2. Sales orders

Sales orders #

Sales orders are created from the sales order main menu or can be created by copying an existing order. When entering a sales order it is necessary to specify both line and header information, but the order in which this is done is unimportant. While the sales order is being created it has a status of ‘Under Construction’ during which time data that is entered is saved but not checked for validity. When the sales order is ‘Activated’ then the validity and completeness of the data is checked, the sales order number is allocated and the sales order is scheduled into the resource planning system. (Depending on the complexity of the sales order and factory operations, a sales order may need from a few seconds to several minutes to be activated.)

If the partner information is set up with all required fields completed, it is very easy to enter the sales order header details. Only the customer number is required then all default values will be copied automatically to the header. If this is done before the lines are entered then this has the advantage that the price list for the customer will already be known so that line prices will be filled in automatically when entering the lines.

It is also possible to create new sales orders directly from the sales forecast system by converting tentative orders to sales orders. Also a sales order can be created from an active sales quotation.

Licensing #

The following optional license modules affect sales orders (See the Admin->Licensing section for more details):

Sales/Purchase advance invoicing	Advance payments can be specified for sales order lines.
Item dimensions	A manufactured item on a sales order line with a dedicated work order can have a product structure that is related to its dimensions.
Multilocation inventory	Allows the sale of items from more than one location. Supports drop shipment (also called triangular shipping)
Sales order tracking details	Permits the customer to see details of their sales orders, instead of just basic delivery details. Customers use the ordertracking web site for this.
Projects	Can group multiple sales orders under one project.
Sales Quotations	A quotation can be converted to a sales order
Multicurrency	For foreign currency orders
Lot requester	If using lot control, enter requested lots for the warehouse and production staff

Creating a new sales order #

To create a new sales order click the ‘New’ button on the Sales main menu or on another order. Alternatively it is possible to copy an existing order. This will create a new order with the same header and lines as the old.

The status of a new sales order is ‘Under construction’, which can be considered as a draft. Data can be entered into the sales order without regard for accuracy, completeness or consistency. If a sales order is printed while ‘under construction’ it is clearly marked as such. Before the sales order is confirmed to the customer it should be activated by pressing the [Activate] button. Activation will check the completeness and consistency of the sales order. It will also give the order a sales order number and enter the products to the Item planning processes. Sales order activation will be described later in this chapter.

Creating a sales order based on a tentative order #

New sales orders can be created from tentative orders created in a sales forecast. In this case you do not create an empty sales order first, but create the order directly from the forecast page.

You need to select the lines from a sales forecast of the type ‘Tentative order’ and create the sales order based on them.

Creating a new sales order from a sales quotation #

A sales order can be created from a Sales Quotations. Go to the Sales Quotation in question and press the “Move to Order” button. This will create a new sales order based on the data in the quotation and change the status of the quotation to “Converted”

Uploading sales orders using Excel spreadsheets #

It is possible to upload multiple sales orders in one spreadsheet from the main menu.

First download the excel template. This has an “info” tab that explains the usage of the columns on the data tab. Enter your data (for instance by copying from an excel generated by an e-commerce system or given by your customer). Upload the sheet back to the system. It will create one or more sales orders depending on the data in the spreadsheet.

This method can be used whether the customer exists in the system or not. If the customer exists already, use the customer number in the spreadsheet. If the customer is new, then leave the number blank and fill in the columns for the name and address of the customer.

The sales order order screen #

The following buttons appear on a sales order. Depending on the status of the order, not all buttons may be present.

Save	Saves current changes.
New sales order	Creates a new sales order and opens it on the screen.
Copy order	Copies the current order and opens the new order on the screen.
Activate	Activates the sales order (see later in the chapter).
Shortages	Opens a new window to show the possible shortages of products or materials needed to manufacture the products. The shortage button is only shown if the status is ‘under construction’.
Delete	Deletes the order. This is only possible if the order is ‘under construction’ and has not been allocated a number.
New version	Only shown when activated. This makes a new version of the sales order which has a status of Under construction. The necessary changes to the order must be made and then the sales order must be activated again. Do not leave new versions of sales orders as under construction as this will cause inconsistency in material planning.
Close order	This will cancel an order that has been activated. If some shipments have been made against the order, then a new version will be made to reflect these shipments and the rest of the order deleted.

