Sales Cycle

Basis supports two sales paths: a walk-in direct invoice for immediate sales, and an order-based path for tracked fulfilment. Both converge on the same invoice and receipt documents.

Path 1 — Walk-in Sale (Direct Invoice)

Use this when there is no prior order — a cash sale, a service rendered on the spot, or any sale where you bill directly without tracking delivery separately.

New Sales Invoice → Save
  → AR increases
  → Inventory decreases (Goods items)

Steps:

1. Go to Transactions → Sales Invoices → New.
2. Select the customer.
3. If the Sales Orders feature is enabled, leave the order selector as Walk-in (the default).
4. Add line items — set item, quantity, unit price, and discount.
5. For Goods items, select the dispatch location (required).
6. Set a due date if payment is not immediate.
7. Click Save.

The invoice is recorded immediately. AR increases by the invoice total, and inventory is reduced for any Goods-type items.

Path 2 — Order-based Sale

Use this when you receive a customer purchase order before fulfilling it, or when you need to track partial deliveries separately from billing.

Sales Order → Save
     ↓
Delivery Note (optional, repeat for partials) → Save
     ↓
Sales Invoice → Save

Step 1 — Create a Sales Order

1. Go to Transactions → Sales Orders → New.
2. Fill in customer, date, and all ordered items with quantities and prices.
3. Click Save.

The order is saved. Its Delivery Status and Invoice Status both start as Pending. No inventory or ledger movement happens at this point.

Step 2 — Dispatch Goods (Delivery Note)

Skip this step if you invoice directly without tracking individual deliveries.

1. Open the saved Sales Order.
2. Click New Delivery Note.
3. Lines are pre-filled from the order. Adjust Deliver Qty for a partial shipment, or click Fill All to ship everything remaining.
4. Click Save.

Inventory is reduced at the dispatch location. The SO Delivery Status updates to Shipped (or remains Pending if partially delivered).

You can create multiple delivery notes against the same SO for staged shipments.

Step 3 — Invoice the Customer

1. Open the saved Sales Order.
2. Click New Sales Invoice.
3. Lines are pre-filled with the remaining uninvoiced quantities. Adjust if needed.
4. Set a due date, then click Save.

AR increases by the invoice total. The SO Invoice Status updates to Invoiced.

You can invoice before, after, or independently of delivery. Invoiced quantities are tracked separately from delivered quantities.

Customer Return — Credit Note

Use a credit note when a customer returns goods or when you need to reverse or partially reduce a posted invoice.

Original Sales Invoice → New Credit Note → adjust return qty → Save
  → AR decreases
  → Inventory increases (returned Goods items)

Steps:

1. Open the original Sales Invoice.
2. Click New Credit Note from the Actions menu.
3. All invoice lines are pre-loaded. Enter the return quantity for each item being returned (leave at 0 to exclude a line).
4. Prices, items, and all other fields are locked to the original invoice — only quantities are editable.
5. Click Save.

A credit note must reference an existing sales invoice. The system will not allow a standalone credit note.

Receiving Customer Payment — Receipt

Use a receipt to record incoming payment from a customer and settle one or more outstanding invoices.

New Receipt → select bank/cash account → select customer
  → add lines, each linked to an invoice → Save
    → AR decreases per invoice settled
    → Bank / Cash account increases

Steps:

1. Go to Transactions → Receipts → New.
2. Select the bank or cash account receiving the money.
3. Select the customer (party).
4. Add one line per invoice you are settling:
   • Choose the invoice from the dropdown — the outstanding balance fills in automatically.
   • Adjust the amount down for a partial payment.
   • Enter a narration describing the settlement (required).
5. To settle multiple invoices in one receipt, add multiple lines.
6. Click Save.

Advance payment: Leave the invoice field blank on a line to record an unallocated advance. The advance appears as a credit on the customer's account and can be applied when you settle a future invoice.

Effect on Customer Balance

Related

• Sales Invoices
• Credit Notes
• Sales Orders
• Delivery Notes
• Receipts
• Parties