Sales Order Template: Fields, Sample and How to Use It

A sales order is the seller's internal and customer-facing record that an order has been accepted: it lists the items, quantities, prices, delivery details and terms, and it tells your warehouse or team what to fulfill. A sales order template keeps that information consistent so nothing is lost between the sales conversation, the shipment and the invoice. Below are the fields to include, a filled sales order sample, and how the document fits with quotations, purchase orders and invoices.

Where the sales order fits

Step	Document	Issued by	Purpose
1	Quotation	Seller	Offer of price and terms
2	Purchase order	Buyer	Places the order
3	Sales order	Seller	Accepts the order and starts fulfillment
4	Delivery note or delivery order	Seller	Accompanies the goods; proof of delivery
5	Invoice	Seller	Requests payment

Small businesses often skip step 2 or merge steps 3 and 4, but the logic is the same. For a fuller comparison, see invoice vs sales order, and for the buyer's side, our purchase order template.

Fields in a sales order template

Header

• Seller details: business name, address, phone, email, tax number
• Sales order number: sequential, for example SO-2026-0418
• Order date and customer PO number (if any)
• Quotation reference if the order came from a quote
• Sales rep or account manager

Customer and delivery

• Bill-to name and address
• Ship-to address, if different, with a delivery contact and phone
• Requested delivery date and promised ship date
• Shipping method and Incoterm or freight terms for trade shipments

Line items

Item code or SKU, description, quantity ordered, unit of measure, unit price, discount, tax rate and line amount. Add a "quantity shipped" column if you deliver in parts.

Totals and terms

Subtotal, discounts, shipping charges, tax, total, payment terms (for example Net 30 or 50% advance), deposit received, and a status field. A short terms line or link covers returns, cancellations and title to goods.

Sales order template: filled sample

Brightline Packaging Supply, 220 Commerce Way
Sales Order: SO-2026-0418   Order date: November 12, 2026   Customer PO: PO-77215
Quotation ref: Q-2026-0391   Sales rep: J. Morales   Status: Confirmed
Bill to: Oakridge Home Goods Inc., accounts payable   Ship to: Oakridge warehouse, Dock 3
Requested delivery: November 19, 2026   Ship via: Ground freight, prepaid and added

SKU	Description	Qty	Unit	Unit price ($)	Disc.	Amount ($)
BX-121008	Corrugated box 12 x 10 x 8 in, single wall	2,000	ea	0.62	5%	1,178.00
BX-181412	Corrugated box 18 x 14 x 12 in, single wall	1,000	ea	1.15	5%	1,092.50
TP-48100	Packing tape 48 mm x 100 m, clear	72	roll	2.40	-	172.80
SF-181500	Stretch film 18 in x 1,500 ft	24	roll	18.50	-	444.00
	Subtotal after discounts					2,887.30
	Sales tax 6% on goods					173.24
	Freight					85.00
	Order total					3,145.54

The math: 2,000 x 0.62 = 1,240 less 5% (62.00) = 1,178.00; 1,000 x 1.15 = 1,150 less 5% (57.50) = 1,092.50; 72 x 2.40 = 172.80; 24 x 18.50 = 444.00. The subtotal is 2,887.30. Tax at 6% is 173.238, rounded to 173.24. Adding freight of 85.00 gives 3,145.54. Whether freight is taxable depends on the state; our guide to sales tax on shipping covers the differences.

Payment terms: Net 30 from invoice date. Notes: Partial shipments accepted. Goods remain our property until paid in full.

How to use a sales order step by step

1. Receive the order from a signed quotation, a customer PO, an order form or an email.
2. Check price, stock and credit. Confirm prices match the quote, stock is available or lead time is realistic, and the customer is within their credit limit.
3. Create the sales order with the next number and the customer's PO number.
4. Send confirmation to the customer. Our order confirmation email template gives wording for B2B and online orders.
5. Pick, pack and ship, issuing a delivery document that references the SO number. See our delivery order format and delivery note template.
6. Invoice what was shipped, quoting the SO and customer PO numbers.
7. Update the status and close the SO when everything is delivered and invoiced.