When a new sales order is entered, it is recommended (but not required) that the customer is selected first, as many other fields will be completed automatically from the default information associated with this company in the Partner card.

If the order has already been activated, information cannot be changed before new version is made.

Customer addresses #

To retrieve an address, press the action button [-] next to the Customer field. This leads to the ‘Choose Company’ page (partner selector). Select the address type and press [Retrieve]. If the list is too long, set more criteria and press [Retrieve]. Then click to select the address. You return to sales order header information, where the selected company ID will appear.

If you need a new partner address that hasn’t been recorded in the system, click on the blue text ‘Create New’ on the top of the page. A new company ID will be created and you can proceed to enter its general data. Enter the company name and address and give it a new and unique short name. You will return to the sales order summary page when you save the changes – the new company ID and short name have appeared there.

If the customer has several addresses, enter separate addresses for confirmation, delivery and invoicing. Delivery and invoice addresses will be printed on the sales order acknowledgement. Addresses must be created before use, but can be created on the fly from the button on the top of the address selector. If the customer has only one address (which is always the main address), it can be used in all address fields. Optionally the person can be specified for each address.

Note that several delivery and confirm addresses can be created for one company (or one main address).

If one of the recorded contact persons is defined to be the default contact person in the partner’s data, this person will automatically appear on the sales order. If you want to use a different contact person, you can change it. Alternatively the name of a person can be written directly into the field.

If your customer has several locations, it is possible to specify separately delivery, invoice and confirmation addresses. These addresses are created in the partner section or on-the-fly during sales order entry. If only one address is in use then this will be used for all of these items. Each address can also have a person specified to it.

Sales order header #

The sales order header is normally completed by default values set on the customer’s partner card. If the company number is entered to the field without going to the selector, press save to update the fields with their default values. If the correct values are available by default it will only be necessary to fill in the customer’s PO number and reference.

Sales order id	If blank when the order is activated, it will get the next order number. (The next number can be set in system settings)
Version number	Once an order has been activated, it can not be edited until a new version is created. The version histories are available in a report.
Status	Under construction, Active, Part delivered or Complete
Customer	Select from the pop up, or type in the customer id and press Save. This will retrieve the customer’s default values to the order.
Order date	If blank this will be filled automatically with today’s date when the order is activated.
Customer PO	This is the customer’s purchase order number
Tracking ID	This is a randomly generated code that can be used by the customer (together with the sales order number) to track the status of the sales order on the optional sales order tracking web site. This number is also a link that will open this web site for the current system user. This number is created when the sales order is activated
Customer ref.	Free text shown on the sales order acknowledgement in addition to the customer PO
Payment terms	The payment terms to be printed on the order. Default set from partner card.
Standard text	Standard texts are recorded in ‘Company’ information. The specified text block is printed on documents when selected. In a sales order acknowledgement the text will be printed after the total sum and comments.
Currency	Currency of the order. The selected price list must be of the same currency.
Rate	The currency rate, set automatically when the order is activated.
Delivery terms	Delivery terms as specified in company settings. Normally Incoterms but user may specify alternatives in company settings.
Delivery terms location	The location for the above delivery terms. Terms may be for example “ex-works Chicago”, then Chicago is the location.
Delivery methods	Delivery method. Default from partner card, list of choices from company settings.
Freight paid by	Shipper or receiver. This information goes through to the dispatch.
Use payment schedule	Shows the payment schedule tab, if this feature is in use.
Payment schedule as percent	If advance payment is in use, then the values there are as a percent of the total order value instead of absolute monetary values
Hide line values from sales order acknowledgement	So as not to show prices on the sales order acknowledgement
Hide discounts	Hides discounted prices from the sales order acknowledgement report. This is used when confirming to retailers where the invoices (including the discount) are routed through an importer or distributor.
Other terms	Other terms can be specified by default in the Partners section on the customer page. Other terms are copied to the order automatically and can be edited. The text is printed on the order confirmation, shipping papers and invoice. Maximum length is 250 characters.
Comments	Comments which print on order acknowledgement.
Comfirmation printed	The date/time that the Sales order acknowledgement report has been taken. Of course there is no guarantee that it has been sent to the customer.
Commission company/person	Allocates the commission. The rate is set on the sales order line. Commission calculations are available in a report.
Sales price list	The default price list for this order. Default from partner card, list of choices from company settings. This should be set before any lines are entered if the system is to enter prices automatically as lines are entered.
Deliver from address/person	If multilocation is in use, select the stock location from which the order will ship. If left blank, it will be from the default location.
Project	Joins this sales order to the specified project. See explanation of projects in a separate chapter.
Allow partial ship	If this box is not ticked, all the sold quantities have to be delivered in one dispatch. The default value is that partial deliveries are allowed.
Back to back purchase	This will cause a new purchase order to be automatically created when the sales order is activated. The new purchase order will have the same products and quantities. It will be created as Under construction, so it will need to be activated and sent to the supplier before the whole process is completed.
Drop shipment	This is only used in the case of a back to back purchase. If this is set then the delivery address on the purchase order will be set as the delivery address of the sales order.

