Sales order processing in Tally

Why track orders at all

Without order tracking, orders live in a notebook or a WhatsApp chat. Part deliveries are forgotten, the customer calls asking for the balance 200 boxes, and nobody can tell how much stock is already promised. Recording orders in Tally gives three things: a list of pending orders, stock that is committed versus free, and a link from order to invoice for any dispute. The sales order vs purchase order guide covers the documents themselves.

Switching it on

Order processing is enabled in the company's inventory features, separately for purchase and sales orders. Once on, Sales Order and Purchase Order voucher types become usable, and invoices and delivery notes can refer to orders. If you also want delivery notes separate from invoices, enable tracking numbers (delivery and receipt notes) in the same area.

The typical flow

1. Sales order: customer, order number, items, quantities, rates, due date for delivery.
2. Delivery note (if goods go before the bill): select the order; Tally pulls pending items. Stock reduces; no sale in accounts yet.
3. Sales invoice: select the order and the delivery note tracking number; Tally fills items. The sale and receivable are booked.

Many businesses skip the delivery note and invoice directly against the order when goods and bill go together. Both flows are valid; choose one and use it consistently.

Worked example: part delivery

A tile dealer receives an order from a contractor for 500 boxes of one design at ₹620 per box, ₹3,10,000 before GST. Only 300 boxes are in stock.

• Sales Order SO-118: 500 boxes.
• Day 1: Delivery Note for 300 boxes against SO-118, then Sales Invoice for 300 boxes (₹1,86,000 + GST).
• Pending order report shows SO-118 with 200 boxes outstanding.
• Day 9: new stock arrives; deliver and invoice 200 boxes against SO-118. The order closes.

At any point, the owner can see that 200 boxes are owed to this contractor, and the purchase team can see why that design needs restocking.

Reports to watch

Tips that save trouble

• Close orders that will not be fulfilled. Cancelled or partly abandoned orders left open inflate pending figures for months. TallyPrime lets you close remaining order quantities.
• Review delivery notes without invoices every week. Each one is a sale not yet billed and a GST supply not yet invoiced.
• Use due dates. Sorting pending orders by due date turns the report into a dispatch plan.
• Agree rates at the order stage. Changing rates at invoice time leads to disputes; if rates change, alter the order with a note.

Delivery challans have their own GST rules; see when a delivery challan is required.

Taking orders outside the office

The weak link is usually getting the order into Tally. Salespeople take orders at the dealer's shop and send them on WhatsApp; someone types them later. Each retyping step adds delay and errors. The more directly an order can reach Tally from where it is taken, the more useful order processing becomes.

Linking orders to purchases

Order processing works on both sides. When pending sales orders exceed free stock, the shortfall becomes a purchase order to your supplier. Reviewing pending sales orders against stock every few days tells the purchase team exactly what to buy and for whom, instead of guessing from past sales. In the tile example above, the 200-box shortfall on SO-118 should trigger a purchase order the same day, with the expected arrival date shared with the contractor. Over time, the gap between the order date and the delivery date becomes a useful measure of how well purchase keeps up with sales.

Sales orders into Tally with Cashflow OS

Cashflow OS lets salespeople and showroom staff create sales orders with lines and GST from a wishlist, a visit or a quotation, using price lists by dealer type. Orders from frontline staff can be set to need approval, and approved orders are posted into Tally as sales orders through the connector once writing is switched on. Delivery notes and sales invoices can also be created from the app. See sales orders to Tally.