🧭 Quote to cash: from quotation to payment received
Follow one sale from the first price offer to the money in your bank: quotation, order, invoice, payment and a cleared receivable.
Why and when you use it
Each step lives on a different screen, and gaps between them are where money gets lost: an accepted quote never billed, an invoice never followed up, a payment not matched. Walking the whole chain once shows you where each piece of information goes and how to check that the customer's balance comes back to zero.
Before you start
- Customer added in Customers
- Products with prices and GST rates in Inventory
- Bank account set up for receipts
Step by step
- QuotationIn Quotations, create the offer for the customer with items, rates and validity. Save and share it. Nothing changes in stock or books yet.
- OrderWhen the customer accepts, convert the quotation. In Orders the order moves through Draft, Submitted and Approved; use Save Draft until it is checked and Submit Order when ready.
- Pack and dispatch (if you deliver)Approved orders can go through Packing and Dispatches so you know what left the godown and when.
- InvoiceIn 🧾 Sales Invoices raise the invoice for the approved order: same customer, items and rates. Set the Supply Type, Payment Mode, Amount Paid and Due date, then Save Invoice and send it on WhatsApp.
- PaymentWhen money comes in, open Payments and press Record Payment. Pick the customer and amount, and use Fill oldest bills first or match it to the invoice. Press Save Payment.
- Receivable clearedOpen Receivables and check the customer's Outstanding. Press Recalculate if you made back-dated changes, and Generate Statement if the customer wants a copy.
Worked example
Gupta Kirana Store accepts Sharma Traders' quotation for 50 cartons of tea at ₹2,400 plus 5% GST (total ₹1,26,000). Goods go out on 15 Nov 2026 with Ravi, and the store pays by bank transfer on 25 Nov 2026.
- Quotations: the quotation for ₹1,26,000 is converted after Gupta Kirana confirms.
- Orders: the order is saved as draft, then Submit Order; the manager approves it.
- Sales Invoices: + New Invoice for Gupta Kirana Store, 50 cartons at ₹2,400, Supply Type intra-state, Amount Paid 0, Due date 30 Nov 2026, Save Invoice.
- Receivables now shows ₹1,26,000 outstanding for Gupta Kirana Store.
- Payments: Record Payment, customer Gupta Kirana Store, ₹1,26,000, mode bank transfer, matched to the invoice, Save Payment.
- Receivables: Gupta Kirana's Outstanding is back to ₹0.
Result: Stock of tea drops by 50 cartons when the invoice is saved, output GST of ₹6,000 is recorded, and the receivable created by the invoice is fully cleared by the payment.
💡 Tips
- Check the Orders list weekly for approved orders with no invoice; that is unbilled revenue.
- Always match payments to invoices; unmatched receipts make Receivables look wrong.
- Use Payment Reminders for invoices past their due date.
⚠️ Common mistakes
- Raising the invoice from scratch with different rates from the quotation. Copy the agreed rates exactly.
- Recording the customer's payment as an expense or forgetting to match it, so the invoice still shows a balance.
सवाल
Do I have to use Orders?
No. Small businesses often go straight from quotation to invoice. Orders help when goods are packed and dispatched later or need approval.
🎬 Video walkthrough (script — recording coming soon)
- Scene 1: A diagram of the five steps: quotation, order, invoice, payment, receivable cleared.
- Scene 2: Convert the accepted quotation.
- Scene 3: Submit and approve the order.
- Scene 4: Raise and save the invoice; show the receivable appear.
- Scene 5: Record Payment and match it to the invoice.
- Scene 6: Receivables shows ₹0 outstanding.