Sales order lines – Lines and Line details tabs #

There are three ways to add sales order lines:

From the Lines tab by entering lines one at a time to the entry fields
From the Line details tab by pressing the New button
By pressing the Add lines button on the Lines tab. This will allow you to enter multiple lines in a “shopping basket” style.

To delete a line, mark the check box beside the line on the Lines tab and press the Delete button. The line can only be deleted if the order is “under construction”. If the order is being revised, the line cannot be deleted if the line has been delivered either partially or completely.

Sales order line buttons (pressing any button will also save the line data):

	Previous line
>>	Next line
Create work order	Creates a draft work order for this sales order line so that the product structure and routing can be edited before the order is submitted to production. This only applies to manufactured products of the type “Make to order” See later in this chapter for full explanation.
New	New line
Configure	Opens the configuration screen where it is possible to choose from alternative configurations for the product. The different configurations available should be established for the product in the item card

Selecting a product #

There are three ways to enter a product to the sales order on the lines tab:

Type the item id directly to the field on the screen
Click the [-] button next to the item id field. This will open a popup where an individual item can be selected.
Click the Add lines button. This will open a popup where it is possible to add multiple items in a “shopping basket” style.

To enter an item to the Line details tab, press the [-] button next to the item id and use the popup to select the correct item.

The following fields are related to a sales order line (and can be found in the Line and Line details tabs):

