Managing Requests & Converting to Orders

After posting a buyer request, you’ll receive vendor proposals. This guide covers evaluating proposals, communicating with vendors, accepting offers, and converting proposals into orders.

Request Statuses

WP Sell Services uses 5 request statuses:

Status	Description
`open`	Active, accepting proposals
`in_review`	Evaluating proposals, may still accept new ones
`hired`	Accepted a proposal, order created
`expired`	Past expiration date, no longer active
`cancelled`	Buyer cancelled the request

My Requests Dashboard

Your central hub for managing all buyer requests.

Accessing the Dashboard

Log in to your account
Navigate to Dashboard → My Requests
View all requests and their status

Request Card Information

Each request displays:

Title – Project name
Status – Current stage
Posted Date – When published
Proposal Count – Number received (from getproposalcount())
Budget – Your specified amount or range
Delivery Days – Target completion timeframe
Expiration – When request expires
Category – Service category assigned

Request Metadata

Requests are WordPress custom posts (wpss_request) with meta fields:

Meta Key	Type	Description
`wpssstatus`	string	Request status
`wpssbudget_type`	string	‘fixed’ or ‘range’
`wpssbudget_min`	float	Minimum budget
`wpssbudget_max`	float	Maximum budget (range only)
`wpssdelivery_days`	int	Expected delivery timeframe
`wpssattachments`	array	Attachment IDs
`wpssskills_required`	array	Required skill tags
`wpssexpires_at`	datetime	Expiration timestamp
`wpsshiredvendorid`	int	Vendor ID (when hired)
`wpssacceptedproposalid`	int	Proposal ID (when hired)

Managing Request Status

Updating Status

Only certain status transitions are allowed:

// Valid statuses
BuyerRequestService::STATUS_OPEN
BuyerRequestService::STATUS_IN_REVIEW
BuyerRequestService::STATUS_HIRED
BuyerRequestService::STATUS_EXPIRED
BuyerRequestService::STATUS_CANCELLED

Marking as Hired

When you accept a proposal:

$buyer_request_service->mark_hired(
    $request_id,
    $vendor_id,
    $proposal_id
);

This automatically:

Updates status to ‘hired’
Stores vendor ID
Stores accepted proposal ID

Viewing Proposals

Proposal Count

Get total proposals submitted:

$count = $buyer_request_service->get_proposal_count( $request_id );

Queries the wpss_proposals table.

Proposal Service

Proposals are managed by ProposalService, not BuyerRequestService.

To get proposals:

$proposal_service = new ProposalService();
$proposals = $proposal_service->get_by_request( $request_id );

Converting to Order

Acceptance Process

When you accept a proposal, the system creates a service order.

Method: converttoorder()

$result = $buyer_request_service->convert_to_order(
    $request_id,
    $proposal_id
);

What Happens Automatically

Validation:
Order Creation:
Proposal Updates:
Request Updates:
Order Requirements:
Conversation:
Notification:

Return Value

Success:

[
    'success' => true,
    'message' => 'Order created successfully. Proceed to payment.',
    'order_id' => 123,
    'order_number' => 'WPSS-ABC12345',
]

With warnings:

[
    'success' => true,
    'order_id' => 123,
    'order_number' => 'WPSS-ABC12345',
    'warnings' => [
        'Order requirements could not be saved.'
    ]
]

Failure:

[
    'success' => false,
    'message' => 'Error description'
]

Request Queries

Get Open Requests

$requests = $buyer_request_service->get_open( [
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'paged' => 1,
    'category_id' => 0,
    'budget_min' => 0,
    'budget_max' => 0,
    'order_by' => 'date',
    'order' => 'DESC',
] );

Returns requests with:

Status = ‘open’
Not expired (expires_at > now OR no expiration)

Get User’s Requests

$requests = $buyer_request_service->get_by_buyer( $user_id, [
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'paged' => 1,
    'status' => '',  // Optional status filter
] );

Returns all requests where post_author = user ID.

Search Requests

$requests = $buyer_request_service->search( 'WordPress plugin', [
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'paged' => 1,
    'status' => 'open',
] );

Searches post title and content.

Request Expiration

Default Expiration

When creating a request without expiration:

$default_days = get_option( 'wpss_request_expiry_days', 30 );
$expires_at = current_time('mysql') + $default_days days;

Default: 30 days from posting.

Expiring Old Requests

Background job runs expireoldrequests():

$expired_count = $buyer_request_service->expire_old_requests();

Finds requests with:

Status = ‘open’
expires_at < current time

Updates status to ‘expired’.

