcels booked are listed in one green message, and every parcel not sent, with its reason, in one warning message that stays on screen. Long lists end with "…and {n} more."
For Pathao, Integrations › Pathao Courier also lists invoices waiting to be booked, with Book selected with Pathao ({n}) for one bulk booking. Pathao answers a bulk booking later: each parcel shows its consignment number when Pathao's update arrives (its status webhook must be set).
How to cancel a courier booking#
- Open Sales › Ship & delivery and find the booked delivery that is not yet delivered.
- In its row menu choose Cancel courier booking.
- Type why it is cancelled. The reason is kept in the audit log.
- For a courier the app can ask (for example eCourier or Paperfly), the courier is asked to cancel the consignment. For Steadfast, Pathao, RedX and other couriers without a cancel call, first cancel the consignment in the courier's merchant panel, then tick the box that says you cancelled it there.
- Press Cancel booking.
The answer is "{delivery}: courier booking cancelled. It is not sent again by itself — use Send to courier when it should go." The tracking number and label are cleared, the courier is taken off the invoice and the delivery, and any cash on delivery hold on the invoice is released. No later step books it again by itself. When it should go after all, use Send to courier….
A delivered parcel cannot be unbooked. Record a return instead.
Waiting for the courier's answer#
Sometimes the booking request reaches the courier but the answer never comes back (a slow network, a courier outage). The app then does not know whether the courier made the parcel. Instead of guessing, it marks the invoice "Waiting for {carrier}'s answer" with a clock mark, on the order page, the invoices list, the deliveries list and the document chain. Hovering it says "The booking request got no answer. Nothing is sent twice."
While it waits, nothing books that parcel again. You choose one of two ways out, in the row menu.
Check with the courier
Asks the courier whether it has a parcel for this invoice number. Use it first, always.
- The courier has it: "{carrier} has a parcel for invoice {invoice}. It is marked as sent — copy its consignment number from {carrier}'s panel onto the delivery." Copy the number in with Edit delivery….
- The courier has none: "{carrier} has no parcel for invoice {invoice}. Release the request to send the parcel again."
- No clear answer: "{carrier} did not say whether it has a parcel for invoice {invoice}. It is still unknown — try again later, or check {carrier}'s panel."
- The courier cannot be asked from the app: "{carrier} can't be asked about a parcel from here. Check {carrier}'s panel: if the parcel is there, copy its consignment number onto the delivery; if not, release the request."
Today only Steadfast answers this question from the app. For other couriers, look in their merchant panel.
Release the courier request…
Clears the wait so the parcel can be sent again. It asks first, because a parcel that already exists at the courier would then be booked twice. Press Release to go on or Keep waiting to stop. For a courier that can be asked, the app asks once more before releasing: if the courier has the parcel, it is marked as sent instead. After a release the answer is "The request to {carrier} for invoice {invoice} is released. The parcel can be sent again." The next step on that delivery, or Send to courier…, sends it.
When to use which: Check whenever you can; Release only after you have looked in the courier's panel and the parcel is not there. Both are recorded in the audit trail and on the invoice's timeline.
One booking per delivery#
An order can have several picks, packs and deliveries. Each delivery gets one parcel request, never more. A later step (the next pick, the next delivery, an approval) decides only its own documents and never sends an earlier delivery's parcel again. A double press of Send to courier books once.
A second booking is refused with a sentence, for example "Invoice {invoice} is already booked with a courier. Nothing is sent twice." A booking number typed by hand on the delivery counts as booked too.
A booked invoice also cannot be voided or made again. The app says "Invoice {invoice} is booked with {carrier} (consignment {consignment}). Cancel the booking first, or record a return." While a request waits for an answer it says "Invoice {invoice} is waiting for {carrier}'s answer to its booking. Check {carrier}'s panel before you change it."
How cash on delivery is booked#
The amount booked with the courier is the invoice total minus what is already paid. An advance on the order is taken off once. A parcel paid in full in advance is booked with nothing to collect. Couriers that book whole units (Steadfast books whole taka) round the amount; when the courier later reports what it collected, both sides are compared after rounding. How the collected cash then settles the invoice is in Cash on delivery settlement.
Daily use#
A cash on delivery shop in Bangladesh (Steadfast and Pathao)
A shop ships 60 orders a day, most with Steadfast, some with Pathao. In the morning the packer selects the day's picks in Sales › Picks & packs and runs Mark as packed. The result message lists the parcels booked, and in the warning message a few reasons: one order has no courier shipping method, one is waiting for the customer's confirmation. During the day one Steadfast request times out and shows "Waiting for Steadfast's answer". The owner presses Check with the courier: Steadfast has it, so it is marked as sent and the consignment number is copied in from the Steadfast panel. One customer asks to change the address: the owner cancels the booking in the Steadfast panel, then Cancel courier booking here, fixes the address, and uses Send to courier…. Pathao orders without a delivery area are booked from Integrations › Pathao Courier with Book selected with Pathao.