Line number	Line numbers will be set automatically but can be edited, typically if this is needed to match a customer’s purchase order.
Hide line	The line will be hidden on the sales order confirmation. This is used to enter product deliveries on a sales orders but not show them on the sales order acknowledgment report. Normally a “total” line would be entered that is visible.
Item description	The description that you use on the product is recorded with the actual item name. When you select the item id, the description will come with it automatically.
Customer item ID and description	The descriptions that your customer uses can be written here. Both customer item name and customer item description are printed on the sales order acknowledgement. They can be set on the item card for each customer so that they are retrieved automatically.
Quantity	Press the Rnd button to round up to the package size
Unit price	Will appear automatically if the price list is specified on the header and this item is on the price list. Press the action button to update the price if it has not appeared automatically.
Item pop-up	On this screen, press the question mark to open the item pop-up that is normally accessed by clicking the hyperlink on the item id.
Required date	Specified by the customer. If this is left blank, it will be filled in with the promised date when the order is activated.
Promised date	The promised date that you will supply to the customer. Check the shortages button on the header or capacity considerations before specifying a promised delivery date. This date is used to set all scheduling for this delivery.
Agreed promise date	Sometimes it is necessary to set an agreed data for the delivery that is different from the promise date used in scheduling.
Tax code	Select the correct tax code for this product. The default value will normally come from that of the default sales account set on the partner card for the selected customer. However for “reduced rate” items, the item card can have an override value for the tax code. This is set on the item card commercial tab.
Tax rate	The tax rate will be displayed for the selected tax code.
Cost centre	The cost centre will be passed to the invoice for this order when that is created.
Commission rate	Choose from the list the appropriate commission rate. The rates are created in the Company section. The company and person who is entitled to commission is specified on the sales header.
Package size	Shows the standard package size for this item. Press the Rnd (Round) button next to the quantity field to update the quantity to a multiple of the package size.
Dedicated work order	If the product’s manufacturing template has the dedicated work order bit set, it will be set here as well. It will prevent allocating existing inventory to this order. A new work order will open automatically if this is specified in the template’s properties.
Work order number	Override the default (i.e. next) work order number
Production instructions	If the dedicated work order feature is in use, it is possible to set text instructions that will be seen on the work order traveller and on the cell screen.

Pricing subtab #

By default the price on a new line will be taken from the pricelist set on the sales order header. In turn this will have defaulted from the partner that was selected.

To review price history for this product from this or other customers, go the pricing subtab. Selecting a price record from this grid will use it on this line, replacing the default. It is also possible to see prices from other price lists.

If this product is using the dedicated work order feature, the pricing can also be done at a sub assembly or component level. The price list must be set up with the items that make up the product rather than the product itself. Pressing Update unit price will sum the prices by planned quantity and set the line price with this.

Line status tab #

The line status tab shows quantities ordered, delivered and returned. Also for an undelivered line it shows if items have been possible to allocate from stock, from purchasing or from manufacturing (the latter depending on whether it is a manufactured or purchased product).

There is also more information on sales margin. Margin is revenue minus the cost. Revenue is always the same but it is possible to calculate sales margin against many different cost basis, and this shows them. For margin calculations, all costs and revenues are converted to the home currency.

Delivery cost	The cost of the actual delivery for this line. This is the FIFO of the stock transaction recorded at the time of delivery. This number is only shown after the line has been delivered.
Specified cost	After delivery it is possible to manually update the delivery value so that it can include any external costs which are needed particularly if margin is used for commission calculation. The specified cost can be entered in the dispatches tab of the sales order after a dispatch has been made.
Current stock value	The current stock value of this stock item. If the item is not in stock it is the long term average value.
Last stock value	The cost recorded positive stock transaction (purchase receipt landed cost or manufacturing work order).
Budgeted cost	The budgeted cost entered in the item card using the default budget. Additionally if the item is a resold item (i.e. not manufactured) the following margin fields are displayed:
Best supplier quotation	The lowest cost item in open supplier quotations in the Purchase section. Note that this looks at the lowest price regardless of quantity.
Next purchase	The expected landed cost of the next open purchase for this item
Linked purchase	If the sales order has a back-to-back purchase order, the expected or actual landed cost of the linked purchase order line.

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Selling a make-to-order manufactured item (Dedicated work orders) #

In the case that the sales order line is a material item which is planned for manufacturing and has “Dedicated work order” set (item card -> Manufacturing -> Properties) then a work order dedicated to this line will be created. The creation will happen either immediately the work order is activated (Open work order automatically) or later when the user opens work orders. When the line is shipped to the customer, it will only be possible to do so if the dedicated work order has been completed.

Because a product in a dedicated work order can only be shipped to this customer against this order line, it is possible to “re-use” the product item id for different physical products. To do this the user can edit the product structure for this line only and also change other manufacturing information such as routing and manufacturing properties.

