In a multivendor marketplace, buyers will sometimes order from multiple vendors at the same time. When this happens, MarketKing splits the order into multiple "sub-orders," which are then handled by each vendor independently. Each vendor can only see their own sub-order. We call the parent order that contains sub-orders a "composite" order.
In the Cart
On the cart page, when using the recommended "MarketKing Cart" setting, the plugin groups products by vendor and shows the respective subtotals, shipping, discounts, fees, etc. under each vendor. For more information on cart configuration, see our dedicated cart options article.
After the Order Is Placed - Thank You Page
After the customer clicks "Place Order," the order is processed and split into multiple sub-orders. The plugin shows the customer a concise summary of their order, where they can see sub-orders and their details grouped by vendor, as well as the combined totals at the very end. The customer can also use the "View Order" buttons to see each individual sub-order.
Viewing Orders on the My Account Page
On the My Account page, the customer will see both the main order summary under the "Composite order" entry and each individual sub-order:
When clicking on a composite order, the customer will see a summary of sub-orders and their totals.
When clicking on a sub-order, the customer will see the sub-order details, with links to the vendor store page and the main order.
In the Vendor Dashboard
Each vendor will receive a notification about their new orders in the vendor dashboard. Vendors have a dedicated dashboard and panel where they can manage orders. You can read more about vendor order management here.
In the WooCommerce Backend
In the WooCommerce backend, only sub-orders are shown in the main view, because sub-orders are the actionable orders, whereas composite (parent) orders only serve to provide a clear summary for the customer.
Composite orders can also be viewed by clicking "composite order" in the orders count header.
When viewing a composite order, the plugin also adds explanatory notes to clarify and list the relationships between the order and its sub-orders:
Order Emails
Each vendor will receive a "new order" email (for their sub-order), notifying them of their new sale. The customer receives a single email summarizing the order.
What if the order only has a single vendor?
If the order has a single vendor, the plugin does not modify the templates for the thank you page or the emails. It works just like it would on a regular WooCommerce site.
What about accurate reports and analytics?
The plugin excludes composite orders from analytics and reports by default. This means reports and statistics will be accurate, based on sub-orders. This can be changed in Analytics > Settings:
How is stock handled?
MarketKing ensures stock is only reduced once by having only sub-orders reduce stock (not the composite orders). Order notes notify vendors that stock was reduced, which is standard WooCommerce behavior.
What happens with fees, discounts, or coupons?
The plugin always tries to split orders as fairly as possible. For example, if a coupon applies to a specific product, that coupon will remain attached to that product and go to its respective sub-order.
If there is a general cart fee or discount, it will be distributed to each sub-order proportionally based on that sub-order's share of the total order value.
For example:
- If there are 2 sub-orders, one for $25 and another for $75, and there is a $10 fee that applies to the entire cart, it will be split proportionally: a $2.50 fee will be attributed to the first sub-order, and a $7.50 fee will be attributed to the second.
- If there is a $50 discount coupon for a specific product, that discount will go to its specific product/sub-order.
- If there is a 10% overall cart discount, each sub-order will receive a 10% discount.
Why not just keep orders completely separate?
There are 2 main reasons for composite orders:
- We want customers to pay for a single order at once. Going through 2 or 3 separate checkouts for each sub-order would be off-putting and hurt conversions.
- We want customers to always have a concise summary of their main order that they can refer back to. We could delete the composite order after it's placed and keep only the sub-orders, but that could be confusing for the customer, who remembers paying for a single, combined order.
