Plan availability: Sales Orders depend on your subscription and on the sales workflow your organization has chosen. If you don't see "Sales Orders" under AR (Sales) → Documents, your plan may not include them or they are switched off for your organization — see Subscriptions & billing, or ask your workspace owner.
A Sales Order is the step between an accepted Quote and a posted Invoice. Use it when you need to confirm an order, lock the prices, optionally route the order through approval, and only invoice once the goods or services are delivered. If your business invoices straight from a quote (or has no quotes at all), you can leave Sales Orders switched off.
Step by step
Browse sales orders
- Open AR (Sales) → Documents → "Sales Orders". Each row shows the order number, customer, order date, expected delivery, total, and status.
- Filter by status or customer.
Create a sales order
- Click New Sales Order.
- Pick a Customer.
- Enter the Order number (or accept the suggested next number from the sequence) and dates.
- Add line items the same way as a quote or invoice. If an item doesn't exist yet, type its name in the item search and click the Create «what you typed» footer — the New item modal opens, and Create & use drops the new item straight into the line.
- Save as a draft, or submit for approval if your organization uses approvals.
A faster path: open an accepted quote and click Convert to Sales Order — the new order is pre-filled at the quoted prices.
Edit a sales order
You can edit any order in Draft status. Once approved, editing is locked.
Approve a sales order
If an approval workflow is configured, only users allowed to approve can move an order forward — everyone else will not see the Approve button. Without a workflow rule, approving simply locks the lines. If you need approval rights, ask your workspace administrator.
Send by email
Sends a PDF of the sales order to the customer.
Convert to invoice
Click Convert to Invoice. The invoice is created from the sales order with the order's prices preserved — later price-list changes never re-price a converted document. Post the invoice as usual; the sales order moves to Converted.
Cancel
Cancelled orders are read-only and cannot be converted. Only users allowed to cancel will see this action.
Print a PDF
Available from the order's page, using your active PDF template.
Common mistakes
- "I can't find Sales Orders in the menu." They are plan-dependent and can also be switched off per organization. If you don't actually need a pre-invoice gating step, go Quote → Invoice directly; otherwise ask your workspace owner about your plan.
- "I can't approve or cancel an order." Those actions are restricted to allowed users. Ask your workspace administrator for access.
- "I created one sales order but I need to bill it in two invoices." Not currently supported — converting creates one invoice for the full order. Split the order into two before converting if you need two invoices.
What posts to the accounts
A sales order is an internal commitment, not an accounting document. Like a quote, it never writes a journal:
| Stage | Journal? |
|---|---|
| Draft / awaiting approval / Approved | No journal |
| Convert to Invoice | A draft invoice is created — still no journal |
| Post that invoice | Journal posted (see Invoices — How the journal looks) |
This is why Sales Orders never appear on the P&L or AR aging — they are operational, not financial. The financial impact only lands when the resulting invoice is posted, which is also when the customer's AR balance starts ageing.
Lifecycle
Draft ──Submit──▶ awaiting approval ──Approve──▶ Approved ──Convert──▶ Converted (Invoice)
└──Cancel──▶ Cancelled
If no approval workflow is configured, the awaiting-approval step is skipped and a saved order is Approved straight away.
Behaviour and rules
- A sales order does not post journal entries; only the resulting invoice does.
- The order number is taken from the Sales Orders sequence in Settings → Numbering Sequences.
- Currency, tax behaviour, and price-list resolution work exactly like an invoice — and conversion (from a quote, or to an invoice) always preserves the agreed prices.
- Once converted, the order is read-only; the linked invoice carries the live posting.
- Multiple invoices from one sales order are not currently supported — converting creates one invoice for the full order.
Related
- Quotes — the typical upstream document.
- Invoices — the conversion target.
- Customers — counterparty on every order.
- Customer portal — customers can see their sales orders.
- Inventory — stocked-item availability shown on the order.
- Workflow & approvals — optional approval gate.
- PDF templates — design the printed order.
- Settings — workflow rules, approval steps, numbering sequences.