Sales order
The seller's record of a customer's confirmed order, with the items, quantities, prices and delivery date.
What it means in business
A sales order is created when a customer's order is accepted, from their purchase order, a message or a call. It reserves stock or triggers production, and it is the document that dispatch and invoicing work from. It lets the business see what has been promised and when.
Example
A customer sends a PO for 500 housings. The business enters a sales order with the agreed price and delivery date, checks stock and capacity, and schedules production against it. This is an illustration of normal business use rather than a quoted case study.
How to use it correctly
Enter every confirmed order, with the customer's PO number, so nothing is promised that is not recorded. Check credit and stock before confirming. Update the order when the customer changes it, and close it when the last invoice is raised.
Common confusion
A sales order is not an invoice: it commits the seller to supply, and an invoice records the supply. And it is not the customer's PO, which is the customer's own document. Orders kept only in chat messages are easy to lose.
Related glossary terms
Written on 24 October 2026 for lamp. Confirm the current rules with the official source or an adviser before relying on it.