> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getveles.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Order Overview
> Understand how Orders work in Veles: the executable commitment layer between quoting and contract management.
An Order in Veles represents a binding commercial commitment. It is the result of [promoting](/get-started/calculator/quote-options#from-quote-to-order-promotion) an accepted Quote, and it serves as the bridge between the pricing negotiation (the Quote) and the durable commercial state (the [Contract](/get-started/contract-management/overview)).
Unlike Quotes, which are mutable simulation objects, Orders are immutable once activated. They contain fully resolved commercial values -- final prices, quantities, discounts, and service dates -- that no longer depend on the pricing engine, rules, or price book. If the price book changes tomorrow, existing Orders are unaffected.
Orders are authoritative for transactional history: what was committed, when, and by whom.
***
## What an Order contains
| Field | Description |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Account** | The customer this Order applies to. |
| **Commercial classification** | The type of transaction: **New Business**, **Amendment**, **Renewal**, or **Cancellation**. Determines how the Order affects the Contract. |
| **Effective date** | When the commercial commitment takes effect. |
| **Billing status** | Current state of billing orchestration for this Order. |
| **Activation state** | Whether the Order is pending or activated. Contract mutation and billing only occur upon activation. |
| **Governing Contract** | Reference to the existing Contract (for amendments and renewals). Null for new business Orders that create a new Contract. |
| **Originating Quote** | Reference to the Quote that was promoted to create this Order. |
***
## The object model
Orders mirror the same three-level structure as Quotes and Contracts:
```text theme={null}
Order
└─ Order Phases (commitment intervals)
└─ Order Lines (product-level obligations)
```
Each [Order Phase](/get-started/orders/order-phase) defines a contiguous time period with specific commercial terms. Each [Order Line](/get-started/orders/order-line) within a Phase defines the product, quantity, price, and billing details for that interval.
This structural parity with Quotes and Contracts means nothing is lost in translation as a deal moves through the lifecycle:
```text theme={null}
Quote → Order → Contract
QuotePhase → OrderPhase → ContractPhase
QuoteLine → OrderLine → ContractLine
```
***
## How an Order is created
Orders are created through **promotion** -- the discrete system event that transitions a Quote from a modeling artifact to an executable transaction. When a Quote is promoted:
1. The Quote is locked to prevent further modification.
2. A new Order is created, linked to the originating Account and (if applicable) an existing Contract.
3. Each Quote Phase becomes an Order Phase with the same service boundaries.
4. Each Quote Line becomes an Order Line with materialized final values.
5. Downstream processes (billing, CRM sync, contract mutation) are enabled.
The transformation from Quote Line to Order Line is not a simple copy. The system stamps final commercial values into immutable fields. At the moment of promotion, pricing ceases to be dynamic and becomes authoritative.
***
## Order creation vs. activation
These are two distinct events with different downstream effects.
**Order creation** happens when a Quote is promoted. The Order exists but may be in a **pending** state while additional steps are completed:
* Signature confirmation
* Finance approval
* Payment confirmation
* Compliance review
**Order activation** is what triggers the actual downstream impact: contract mutation, billing orchestration, and provisioning. Until the Order is activated, the Contract remains unchanged.
```text theme={null}
Quote promoted → Order created (pending)
↓
Signature / Finance / Payment gates
↓
Order activated → Contract updated + Billing triggered
```
The separation between creation and activation ensures that commercial commitments are not recorded in the Contract until all required confirmations are complete. An Order can sit in pending state for as long as the approval process requires.
***
## Commercial classifications
Every Order has a commercial classification that determines how it affects the associated Contract.
### New Business
No prior Contract exists. When activated, the Order creates a new Contract. Each Order Line produces Contract Lines that define the initial entitlement: active quantity, contracted price, service boundaries, billing cadence, and renewal behavior.
### Amendment
The Order references an existing Contract and modifies it incrementally. Amendments can increase or decrease quantities, add new products, adjust service periods, or extend the term. The Contract is not rewritten -- it is updated prospectively. Previously contracted pricing is preserved as the baseline.
See [Contracted price preservation](/get-started/contract-management/overview#contracted-price-preservation) for details on how amendments handle pricing.
### Renewal
The Order extends or replaces expiring Contract Lines. Renewals may update pricing (with uplift), quantities, or terms while preserving the historical record of prior commitment periods in previous Contract Phases.
### Cancellation
The Order terminates active Contract Lines. Cancellation Orders record the effective date of termination and any associated financial adjustments.
***
## After activation: what each layer is authoritative for
Once an Order is activated and the Contract is updated, each object in the lifecycle serves a specific purpose:
| Object | Authoritative for | Mutability after execution |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| **Quote** | Historical negotiation artifact. How pricing was modeled and what options were presented. | Locked at promotion. Read-only. |
| **Order** | Transactional history. What was committed, the exact terms, and when. | Immutable after activation. |
| **Contract** | Current entitlement state. What the customer is entitled to right now. | Updated only through new Orders. |
Edits to a Quote after promotion do not cascade to Orders or Contracts. Any changes to an executed commitment require a new Order through the amendment process.
***
## What's next
Commitment intervals that define when specific commercial terms apply.
The product-level obligations within each Phase: prices, quantities, and billing.
How activated Orders create and mutate Contracts.
The promotion workflow that creates Orders from Quotes.