Sales & Order Book

The daily routine this module replaces

Before the module is installed, the sales desk starts the day with a stack of hand-written quotation pads, carbon-copy order books and a whiteboard that lists what is "supposed" to ship this week. Each enquiry arrives by WhatsApp, email or scribbled on the back of a business card. The clerk types the details into a spreadsheet, prints a quotation on plain paper, and files the carbon copy in a lever-arch folder labelled by month.

When the buyer calls to confirm, the clerk pulls the carbon, re-keys the same details into another spreadsheet for the order book, and shouts across the room to the warehouse to check stock. If the item is not on the shelf, the clerk promises a delivery date based on a gut feel of how long the loom will take, writes it on the order carbon, and pins a photocopy to a cork board above the packing bench. The original carbon goes into a second lever-arch folder, this one labelled "Live Orders".

Every afternoon the clerk walks the shop floor with a clipboard, asking each weaver how many pieces are off-loom and ready for packing. The numbers are added to the whiteboard, but the board is never wiped clean, so overdue orders blend with new ones. Dispatch clerks pick from the board, write out delivery challans by hand, and update a third spreadsheet that tracks what has left the gate. Invoices are raised once a week, usually on Friday, by re-typing the same details into accounting software that has no link to the order book or the stock ledger.

At month-end the clerk reconciles three spreadsheets, two lever-arch folders and the whiteboard to produce a sales report for the owner. The report is always late, always contains arithmetic errors, and never matches the stock count or the bank statement.

How a document moves through the module

Quotation

The sales clerk raises a quotation from the enquiry screen. Customer name, article code, quantity, rate and delivery week are entered once; packing instructions, shipment mode and LC references are pulled from the customer master. The clerk saves the quotation; it creates no stock or ledger entries, but reserves the quoted quantity in the order book so no one else can promise the same stock. The quotation is printed or emailed directly from the screen.

Sales Order

When the buyer confirms, the clerk opens the quotation and clicks "Convert to Order". The system copies every field, checks available stock, and posts a provisional stock reservation. If stock is short, the clerk can split the order line and promise partial delivery without re-keying. The order prints with a barcode; the packing bench scans it to pick the correct article and packing specification. The order also posts a debit to the customer ledger for the full value, but the amount is held in a suspense account until dispatch.

Delivery Challan

The warehouse clerk scans the order barcode, verifies the pieces against the order quantity, and raises a delivery challan. The system posts a credit to the suspense account and a debit to cost of goods sold; stock is reduced by the exact number of pieces dispatched. The challan prints with a duplicate copy for the transporter and a triplicate for the gate pass. The original is filed in the system and cannot be altered after posting.

Invoice

The accounts clerk opens the delivery challan and clicks "Raise Invoice". The system copies the challan details, applies the correct tax treatment for the buyer’s country, and posts a debit to the customer ledger and a credit to sales revenue. The invoice prints with statutory numbering and is emailed to the buyer. If the invoice is for export, the system generates a separate shipping bill with the same details but in the format required by customs.

Sales Return

If the buyer returns goods, the clerk raises a sales return against the original invoice. The system reverses the stock and ledger entries: stock is increased, cost of goods sold is credited, and the customer ledger is credited for the value of the returned goods. The return prints as a credit note and is filed against the original invoice.

The reports it produces and the decision each one supports

What usually goes wrong when a plant runs without it

Without the module, the order book is a patchwork of spreadsheets, carbon copies and memory. Orders are promised on gut feel, not on actual stock or loom capacity. When the warehouse picks, they often grab the wrong article or the wrong packing specification because the packing instructions are scribbled on a carbon that is already smudged. Dispatches are recorded on a whiteboard that is wiped clean every few days, so no one knows what is truly overdue until the buyer calls to complain.

Invoices are raised once a week, usually on Friday, by re-typing the same details from the delivery challans. The re-typing introduces errors: wrong quantities, wrong rates, wrong tax treatment. The errors are not caught until the buyer queries the invoice, by which time the transporter has already left and the goods are in transit. The accounts clerk then has to raise a credit note, re-issue the invoice, and adjust the ledger, all while the buyer is waiting for the correct paperwork to clear customs.

The customer ledger is a separate spreadsheet that is updated manually. Receipts are posted against the wrong invoice, or not posted at all. At month-end the ledger never matches the bank statement, and the clerk spends days reconciling the differences. The owner never knows which buyers are truly profitable, because the ledger does not track which orders were shipped late or which invoices were disputed.

Production planning is reactive, not proactive. The looms are scheduled based on who shouted loudest, not on which orders are overdue or which share the same yarn. Changeovers are frequent, loom efficiency drops, and the plant burns more yarn and power than it should. The owner only discovers the inefficiency when the monthly cost report arrives, by which time the damage is already done.

FAQs

• Can the module handle part shipments and partial invoicing?

  Yes. Each order line can be split into multiple delivery challans. The system tracks the quantity dispatched and the quantity remaining, and only invoices the quantity that has left the gate. The order book shows the split lines separately, so the sales desk can see exactly what is still owed to the buyer.

• How does the module treat export invoices differently from local ones?

  Export invoices are raised without tax, but the system generates a separate shipping bill in the format required by customs. The shipping bill includes the same details as the invoice, but with additional fields for port of loading, port of discharge, and container number. The system also tracks the LC reference and expiry date, and flags any invoice that is raised after the LC has expired.

• Can the module print invoices in the buyer’s language and currency?

  Yes. The customer master holds the buyer’s preferred language and currency. The invoice prints in the selected language, and the system converts the amount to the selected currency using the exchange rate on the invoice date. The system also prints the statutory tax labels in the buyer’s language, but the tax treatment is always determined by the buyer’s country, not by the language.

• What happens if the buyer changes the order after it has been confirmed?

  The system does not allow changes to a confirmed order. Instead, the clerk raises a new order for the change, and links it to the original order. The system tracks the change as a separate line in the order book, so the sales desk can see the history of the order. If the change reduces the quantity, the system reverses the stock reservation for the reduced quantity; if the change increases the quantity, the system checks available stock before reserving the additional quantity.