Invoices
For: Anyone billing a customer for goods or services, then tracking what is still due
An Invoice is the bill — items, tax, due date, and balance. It can start from scratch, or carry forward an Accepted Quote, an Open / Partially Recorded Sales Order, or a Sent Delivery Challan. It posts to the ledger on save. Payments and credit notes settle the balance. When Settings → Inventory Config → Stock Deduct Source is Invoice, saving the invoice takes stock from the warehouse.
What this module does
1. Creating an invoice
Pick Division, then Branch, then Warehouse — the rest of the form stays locked until those three are set. A scratch invoice can pre-fill those three from Settings → Organization defaults. A few checks run automatically the moment you save.
Customer and Shipping Address: The address has to be one of that customer's own addresses.
Invoice Number: Auto-generated unless you turn that off under Invoice Configuration on the form (prefix and next number). That same drawer stores Terms & Conditions. Split invoices use a SINV prefix. Locked after save.
Due Date and Payment Terms: Terms come from the customer (or the source document). Due Date is calculated from those terms and can be changed on this invoice.
Price List: Optional on a scratch invoice. Converted invoices already have rates on the lines and the item list is locked.
Currency and exchange rate: Currency comes from the customer, or from the Quote / Sales Order / Delivery Challan if converted. If it differs from the company base (set under Settings → Currencies), an Exchange Rate field appears.
Items, discounts, charges, and tax: Line items with quantity and rate. Document discount follows Settings → Discounts — Enable Discount, then Discount Applies On Item Level or Transaction Level. Extra lines such as freight come from Settings → Additional charges assigned to Invoice. GST (CGST / SGST / IGST) from customer state vs company state. Round-off is available on the totals.
Credit limit and overdue invoices: Restriction Document (amount) and Restriction Payment Terms Document (overdue invoice) come from the customer, or from Settings → Credit limits until the customer overrides them. Overdue check runs on create, not on edit.
Stock check and stock deduct: Not a toggle on this form. They come from Settings → Inventory Config (next section). If Stock Deduct Source is Invoice, quantity is taken from the warehouse on save — even for a Draft.
Save vs Save & Sent: Save creates a Draft. Save & Sent is only on create — saves and marks it Sent in one step. Either way the invoice posts to the ledger.
Warning: You can't create an invoice at all until your company has a primary bank account set up. Mark one under Banking → Banks with Make this primary.
Note: Unlike a Quote, Sales Order, or Delivery Challan, an invoice does post Accounts Receivable and Sales when you save — including as a Draft.
2. Stock check and stock deduct — Inventory Config
Stock is not a toggle on every invoice the same way. It is a company setting under Settings → Inventory Config (screen title Stock Source Configuration). Two sales fields do different jobs. Check asks if quantity is there. Deduct is what actually takes it out of the warehouse.
Stock Check Source
Asks: is there enough?
Can sit on Quote, Sales Order, or Invoice. Blocks save if the warehouse is short. Does not take stock.
Stock Deduct Source
Takes stock out
Set to Invoice. The orange step below is where warehouse quantity actually leaves.
Where stock leaves on an Invoice
Save takes warehouse quantity — including a Draft.
Quote
No stock move
Sales Order
No stock move
Invoice
Stock leaves here
How it is used on save: At create, Books copies the current config onto the invoice. If check or deduct is on for Invoice, availability is validated. If deduct is Invoice, warehouse stock is reduced and the Stock Movement tab shows those batches. Editing a Draft reverses the old deduction and takes the new quantities.
How it is used on cancel / delete: If this invoice deducted stock, cancel or delete (when it is not already Cancelled) puts the quantity back.
Inventory Impact and Stock Movement: Detail shows whether Stock Check / Stock Deduct were on this invoice at create time — the snapshot from when it was created, not whatever the setting is today. Stock Movement lists the batches if this invoice deducted.
Changing the setting later: You cannot switch Stock Deduct Source to Invoice while a Draft invoice exists. Changing Stock Check Source alone is allowed. Already-saved invoices keep the snapshot they were created with.
