---
title: "Order Validity Checks"
canonical: "https://docs.rubiconwater.com/space/PNC/2051899409/Order%20Validity%20Checks"
format: markdown
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> Macro (toc)
DMS checks orders as they are lodged. The types of checks that are done depend on how your system is configured. The following checks are typical:
# Check Customer Authority
Customers must have OPERATOR authority for an outlet before they can place an order for the outlet. See [Giving the customer authority to lodge orders for an outlet](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899604/Configuring+Customers+for+Water+Ordering#Giving-the-customer-authority-to-lodge-orders-for-an-outlet) for more details.
# Check Water Allocations
If customers have fixed water allocations, DMS will check to ensure that an order will not exceed their remaining allocation. Types of allocation vary, so this check will depend on what attributes are used in your particular system. Typically you will have one or more attributes that store the base allocation, and one or more attributes that store the remaining allocation. Where customers can choose between different sources of water (for example, between river water and stored water), you will also have attributes that record their preferences.
# Check Notice Periods
You can set up standard notice periods for placing or changing orders. DMS will prevent you from placing orders that do not meet the notice requirements, but planners and call center operators can override the notice requirements by setting the **Bypass notice rules** option on the order form. See [Configuring Notice Periods for Ordering](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051866897).
# Check Cut Off Times and Blackout Periods
You can specify a daily *cut off time* after which your customers cannot place or apply changes to orders for the duration of a *blackout period*. See [Configuring Cut off Times for Ordering](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899634) for details of how to configure this feature. This does not affect orders that you place or modify through the Orders module.
> ℹ️ **Note**
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ We recommend that you use EITHER cut off times OR notice periods but not both. See [Configuring Cut off Times for Ordering](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899634) for more details of how these features interact.
# Check Order Start Times
You can set limits on order start times. For example, you can require customers to start orders at specific times of day. For shared outlets, you can enforce a delay between consecutive orders to allow for manual switching at the outlet. For more details, see [https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2631172097](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2631172097) .
# Check Outlet Capacity
The capacity of an outlet is checked when an order is placed. In particular DMS checks to ensure that:
- Orders at an outlet cannot overlap with other orders at the same outlet.
- The ordered flow rate must be within the minimum and maximum flow rates set for the outlet.
# Check Regulator Capacity
DMS checks the demand at each regulator to ensure that:
- The regulator does not exceed its maximum flow rate. Note that, by default, DMS uses the current valid maximum flow rate, but you can configure it to "look ahead" at future flow rates. See [Configure a Maximum-Flow Time-Series](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899694) for details.
- (Optional) The regulator does not exceed the maximum *change* in flow rate. See [Configuring Rate of Change Constraints](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899679) for details.
**Note**
This feature is disabled by default.
# Check for Stopped Outlets or Properties
If an outlet or property has its **Stopped** attribute set to *Yes*, you cannot place orders for the outlet or property. If you try to lodge an order, DMS will warn you that the outlet or property is stopped and will not save the order. See [Disabling Ordering](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PNC/pages/2051899574) for more details.
If you want to place an order anyway, you must remove the stop that is preventing the order from being placed.
> ℹ️ **Note**
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ A stop placed on an outlet typically means that there is a physical problem that is preventing water delivery to the outlet. Check the outlet status and any messages attached to the outlet before removing the stop.
# Check for Maintenance Schedules
A maintenance schedule is a period of time during which orders cannot be supplied to the field area affected by the maintenance schedule. Orders cannot be placed if they will overlap with a maintenance schedule period, and maintenance periods cannot be created to overlap with orders. See [Maintenance Schedules Module](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DMS/pages/2018378111) for more details.
You can view a list of maintenance schedules that affect the field area for an outlet on the Maintenance tab of the Orders form.
# Check for Future Actions
If an outlet has a future action set, a message will be sent to the planner (and printed on the running sheet) if an order is placed for the outlet. It is the responsibility of the planner to take any appropriate actions such as cancelling the order if necessary.
Future actions are notifications of maintenance requirements and are set on the outlet *Future actions* attribute. See [Setting Future Actions for an Outlet](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NWNC/pages/2000978128) for more details.
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