The Complete Sales Cycle: From Estimate to Collection

This guide explains the complete sales cycle in the system: from estimate and client approval to sales order and full or partial invoicing, goods delivery, collection and follow-up on overdue amounts, and returns and credit notes, including all accounting entries and stock movements.

Brief Workflow

1. Estimate→ 2. Client approval → 3. Convert to a sales order (optional) → 4. Convert to a sales invoice → 5. Deliver the goods → 6. Collection → 7. Follow-up and reminders → 8. Return / credit note when needed

First: Setting Up the Settings

Invoice Settings

From the invoice settings:

Setting	Options (Default)	What It Does
Next Invoice Serial Number / Edit Invoice Number Manually	—	Invoice numbering.
Copy Notes/Terms When Converting an Estimate or Sales Order to an Invoice	On / Off (Off)	Transferring the terms from the estimate to the invoice.
Discount Application Method	(Discount on invoice total and per line together)	Where the discount appears.
Make Invoices Already Paid by Default	On / Off (Off)	Enabling “already paid” automatically (suitable for cash sales).
Pay Invoice Automatically When the Client Has a Balance	On / Off (On)	Pays invoices from the client’s credit balance automatically, oldest first.
Advance Payments	On / Off	Advance payment invoices that are later deducted from invoices.
Debit Note	On / Off	Enabling the debit note.
Selling Below Average Cost / Maximum Discount Percentage	—	Restrictions on the price and the discount.

• Estimate settings: the estimate system, its numbering, and its custom statuses.
• Sales order settings: the sales order system (not enabled by default) and allowing issuing an invoice with item quantities exceeding the quantities specified in the sales order.
• Inventory and product settings: stock requisitions for sales invoices (delivery through a stock requisition) and allowing negative stock.
• Manage Payment Methods: the payment methods and the default treasury for each method.

Second: Adding anEstimate

Create it from New Estimate and specify the required data for each of (the client, the lines, the prices, the discount, valid for a period).

An Estimate doesn’t create an entry and doesn’t affect stock.

Status	When
Draft	Saved as a draft
Open	After saving
Sent	After sending to the client
Approved	The client approved online with Approve Estimate (or manually)
Ordered	Converted to a sales order
Converted to Invoice	Converted to an invoice

• Convert to Invoice: if the client hasn’t approved, the system asks for confirmation. An estimate can be converted to one invoice only, and deleting the invoice returns it to Approved.
• Convert to Sales Order: requires enabling sales orders.

Third: The Sales Order (Optional)

From Sales Orders. It is used for orders that are delivered or invoiced in installments. It doesn’t create an entry.

A stock requisition can be created to prepare the goods before issuing the invoice.

Status	Meaning
Open	Not invoiced
Partially Converted to Invoice	Part of the quantities was invoiced
Converted to Invoice	Fully invoiced

• When converting to an invoice, only the remaining quantities are filled in, and invoicing can be done over several invoices.
• “You cannot increase the quantity that was entered in the sales order” and “You cannot add an item not included in the sales order” (except with the override setting and the permission to convert a sales order to an invoice).
• A sales order cannot be edited after it is invoiced.

Fourth: The Sales Invoice

From New Invoice or by converting from an estimate or a sales order. The most important fields: the client, the invoice date, the payment terms (the number of due days), the salesperson, the warehouse, the lines, and already paid with the payment method and the treasury.

• Save as draft: without a number, entries, or stock movement. Adding a complete payment to a draft issues it automatically.
• Issuing: creates the entries and deducts stock (or creates a stock requisition).
• Due date = the invoice date + the payment terms.

Payment Status	Meaning
Unpaid	No payments
Partially Paid	Part was paid
Paid	Settled in full
Overpaid	The amount paid is greater than the total
Returned / Partially Returned	After returns

Fifth: Delivering the Goods

Setting	What Happens When Issued
Stock requisitions for sales invoices = Off	Stock is deducted immediately and the cost entry is created.
Stock requisitions for sales invoices = On	An issue requisition under delivery is created, and stock is deducted when it is confirmed from the stock requisitions. The delivery status appears in the invoice: Received / Partially Received / Rejected.

Sixth: Collection

A payment on the invoice

From the invoice, click Add Payment: specify the payment method, the amount, the date (requires the permission to change the payment date for other than today), the treasury, the reference number, and collected by. Payment can be made in several installments.

A payment on the client’s account

From the client’s page, add a payment to their balance; with the option Pay Invoice Automatically When the Client Has a Balance enabled, the oldest open invoices are settled automatically.

Installments (optional)

From the invoice, add an installment agreement (requires enabling the Installments Management app); each installment is paid as a payment on the invoice.

Seventh: Following Up on Overdue Amounts

• Overdue Invoices for the invoices that passed their due date.
• Invoice reminders: on the issue date, on the due date, before the invoice’s date or after the invoice’s date by a number of days (not sent for paid invoices).
• Automatic alerts for general reminder rules.
• The client’s account statement and sending it to the client.

Eighth: Returns and the Credit Note

Document	When
Refund Invoice	The client returned goods from an issued invoice (not exceeding the quantities sold, and the same client).
Credit Note	A reduction or compensation for the client (the original invoice is optional); its balance is used to pay their invoices automatically.
Debit Note	An increase owed by the client.

Ninth: Accounting Entries

Document	Debit	Credit	Date
Estimate / sales order	No entry	—	—
Sales invoice	The client (+ allowed discount)	Sales, tax, sales shipping	The invoice date
Cost of goods sold	Cost of Sales	The warehouse account	The invoice date (or the requisition date when confirmed)
The payment	The treasury or bank (and payment method fees if any)	The client	The payment date
Payment from the client’s balance	No additional entry	—	—
Currency difference at collection	Currency difference	The client	The payment date
Refund invoice / credit note	Returns + tax	The client	The document date
The cost of the return	The warehouse account	Cost of Sales	The document date
Advance payment invoice	The treasury	Clients’ advance payments	—

A complete example

An estimate for 10 pieces × 100 excluding tax + 15% tax → the client approved → an invoice of 1,150, and the average cost is 60:

Account	Debit	Credit
The client	1,150	—
Sales	—	1,000
Sales tax	—	150

Account	Debit	Credit
Cost of Sales	600	—
The main warehouse	—	600

Collecting 500 in cash then 650 by bank transfer:

Account	Debit	Credit
The treasury	500	—
The bank	650	—
The client	—	1,150

The client returned one piece:

Account	Debit	Credit
Returns	100	—
Sales tax	15	—
The client	—	115

Account	Debit	Credit
The main warehouse	60	—
Cost of Sales	—	60

The client gets a credit balance of 115 that is refunded to them in cash or used in a coming invoice.

Permissions

The most important: Add Invoices to All Clients or Add Invoices to Own Clients, View All Invoices, Edit & Delete All Invoices, the draft permissions, Edit Invoice Date, Change Payment Date, the permissions for estimates and sales orders, and Convert Sales Order to Invoice.

Reports

• Client Balances, Debt Aging (Ledger), Debt Aging (Invoices).
• Client Sales, Client Payments, Client Account Statement.
• Revenue reports (daily / monthly / by client / by salesperson) and payment reports by method.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does the estimate or the sales order affect the accounts? No, the entries start from the sales invoice.
• Why wasn’t stock deducted after the invoice? Stock requisitions for sales invoices are enabled; confirm the stock requisition.
• How do I invoice a sales order in installments? Convert it to an invoice with the delivered quantities; it stays Partially Converted to Invoice until all the quantities are invoiced.
• Why was the invoice paid automatically? Because the client has a credit balance and the setting for automatic payment from the balance is enabled.