Improve Handling of “Exclude COD Payments” Setting on Vendor Dashboard

[sazz-pranto]

Scenario Overview
When the “Exclude COD Payments” setting is enabled in Dokan, orders paid via Cash on Delivery (COD) are:

• Not included in the vendor's total earnings displayed on the Vendor Dashboard.

• Not listed in the vendor’s statement, but the COD order does appear in the Order Listing on the Vendor Dashboard.
  All Orders
  

Vendor statement

This behavior is intended to prevent vendors from withdrawing funds they have already received in cash, which is understandable. But the current implementation may cause confusion for vendors, as it lacks clarity and consistency in reporting actual earnings.

Pain Points Identified:

• Dashboard Total Earnings Misleading: The vendor sees a completed sale in the order list, but the earnings total does not increase, making it appear as though the vendor did not earn anything from the sale.
• Missing Statement Entry: The order is completely absent from the earnings statement, leaving no transactional record visible from the vendor's end, which can be confusing.
• Lack of Transparency: Vendors may question the discrepancy between visible orders and their earning summary, leading to potential support queries and reduced trust in the system.

Suggested Enhancements:

• Add COD Orders to Statements with Status Tag: Include COD-paid orders in the vendor’s statement with a clear indicator (e.g., "COD – Not Withdrawable") to maintain transparency while still restricting withdrawal requests.
• Reflect COD Sales in Total Earnings with Exclusion Note: Update the total earnings display to include COD payments, but clearly mark them as excluded from withdrawal eligibility, helping vendors understand the actual value of their sales.
• Dedicated “COD Excluded” Badge or Filter: Introduce a filter or badge in the order and statement view, highlighting orders that are excluded due to the COD rule. This will visually communicate why those earnings behave differently.
• Alternative Handling Option: Consider offering admins an alternative approach, such as delaying the inclusion of COD amounts until manually verified, or providing a custom note field per order for admins to annotate COD-related actions.

System Information:
Dokan: v3.14.11
WooCommerce: v9.8.1
WordPress: v6.7.2

Conclusion:
While the current functionality supports the goal of protecting against vendor withdrawal of COD payments, the lack of visibility in vendor reports and totals leads to confusion. Implementing a more informative and transparent reporting mechanism would improve vendor experience and reduce support overhead, while still achieving the same financial control objective for administrators.