If you’re a QuickBooks user, you’re all too familiar with the missing sales orders in QuickBooks Online. In a not-so-recent push, QuickBooks Desktop was phased out, nudging several wholesale distribution companies to move to QuickBooks Online. If you are someone using QuickBooks Online or planning to switch to it, here are some things you NEED to know to make QuickBooks Online sales orders a smooth process.

While robust, the platform lacks a direct sales order feature. This can be a hurdle for businesses like yours that must manage pending orders before invoicing. But don’t worry, there are workarounds.

In this article, we’ll explore practical solutions to handle sales orders in QuickBooks Online & learn Quickbooks sales order integration. We’ll guide you through alternative methods and third-party integrations that can make your life easier.

Before we dive in, let’s get some basics out of the way.

What is a sales order, and why do I need it?

A sales order is a document that lays down the details of an order and the terms of the transaction. The seller creates it after a buyer submits a purchase order.

How is a sales order different from an invoice?

The main difference between a sales order and an invoice is that a vendor creates a sales order to confirm that they can provide the requested goods or services. In contrast, an invoice requests payment for goods or services already provided to the buyer.

How important is it for you to be able to create sales orders?

Short answer—very! Sales orders play a vital role in business operations. They serve as a record of a customer’s request to purchase goods or services. Without a proper sales order management system, it can be challenging to keep track of pending orders. This can lead to confusion, missed opportunities, and potential loss of revenue. Therefore, finding a workaround for sales orders in QuickBooks Online is essential for efficient business operations.

Not being able to create a sales order can be a significant challenge for your business. It has caused a lot of discontent among QuickBooks Online users:

But don’t worry, there are workarounds. We are here to guide you through these fixes. Ready to discover them? Let’s go!

How to create a sales order in QuickBooks Online: Workarounds

1. Using QuickBooks Estimates to mimic sales orders

One of the simplest workarounds for managing sales orders in QuickBooks Online is to use QuickBooks Estimates. This method is straightforward and doesn’t require any additional software or integrations.

In QuickBooks Online, you can create an estimate for a customer order. This estimate can serve as a placeholder for a sales order or a bridge between a purchase order and an invoice. It includes all the necessary details, such as the customer’s information, shipping and billing addresses, the products or services they wish to purchase, and the total cost.

Here are the steps to create an estimate:

• Log into your QuickBooks Online platform. You will see this dashboard:

• Click the “+New” option on the top and locate “Estimate.”

• You will see a new window where you can add/select a customer, input estimate no., date, add products, discounts, preferred payment method, etc.

• Add or select a customer and products/services, then adjust the quantities or amounts as needed. Use Manage to customize the form’s details. Finally, save the estimate, review it, and email it to your customer.
• When the customer responds to the estimate, the status is automatically updated, or you can manually update it as well. To do this, go to Sales>All Sales and edit the order in which you want to update the estimate status.

• You will see these options—Pending, Accepted, Converted, and Declined.

• Once the order is fulfilled, you can convert these estimates into invoices. This ensures that the sales are recorded correctly in your financial reports. Here’s how to do it: Find the estimate and click “Convert to Invoice.” You can edit details before creating the invoice.

While this is an alternative to sales orders in QuickBooks Online, it is, at the end of the day, a workaround bound to have limitations. Let’s look at the limitations of using estimates as sales orders:

1. Lack of inventory tracking: Creating estimates does not block inventory for the order created. While taking an order, inventory must be blocked for the units in the order so that another sales rep does not place the order on the same units. Taking orders for the same products twice will create problems during final delivery.
2. No order management features: Estimates are designed for quoting, not order management. They lack functionality like tracking partial shipments or managing delivery schedules. These features are essential for the sales rep to be on top of the timely delivery of his orders.
3. Confusion in workflow: Using estimates as QuickBooks Online sales orders can blur the lines between quoting and order management, leading to potential confusion in the sales process.

2. Creating delayed charges as sales orders

Another workaround for managing sales orders in QuickBooks Online is to use delayed charges. Delayed charges in QuickBooks Online track goods or services you plan to bill for in the future. They can be used as a stand-in for sales orders, allowing you to record the details of a customer’s order before you invoice them.

Here’s how to create a delayed charge—

1) Go to the “+ New” icon and select “Delayed charge” under the “Customers” section.

2) Choose the appropriate customer from the dropdown menu.

3) Enter the Date and Product or Service information, filling in details like Description, Number of units, and Amount.

4) Once completed, click Save and close.

5) When you’re ready to create an invoice, go back to the “+ New” icon and select “Invoice.” Choose the correct customer from the dropdown, then click “Add all” in the right sidebar.

Here’s why this method isn’t foolproof:

1. No integration with invoicing: While you can add delayed charges to an invoice later, there’s no seamless integration or automation between creating a delayed charge and the invoicing process, requiring manual steps to complete the sale.

2. Inadequate for complex orders: For businesses that handle complex orders with multiple items, partial shipments, or custom requirements, delayed charges lack the flexibility and detailed tracking that true sales orders provide.

3) Using invoices as sales orders

Some businesses create invoices and use them as sales orders, marking them as unpaid until the order is fulfilled. This is another workaround to not having an in-built QuickBooks Online sales orders functionality.

