# Order to cash, step by step

Order to cash is the chain that runs from a customer enquiry to the money being in the bank. In IndustryMax it is: lead, quotation, sales order, dispatch, GST tax invoice, receipt — with a credit note where goods or value come back. The three facts that decide how everything else behaves: a sales order commits but moves nothing, the dispatch is what consumes stock, and the tax invoice is what creates the receivable and reports the GST. One deal number is minted at the start and follows every document in the chain.

*Last reviewed 2026-09-12. Canonical HTML: https://industrymax.co.in/workflows/order-to-cash*

## The chain

1. **Lead** — Optional. An enquiry from a prospect. Creating one finds or creates the customer behind it, matched on GSTIN, phone, email or company name, so the master does not fill up with duplicates.
2. **Quotation** — Optional. What we offered and on what terms. GST rate and HSN come off the item master rather than being typed. A quotation ends either closed with a written reason, or converted into exactly one order.
3. **Sales order** — The confirmed order. While it is a draft it prints as a proforma invoice. Confirming it issues the tax invoice and emails it.
4. **Dispatch (delivery challan)** — Goods leaving the gate. This is the step that consumes stock, oldest-expiry-first. Vehicle number and delivery address are required, because an e-way bill needs both. An order can have several dispatches against it.
5. **E-way bill** — Optional, and only where the customer has switched it on and holds credentials. Part A against the portal for the consignment, Part B for the vehicle, with validity tracking and extension.
6. **Tax invoice** — The GST invoice. CGST and SGST, or IGST, decided by the place of supply. HSN per line. This is where the receivable and the output GST come into being.
7. **E-invoice (IRN)** — Optional, and only where the customer has switched it on and holds credentials with a GST Suvidha Provider. The invoice is registered with the Invoice Registration Portal and comes back with an IRN and a signed QR code that is printed on the invoice.
8. **Receipt** — Money in, allocated against particular invoices. A payment can be recorded at any earlier stage of the deal and applies itself to the invoice when one is generated.
9. **Credit note** — Where value goes back. Always reduces the receivable; where its type is a goods return, it also brings the stock back in.


## What each step actually changes

| Step | Stock | Customer owes us | GST reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | — | — | — |
| Quotation | — | — | — |
| Sales order | — | — | — |
| Dispatch | reduces it | — | — |
| Tax invoice | — | creates it | output GST on the supply |
| Receipt | — | settles it | — |
| Credit note | returns it, on a goods return | reduces it | reverses the tax |


> **Note:** Posting these into a chart of accounts is opt-in per document type and off until switched on. The stock and receivable effects above happen regardless; the book-keeping entries are a separate decision the customer makes.


## When the chain is not one-to-one

Real selling is rarely one order, one lorry, one invoice. The model allows the combinations that actually happen:


- One order, several dispatches — the order tracks which lines are done, part-done and outstanding.
- A dispatch with no order behind it, for goods that simply go.
- A payment taken before there is an invoice to apply it to; it waits on the deal and applies itself when one appears.
- A quotation that never becomes an order, closed with a reason rather than left open forever.


## Getting paid

- AR ageing — what is outstanding, by how long.
- A dunning list of who to chase.
- Credit exposure per customer, and overdue interest where it applies.
- A customer statement that is a running balance derived from the invoices and receipts themselves, never a stored table that could drift from them.


## Questions

### Can IndustryMax manage order to cash?

Yes. Lead, quotation, sales order, dispatch, GST tax invoice, receipt and credit note are all documents in the product, linked by one deal number minted where the chain starts.

### Does a sales order reduce stock?

No. A sales order is a commitment. The dispatch is what consumes stock, and the invoice is what creates the receivable and the GST. They are separate so that one order can be delivered in several loads and invoiced once, or the other way round.

### What is the difference between a dispatch and an invoice?

A dispatch is a movement document — the goods are leaving, on a stated vehicle, to a stated address, and stock comes down. An invoice is a tax and money document — the customer now owes an amount and the GST on the supply is reported. In IndustryMax they are separate records for that reason.

### Can we take payment before invoicing?

Yes. A payment can be recorded at any stage of the deal; it carries the deal number and applies itself to the invoice when one is generated.

### Are e-invoice and e-way bill part of this chain?

They attach to it, and only where the customer has switched them on and holds their own credentials. The e-way bill hangs off the dispatch and the IRN off the invoice; both are off by default.

## Related

- https://industrymax.co.in/modules/sales
- https://industrymax.co.in/modules/gst-compliance
- https://industrymax.co.in/modules/inventory
- https://industrymax.co.in/modules/accounting