If the product being sold is not with the dedicated work order feature, then the Structure, Routing and Production tabs will show this information from the product if available, but it can not be edited.

Editing the product structure and routing for the product #

On the line details page, structure tab, press the “Edit structure and properties. This will editing of the data that will be used in the new work order by coping the product structure and route from that specified on the item card.

Note that the new work order will not be visible in the Production section until the sales order is activated.

Using the structure tab it is possible to add and delete lines as required on the structure of the manufactured item on the sales order line. The original list of items in a product structure is specified in the manufacturing tab of the item card. After clicking ‘Edit structure’ it is also possible to add items in bulk by pressing the ‘Upload’ button. This will open a new window to which it is possible to paste a list of items from another application such as an Excel spreadsheet or a CAD system.

The routing tab allows specification of the route steps to be used by this manufactured item. Steps can be removed and added by the user.

Generally it is recommended to update the route first and then specify the structure. This is because each item is associated with a route step.

Automatically opening the work order on sales order activation #

On the item’s Manufacturing tab -> Properties subtab there is a check box “Open work order automatically”. If this is set then the work order for the item will be automatically created when the sales order is activated. The finish date of the work order is set as the promised date specified on the sales order line. The start date is then calculated by counting back from this finish date by the amount of planned throughput periods specified for the item (which is also set in the Manufacturing tab > Properties subtab of the Item card). The definition of the length of one period is set in the Company settings section. Typically either 1 minute or 1 hour is used.

Depending on the other settings on the item, the work order may already be queued or under work at the first cell in its route.

Setting the price from the sum of planned components #

Price lists can be set up for components of this product structure used. On the pricing tab, go to the Component prices sub tab and press Update component prices

Work order numbers and serial numbers on dedicated work orders #

By default this work order number will also include a reference to the sales order number and line number. However the user can also specify the work order number to use for the work order about to be created.

If serial numbers are in use for the item and the batch size is one, the work order number set here can also be used as the serial number of the product to be manufactured. This action is controlled in Admin -> System settings -> Use work order number as serial number. If the work order number is already in use then a sequence number will be appended to it.

Item dimensions #

The item dimension module allows the quantities of items used in the product structure to be automatically updated according to the dimensions of the sold product. To do this mark in the item card if an item dimension dependent, and to which dimension is the dependency (i.e. height, width, length, area, volume). When entering the sales order line, set the dimensions of the product and press the update dimensions button. The system will calculate the appropriate quantities of the product structure that is being edited.

Advance payments / payment schedules #

Advance payment (also called Prepayments or stage payments or payment schedules) can either be specified at the line or order level.

To specify it at the order level, set the option “Use payment schedule” on the header. After the order is saved a new tab will appear for payment schedules to be entered.

The trigger can either be Date or On activation. This will be the time when the invoice is queued for creation in the invoice section.

Note that the amount can be set as either a percentage of the order value or as a fixed sum. The choice is set on the header tab.

To specify by line go to the Advance tab under Line details and press the [Invoicing] button. Press [New] to create a new payment line. Fill in the date when it should be invoiced and the net amount. The amount is specified either as a percentage or as money depending if the percentage check box is marked. It is possible to specify a different invoice address than for the header by pressing the [-] button under Invoicing company. The invoice will appear in the lists of invoices to be created in the Invoice section if the date is exceeded and the Ok to invoice check box is selected. There is also a comment field.

Advance invoicing information is printed on the sales order confirmation and also on each invoice generated from the order.

When the product is shipped, the shipping process will generate a requirement to invoice the balance of the line value.

Lot Requester #

The lot requester allows you to request lots to be used by warehouse and manufacturing to complete the order. Note that the users can still use other lots but will get a warning. To add items to the lot requester, of course they must have lot tracking enabled.

The lot requester screen in on line details.

