📍 Where can I find this module?
Main Menu > Sales
Introduction #
The Customer Orders module allows you to manage purchase orders placed by your customers. It can be accessed via Main Menu > Sales > Customer Orders.
The purchase order formalizes the commitment to purchase. It is typically issued after a quote has been accepted and serves as the basis for invoicing delivery.
There you'll find features for:
- Record and track your customers' orders
- Convert an order into invoice, a packing slip, or a purchase order
- Manage invoicing based on an order
- Finalize an order to lock it in permanently
1. Create a sales order #
Access #
- Access the Customer Orders module via Main Menu > Sales > Customer Orders
- Click the " Add Customer Order" button
Information to provide #
General information:
- Subject: Order title (required)
- Customer account: the customer placing the order
- Contact: the client's point of contact
- Quote: the original quote, if the order follows a sales proposal
- Customer order number: the order reference provided by the customer
- Assigned to: the sales representative or the order manager
Product/service lines:
- Add one or more products or services from the catalog
- For each line, enter the quantity, unit price, and any discount
- Applicable taxes are calculated automatically
Good to know: If the order is created by converting a quote, all product lines and customer information are automatically carried over.
Addresses #
The command includes two addresses:
- invoicing address: taken from the customer account
- Shipping address: taken from the customer account; can be changed if the shipping location is different
2. Order Lifecycle #
Every customer order goes through several stages:
| Step | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Founded | Your order has just been placed |
| Approved | The order has been approved internally |
| Delivered | The products or services have been delivered to the customer |
| Cancelled | The order has been canceled |
Good to know: The order status is independent of the status of the invoice . You can track the progress of the delivery and the invoicing .
3. Convert an order #
Toward an invoice #
Once record , you can generate an invoice. The conversion automatically pulls in the product lines, amounts, and customer information.
Toward a supplier order #
If the ordered items need to be procured, you can generate purchase orders. The system creates a purchase order for each supplier based on the selected lines.
Toward a delivery note #
From the order, you can create one or more shipping labels to arrange for the shipment of the products.
Good to know: You can process partial orders. For example, you can invoice part of the order or ship it in multiple shipments.
4. Invoicing #
The customer order module includes a invoicing feature that automatically generates invoices at regular intervals. This feature is particularly well-suited for subscriptions, maintenance contracts, leases, or any service billed on a recurring basis.
Enable recurrence #
- Open the relevant sales order
- In the Invoicing section, select the " Enable Recurrence" option
- Configure the basic settings:
- Frequency: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual
- Start / End: the period during which invoices will be generated
- Due date: the payment term applied to generated invoices (e.g., net 30 days, net 45 days, net 60 days)
- invoice status: the initial status assigned to each invoice (e.g., Automatically created, Sent, etc.)
Dynamic invoice subject #
The " invoicing Subject" field allows you to define a template for the subject line of generated invoices. This template can contain dynamic variables that will be automatically replaced with the values corresponding to the invoice date invoice
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
{YYYY} |
Year (4 digits) | 2026 |
{YY} |
Two-digit year | 26 |
{MM} |
Two-digit months | 03 |
{MMM} |
Name of the month | March |
{DD} |
Two-digit day | 01 |
{Q} |
Quarter (1–4) | 1 |
Example: the topic Abonnement {MMM} {YYYY} will generate invoices titled "March 2026 Subscription," "April 2026 Subscription," and so on.
Good to know : You can force the language of the month name by adding
{lang_xx_xx}in the subject line (e.g.,{lang_en_us}(to get the months in English).
Preferred document date #
The "Document Date Preference" field allows you to precisely control the date that will appear on each invoice . The available options are:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Date created | The invoice dated the day it is actually generated by the system |
| Last day of the previous period | For example: for a monthly recurring payment in April, the invoice dated March 31 |
| First day of the current period | For example: for a monthly recurring invoice in April, the invoice dated April 1 |
| Last day of the current period | For example: for a monthly recurring payment in April, the invoice dated April 30 |
| First day of the next period | For example: for a monthly recurring invoice in April, the invoice dated May 1 |
| Last day of the next period | For example: for a monthly recurring payment in April, the invoice dated May 31 |
Good to know: The term “period” automatically adjusts to the selected frequency. For a quarterly recurrence, the period corresponds to a quarter; for an annual recurrence, to a year, and so on.