Sales order vs invoice: key differences

	Sales order	Invoice
Timing	Before fulfillment	After delivery or at a billing stage
Purpose	Confirms and tracks the order	Requests payment
Accounting effect	None until invoiced	Creates a receivable and records the sale
Tax document	No	Yes, where tax invoices are required
Can change?	Yes, before shipping	Corrected with a credit note

A sales order is not a substitute for an invoice. In the UK, for example, invoices have their own required contents, set out on GOV.UK under invoices: what they must include. If a customer needs a document before paying in advance, a proforma is the usual choice; see proforma invoice vs quotation for which to send.

Numbering, status and partial deliveries

Use a separate number series for sales orders, for example SO-2026-0418, distinct from invoice numbers such as INV-2026-0975. One sales order may produce several deliveries and invoices, so each later document should carry the SO number as a reference. A simple status workflow keeps the list of open orders honest:

Status	Meaning	Next action
Draft	Created, not yet sent or approved	Check price, stock, credit
Confirmed	Accepted and sent to customer	Pick and pack
On hold	Waiting for stock, deposit or credit approval	Resolve and release
Partially shipped	Some lines or quantities delivered	Invoice shipped quantities; ship balance
Shipped	Everything delivered	Invoice remaining quantities
Closed	Delivered and fully invoiced	None
Cancelled	Order withdrawn	Notify customer and release stock

Partial delivery example: if only 1,400 of the 2,000 small boxes are in stock, ship them with the other lines and invoice 1,400 x 0.589 (the discounted unit price) = 824.60 for that line. The sales order then shows 600 boxes outstanding, and the next delivery and invoice reference the same SO number. Customers' accounts teams find this much easier to match than a new order for the balance.

Sales order, order confirmation and proforma: which to send

These three documents look alike, and small businesses often use one name for all of them. The difference is what each one is for:

• Sales order: your record of an accepted order, used internally to fulfill it and often shared with the customer. It carries SKUs, quantities, delivery details and status.
• Order confirmation: the message that tells the customer you accepted the order. It can be an email summarizing the sales order, or the sales order PDF itself attached to an email.
• Proforma invoice: a preliminary invoice used when the customer must pay before delivery, needs a document to arrange import permits or financing, or wants to see exactly what the final invoice will say. It is not a tax invoice.

A practical rule: if the customer pays after delivery on credit terms, send a sales order or confirmation; if they must pay first, send a proforma; in both cases, issue the real invoice when goods ship or the payment becomes due. Keep all three referencing the same order number so nobody has to guess which documents belong together.

What to check before confirming an order

1. Prices match the accepted quotation or current price list, including any agreed discount.
2. Quantities and units match the customer's PO (boxes vs cartons is a classic mismatch).
3. Stock is available or the lead time is realistic.
4. The customer's account is within its credit limit, or the required deposit has been received.
5. The ship-to address, delivery contact and delivery window are confirmed.

If any of these fail, put the sales order on hold and tell the customer before the promised date, not after it.

Variations by business type

• Wholesale and distribution: SKU-level lines, backorder tracking and quantity shipped columns.
• Manufacturing: production due dates, drawing or specification references, and partial deliveries.
• Custom and made-to-order: deposit received, approval of artwork or samples, and a no-cancellation clause after production starts.
• Services: a sales order can confirm hours, dates and rates for a booked service before work begins.
• Exports: Incoterm, port of loading and destination, currency and packing details.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out the customer PO number. Many buyers will not pay an invoice that does not match their PO.
• Prices that differ from the quotation without explanation.
• No ship-to contact. Deliveries get refused at the wrong dock.
• Reusing SO numbers or numbering them in the same series as invoices, which confuses both documents.
• Never closing orders. Old open orders hide what is genuinely still pending.

When the goods ship, turn the sales order into an invoice in our invoice generator: copy the lines across, add the SO and PO numbers in the reference fields, and download the PDF. You can also use it to produce the sales order itself by changing the title. It is free and needs no sign-up.