What is an Order?
You might refer to them as jobs, quotes, estimates, proposals, enquiries, contracts or a variety of other terms.
We use the word “Order” as it encompasses the whole sales cycle – from initial quotations through to sales order agreements, right up to invoicing. They’re for potential business as well as confirmed orders.
How does the process work?
To help you manage each step of the sales cycle, there are three main stages of an Order in ERP Go:
Quote
Provisional Order
Order
You'll see these represented by a trio of icons, starting with a circle and developing into a tick as you bring your Order closer to completion.
How do I work with these stages?
Create an Order at any of the three stages and convert it to the next stage as it becomes more confirmed
Easily convert to the next stage, all the information you entered already is preserved
Use as many or as few of the opportunity stages as you need
Edit as your order changes, it's easy to change details
You can also revert them back to a previous stage if you make a mistake or the customer changes their mind
If you’re doing a simple sales for a regular customer, you may just want to create an order, book the item out and send an invoice. On the other hand, a new prospect who calls asking for a price start as a quotation and follow through to an order.
What's included in the Order?
It's where all your sales details live
Record general information such as who the customer is, requested delivery date, and a delivery address
Build an items list with products
Create quotation documents and send them out for client approval
Manage the warehouse process, including picking products and booking out
Print picking lists, delivery notes and other documents
Generate full or part invoices
What are the quote, provisional order and order stages?
There are three stages of an order, here’s what you might use them for:
Quote
A quote is a detailed proposal or pricing estimate that you intend to send over to a prospect or customer.
The quote stage has all the same fields and features as a provisional and order, but your products are marked as “Quote” at this point. A quote has no effect on the availability or stock levels.
Note: A prospect cannot convert further than a quote until you make them a ‘Customer’ in ERP Go.
Once you have created your quotation you can print it under Actions. If it's accepted, move your Order along to a provisional order by clicking convert to a provisional order under Actions.
Provisional order
A provisional order is a confirmed quotation or a pending order. At this stage, it has been won as a quotation but may not be due straight away. It is therefore a provisional order awaiting further instruction, such as being assigned a PO number.
This stage enables you to reserve the products, affecting your availability at the product level, but not specific stock levels. Super useful in availability tracking for future also ensuring you don’t overbook products. It also shows that further stages are required for it to become an active order.
Note: You cannot proceed until you have converted it to an order.
Order
Your order is now a confirmed agreement with the customer, affecting availability.
From the order screen, you can pick goods, generate delivery notes, and create invoices to send to the customer. You can also manage sales returns directly from the same interface if applicable.
To cancel an order or quote, click 'Cancel Order'. This option is available at any stage, depending on the order status.
Ready to get started?
Check out our handy guide on creating an order.