Automatic addition of consumption #
invoicing can automatically incorporate usage data (usage reports) recorded in Kafinea. Three settings allow you to configure this behavior:
- Add sales: Choose to include sales from the invoice period, the previous period, or none
- Filtering consumption data: Select a custom filter to limit the consumption data to be included
- Consumption aggregation: group consumption lines by period or by month
Good to know: This feature is particularly useful for "subscription + variable usage" contracts (e.g., phone plans, equipment rentals with meters, etc.).
Bill the parent company #
The " Invoice Parent Company " option allows you to automatically redirect invoicing the customer's parent account (parent company). When this option is enabled, recurring invoices will be issued in the name of the parent account rather than the customer account associated with the order.
Technical Operation #
Once enabled, the system automatically generates an invoice the specified frequency. The generated invoices are linked to the original order and include the same product lines, amounts, and taxes.
Important: invoicing is performed via an automated process (cron). If the process is interrupted, any missing invoices will be automatically generated during the next run: the system detects any past-due invoices that have not been processed and generates all corresponding invoices.
Tracking Dashboard #
Kafinea offers a dashboard dedicated to invoicing that allows you to monitor all orders with active recurring payments. For each order, this dashboard displays:
- The customer, the amount, and the frequency
- The next generation date and the date adjusted according to preference
- Invoices already generated for the current period
- Automatically detected issues: invoice , duplicate invoices, amount discrepancies, missing email addresses, account or organizational inconsistencies
Good to know: This dashboard is a valuable tool for ensuring that invoicing is working properly and for quickly identifying situations that require attention.
5. Complete an order #
The " Finalize " action permanently locks the order. Once finalized:
- The document can no longer be edited, with the exception of the bylaws and recurrence information
- The order will appear on the customer portal (extranet) if it has been activated
Important: This action cannot be undone. Please make sure all the information is correct before proceeding.
6. Interactions with other modules #
Once record customer order record , the relationship tabs allow you to view:
- Quote: the original quote that generated this order
- Invoices: invoices generated from this order
- Supplier orders: related purchase orders
- Shipping orders: related shipments
- Documents: related files (signed purchase orders, etc.)
- Activities: calls, meetings, and tasks related to this order
7. Available actions #
Send by email #
Once record order, you can send the purchase order directly via email. The PDF is automatically generated and attached to the message.
Export to PDF #
You can download the order as a PDF at any time to print or save it.
Duplicate #
Use the Duplicate feature to quickly create a new order from an existing one.
8. Special Cases #
Order placed based on a quote #
When an order is created by converting a quote, the link between the two documents is preserved. You can view the original quote from the Relationships tab.
Partial delivery #
You can create multiple shipping documents from a single order to manage shipments in multiple batches. Each shipping document can cover a subset of the order lines.
Invoicing #
Similarly, you can generate multiple invoices from a single order. This allows you to invoice as items are delivered or according to a payment schedule agreed upon with the customer.
9. Frequently Asked Questions #
How can I find all of a customer's orders? #
From record Customer Account record , go to the Customer Orders tab to view the complete list.
Can an order be modified after it invoicing #
If the order has not been finalized, it can still be modified. However, invoices that have already been generated will not be affected by any changes made to the order.
Can customers view their orders online? #
If the customer portal (extranet) is enabled, customers can view their completed orders in their online account.
How do I stop invoicing ? #
Open the relevant command and uncheck the "Enable Recurrence" option, or change the " End Date " to stop automatic generation.
Good to know: Even after the order has been finalized, you can still modify the recurring settings (activation, frequency, dates, preferences). This allows you to adjust invoicing without having to create a new order.
10. Glossary #
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Customer Order | Document formalizing a customer's purchase commitment |
| Recurring Invoicing | Mechanism for automatically generating invoices at regular intervals, with advanced date management, dynamic fields, and usage data |
| Finalize | Permanently lock a document to prevent any future changes |
| Delivery note | Document confirming the shipment or delivery of products to the customer |
| Conversion | Action to create a new document (invoice, purchase order) based on an existing document |