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Managing Sales Orders

This article will help you understand the working of Sales Orders and its dependency on Invoices and Delivery Notes.
R
Rashmi Kashyap
6 Jan, 2025 - Updated  3 months ago

 Introduction to Sales Orders

The Sales Order is a document sent to the customers that confirms the sale of products or services. When the customer accepts the document, the seller is bound to deliver the said goods, at the stipulated date and price.
Sales Order comprises Sales Order number, Purchase Order, Recurring Invoice, Billing and Shipping Address, Products or Services, Prices, and Taxes, etc.

When the customer agrees to the quote, they will send a Purchase Order(PO) which contains all the details related to the deal. The seller generates the Sales Order (SO) and sends it to the customer for further processing.

Feature Availability 

This feature is available in One Growth, One Professional, and One Enterprise editions of Vtiger CRM.

List View in Sales Orders

List View sorts and lists all SOs based on the last modified SO.

  • Columns in List View 

The columns that are visible by default in the List View are :

  1. Subject- Displays the name of the SO.

  2. Organization Name- Displays the name of the organization to which the SO is created.

  3. Quote Name-Displays the name of the quote to which the SO is related.

  4. Total-Displays the amount mentioned in the quote.

  5. Assigned To- Displays the user to whom the SO is assigned to.

  • List actions

You can perform many quick actions such as Edit, Delete, Email, Follow, etc. on the SO records in the List View.
To learn more about List View actions in Vtiger CRM, click here.

Ways of viewing Sales Orders’ records

  • Summary View

Summary View is the view that appears when you click a particular record from the List View. The Summary View displays a collection of all the key information of the record.

The Summary View can be divided into four sections. Each section has a particular functionality.

  • Summary View Actions

    • Follow: You can follow any SO record to get updates on all the activities performed on that record.

    • Tags: You can add tag names to the record to identify the record easily.

    • Print: You can print the SO or save it as a PDF for future references.

    • Duplicate: You can duplicate the current record and have all the details reflected into a new record.

    • Delete: You can delete a record by clicking this button.
       

  • SO document

    The generated Sales Order will be displayed here.

  • Do button

    When you click on the do button on the right-hand top corner of the Summary View, you will see the following:

    • Reach out now-You can get in touch with the contact via Email, Call or SMS at the moment.

    • Reach out later- You can schedule an email, event or task with the contact.

    • Add or Create- You can add or create other modules related to the SO.

    • Share- You can share the SO as a link or as an attachment.

  • Widgets

    • One View- All the modules related to the SO are displayed here. 

    • Tasks-All the tasks related to the SO are displayed here. You can also add a new task from here by clicking the + button.

    • Events- All the events related to the SO are displayed here. You can also add a new event from here by clicking the + button.

    • Activity-All the activities made on the SO are displayed here. Here you can add comments related to the SO.

    • Analytics-You can view all the metrics related to the SO in the form of charts, mini-lists, etc. You can also create new ones here.

    • Documents- You can create a new document or add an existing document to the SO. All the related document details are displayed here.

    • Sales Ops- You can create a new delivery note or add an existing delivery note to the SO. All the related delivery note details are displayed here.

    • Settings- You can change the template of the SO here.

  • Grid View

    Grid View is a table-like layout that shows data in rows and columns, similar to a spreadsheet. It lets you view and edit multiple records at once on the same page. You can edit specific field details in a record, just like editing a cell in a spreadsheet. The view resembles the List View but allows additional actions like editing, rearranging columns, and bulk updates.
Important Fields in Sales Orders
 

Field name

Description

Subject

Mandatory field
Displays the title of the SO.

Contact Name

Displays the name of the contact from the organization related to the SO.

Organization Name

Displays the organization to which the SO is associated with.

Status

Mandatory field
It is a drop-down that shows the present state of the SO.

  • New: The SO is created.
  • Approved: The SO is reviewed by the sales manager before it is sent to the customer.
  • Cancelled: The SO is cancelled by the customer.
  • Fully delivered: All the items mentioned in the SO are delivered to the customer.

Assigned to

Mandatory field
Displays the user or the group to whom the SO is assigned.

Billing Address

Mandatory field
It is the address where bills are sent to and connected to a credit/debit card. Hence, the billing address by default should reflect the related Deal's company address.

You can enter the billing address manually or by clicking the Select an option drop-down and selecting one of these options:

  • Copy from Organization

  • Copy from Related To

  • Same as Shipping Address

Shipping Address

Mandatory field

It is the address where the customer would like the SO to be delivered. By default, the shipping address will be the same as the billing address.

You can enter the shipping address manually or by clicking the Select an option drop-down and selecting one of these options:

  • Copy from Organization

  • Copy from Related To

  • Same as Shipping Address

Item Name

Mandatory field
The name of the product or service that has to be delivered to the customer.

Quantity

Mandatory field
The count of the products or service that is promised to the customer.
   

How to Create a Sales Order

Listed below are the ways from which you can create a SO. 