Warning: When Stock Deduct Source is Invoice, stock leaves when you save the invoice — even if you only Save as Draft.
3. Viewing, searching, and exporting
The list and the detail page cover different needs.
Finding an invoice: Status tabs (Draft, Sent, Partially Paid, Paid, Overdue, Cancelled), plus filters for date range, status, customer, added by, division, and branch. Search by invoice number, reference, or customer name.
Export: Export Invoices from the list toolbar, using the columns you currently have showing.
Detail page: Header shows invoice number, status, and balance. View Customer opens that customer. Apply Credit appears when this invoice still has a balance and the customer has remaining opening-balance credit on this invoice's branch — see section 9. Tabs cover the document, attachments, Document Flow, Stock Movement, Payment History (payments, credit notes, and Opening Balance — Credit rows), and History. Converted From names the Quote, Sales Order(s), or Delivery Challan(s).
Auto Map Opening Balance (list): Under TOOLS on the Invoices list. Maps remaining opening-balance credit for customers onto Sent, Partially Paid, and Overdue invoices, oldest due date first — not limited to one customer. This is not a Payment Received. The same action on a customer detail maps only that customer.
4. Editing an invoice
Only a Draft can be edited.
What stays locked even on a Draft: Customer, Division, Branch, Warehouse, and the invoice number. Converted invoices also lock the item list to the source lines.
Stock on edit: If this invoice deducted stock, the previous deduction is reversed and taken again for the updated quantities.
5. Printing and downloading
Download and Print sit on the detail header. When an e-invoice or e-way bill is active, those menus offer the plain invoice, with IRN / QR, with e-way bill, or e-way bill only.
6. Changing an invoice's status
Mark Invoice As only offers the moves below. Paid, Partially Paid, and Overdue are set by payments, credit notes, and the due date — not this menu.
| From | Mark As offers |
|---|---|
| Draft | Sent, Cancelled |
| Sent, Partially Paid, Paid, Overdue | Cancelled only. You never Mark As Paid, Partially Paid, or Overdue — payments, credit notes, and due dates set those |
| Cancelled | Nothing. Mark As is hidden. Cancelled is a dead end |
Note: A Cancelled invoice cannot be un-cancelled. That is different from Quotes, Sales Orders, and Delivery Challans.
Cancelling: Blocked while a non-cancelled Payment Received or Credit Note exists, or a Dispatch has been recorded. If this invoice deducted stock, quantities go back to the warehouse. The ledger journal is reversed.
7. Converted from — what can become an Invoice
Conversion is started on the source document (or Duplicate / Add). Saving this invoice is what completes the source.
| From | When / where | What happens to the source |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | Accepted only. Convert To Invoice sits on the quote itself | Customer, items, amounts, charges, and notes come across. The quote stays Accepted until you save this invoice — then it becomes Completed. One quote becomes a Sales Order or an Invoice, never both |
| Sales Order | Open or Partially Recorded. Convert to Invoice on the order row, detail, or the Sales Order list CONVERT menu | Remaining quantity comes across. Saving this invoice moves the Sales Order to Partially Recorded, or Completed if remaining quantity hits zero |
| Delivery Challan | Sent only. Convert To Invoice on the challan, or the Delivery Challan list CONVERT menu. Split Convert is on the challan when a split session is active | Dispatched lines come across |
| Scratch | Add Invoice with nothing pre-filled | A new invoice. Save makes Draft; Save & Sent makes Sent |
| Duplicate | Duplicate Document on the list or the detail page | Opens Add with the same customer, items, and amounts. New invoice number, today's dates, Draft, no attachments, no Quote / Sales Order / Challan link, and no e-invoice or e-way bill |
Tip: A Customer Order converts only to a Sales Order. Convert that order to an Invoice afterwards. A Quote cannot become both a Sales Order and an Invoice.
