Alex Ruben
How To Enter a Sales Order for Finished Goods: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting sales orders in Tally Prime sorted, especially when you’ve got zero stock, can be a bit of a headache. Sometimes the system throws warnings, other times it just refuses to let you input orders without stock. Honestly, it’s kind of weird, but there are ways around it that don’t involve stock magically appearing out of nowhere. This guide walks through the practical steps that have worked in real setups, whether your inventory is ready or not. Expect to be able to record customer orders smoothly, track what’s owed, and keep your process moving without fussing over unavailable stock all the time.
How to Enter a Sales Order for Finished Goods in Tally Prime
Access the Vouchers Menu and Turn on Sales Order
First, fire up Tally Prime. Head over to the Vouchers menu. If you don’t see Sales Order on your screen, or it’s grayed out, you might need to make it visible. So, click on Other Vouchers in the Vouchers menu, then select Show Inactive—because for some reason, Tally doesn’t always display everything by default. Double-click on Sales Order to activate it. In practice, on some machines it’s a one-time thing — the first time it might not show up until you do this, then it stays accessible.
Creating and Initiating a Sales Order
- Press V to create a new voucher, then choose Sales Order.
- Set the date for the order. If using the free or educational version of Tally, be aware it might restrict date options, usually to a handful of days like 1st, 2nd, or 31st.
- Input customer details—type the customer’s name (say, Scott Anderson) and the order number (like 24). These fields are straightforward, but don’t forget to confirm they’re correct before proceeding.
Making the Sales Ledger if You Haven’t Already
If the system prompts you to choose a ledger and you don’t have one for sales, just create one on the fly:
- While in the voucher, press Alt + C to create a new ledger.
- Give it a name like Sales and set it under the category Sales Accounts.
- Hit Ctrl + A to save. Yeah, it’s quick, but that’s how you do it without chaos.
Adding Items to the Sales Order
This part is where real life rears its head. You’ll add items like shirts, pants, whatever. Enter the item description, then input the quantity — in this case, 3,000 shirts, for example. You might see warnings about negative stock — don’t stress. On some setups, this warning appears even if you’re just recording an order without stock. It’s kind of expected in these cases. Press Enter after each item to add more or move to the next line. Continue adding items as needed, like pants with a quantity of 2,000.
Finalizing the Order
Once all items and quantities are input, double-check everything. Look over totals, customer info, and order details. If it looks right, press Ctrl + A to save the order. On some setups, saving might not behave perfectly if something’s out of sync, but generally, it sticks. If there’s an issue, just revisit the voucher later to tweak or update.
Extra Tips & Common Gotchas
- Ignore negative stock warnings if you’re just recording the order — it’s not an actual inventory check. Not sure why, but that seems to be how it’s wired at times.
- If the Sales Order option isn’t showing up, check your F11: Features (under Gateway of Tally > Features > Inventory > Use Stock Item Categorization) and nab the latest Tally updates. Old versions might behave weird.
- In case you need to edit or duplicate orders later, go back into the vouchers section and locate your sales order. It’s fairly straightforward once your data is in there.
Wrap-up
That’s pretty much it. Entering sales orders without stock isn’t rocket science, but Tally’s way of handling it can be a little frustrating. The main thing is knowing how to enable the options, create ledgers on the fly, and ignore warnings that aren’t really issues. With these steps, recording customer orders even when inventory isn’t immediately available becomes a smoother process, helping keep your sales pipeline moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I get a negative stock warning and it keeps popping up?
Honestly, that warning on its own isn’t a big deal when entering a sales order without actual stock. It just indicates the order is outpacing stock — which is normal if you’re pre-booking or planning. As long as it doesn’t block you, you can ignore it for now. Just remember to manage inventory when you ship out goods.
Can orders be edited later?
Yep. Just find the voucher in the list, open it, and make your changes. It’s not a lock-in, but do that before finalizing your next shipment or invoice.
And what if I have to process multiple orders? Is it the same process?
Yeah, repeat the same steps for each customer. Just create a new voucher each time, and don’t forget to double-check details. Sometimes, on different setups, fresh orders need to be started from scratch, but the process remains consistent.