  1. From Sales Orders’ List View 

You can use the +Add Sales Order button to create a new SO. You can find it on the top right corner in the Sales Orders’ List View.
Follow the steps below to create a SO:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Click the +Add Sales Order button.

  5. Fill in all the necessary details.

  6. Click Save.

 

  1. From Deals

You can create a SO through a deal with the Do button.
Follow these steps to add a SO from do button in deals:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Sales tab.

  3. Select the Deals module.

  4. Open any particular deal.

  5. In the Summary View, click the Do button on the right-hand side top corner of the screen.

  6. Click the Add or Create button.

  7. Click on Sales Orders.

  8. Enter all the details and click Save.

This newly created SO would be linked to the deal.

Sales Order Configuration

You can configure Taxes, Tax regions, Shipping Charges (if any) and Terms and Conditions from the Settings > Inventory Management section. These actions are limited to the Admin role.

Refer to the Tax management article to learn how to set up Taxes and other Settings.

 
  1. Tax regions: Taxes can be set based on a region. Regions are set up in the Tax Settings screen.
 
  1. Currency: It is the same as the currency defined in the Deal. SO Line item currency is the same as the record level currency. 
 
  1. Tax mode:

  1. Group Taxes: If there are multiple products/services in the inventory, group taxes help in populating tax rates according to specific tax calculations.

  2. Individual Taxes: You can enable this option while creating a SO. You can apply taxes for individual items in a SO by clicking the Configure button in the SO.

Note: The default Tax mode is set based on the option set in the Tax Management page by the administrator. This can be overridden on a SO level from the SO Configuration pop up.
 
  1. Price Books: Price Books allows you to define different prices for Products and Services. The prices of the items can vary anytime depending on the customers and their needs.
When a Price Book is selected or changed, the system updates the unit prices of all line items based on the selected Price Book.
To know more about Price Books, click here.
 
  1. Discounts

    1. Group Discounts: Similar to Group Taxes, Group Discounts are applied to Products (or) Services on the SO level.

    2. Individual Discounts: Contrary to group discounts, Vtiger CRM provides an option to apply Discounts on an individual item based on its List Price. 

  1. Shipping Charges: Shipping  Charges is the additional amount charged by the company’s sales team for shipping the product to the customer.
 
  1. Adjustments: This option allows to round off the total amount to the next value or the previous value based on the decimal number.
 

Note: You can customize and add or remove fields by going to the Module Layouts and Fields under Settings.
 

Adding Line Item Records

You can add new Line Item records like a new product/service or a new section in the existing SO by editing the Item Details block.

Follow the steps mentioned below to add Line item records:

  • How to add a new Product or Service

    Follow the steps below to add a product/service:

    • Click the Menu icon.

    • Go to the Inventory tab.

    • Select the Sales Orders module.

    • Click +Add Sales Orders and fill all the necessary details.

    • Open the newly created SO and click Edit.

    • Go to the Item Details block.

    • Click  Add row.

    • Select Products or Services.

    • Select an item from the list of all items.

    • Click Add Selected.

Refer to the Sales order configuration section in this document to understand Tax management, Price books, etc.

  • How to add a new Section

    Follow the steps below to add a section:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Select any particular SO. 

  5. Click Edit.

  6. Go to the Item Details block.

  7. Click Add Section.

Status dependencies between SO and DN

  1. The status of SO will be changed from ‘New’ to ‘Delivery Initiated’, when the DN is in ‘Open’ state.

  2. Look out for the Outstanding field! For example, if there is a SO for ten items and you create a DN for six of those items, the value of the outstanding field will be set to four both in SO and DN.

  3. If the status of a DN is ‘Delivered’, then the status of the SO will be

    1. ‘Partially delivered’ - if the outstanding field value is more than zero.

    2. ‘Fully delivered’ - if the outstanding field value is zero.

  4. The status of the SO will be set to ‘New’, if the DN is ‘Cancelled’.

To know more about Delivery Notes, click here.

Actions Possible on a Sales Order

You can perform the following actions on the SO:

  • Share a Sales Order

You can share a SO with a customer by sending a link to the SO or by sending the SO itself as an attachment.

  1. As link

Follow these steps to share the SO as a link:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Open any Sales Order record.

  5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

  6. Select Share.

  7. Click Share as link.

  8. A mail compose window opens with the SO link.

  9. Enter the recipient's details and click Send.

  1. As attachment

Follow these steps to share the SO as an attachment:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Open any Sales Order record.

  5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

  6. Select Share.

  7. Click Share as attachment.

  8. A mail compose window opens with the SO attachment.

  9. Enter the recipient's details and click Send.

  • Generate related documents

  1. Add a Document

    Use Vtiger’s Documents module to solve the problems of organizing and sharing! It acts as a repository for all the documents that you create or those shared with you by your customers or sales team.  
    Follow these steps to add a document:

    1. Click the Menu icon.

    2. Go to the Inventory tab.

    3. Select the Sales Orders module.

    4. Open any Sales Order record.

    5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

    6. Click Add or Create button.

    7. Select Documents.

    8. Here, you see two options on your screen:

      1. Select Documents

        1. If you want to add an existing document, select this option.

        2. Hover over a record in the list of all existing documents to display the radio buttons.

        3. Click the radio button on the left side of the record to select the record.

        4. Click Add Selected button present below of the list.

      2. Create Documents

        1. If you want to add a new document, select this option.

        2. Fill all the necessary details.

        3. Click Save.

The linked document will be seen in the Documents widget in the Summary View of the SO record.

