The most important part of any business transaction are these three documents – quotes, sales orders, and invoices. These three documents are used at various stages – initial order, payment, etc. – of a business transaction and are manually prepared or faxed by smaller companies.
However, larger businesses tend to automate this process with various online quotation software such as Quikflw as it saves time and effort.
In order to make these documents effectively and efficiently, you need to understand what they are and what their purpose is.
Quotes
In the buying and selling business, every product and service does not come with a price tag. As a customer, quotations can be confusing as you don’t know the actual cost of the products or services.
Businesses give the customer a quotation of the product and services and it is up to the customer to accept or reject the quotation.
The customer may not be satisfied with the price of products and services or may even renegotiate the prices. If the quotation is accepted, then it means that the customer has agreed to do business with you.
In some cases the quotation needs to be changed to meet the requirements of the customers, and this will increase the price
Sales Orders
A sales order is generally a document that shows that a request has been made for some form of exchange of goods and services between the parties.
If you purchase some products or services from an entity then you need to come up with a sales order stating the transaction and its intent.
Invoices
An invoice is a document that tells one that the payment of products or services between the entities will lapse at a particular time.
An invoice shows what the products or services provided are as well as their costs and it portrays what the entities receive.
For different businesses, the invoices are different. For example, invoices for services are referred to as sales invoices and those for goods are termed as invoice waybills.
There is an interconnection between these three documents and they are used one after the other. Once you generate a quotation, after the customer has accepted it, you can turn it into a sales order if the customer’s requirements aren’t met. Once all this is over, you can turn the sales order into an invoice stating the payment and list of products or services.
With various technologies being used in businesses, there are various online tools that help automate the process of document generation and also forward the invoices to their recipients.
Quikflw is an online quotation software used for generating invoices, sales orders, as well as quotations. It also helps in inventory management, stock management delivery, and more.