8. Converted to — what follows an Invoice
An invoice does not convert into another sales document. What follows is payment, credit, or dispatch.
| To | When | Where you start | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Received | Balance is greater than zero. The payment picker lists Sent, Partially Paid, or Overdue — not Draft | Payments Received → Add. There is no Convert button on the invoice | Approving the payment moves this invoice to Partially Paid or Paid. You do not Mark As those statuses yourself |
| Apply Credit | This invoice still has a balance, and the customer's Opening Balance on this invoice's branch is negative (remaining credit). The button is on the invoice detail | Apply Credit on the invoice detail. Modal title: Apply Opening Balance to Invoices | This invoice is pre-selected. You enter how much remaining credit to apply. It becomes Partially Paid or Paid without creating a Payment Received. The mapping shows on Payment History as Opening Balance — Credit |
| Credit Note | A credit note can name this invoice, or be applied to it later | Credit Notes module — not a Convert button on the invoice | Reduces what is still due. A credit note on this invoice blocks cancel (if not cancelled) and delete (even if cancelled) |
| Dispatch | Any status except Cancelled | Dispatch on the list row or the detail page — transport details, not a new sales document | Stores vehicle / transporter information used on the PDF and e-way bill. A dispatch blocks cancel and delete |
Split invoice: From a Sent Delivery Challan, Convert To Invoice With Split (when Split by Qty/Price is on and a split session is active) creates a pair: a main invoice and a split invoice (SINV). The list also has Add Split Invoice in that session. Split invoices cannot generate an e-invoice.
What you cannot convert this invoice into: Not a Quote, not a Sales Order, not a Delivery Challan, not another Invoice (except the split pair). Those are separate documents.
9. Apply Credit — opening-balance credit on this invoice
When the customer still has negative Opening Balance (credit) on this invoice's branch, and this invoice still has a balance, the detail header shows Apply Credit. That is an invoice-page action. It does not create a Payment Received. To pick a branch and map credit onto several invoices at once, use Pay Against Invoices on the customer detail.
When the button shows: Invoice balance greater than zero, customer Opening Balance on this branch is still less than zero, you have Edit, and the invoice is not view-only. If the credit is on a different branch, this button stays hidden.
Apply Opening Balance to Invoices: The modal is titled that. This invoice is already selected and the branch is locked to this invoice's branch — you do not pick a branch here. It shows Opening Payment #, remaining credit, and a Balance to Apply field. Total applied cannot exceed remaining credit. The switch Show current branch documents only limits other invoices in the list to this branch. The screen warns that mapping is for Sent or Partially Paid invoices.
What happens on save: Remaining opening-balance credit on that branch goes down. This invoice becomes Partially Paid or Paid. Payment History gains an Opening Balance — Credit row. You can remove that row from Payment History; unused credit comes back.
Delete: Blocked while any Opening Balance — Credit row remains. Remove those mappings first.
Auto Map Opening Balance on the list: TOOLS → Auto Map Opening Balance. Company-wide for this list: leftover credit onto Sent, Partially Paid, and Overdue invoices, oldest due date first. Same kind of mapping as Apply Credit, done in bulk. For one customer only, use Auto Map on that customer's detail page.
10. E-Invoice and E-Way Bill
These sit on the invoice detail when the matching plan feature is on, the invoice is not Draft, Cancelled, or a split invoice, and Settings → GST portal credentials has a working portal login.
Generate E-Invoice: Creates an IRN using Settings → GST portal credentials. Blocked while an e-way bill is already active on this invoice — cancel that e-way bill first.
Cancel E-Invoice: Blocked while an e-way bill is active. Cancel the e-way bill, then cancel the IRN.
E-Way Bill: Generate or cancel from the same side column. Some plans have e-way bill without full e-invoice. Dispatch details feed the e-way bill.
11. Duplicating an invoice
From the list or the detail page, Duplicate Document opens Add Invoice with the same customer, items, and amounts.
What is left off: A new invoice number, today's dates, Draft status, no attachments, no source-document link, and no e-invoice or e-way bill. Due date is recalculated from payment terms.
12. Deleting an invoice
Delete is stricter than cancel.
