---
title: "Sales order"
description: "What is a sales order? The seller's confirmed record of what a customer ordered. See how it drives delivery and invoicing, and how it differs from a PO."
url: https://1flux.ai/glossary/sales-order
last_updated: 2026-10-10
---

[Sales and CRM](https://1flux.ai/glossary#sales-and-crm)

# Sales order

What is a sales order, and how is it different from the customer's purchase order?

Glossary Updated 10 October 2026

Definition

A sales order is the seller's confirmed, internal record of what a customer has ordered, at what price and on what delivery and payment terms.

## What is a sales order used for?

A sales order turns an accepted [quotation](https://1flux.ai/glossary/quotation) or a customer PO into instructions the business can act on: reserve stock, pick and dispatch, then invoice. It isn’t sent to the customer as a bill; it’s the hub that deliveries and invoices are matched against, so you can see what has been shipped and billed and what is still open.

Example: a building-materials distributor confirms a sales order for 500 bags of cement at AED 18.50 a bag on 60 [credit days](https://1flux.ai/glossary/credit-days), delivered from its main warehouse in two loads.

Sales orders are often confused with purchase orders: a PO is the buyer’s document, a sales order is the seller’s.

In 1flux

Sales orders carry over quotation lines, discounts, tax and shipping, check the customer’s credit-days cap, and move across an order-to-cash board only when delivery notes, invoices and payments are posted. [See sales orders and fulfilment](https://1flux.ai/products/sales-orders)

1. Quotation (QT-2026-00118): Approved . Nothing posts.
2. Customer PO (PO 7741) . Nothing posts.
3. Order request . Nothing posts.
4. Sales order (SO-2026-0042) . Nothing posts.
5. Pick and dispatch . Nothing posts.
6. Delivery note . Posts Dr COGS , Cr Inventory.
7. Sales invoice . Posts Dr AR , Cr Revenue, VAT.
8. Customer payment . Posts Dr Bank , Cr AR.

Quote to cash in 1flux: journals post at the delivery note, the sales invoice and the customer payment.

Related

## Keep exploring

### [Customer purchase order](https://1flux.ai/glossary/customer-purchase-order)

The buyer's formal order to you, usually after your quotation.

### [Stock reservation](https://1flux.ai/glossary/stock-reservation)

Stock set aside for a confirmed customer order.

### [Delivery note](https://1flux.ai/glossary/delivery-note)

The document that travels with goods so the customer can check and sign.

### [Sales orders](https://1flux.ai/products/sales-orders)

Customer POs to orders, deliveries, invoices and payments, on one board.

Last updated 10 October 2026