About Orders, Shipments, and Invoices

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Order processing in Order Entry supports and enhances your workflow in several important ways:

Individual Order Entry, Shipment Entry, and Invoice Entry screens have separate authorizations, allowing tight control of the order processing, shipping, and invoicing functions. If security is turned on for your system, managers can separate the processing of orders, shipments, and invoices by supervisor or administrative unit.
If security is not turned on, or if you have sufficient authorization, you are not restricted to using separate screens for these functions.
You can enter quotes, orders, shipments, and backorders on the O/E Order Entry screen, and then automatically create invoices for the shipped quantities.
You can enter shipments and print invoices from the O/E Order Entry or Shipment Entry screens without entering orders first.
You can add prepayments to an Accounts Receivable batch using the O/E Order Entry screen.
You can add prepayments to an Accounts Receivable batch using the O/E Order Entry, Shipment Entry, and Invoice Entry screens.
Because the entry screens and the information used in orders, shipments, and invoices are similar (with a few exceptions), the workflow is efficient. Information you enter on an order is reused on the shipment, and shipment information is passed to the invoice. More...
- When you select an order for shipment on the Shipment Entry screen, the details from the order are copied to the shipment document you are entering.
  When you select a shipment for invoicing on the Invoice Entry screen, the details from the shipment are copied to the invoice you are entering.
- Payment details appear on invoices, so if you specify a multiple payment schedule, you confirm all the payment details (such as the due dates) when you invoice the customer.
- If you use Payment Processing, you can process and void credit card prepayments from the O/E Order Entry, Shipment Entry, and Invoice Entry screens. However, you can pre-authorize credit card transactions (and void pre-authorized credit card transactions) only from the O/E Order Entry screen.
Shipments and invoices contain only the shipped items and miscellaneous charges for the orders that you are shipping or invoicing.

Processing Orders and Quotes

You use the Order Entry screen to enter orders and quotes. To save time, you can also use the O/E Copy Orders screen to copy the details of existing orders for a selected customer to a new order.

You can also enter quotes, orders, shipments, and backorders on the O/E Order Entry screen, and then automatically create invoices for the shipped quantities.

To process a shipment while entering an order, you enter the shipped quantities directly on the order.

To create an invoice for the shipped goods automatically when you post the order, you select the Create Invoice option on the O/E Order Entry screen.

For step-by-step instructions on entering orders, see Entering an Order.

You can also enter prepayments with orders. For step-by-step instructions, see Entering a Prepayment.

If you use Payment Processing, you can pre-authorize or process a credit card prepayment for an order. For more information and step-by-step instructions, see Pre-authorizing a Credit Card Payment and Capturing a Pre-authorized Credit Card Payment.

Processing Shipments

To process a shipment after entering the order, use the Shipment Entry screen.

You can enter any number of shipments for a single order until the order is fully shipped.

You can also process a single shipment for multiple orders. However, details that are fully shipped are not available for future shipments.

You can edit a shipment document until the order is fully shipped. You can delete details, and you can edit most of the detail information for a shipment, except the item numbers and the quantities committed to the order. You can also enter a negative quantity on a shipment transaction. However, you cannot enter new detail lines for a posted shipment.

To create an invoice automatically when you post a shipment, you select the Create Invoice option on the Shipment Entry screen.

For step-by-step instructions on creating shipments, see Shipping Orders and Items.

Allowing Negative Inventory Levels

Unless the Allow Negative Inventory Levels option is selected in Inventory Control, the program ships only quantities that are on hand in Inventory Control.

If negative inventory is allowed, the program warns you when you enter shipped quantities that will result in negative inventory levels.

For more information about this option, see the Inventory Control help.

Processing Credit Card Payments for Shipments

If you use Payment Processing, you can process a credit card prepayment for a shipment, and you can capture a pre-authorized credit card payment for an order.

Note: If you use Payment Processing, you must capture or void all outstanding credit card pre-authorizations for any orders that are included in the shipment before you can post the shipment.

For more information, see Capturing a Pre-authorized Credit Card Payment and Voiding a Credit Card Pre-authorization.

Processing Invoices

You can create invoices automatically when you ship goods using the Order Entry screen or the Shipment Entry screen.

If you don't create an invoice when you ship goods, you use the Invoice Entry screen to process invoices for shipped items and miscellaneous charges.

You can process a single invoice for one shipment or for multiple shipments, but only until the shipment is fully invoiced. (Details that are fully invoiced are not available for future invoices.)

If you use Payment Processing, you can process a credit card prepayment for an invoice.

You can print the invoice when you post the shipment.

For step-by-step instructions on creating invoices, see Invoicing Shipments.

Creating Partial Invoices

You create a partial invoice when you ship and invoice only part of an order. You can post as many invoices from a single order as you require, until all the quantities are shipped.

When you post a partial invoice:

All the miscellaneous charges currently entered for the order and not marked Completed are invoiced.
The program deducts the quantities shipped from the quantities on order. The next time you recall the order, the quantities on order will be the reduced amounts, showing the quantities outstanding.

To check the original quantity ordered for the item, select the item line and review the amount in the Original Order field.

Entering Credits on Invoices

You can enter credit amounts on invoice detail lines for returned items or to reverse miscellaneous charges, providing the order is incomplete.

For more information, see About Credits on Invoices.

Overriding Customer Credit Limits

Important!

When you try to post an invoice that will put a customer account over its credit limit, Order Entry displays a warning message and the following customer information:

Credit limit
Outstanding Accounts Receivable balance
Order amount
Last invoice amount and date
Last payment amount and date

If you use security, you can post the invoice only if you have Credit Approval authorization, which allows you to override the credit limit.

If you are not authorized to override the credit limit, or if you want to put the order on hold for later invoicing, select On Hold. If an order is on hold, you can post the order but you cannot ship goods and produce an invoice until you clear the on-hold status.