# Reading Activity

Sales > Activity · Guide · https://vendordue.com/docs/reading-activity

**In short:** Activity is the record of every sale, refund, adjustment and payment, newest first, each with its vendor, its stage and what it earned. Needs attention lists what VendorDue couldn't work out on its own, and Changes lists what people did.

Who: Admin, Viewer. Where: Activity.

Activity answers "what happened?" for every sale in your store since your record started. It has three tabs: **All**, **Needs attention** and **Changes**.

## All

Every record, grouped by day, newest first. A row reads like this:

| Order | Product | Kind | Vendor | Stage | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| #1047 | Stoneware mug | Sale | Alder Ceramics | To pay | $72.00 of $120.00 revenue |

- **The amount** is the vendor's share, and under it the figure it was worked out on: "$72.00 of $120.00 revenue". A refund is a minus amount: "-$8.25 of -$41.25 revenue".
- **The stage** is where its money stands: On hold, Scheduled, To pay or Paid. A refund that comes off a payout already landed reads **Comes off next payout**. See [The four stages](https://vendordue.com/docs/four-stages).
- **The kind** is one of: **Sale**, **Added to a sale** (an item added to an order after it was placed), **Refund**, **Adjustment**, **Opening balance**, or a named line like **Charge** or **Goodwill refund**.

A product that belongs to no vendor shows **Your own product**. Press any row to open it. See [The sale drawer](https://vendordue.com/docs/sale-drawer).

**Sort** orders the list by newest or oldest first, vendor, or amount. **Comfortable** and **Compact** change how tightly rows sit.

## Search and filters

The search box reads order numbers, products, SKUs, vendors and amounts. Press **/** to jump to it from anywhere on the page. VendorDue doesn't keep customer names, so you can't search by them.

**Filters** narrows the list:

| Filter | Choices |
| --- | --- |
| **Vendor** | One vendor, or every vendor |
| **State** | On hold, Scheduled, To pay, Paid, Needs attention, Ignored, Your own products |
| **Kind** | Sales, Added to a sale, Refunds, Adjustments, Opening balances |
| **Jump to** | Your next or last pay day, a month, or **From** and **To** dates you pick |
| **Currency** | If you've sold in more than one |

Each filter you set shows as a pill above the list; press its cross to remove it, or **Clear all**. The address in your browser keeps your filters, so a bookmarked or shared link opens the same list. See [Finding a sale](https://vendordue.com/docs/finding-a-sale).

**Download** saves what you're looking at as a file. See [Reports and downloads](https://vendordue.com/docs/reports-and-downloads).

## Needs attention

What VendorDue couldn't work out without you. It never guesses with money: a sale it can't be sure of waits here, and says why and what it needs.

- **Exceptions:** "A sale that cannot be paid safely waits here until you decide." Nobody is paid for it until you do.
- **Notices:** each needs your decision, but holds no money back. An agreement ending is a notice.
- **Ignored:** set aside on purpose, with the reason you gave. **Undo** brings one back.

Each item has its own buttons: set a consignor rate, read the order again from Shopify, decide who covers a refund. **Ignore** sets one aside: "It will not count toward any vendor's payout or hold up their payout. The record stays in your history and you can undo this later." Say why, "so it still makes sense in six months."

The **Needs attention** tab shows how many wait, and Overview's **Needs you** lists the same things. The full list of what can appear, and what to do about each, is below under When it looks wrong.

## Changes

Everything a person did, with their name: a consignor rate changed, a payment recorded, a vendor held, a charge taken back. It also lists what VendorDue found by itself, like "VendorDue found Venmo had sent back a payment to Mossgate Candles". Press **Open** on a change to go to what it changed.

## When it looks wrong

### "No consignor rate was set when this sold"

The vendor had no consignor rate on the day of the sale. Press **Set consignor rate**. The sale is worked out with it as soon as you save.

### "We do not know what this cost you"

The vendor is paid a share of profit, and the item has no cost. Press **Add the cost**, or set **Cost per item** on the product in Shopify. See [What the share is of](https://vendordue.com/docs/share-basis#profit).

### "Your store now sells in" a new currency

Your store's currency changed in Shopify, and a vendor's consignor rate has an amount in the old one. Set the amount in the new currency, and their sales since the change earn at it.

### "Shopify's copy of this changed"

The order was edited in Shopify after VendorDue read it. Nothing already recorded has been rewritten. Press **Read it again** to bring it up to date.

### "This order was too large to read in one pass"

Nothing on the order was recorded yet. Press **Read it again**; it usually clears.

### "Shopify has not settled whether this is paid"

The order is still moving between payment states in Shopify. It normally clears by itself within a day. **Check again** asks Shopify now.

### "Canceled, but the money stayed"

The order was canceled in Shopify but the payment was never refunded, so nobody on it is paid until you decide. Refund it in Shopify and this clears by itself, or ignore it to let the sale stand.

### "The bank is questioning this payment"

The customer asked their bank to reverse the payment, a chargeback. Nobody on the order is paid while it's open. A dispute that ends your way clears by itself.

### "This refund does not add up to one outcome"

A refund's transactions can't be read as a single result, so VendorDue left it alone rather than guess. **Check again** once Shopify has settled it.

### "A refund no product explains"

A refund includes money that no product, shipping charge or duty accounts for, like a goodwill gesture. Press **Decide who covers it**: **I cover it**, and no vendor sees it, or **Vendor covers it**, as a line called Goodwill refund on their next payout.

### "Refund on an order from before" your record started

The sale was before your record began, so VendorDue never worked it out. Press **Take it off a payout** to take the vendor's share off their next payout, or **Leave it** if the store covers it.

### A vendor "is archived, but" an item "still sold under their name"

Their product still names them in Shopify. **Bring them back** to pay them for it; **I changed it in Shopify** if the product now has another vendor; or **Ignore their sales**. See [Archiving vendors](https://vendordue.com/docs/archiving-vendors).

### An item "sold after" a vendor's "agreement ended"

Something of theirs sold after their agreement's end. Press **Count it for them** to pay them their share as usual, or **Keep it for the store**. See [Agreements](https://vendordue.com/docs/agreements#when-an-agreement-has-ended).

## Common questions

**Why does a sale show a smaller amount than the order?** The amount is the vendor's share. Under it is the figure it was worked out on, like "of $120.00 revenue".

**Can I search by customer name?** No. VendorDue doesn't keep customer names. Search by order number, product, SKU, vendor or amount.

**What happens if I ignore something in Needs attention?** It's set aside: it doesn't count toward any payout or hold one up. It stays in your history with your reason, and Undo brings it back.

**Can a Viewer answer Needs attention?** No. A Viewer can read it, but only an Admin can decide.

Checked against VendorDue on 2026-10-06.