OrderLine

An OrderLine, also called a line item, is a discrete item within an order. It records the specific product or service purchased, the quantity, and the price applied to that item. In many e-commerce and enterprise systems, the collection of OrderLines represents the complete content of an order.

Data model and fields: each OrderLine has an identifier and references the parent Order and the product or variant. Common fields include quantity, unit_price, discount, tax, and line_total. The line_total is typically calculated as quantity times unit_price, adjusted by discounts and taxes. Some implementations also store status at the line level (e.g., pending, fulfilled, cancelled) and may reference a shipment or fulfillment line.

Lifecycle and usage: an OrderLine is created when an order is placed. It can be updated if the customer changes the quantity, if prices are overridden, or if items are added or removed. As items are fulfilled, the line's fulfillment status is updated; if an item is cancelled, the line may be marked cancelled or removed from the order totals.

Relationships and variants: an Order contains multiple OrderLines. Lines may be linked to inventory records, and some systems tie lines to shipments. For products with variants, the line stores the variant identifier (and possibly option values) to distinguish SKUs under the same product family.

Importance: line items enable granular processing for fulfillment, invoicing, tax calculation, and revenue reporting. They provide the necessary granularity for auditing and analytics and are a fundamental part of most order-management data models.