The full sales cycle: which document do I need, and when?

Five documents in the Sales menu, and many people assume they must pass through all of them. In fact only the invoice is mandatory; the rest are used when the work calls for them — image 1.

The full chain

1. Quotation — what you send before the customer agrees. No effect on stock or accounts.
2. Sales order — the customer agreed. It reserves the quantity so nobody else gets it, without deducting it yet.
3. Delivery note — the goods left the warehouse. This is where stock is actually deducted.
4. Sales invoice — the financial claim. Approving it books the revenue and the receivable.
5. Receipt — the customer paid. It reduces the receivable and increases cash or bank.

Which path fits you?

• Over-the-counter sale — use POS. One document does everything: deducts stock, issues the invoice and records the payment.
• Credit sale to a customer — an invoice, then a receipt when they pay. No quotation or order needed.
• A negotiated project or deal — quotation → order → invoice. The order holds the goods until delivery day.
• Supply in instalments — one order, a delivery note per shipment, then an invoice.

What moves stock and accounts?

* An invoice created from a delivery note does not deduct stock again — the note already did.

Notes

• The golden rule: a draft does nothing. Every document is saved as a draft first, and no stock or account moves until you press Approve.
• Do not create a document you do not need. A pointless sales order reserves stock and stays open in the reports.
• Converting between documents is one button: Convert to Order, Create Delivery, Create Invoice — no re-entering lines.
• Start with the simplest path. Add a link to the chain when the business demands it, not before.