Blocked when: Any Payment Received, any Credit Note, or a Dispatch exists — including cancelled payments and credit notes. Opening-balance credit applied on Payment History must be removed first.
Stock, ledger, and sources: If this invoice deducted stock and is not already Cancelled, quantities go back. The ledger journal is removed. A Quote used as the source returns to Accepted.
Business rules
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Ledger posting | An invoice posts to the general ledger as soon as it is saved — including Draft. Cancelled reverses that journal. Moving Sent → Partially Paid → Paid does not re-post the invoice journal |
| Subscription gate | Creating an invoice is limited by your plan. E-Invoice / E-Way Bill are separate plan features. Editing, status, duplicating, dispatch, and deleting are not separately gated |
| A primary bank account is required to create | If your company hasn't set up a primary bank account yet, you can't create an invoice at all — mark one under Banking → Banks with Make this primary. The bank details print on the PDF |
| Invoice number | Auto-generated with an INV prefix unless you turn that off under Invoice Configuration on the form. That same drawer also stores Terms & Conditions. Split invoices use SINV. Locked after save |
| Division, Branch, Warehouse, Customer | All four are required to create. After save they are locked. Converted-from Quote, Sales Order, or Delivery Challan also lock those fields on the new form before save |
| Currency | Taken from the customer at creation, or from the Quote / Sales Order / Delivery Challan if this invoice came from one. An exchange rate field appears when that currency differs from the company base |
| Stock Deduct Source is a company setting | Settings → Inventory Config → Stock Deduct Source. Set it to Invoice for this module to take warehouse quantity. The choice is stored on each invoice at create time; later setting changes do not rewrite old invoices |
| Stock check vs stock deduct on this invoice | Stock Check Source can be Invoice (availability only). Stock Deduct Source = Invoice takes warehouse quantity on save, including a Draft. Cancel or delete (if not already Cancelled) puts deducted quantity back. Inventory Impact on detail shows the snapshot from create time |
| You can only edit a Draft | Sent, Partially Paid, Paid, Overdue, and Cancelled cannot be edited. Customer and location stay locked even on a Draft |
| Editing skips the overdue-invoice check | That check only runs when you first create an invoice. Editing a Draft re-checks address, credit limit, and stock, but not overdue invoices |
| Paid / Partially Paid / Overdue are not Mark As | Mark Invoice As on Draft offers Sent and Cancelled. On every other live status it only offers Cancelled. Payments and credit notes set Paid / Partially Paid. Overdue follows the due date |
| Cancelled is a dead end | Unlike Quotes, Sales Orders, and Delivery Challans, a Cancelled invoice cannot be brought back to Draft or Sent |
| Cancelling vs deleting | Cancel is blocked by a non-cancelled Payment Received, a non-cancelled Credit Note, or a Dispatch. Delete is stricter — blocked by any Payment Received, any Credit Note, or a Dispatch, including cancelled payments and credit notes. Opening-balance credit on the invoice must be removed before delete |
| Source documents after cancel / delete | If this invoice came from a Quote, cancel or delete moves that quote back to Accepted. Linked Sales Orders recalculate remaining quantity (Open or Partially Recorded) |
| E-Invoice / E-Way Bill | Not on Draft, Cancelled, or split invoices. Settings → GST portal credentials must be saved first — that login is what generates the IRN and e-way bill. You cannot generate an e-invoice while an e-way bill is already active. You cannot cancel the IRN while an e-way bill is active — cancel the e-way bill first |
| Apply Credit on the invoice detail | The Apply Credit button shows when this invoice still has a balance and the customer's Opening Balance on this invoice's branch is still negative (remaining credit). It opens Apply Opening Balance to Invoices with this invoice already selected and the branch locked. Those mappings appear on Payment History as Opening Balance — Credit; remove them before you can delete the invoice. The invoice list TOOLS menu also has Auto Map Opening Balance, which maps remaining credit across customers onto Sent / Partially Paid / Overdue invoices, oldest due date first |
| Attachments | Up to 3 files, 5 MB each. Editing a Draft adds new files to the existing ones; nothing is replaced unless you remove it |