What is a sales order: it is the seller's written confirmation of a customer's order, raised before the goods ship. It says what will be supplied, in what quantity, at what price, with what discount, tax and shipping, and how much is due on confirmation and how much on the invoice. It is the seller's reply to the customer's purchase order, and it is the document the invoice reads from later. This guide is the sales order line by line, with its arithmetic worked free on the sales order worksheet on this site and the record kept by Jobcardo Pro.
The header: customer, ship-to, number, date
A sales order opens with who is buying, where the goods are going, a number that everything later refers to and the date it was confirmed. Those four are what the record on this site keeps around the priced sheet: the customer with their orders, and each order with its status and history, so the question of what was confirmed for whom and when is answered from the list.
The lines: units, price, discount, tax, shipping
The price is worked from lines. Units at a unit price make the line total; a discount comes off the goods; sales tax applies to the discounted goods; shipping is added, usually untaxed, which is a question for your state. The worksheet on this site takes those inputs and returns the line total, the discount, the goods after discount, the tax and the total, on the page with no account, printed or saved as PDF as the confirmation.
The money: deposit now, balance on the invoice
A sales order says how much is due on confirmation and how much on the invoice. Enter the deposit as a percentage of the total and the worksheet splits it, so the customer and the seller read the same two figures and the invoice later asks for the balance the order showed. Keeping the order with a status from confirmed to paid is what Jobcardo Pro adds; the invoice itself is another product's job.
Questions people ask about what is a sales order
What is a sales order in simple terms?
The seller's written confirmation of what a customer agreed to buy and at what price, raised before the goods ship.
What is the difference between a sales order and a purchase order?
The purchase order is the buyer's request to the seller; the sales order is the seller's confirmation back. One transaction, one of each, held by the two sides.
Is a sales order the same as an invoice?
No. The sales order confirms before shipping; the invoice asks for payment after, and should carry the same figures.