Wholesale and account customers are billed on an invoice, not at the till. You can take a discount off one line, or off the whole invoice, and add a service charge such as a delivery fee. The same discount limits apply as at the till.
Before you start
- You need the Sales Transactions permission, and the Give discounts right on your user (see Set up discounts).
- At least one discount type must exist (Products & Services → Items (other), type Discount). For a service charge, a Charges item is needed.
Steps: a discount on one line
- In Sales → Invoices (or Sales Orders), open or start the document and add the line.
- Click the line's Discount cell. A Discount box opens.
- Pick the discount type under Plan. Its Rate (%) is filled in and the Amount is worked out from the line's subtotal. You can change the rate or type the amount instead.
- Press Apply. The Discount cell shows the amount taken off that line.
How your limit applies to each line
Your Max discount % applies to every line on its own, as well as to a discount on the whole invoice:
- A line's price after its discount may not go below the list price less your limit. With a 10% limit, a $6.00 item may not go below $5.40 a unit.
- Typing a lower price in Pkg Rate counts the same as a discount. If you are not allowed to change prices at all, any change to the price needs approval.
- If you don't have the Give discounts right, any line discount needs approval.
The line still goes in. When you press Save, the Manager approval needed box names each line that is over the limit, with its lowest allowed price, and a manager approves them all at once.
At the till, cashiers don't discount single lines: they give a discount on the whole sale at checkout, and changing a line's price there always needs a manager's PIN.
Steps: a discount on the whole invoice
- Add the customer, the selling department and the lines as usual.
- Under Summary, type the amount in Discount on whole invoice, for example 45.00.
- If there is more than one discount type, choose the Discount type.
- Type the Reason for discount, for example Monthly linen account. It shows on the invoice and in the audit trail.
- Press Save.
The Summary shows the total Discount (line discounts plus the whole-invoice discount) and the Net to pay.
Steps: a service charge
Type the amount in Service charge under Summary. If there is more than one charges item, choose the Service charge type. It is added to the Net.
When a manager must approve
If the discount is more than your Max discount %, pressing Save opens Manager approval needed. It says what is over the limit. A manager types a reason and their own username and password, then presses Approve and save. You stay signed in. The approval is kept in Reports → Invoice Audit Trail.
Tips
- A running promotion applies to a new invoice by itself, and needs no approval (see Promotions).
- If goods come back later, use Returns Inward → Pick from invoice…: the customer is credited what they paid, less the line's share of the discount.
Common problems
- "To give a discount on the whole sale, first set up a discount type" → ask your administrator to add one (see Set up discounts).
- "No service charge type is set up yet" → add a Charges item with an income account under Items (other).
- Manager approval needed every time → your Max discount % is lower than the discounts you give. Ask your administrator.
- My new invoice isn't in the list → check the date range at the top of the list; it starts at last month by default.