Customer orders are entered in the Sales Orders screen.
The sales order header is populated automatically
After the customer PO number is entered all the header information is populated automatically from the customer record, including the billing address, default delivery address (which can be changed if desired), tax code, payment terms, price level, discount code, commission code, and contacts.
Do not mix multiple shipping addresses in a single sales order
When a customer order includes multiple shipping destinations where various lines are to be shipped to different addresses, split the customer order into a separate sales order for each shipping address. This is the only way to properly manage the shipping process, to print the correct shipping address on invoices, and to avoid potential errors with sales tax codes and invoice reversals.
Line item entry establishes prices and target dates
As each line item gets entered, the program establishes the price, discount, tax amount, required date, and estimated ship date. The Required Date is established by the item's planned Time to Shipment (from the MRP Settings screen) and is an internal target date that drives MRP generation and determines job and picking priority. The Estimated Ship date is an external date used for customer communications. It is initially the same as the required date, but can updated hen the Late Supply screen indicates that the line item is likely to be shipped late.
Always leave the Required Date as is except for blanket orders
Always leave the calculated Required Date as is, with one exception. If the customer places a blanket order with a set of future shipments, enter a line for each shipment and override the calculated Required Date with the requested ship date. DBA is ideally suited for blanket sales orders because MRP only responds to current demand within each item’s planning period and ignores demand from future scheduled dates. Over time each scheduled required date will eventually fall into the planning period and then MRP will take appropriate action.
The Expected Ship date reflects the likely ship date
The Required Date is a target date that reflects your company’s planning strategy. It most cases it is a reliable indicator as to when the order will ship. In some cases, however, the target date cannot be met, which is when the Expected Ship date is used. The Expected Ship date is initially the same as the Required Date, but when it becomes apparent in the Late Supply screen that the order will not meet its target date, the Expected Ship date can be changed to reflect when the line item is likely to ship. The Expected Ship date prints on the order acknowledgment and is the customer communication date. The Estimated Ship date can be freely changed because it has no effect on MRP generation or job or picking priority.
An order acknowledgment can optionally be sent
After the sales order is entered, you can optionally send the customer an order acknowledgment that confirms the order details, including expected ship dates. Like all DBA forms, the acknowledgment can be customized as needed using the Forms Edit utility.
Exception layouts by customer
If you need custom layouts for specific customers, you can create additional layouts using the Forms Edit utility. Exception layouts for the acknowledgment, quote, packing list, and invoice can be specified on the Forms sub-tab within the Customers screen.
Quote entry is used for one-off custom items
Quotes, which are entered in the identical fashion as sales orders, are used to generate one-off items and BOMs for custom manufactured items. After one-off BOM customization is completed, the quote is converted into a sales order and is given updated required dates for custom job generation. This process is covered in complete detail in the Custom Manufacturing Guide.
Never maintain standing sales orders that never get closed
Never maintain standing sales orders that never get closed to which lines are added as new orders are received. Standing sales orders get increasingly cluttered and unmanageable over time with accumulated lines that greatly complicate forms printing, order picking, and order tracking and reporting. Instead, always enter each new order on its own sales order that gets closed when the order is fully shipped and invoiced.
Never use sales orders as pseudo-jobs
Never use sales orders as pseudo-jobs because the sales order lacks the planning, costing, prioritization, and tracking capabilities that can only be achieved with an actual job. In particular, do not use sales kits as a substitute for bills of manufacturing.