Extending Expiration

Not implemented in base service. You must manually update:

$new_expiry = gmdate( 'Y-m-d H:i:s', strtotime( '+14 days' ) );
update_post_meta( $request_id, '_wpss_expires_at', $new_expiry );

Budget Types

Two budget types supported:

Fixed Budget

Single price amount:

[
    'budget_type' => BuyerRequestService::BUDGET_FIXED,
    'budget_min' => 500.00,
    'budget_max' => 0, // Not used
]

Range Budget

Flexible price range:

[
    'budget_type' => BuyerRequestService::BUDGET_RANGE,
    'budget_min' => 400.00,
    'budget_max' => 600.00,
]

Filtering Requests

By Category

Requests are assigned to service categories using WordPress taxonomy:

wp_set_object_terms(
    $request_id,
    [ $category_id ],
    'wpss_service_category'
);

Filter by category in queries:

$requests = $buyer_request_service->get_open( [
    'category_id' => 5,
] );

By Budget Range

Filter requests within budget range:

$requests = $buyer_request_service->get_open( [
    'budget_min' => 500,  // Requests with budget_min >= 500
    'budget_max' => 1000, // Requests with budget_max <= 1000
] );

Request Attachments

Storing Attachments

Attachments are WordPress media library attachments:

[
    'attachments' => [ 123, 456, 789 ], // Attachment IDs
]

Stored in wpssattachments meta as serialized array.

Accessing Attachments

$request = $buyer_request_service->get( $request_id );
$attachment_ids = $request->attachments; // Array of IDs

foreach ( $attachment_ids as $attachment_id ) {
    $url = wp_get_attachment_url( $attachment_id );
    $title = get_the_title( $attachment_id );
}

Skills Required

Optional skill tags for requests:

[
    'skills_required' => [
        'WordPress',
        'React',
        'PHP 8',
        'REST API',
    ]
]

Stored in wpssskills_required meta.

Vendors can filter by matching skills.

Request Object Structure

When calling get(), you receive:

{
    "id": 123,
    "title": "Build WordPress Plugin",
    "description": "Need custom plugin for...",
    "author_id": 456,
    "status": "open",
    "budget_type": "range",
    "budget_min": 500.00,
    "budget_max": 800.00,
    "delivery_days": 14,
    "attachments": [789, 790],
    "skills_required": ["WordPress", "PHP"],
    "expires_at": "2026-03-15 10:30:00",
    "created_at": "2026-02-12 10:30:00",
    "proposal_count": 7,
    "category": {
        "term_id": 5,
        "name": "Web Development",
        "slug": "web-development"
    }
}

WordPress Hooks

Action: wpssbuyerrequest_created

Fires when request is posted:

add_action( 'wpss_buyer_request_created', function( $post_id, $data ) {
    // Notify matching vendors
    // Log new request
}, 10, 2 );

Action: wpssbuyerrequest_updated

Fires when request is edited:

add_action( 'wpss_buyer_request_updated', function( $request_id, $data ) {
    // Notify vendors of changes
}, 10, 2 );

Action: wpssbuyerrequeststatuschanged

Fires on status updates:

add_action( 'wpss_buyer_request_status_changed', function( $request_id, $status, $old_status ) {
    // Track status changes
}, 10, 3 );

Action: wpssrequestconvertedtoorder

Fires when proposal accepted:

add_action( 'wpss_request_converted_to_order', function( $order_id, $request_id, $proposal_id, $request, $proposal ) {
    // Handle order creation
    // Send notifications
    // Update stats
}, 10, 5 );

Filter: wpssproposalorder_revisions

Filter revision count for converted orders:

add_filter( 'wpss_proposal_order_revisions', function( $revisions, $proposal, $request ) {
    // Default is 2
    // Increase based on order value
    if ( $proposal->proposed_price > 1000 ) {
        return 5;
    }
    return $revisions;
}, 10, 3 );

Best Practices

Request Description

Write clear, detailed descriptions:

Good:

I need a WordPress plugin that integrates with Stripe to process recurring subscriptions.

Requirements:
- Admin panel to manage subscriptions
- Customer portal for self-service
- Email notifications for renewal
- Support for annual and monthly plans
- Compatible with WordPress 6.0+

Deliverables:
- Fully functional plugin
- Source code
- Installation documentation

Poor:

Need Stripe integration ASAP.

Budget Setting

Set realistic budgets:

Research First:

Check similar services on marketplace
Ask vendors for rough estimates
Consider project complexity

Budget Range Benefits:

Attracts more proposals
Shows flexibility
Vendors can justify pricing

Proposal Evaluation

Compare proposals on:

Vendor Experience – Portfolio and reviews
Proposal Quality – Understanding of requirements
Price – Value for money, not just cheapest
Timeline – Realistic delivery estimate
Communication – Responsiveness and clarity

After Acceptance

Pay Promptly – Don’t delay payment
Provide Requirements – Give vendor everything needed
Stay Available – Answer questions quickly
Be Reasonable – Don’t change scope mid-project

Troubleshooting

Request Not Visible

Check:

Request status is ‘open’
Not expired (expires_at in future)
Category assigned
Post status is ‘publish’

Can’t Accept Proposal

Verify:

Request is ‘open’ or ‘in_review’
Proposal status is ‘pending’
Proposal belongs to this request
You are the request author

Order Creation Failed

Common Issues:

Database insert failed (check permissions)
Proposal already accepted
Request already hired
Invalid vendor or service ID

Check: Return value ‘message’ field for specific error.