  1. Generate an Invoice

    An Invoice or a Bill is a non-negotiable itemized statement issued for the products or services rendered to the customer. 
    Follow these steps to generate an Invoice:

    1. Click the Menu icon.

    2. Go to the Inventory tab.

    3. Select the Sales Orders module.

    4. Open any Sales Order record.

    5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

    6. Click Add or Create button.

    7. Select Invoices.

    8. Enter all the necessary details and click Save.

  2. Generate a Purchase Order

    A Purchase order (PO), is the first official offer issued by a customer to the company’s sales team indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services.
    Follow these steps to generate a PO:

    1. Click the Menu icon.

    2. Go to the Inventory tab.

    3. Select the Sales Orders module.

    4. Open any Sales Order record.

    5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

    6. Click Add or Create button.

    7. Select Purchase Orders.

    8. Enter all the necessary details and click Save.

  3. Generate a Delivery Note

    Delivery Notes (DN) is a document accompanying a shipment of goods that lists the description, and quantity of the goods delivered.
    Follow these steps to generate a DN:

    1. Click the Menu icon.

    2. Go to the Inventory tab.

    3. Select the Sales Orders module.

    4. Open any Sales Order record.

    5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

    6. Click Add or Create button.

    7. Select Delivery Notes.

    8. Enter all the necessary details and click Save.

      The newly created DN will be available in the Sales Ops widget of the Summary view in the SO record.

  4. Generate a Subscription

Follow these steps to generate a subscription:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Open any SO record.

  5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.

  6. Click Add or Create button.

  7. Select Subscriptions.

  8. Enter all the necessary details and click Save.

The newly created subscription will be available in the Sales Ops widget of the Summary view in the SO record.

  • Export

Follow these steps to export a SO:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. In the List View, hover over any SO record to display the radio button on the left side.

  5. Click the radio button.

  6. Click the Export button.

  7. Select any one of the following options:

    1. Export Selected Records- This option will export only the selected record.

    2. Export data in current page- This option will export the records on the current page.

    3. Export all data- This option will export all the data in all the pages of the SO module.

The exported record will be saved on your local system. 

  • Print

Follow these steps to print an SO:

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Open any SO record.

  5. Click the More button.

  6. Click the Print button.

  7. You can perform any of the below options:

    • Edit & Export- You can edit the SO and export it to your local system.

    • Email with PDF- You can email the SO record as a PDF to the contact.

    • Print- You can print the SO and keep a hard copy.

    • Save as PDF- You can save the SO as a PDF on your local system.

 

Note: You can also print a record directly from the List View. To learn more about List View, click here.

How to change the template of the Sales Order 

There are two ways from which you can change the template of a SO.

  • Follow these steps to change the template of a SO from the Print Sales Order screen:

This is a temporary change only until the SO is printed.

  1. Click the Menu icon.

  2. Go to the Inventory tab.

  3. Select the Sales Orders module.

  4. Open any SO.

  5. Click the More button.

  6. Click the Print button.

  7. Select the template you want from the list of all templates.

  8. You can perform any of the below options:

    1. Edit & Export- You can edit the SO and export it to your local system.

    2. Email with PDF- You can email the SO record as a PDF to the contact.

    3. Print- You can print the SO and keep a hard copy.

    4. Save as PDF- You can save the SO as a PDF on your local system.

 
  • Follow these steps to change the template of the Sales Order from the Settings widget:

This is a permanent change and will be applied to the SO immediately.

  • Click the Menu icon.

  • Go to the Inventory tab.

  • Select the Sales Orders module.

  • Open any SO.

  • Go to the Settings Widget.

  • Click the Template applied drop-down.

  • Select the template of your choice.

The template will be applied to the SO instantly.

Updates on Quantity in Demand value

Quantity in Demand is a value that describes the number of products that are requested by the customers. The value of the Quantity in Demand is dependant on the sales orders and changes based on the conditions listed below:

  • The quantity in demand increases when a sales order is created.

  • The quantity in demand decreases when a sales order is delivered or canceled.

  • The quantity in demand also decreases when a sales order is converted to an invoice.

One View in Sales Orders

One View widget is a one-stop destination to view all the important modules related to SO.
One view widget in the SO module will show the following details:

  • Related Contact details -Parent contact details

  • Related Organization details -  Parent company Acme details are shown in this widget

  • Related Deal data - Parent Deal from which this SO is created

  • Related Invoice- Related Invoice details generated from this SO

  • Related PO- Related PO details generated from this SO


To learn more about One view in Vtiger CRM, click here. 
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