The quick answer
For an eligible non-inventory item, Can Be Fulfilled/Received controls whether the line participates in fulfillment and receipt processing. In this controlled sales-order comparison, selecting it produces a new order at Pending Fulfillment; clearing it produces a second new order at Pending Billing. Check shipping, approval, and billing settings before expecting the same result in your account.
Screenshots show a synthetic walkthrough with example data. Person and operating-company names are fictional.
Before you start
Use an eligible non-inventory item for sale or resale and a role that can edit it, create sales orders, and view their status. Review Advanced Shipping, Advanced Billing, approval, and Invoice in Advance of Fulfillment. Keep the customer, subsidiary, quantity, approval conditions, and other order settings fixed. Use only the tested item, with no special billing schedule, prior processing, or automation that changes the comparison. Do not change account features just to run this test. The example uses Cable Adapter Kit, Harbor Design Studio, quantity 1, and rate 85.00. This comparison assumes Advanced Shipping is enabled; without it, fulfillment and invoicing can be combined. Advanced Billing is an incidental setting of this example, not a requirement for the basic comparison. Use active items and customers, keep location and approval behavior fixed, and keep the subsidiary fixed where OneWorld exposes it.
01. Fix the comparison conditions
Review Setup > Company > Enable Features and Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences, then open Order Management. This example keeps Advanced Shipping and Advanced Billing enabled, uses Pending Fulfillment as the default sales-order status, and leaves Invoice in Advance of Fulfillment off. Establish your account's behavior before interpreting the order status. Advanced Billing is enabled in the illustrated account, but is not required for this basic comparison. No billing schedule or approval process intervenes here.
02. Enable fulfillment on the item
Go to Lists > Accounting > Items and open Cable Adapter Kit, an eligible non-inventory item for sale. Click Edit, open Preferences, select Can Be Fulfilled/Received, and Save. Inspect the checkbox rather than assuming a default for the item type.
03. Create the first new order
Go to Transactions > Sales > Enter Sales Orders. Create a new order for Harbor Design Studio, add only Cable Adapter Kit, quantity 1, rate 85.00, and save. If the order enters Pending Approval, follow your account approval process before comparing fulfillment status. Keep that process fixed for both orders. The example order SO-74001 shows Pending Fulfillment and a Fulfill action. Different approval, line mix, or billing settings can produce another status.
04. Clear fulfillment on the item
Edit the same item, clear Can Be Fulfilled/Received, and save. This does not turn it into an inventory item. Use a new order after changing the item; do not assume existing order lines adopt the change.
05. Create and compare the second new order
Create a second new order with the same customer, subsidiary, item, quantity, rate, and approval conditions. Add the line after the item change and save. SO-74002 shows Pending Billing and a Bill action in this comparison. The line does not require fulfillment under these conditions. Pending Billing alone does not establish whether an invoice already exists. Compare both saved orders and confirm that the test created no invoice or fulfillment. Inspect Related Records or transaction history on both orders to detect automatic processing; the status and action button alone do not prove that no invoice exists.
Common questions
Does this checkbox make the item track inventory?
No. It controls fulfillment and receipt behavior for an eligible item. It does not convert a non-inventory item into an inventory item or make it track on-hand quantity.
Does changing the item update existing order lines?
Do not assume it does. This comparison creates each order after saving the applicable item setting. Review existing transaction lines separately rather than treating them as the second condition.
Does Pending Billing mean an invoice exists?
The status indicates billing is pending under the order conditions. It does not establish whether an invoice was created, including partial billing. Inspect related transactions and invoiced quantities. This walkthrough creates no invoice.
Why does my order have a different status?
Check approval, mixed item lines, shipping and billing preferences, location, billing schedules, and automation. Keep those conditions fixed when comparing two new orders, then inspect the available actions and related transactions.