To add one or more lots, click the Add lots button. Set any filters and click Retrieve. Check mark one or more lots and then Add selected. This will add them to the selected lots screen. Note that you can choose any item to the sales order line if you uncheck the current item check box. This is to cover the case that your manufacturing process has flexibility over which materials are to be used in production. If Current item is selected, the list will be restricted to the current sales line item plus any items used in its manufacturing from a dedicated work order.

For more information please refer to the overview article on the lot requester feature.

Changing a sales order and its status #

A sales order can have the following statuses:

Under construction	An order is under construction from the moment it is created until it is activated.
Active	When the necessary data has been entered, the order can be activated. From this point the sold quantities can be delivered, materials are being allocated to the order and the order cannot be changed.
Part delivered	A part of the quantities have been delivered, some of them are still open.
Complete	All the products have been delivered.
Cancelled	Activating has been cancelled and modifications have been made. The original data has status ‘Cancelled’. Newer versions can be activated and so on.
Closed	Sales order is closed and no further deliveries are possible.

A sales order line can have the same 6 options as the sales order. However, sales order status and sales order line status are not necessarily the same. For example, sales order line status can be ‘Complete’ and ‘Active’ while sales order status is ‘Part delivered’.

Activating a sales order #

When sales order entry is complete, the sales order must be activated. This is done by pressing the [Activate] button on the sales order header.

Activation does the following:

It checks the logic of the sales order. E.g. dates and quantities are logical and complete.
It checks the credit limit and over due invoices of the customer (if payment data is imported from the bookkeeping system – only Xero supported)
It allocates the next available sales order number.
It creates a random tracking number for the sales order for use in the customer order tracking system.
It schedules the products in the Item scheduling system in real time
It optionally sends a copy of the sales order to the subcontractor specified in the “Deliver from address” field.
Its status changes to “Active”.

After activation the sales order will be available for dispatch.

Because activation schedules the sales order in real time, activation may take a short or long time depending on the complexity of the manufacturing chain. If the manufacturing chain is extremely complicated, activation may take several minutes. Depending on the settings, your browser or internet connection may give a time-out error. Do not be concerned as the activation will continue even though your connection to the server may be lost.

Activation will fail if there is incomplete or inconsistent information in the sales order. An error message will indicate the problem that needs to be fixed.

Activation does not automatically email the sales order confirmation to the customer.

Changing or cancelling a sales order that has been activated #

To change a sales order that has already been activated, the sales order needs to be returned to the ‘Under construction’ status. When the order is activated again, the material allocations concerning sales order lines that have been changed will be recalculated.

To do this press the [New version] button on the sales order. The run will not succeed if the sales orders have open dispatches. These must first either be closed or cancelled.

If there are lines that have been partly delivered in the sales order, these lines will be split into two lines. The delivered quantity will be on a line that has status ‘Complete’. This line cannot be edited as the goods have already been delivered. The open quantity will be on a line that has status ‘Under construction’. This line is editable until the order is activated again.

Sales order versioning #

If an activated sales order has been cancelled and modified, previous versions can still be found. Check the changes made to a sales order by printing out the report ‘Sales Order Changes’.

Printing the sales order acknowledgement #

If you select the tick box next to the envelope icon in the sales order blue bar, the report will be sent to your own e-mail address (recorded in user data). If you want to send the documents somewhere else, e.g. directly to your partner’s contact person, then select the tick-box next to ‘Other e-mail address’ and enter the receiver’s e-mail address in the field provided

A sales order that is still under construction will have a remark on this in the document header.

Sales order acknowledgement is created automatically in the language defined as your customer’s language.

There is a field called ‘Confirmation printed’ in the order header. Date and time in the field are updated each time the order is printed. If the order has not been printed the field is empty.

Sales order tracking number #

The tracking number works as a password when your customer wants to view the sales order status in the order tracking system. The tracking number is printed on the sales order acknowledgement and is included in the link to the tracking system (which is included in the email containing the sales order acknowledgement).

