Quotations and purchase orders for Kuwait trading companies

One chain, four documents

The quotation states the price and terms you offer. The sales order records what the customer accepted, with quantities and delivery. The invoice bills what was actually delivered. The payment closes it. Each step should refer to the one before, so you can start from any document and walk back to the beginning.

Keep the numbers in each series in order. A gap in the quotation numbers shows a lost offer. A gap in the invoice numbers needs an explanation. Gaps are easy to see when numbers run in sequence and very hard to see when they do not.

Credit customers and what they owe

Most wholesale sales are on credit, so the real question each morning is who owes what and since when. Keep a balance for each customer, built from invoices less payments and credit notes, and agree the payment terms in writing before the first order.

• A list of unpaid invoices by customer, oldest first.
• The agreed payment terms printed on the quotation and the invoice.
• A note of each promise to pay, with the date and the person who made it.
• A review before each new large order from a customer who is already late.

Purchase orders to suppliers

Never order by phone alone. A purchase order with a number, the items, the agreed price and the delivery date protects you when the shipment arrives different from what you expected. Match what arrives to the order before you accept it, and match the supplier invoice to the same order before you pay.

When goods come through a port such as Shuwaikh, delays are common. Keep the expected date on the order and update it when the supplier tells you. Your customers will ask you for dates, and you will want to answer from a record and not from memory.

Three decimals and following up late payments

The dinar has three decimals, so prices such as KWD 12.750 are normal and rounding matters. Decide once how line totals are rounded and keep it the same everywhere. A difference of a few fils on one line becomes a real difference over a large order and a long customer list.

Follow up late payments on a fixed rhythm: a reminder a few days before the due date, a call on the day after, and a statement of the account when it is a week late. Be polite, specific and consistent. Customers pay people who ask clearly and regularly.

Where TAQNIX ERP fits

TAQNIX ERP is a program on a Mac that opens in the browser. It covers the chain described here: quotations, sales orders, invoices and credit notes with sequential numbers, purchase orders, payment tracking and what each customer owes, with documents in Arabic and English.

It does not include stock control, accounting for tax returns or a shipping module. It keeps the paperwork between you, your customers and your suppliers in one place.