A multi-location retailer booking from two warehouses
A retailer ships from a city warehouse and a regional one. One order is split: two items leave the city warehouse today, one leaves the regional warehouse next week. Each delivery is its own parcel. When the second delivery is made, only that delivery is booked; the first parcel is never sent again. Each warehouse's team sees its own deliveries in Sales › Ship & delivery, filtered by location, and a pickup is asked per courier and location.
What you see#
Example of parcel status on the invoices list:
| Invoice | Customer | Parcel | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| INV-0410 | R. Akter | Booked | The courier has the request; not yet collected |
| INV-0411 | S. Islam | In transit | Collected, on its way |
| INV-0412 | M. Hasan | Waiting for Steadfast's answer | Check or release |
| INV-0413 | T. Roy | Delivered | The courier reports it delivered |
The parcel words that follow a booking, as the courier reports them: Booked, In transit, Out for delivery, Delivery attempt failed, At pickup point, Held by courier, Delivered, Partly delivered, Exchanged, Returned, Cancelled by courier. A courier's own "cancelled" report clears only the delivery, not the invoice: for Steadfast it can mean a refused parcel that is still being settled.
Good practice#
- Check the phone number and address before Send to courier…: the booking is a paid service.
- On a waiting parcel, press Check with the courier before Release. Release only after looking in the courier's panel.
- Cancel at the courier first, then here, for couriers without a cancel call.
- Read the warning message after a bulk step: it is the list of parcels that did not go.
Troubleshooting#
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Invoice {invoice} is already booked with a courier. Nothing is sent twice." | The parcel is already booked (also a booking typed by hand) | Nothing; follow its status |
| "Invoice {invoice} is still waiting for the courier's answer to an earlier request. Nothing is sent twice." | An earlier request has no answer | Check with the courier, then release if needed |
| "Invoice {invoice} can't be sent yet: its goods are not packed." | Booking needs packed goods | Pack it first |
| "Invoice {invoice} can't be sent: its shipping method is not a courier's. Choose a courier's shipping method on the order first." | The order ships another way | Change the shipping method on the order |
| "Invoice {invoice} was not sent: {carrier} is not connected. Connect it in Integrations." | The courier is not connected | Connect it under Integrations |
| "Invoice {invoice} was not sent to {carrier}: the sign-in failed. Update the courier's credentials in Integrations — it is sent then." | The courier's keys changed | Update the keys |
| "Invoice {invoice} was not sent to a courier: its booking was cancelled. Press Send to courier to book it again." | You cancelled the booking | Send to courier… when it should go |
| "Invoice {invoice} can't be sent: its sales order is cancelled." | The order was cancelled | Nothing to send |
| "Invoice {invoice} isn't made from a sales order — book its parcel in the courier's panel." | Booking works from sales orders | Book it in the courier's panel |
| "Invoice {invoice} is older than courier booking from here — book its parcel in the courier's panel." | The invoice predates booking from the app | Book it in the courier's panel |
| "Invoice {invoice} was not sent to {carrier}: {reason}" | The courier refused it, in its own words | Fix the reason, then Send to courier… |
| Steadfast refuses a re-send after a cancel | Steadfast may refuse the same invoice number twice | Book it in Steadfast's panel and copy the consignment number onto the delivery |
| "Invoice {invoice} was not sent: something went wrong. Try again in a few minutes." | A passing problem | Try again later |
Limits and what is not there yet#
- No bulk Send to courier on the lists yet: one invoice per press. Bulk booking happens through the bulk steps, or Pathao's own bulk booking.
- Only Steadfast can be asked "do you have this parcel?" from the app. For other couriers, check their panel.
- Bookings cancelled before 12 November 2026 still show the courier on their documents, so Send to courier… treats them as booked. Book those in the courier's panel.
- Send to courier… is a person's action. The assistant and the API do not book couriers.
- Steadfast runs live; the other couriers were tested against an emulator of their documented systems. See Couriers and shipping.
Questions#
Is it safe to press Send to courier twice?
Yes. A double press, or a second press after a slow answer, asks about the same request, and the parcel is booked once.
I cancelled a booking. Why was it not booked again with the next step?
On purpose. A cancelled parcel is only sent again when someone presses Send to courier…, so a parcel you stopped never goes out by surprise.
What is the difference between Check and Release?
Check with the courier asks the courier and changes nothing unless the courier has the parcel. Release the courier request… clears the wait so the parcel can be sent again, which books it twice if the courier already has it.
Why can I not void a booked invoice?
The courier is carrying it. Cancel the booking with the courier first, or record a return or a credit note.
How much will the courier collect?
What is still owed on the invoice: the total minus any advance or payment already recorded, rounded to whole units where the courier needs it.