The order tracking system must be enabled in the ‘Company’ information. Also, a link that leads to the sales order tracking system may be added to your company’s corporate web site.

Cancelling a sales order #

Cancelling a sales order will prevent further dispatches to be made and will change its status to ‘Complete’ or ‘Deleted’ (the latter if there have not been shipments against the order).

In the Sales order section select the order to be closed by clicking on the relevant arrow; if needed, set criteria and press [Retrieve] to find the order. Once the order is opened select [Cancel order] from the blue bar. This order will be closed and any allocations to them will be released.

Other features of sales orders #

Purchase and manufacturing requirements created by a sales order #

Check the purchase and manufacture requirements created by an individual activated sales order from the ‘Sales order material needs’ and ‘Sales order planned operations’ reports. The first one shows all the purchase needs and the other one the manufacturer requirements calculated from product and material stock quantities and product structures.

All the quantities shown are quantities that are allocated to the selected sales order. Thus ‘Sales order planned operations’ can also include work orders that have already been started. Part of their products have been allocated to the sales order just activated.

Sales order scheduling and rescheduling #

Sales orders are scheduled when activated on a “backwards scheduling” system. This means that the planning for all purchasing and manufacturing is created working backwards from the promised delivery date of the line. By default, the scheduling works on a first come-first serve basis so that orders are scheduled as they are entered and are not changed even when an earlier order is entered.

It is possible to reschedule sales orders and their requirements at a later date. See chapter on ‘Other operations’ for details.

Sales orders shipped from another location #

When entering a sales order it is possible to specify from which location the sales order will be shipped. This data is entered into the sales order header. This feature is typically used when the manufacturing or final assembly of a product is out-sourced to a subcontractor.

If the partner data is set up correctly, then the appropriate person from the subcontractor will automatically be emailed a copy of the sales order confirmation without price data. This is so that the subcontractor company is immediately aware of the forthcoming requirements.

Back-to-back orders and drop shipment (triangular shipping). #

It is possible to specify that a sales order can have a back-to-back purchase order. This means that the items on a sales order will be purchased from a supplier regardless if they are in stock or not. Additionally if the sales order is specified as direct delivery, the purchase order will have a delivery address of the customer. This is sometimes called triangular shipment.

Note that back-to-back ordering can only be done if all lines on the sales order are purchased items. When using triangular shipping it is still necessary to receive and ship the order using the customers location so that order status’s are updated and invoicing can be done.

Sales orders and resource planning #

Sales orders are one of the driving forces for the resource planning system. When a sales order is activated then the items required to meet this demand for each individual line are scheduled and allocated. Stockable items such as materials and subassemblies are either allocated to a specific sales order line or are unallocated. This applies whether they are in stock or in a work order in production. If the item does not exist at all, then a plan for creating it is made.

By activating a sales order, this allocation process is run. Note that sales order allocation occurs on a first-come-first-served basis, and it is a benefit of this system that the allocations are not changed by the system throughout the life of the sales order. If it is needed to change the allocations of sales orders then it is possible to reschedule certain sales orders from the planning main menu. This will allow the priority of sales orders to be changed from the first-come-first-served basis to a priority specified by the user. The scheduling system also includes an option to reschedule orders at night based on required date order.

Credit checking #

When the order is activated, the customers credit will be checked in two ways: is the sum of open invoices greater than the credit limit on the partner card, and are any invoices overdue by more days than allowed for this in System settings. The user will get a warning before the order is activated but will not be prevented from continuing with the activation.

There is also a setting in System settings that decides if the open value of sales orders should be added to the open value of invoices when evaluating the credit limit. This would normally be used in a make-to-order enviroment where the company would not like to start manufacturing work where a customer is overdue on invoice payment. If standard goods are being sold then it may be beneficial to enter sales orders but not ship them until invoices are paid.

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What are your Feelings

Updated on December 2, 2022