Quote to cash: which record does what
A deal in CRMSix moves through a few records, and each has its own job. The signed quote is the agreement, a contract is the calendar of an ongoing agreement, an order is what you deliver, and an invoice is the bill.
Which path does your deal take?
| Kind of deal | The path |
|---|---|
| One-off sale: products, a project, a one-time service | Quote → e-signature → Accepted → Order → Invoice(s) → payments |
| Subscription, AMC, support plan, retainer, yearly licence | Quote → e-signature → Accepted → Contract → an invoice each billing period → payments |
| Small deal the customer agrees to by email | Quote → Accepted → Order → Invoice (e-signature is optional) |
What each record is for
- Signed quote: the agreement.It proves what the customer agreed to, products, prices and terms, with a certificate of who signed, when and from where. It doesn’t change after that. See E-signature.
- Contract: the calendar.Only needed when the deal runs over time: start and end dates, a billing schedule, and renewal. For a one-off sale, the signed quote is your agreement.
- Order: what you deliver.A frozen copy of what was sold, with addresses and a PO number, that you activate and fulfil.
- Invoice: the bill.Always needed to get paid: it’s the tax document (a GST tax invoice in India), customers pay against its number, and it tracks what’s paid and what’s overdue.
Why isn’t the signed quote enough?
- Can’t the customer pay against the signed quote?
- Their accounts team pays against an invoice number. And under GST, only a tax invoice, with an invoice number, both GSTINs, HSN/SAC codes and the tax split, is valid for your returns and their input tax credit.
- Do I need a contract for every deal?
- No. Use a contract when the agreement runs over time and is billed in instalments or renewed. A one-off sale goes straight from the accepted quote to an order and an invoice.
- Can one quote have several invoices?
- Yes: an order can be invoiced in parts, for example a 50% advance and the balance on delivery, and a contract creates an invoice every billing period.
What can happen automatically
In Settings → Quote Approvals → After a quote is accepted, admins choose what happens when a quote is accepted, by hand or by signature: mark the opportunity Closed Won, lock the quote, and create the order and/or the contract. Contracts then create their invoices on schedule, and invoices send payment reminders.