The Mysterious World of Dates: Sales Quotes, Orders, and Invoices in Business Central
Have you ever been overwhelmed with dates in Business Central? If the answer is yes, then this post is for you!
There are many different types of dates throughout the Sales Module. If used correctly, your Business Central experience will be considerably efficient. In this post, we will review the dates and their definitions in the following places:
- Sales Quote
- Sales Order
- Sales invoice
Sales Quotes
The Order Date and the Document Date will default to the creation date but can be manually updated. These dates can be different. For example, if someone emails you after hours on March 12th for a quote, but you don’t enter it into the system until March 13th, you can set your Order Date to March 12th and your Document Date to the actual date you entered it into the system.
Business Central Definitions:
- Order Date: The date when the order was created
- Document Date: The date the document was created
The Quote Validity Date can be set up to default on the Sales and Receivables Setup or you can manually put a date in there.
Business Central Definition:
- Quote Valid to Date: Specifies how long the quote is valid
The Due date is calculated by adding the Document Date plus Payment Terms Code, which is found on the Invoice Details tab. The Payment Terms can be set up on the Customer Card to default on Quotes, Orders, and Invoices.
Business Central Definition:
- Due Date: The date the Invoice is due
The Requested Delivery Date is a manually entered date based on when the customer needs to receive their goods. When entering the Requested Delivery Date in the General Tab, it will automatically populate the same field on the Lines Tab. You can change the lines one by one if the requested delivery date is different per line.
Business Central Definition:
- Requested Delivery Date: The date the customer wants the order delivered
Pmt. Discount Dates are discounts given to a customer if the payment is made before a certain date. This discount date is calculated from adding the Document Date plus The Discount Date Calculation field that is located on the Payment Terms Code page.
Business Central Definition:
- The Pmt. Discount Date: The date on which the amount the entry must be paid for a payment discount to be granted
Shipment Dates are the dates the goods will ship to the customer. If you use advanced warehousing, this is the date you send it to the warehouse for shipment. This date is calculated as the Requested Delivery Date minus Shipping Time minus the Outbound Warehouse Handling Time. The Shipping Time is found under the Shipping Tab of the Customer Card. The outbound warehouse handling time is found on the location card.
Business Central Definition:
- Shipment Date: Specifies when items on the document are shipped or were shipped. A shipment date is usually calculated from a requested delivery date plus lead time.
Sales Orders
Just like the Sales Quote, the Order Date and the Document Date will default based on the Work Date and can be manually updated.
Business Central Definitions:
- Order date: The date when the order was created
- Document Date: The date the document was created
The Posting Date should be manually updated when posting the shipment, invoice, or both from the sales order.
Business Central Definition:
- Posting Date: Specifies the date when the posting of the sales document will be recorded
As mentioned in the Sales Quote section, the Due Date is calculated by adding the Document Date plus the Payment Terms Code, which is found on the Invoice Details tab. The Payment Terms can be set up on the Customer Card to default on quotes, orders, and invoices.
Business Central Definition:
- Due Date: The date the Invoice is due
Pmt. Discount Date is the date designed to give customers a discount if they pay earlier than the due date. For example, if a customer is net 30 days, you can offer them a discount at Net 15 days. You can set up this calculation on the Payment Terms page.
Business Central Definition:
Pmt. Discount Date: Specifies the date on which the amount in the entry must be paid for a payment discount to be granted
The prepayment section uses the same payment term fields. If your order is a prepayment order, then the additional following fields are important.
Business Central Definition:
Prepayment Due Date: Specifies when the prepayment invoice for this sales order is due.
Prepmt. Pmt. Discount date: Specifies the last date the customer can pay the prepayment invoice and still receive a payment discount on the prepayment amount.
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The Requested Delivery Date is a manually entered date based on when the customer needs to receive their goods. When entering the Requested Delivery Date in the General Tab, it will automatically populate the same field on the Lines Tab. You can change the lines one by one if the Requested Delivery Date is different per line.
Business Central Definition:
- Requested Delivery Date: The date the customer wants the order delivered
The Promised Delivery Date is the date you promised to deliver the goods to the customer. The Planned Delivery Date is the date you plan to deliver the goods to your customer. These dates can be calculated using the Order Promising Function.
Business Central Definition:
Promised Delivery Date: Specifies the date that you have promised to deliver the order, as a result of the Order Promising function.
Planned Delivery Date: Specifies the planned date that the shipment will be delivered at the customer’s address. If the customer requests a delivery date, the program calculates whether the items will be available for delivery on this date. If the items are available, the planned delivery date will be the same as the requested delivery date. If not, the program calculates the date that the items are available for delivery and enters this date in the Planned Delivery Date field.
The Shipment Date is when the shipment is ready to be sent to the warehouse to pack and ship. The Planned Shipment Date is when you plan on shipping the item out of the warehouse.
Business Central Definitions:
Shipment Date: Specifies when items on the document are shipped or were shipped.
Planned Shipment Date: Specifies the date that the shipment should ship from the warehouse. If the customer requests a delivery date, the program calculates the planned shipment date by subtracting the shipping time from the requested delivery date. If the customer does not request a delivery date or the requested delivery date cannot be met, the program calculates the content of this field by adding the Shipping Time to the Shipment Date
These Fields get updated based on Planned Delivery Date. The calculations are as follows:
Sales Invoice
If invoicing from the Sales Order or from the Sales Invoice the following dates should be reviewed and updated before Posting the Invoice.
Document Date: This date is used to calculate invoice-related fields, such as the due date for payment and prepayment. It defaults to the date the document was created
Posting Date: This date is crucial for posting transactions to the ledgers. It is used for shipment, invoice, return, or credit dates depending on what you post. The posting date also affects the exchange rate calculation
Order Date: This is the date you received the sales order. It defaults to the date the document was created and is used to calculate prices and discounts (Sales Order Only)
Due Date: This is the date when the invoice needs to be paid. It is calculated from the document date plus the payment terms
As a user, before we post from the Sales Order, we update the Posting Date and the Document Date to match the date of the Posted Sales Shipment. This will automatically update the Due Date and flow to the invoice.
In this example, I posted from the Sales Order. First, I posted the Sales Shipment on April 22nd.
The Document Date and the Posting Date of the Sales order are also the same date for Invoicing. This will automatically update the Due Date to the Net 30 days, in this case May 22nd.
The Posted Sales Invoice will reflect these dates and are required for the Cash Application process.
Another example, when posting from the Sales Invoice, I posted the Sales Shipment on April 22nd.
The Document Date and the Posting Date of the Sales Invoice are also the same date for Invoicing. This will automatically update the Due Date to the Net 30 days, May 22nd.
The Posted Sales Invoice will reflect these dates and are required for the Cash Application process.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the date functionalities within the Sales Module of Business Central is essential for maintaining accurate sales records and optimizing customer interactions. By effectively managing dates related to sales, quotes, orders, and invoices, businesses can ensure timely processing and enhance customer satisfaction.
