How to manage work order progress statuses in Books?

TB Books · work-orders · Last updated August 17, 2026 · Version 1

This process works in apps: TB Books, TB POS

This article will teach you how to create custom work order labels and change them from the Orders list.

Work order STATE is Open / Converted / Voided / Closed (accounting lifecycle). STATUS is a shop progress label such as Pending, Waiting on parts, or In progress. New work orders start as Pending unless you change the default in Settings → Document Statuses. Staff click the STATUS badge to move a job without converting it to an invoice.

Steps

• Go to Settings → Document Statuses.
• Add a status, pick a color, and check Work Orders.
• Optionally mark one status as the default for new work orders (Pending unless you change it), and another as the default after the job is invoiced (Completed unless you change it).
• Open Orders → Work Orders.
• Click the STATUS badge on a row and choose the new label.
• Use the Status filter to list jobs in that progress status.
• Convert to an invoice only when the job is ready to bill — that is still Converted, not the progress badge.

Conclusion & best practices

Progress is a label. Finalize / Complete Order still creates the invoice. Keep the State filter (Open vs Converted) to find jobs that are not billed yet. Open is not a shop status — new work orders use Pending.