Shortcomings of this method:

1. Accounting confusion: Invoices are meant for billing rather than tracking orders. Using them as sales orders can confuse financial records, complicating cash flow tracking and revenue recognition.

2. Lack of order status tracking: Invoices do not support tracking an order’s status (e.g., pending, partially fulfilled, or completed), making it hard to manage and monitor order progress.

We know what you are thinking. Sounds like a LOT OF WORK for something so fundamental. And even then, it’s not a robust replacement.

So, what’s the solution?

Many of our customers have started using third-party inventory management tools, such as SOS Inventory and Fishbowl, to circumvent QuickBooks Online’s limitations.

How do these work? Let’s see.

Using third-party inventory management tools

Inventory management tools come equipped with robust features that can address the problem of missing sales orders in QuickBooks Online. Here’s how.

1. Comprehensive sales order features: An inventory management tool allows you to create and manage sales orders, track their progress, and ensure that each order is fulfilled accurately. It can also support partial shipments and backorders and integrate with QuickBooks Online to maintain accurate financial records.

2. Advanced inventory management: Inventory management tools track inventory levels across multiple locations, helping businesses maintain accurate stock counts. They provide inventory forecasting features, helping businesses predict demand and plan inventory accordingly.

3. Order-to-invoice workflow: Inventory management tools streamline the process from order creation to invoicing, ensuring that every step is tracked and recorded. This reduces errors and speeds up the fulfillment process.

While these tools offer powerful sales order and inventory management features, integrating them with an all-in-one B2B commerce platform like WizCommerce can help you amplify these capabilities, creating a comprehensive solution that addresses every aspect of sales order management.

WizCommerce helps you automate your manual sales processes and creates an omnichannel sales experience that enables you to sell anytime, anywhere: at trade shows, in the field, or online.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Order taking app

With our order-taking app, you can automate manual, repetitive tasks so you can sell better and sell more. Here’s what we offer:

• Empower sales reps to sell from anywhere with complete visibility of products and real-time inventory
• Create quotes and orders on the go with just a few clicks
• Download and share product presentations, order copies, and invoices in Excel or PDF
• Identify upsell opportunities, find out-of-stock alternatives, and increase average order value with AI-powered recommendations
• Get detailed reports on customers, sales, and products to make data-driven decisions

2. Trade show app

Transform your trade show operations by ditching pen and paper and achieve streamlined operations with our one-of-a-kind trade show app:

• Capture leads at trade shows and share product presentations from the app
• Generate labels with multiple formats and scan them via scanners or device cameras to take orders quickly.
• Take orders without internet connectivity

3. B2B eCommerce platform

Sell 24/7 with a self-service portal with flexible check-out options and access to order updates and history:

• Provide your customers with real-time access to your product catalog, pricing, and stock levels
• Give your customers access to historical data such as previous orders, statuses, open invoices, etc.
• Offer customer-based price lists, freight, and payment terms

4. AI-driven recommendations

WizCommerce’s AI-driven recommendation engine gives you suggestions to increase selling opportunities. Let’s look at these:

• View similar: This feature suggests alternative products for out-of-stock items so you can quickly suggest products and never lose a sale!
• Frequently bought together: You can suggest complementary products to increase your average order value, boosting sales and revenue.
• Recommended for you: You can suggest products most relevant to your customers based on their purchase history, boosting sales and enhancing customer experience.

Why should you integrate with WizCommerce?

While many inventory management tools focus primarily on tracking and managing stock, WizCommerce takes it a step further by providing advanced sales workflow automation.

We automate essential but repetitive tasks like order confirmations, invoicing, and customer follow-ups—saving you time and boosting efficiency. But what truly sets WizCommerce apart is our commitment to empowering your sales team.

We help your sales reps create quotes and orders on the go, reducing the time it takes to take orders, especially at markets. The platform automatically creates professional-grade product presentations that you can download and share instantly to convert prospects into customers. What’s more, you can take orders offline with our best-in-class trade show app.

WizCommerce also offers unparalleled inventory visibility, not just for current stock but also for future availability and back-ordered items. This ensures that your sales team can take orders for items not in stock yet but soon to be received, enabling them to manage customer expectations and provide exceptional service.

We also provide your sales reps with powerful features designed to drive revenue growth. With AI-powered recommendations, reps can offer customers personalized product suggestions that increase sales and provide out-of-stock alternatives so customers never leave empty-handed.

WizCommerce helps your sales reps get a 360-degree view of sales from all channels: trade shows, offline, and online. Furthermore, WizCommerce enhances customer satisfaction by keeping your sales reps on top of order statuses, ensuring timely delivery, and facilitating on-time payment collections.

WizCommerce offers the most flexible B2B checkout experience, including notes, preferred shipping dates, and multiple billing and shipping options. We offer PCI-compliant payments, so your transactions are always secure. You can offer your customers flexible payment options like upfront and deposit and payment methods like card-on-file, payment link, tap/swipe card, etc.

This comprehensive approach simplifies processes and ensures a seamless experience for your sales team and customers.

The Way Forward

So, there you go. From not having functionality as essential as a sales order to increasing sales through AI-driven recommendations, we have laid down the entire journey for you. Why settle for workarounds and messy fixes when you can have a well-oiled machine that streamlines your operations and helps you boost sales and revenue?

Experience the difference. Try WizCommerce. Book a demo now!