An offer is the price quote you give a customer before the sale: the items, the quantities, the prices and the discounts you propose. Saving an offer does not change the stock and records no payment, income or expense. When the customer accepts, you transform the offer into a Sales Order, a Proforma Invoice or a Sale, so nothing has to be typed again.
License required. Offer is part of the paid Advanced Operations module (a Basic or better license). Without a license the window opens with a warning, and saving stops with “This is a free version of the Offer operation! To save your operation please purchase a license.”
How offers are used
- Make the offer for the customer and print it or export it from the print preview.
- Change it while the customer decides, in Edit Offer. The number stays the same.
- When the customer accepts, transform it into the next document (see Transform the offer). The stock changes only when that document is a sale.
- Annul offers that were turned down, or leave them: an open offer has no effect on the stock or the money.
Open the Offer window
Go to Operations → Management → Offer or press Ctrl+F8. If your user may not use this menu item, the program shows “Opening the Offer screen is not allowed!”.
Fill in the header
In each header field type a name or code and press Enter, or open the list with F4, a double-click in the field or the … button.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Partner | The customer who gets the offer. The sale prices follow the partner’s price group. A VAT exempt partner makes the document VAT exempt. |
| Location | The location that makes the offer. Its price group can also affect the prices. Its stock does not change. |
| User | The user responsible for the offer. The logged-in user is filled in. Changing it requires the Edit User permission (Operations), which operators do not have by default. |
| Date | The date of the offer. Today is filled in. Changing it requires the Edit Date permission (Operations), which operators do not have by default. |
Add items
- In the Item column type the item name, code or barcode and press Enter. To choose from the list, press F4 or double-click the cell.
- In the Qtty column enter the quantity and press Enter.
- In the Sale price column check or change the price and press Enter. Enter moves through the remaining editable columns and opens a new row after the last one.
- To delete the current row press Ctrl+Delete.
The quantity is not checked against the stock, so you can offer items that are not available yet. An offer has no lots: there are no lot, serial number, expiration date, production date or lot location columns. The Discount % and Discount value columns are shown when Allow percent discounts or Allow value discounts is enabled in Tools → Settings… → Operations. Price rules can change the prices and discounts as you enter the rows.
The totals Amount:, VAT: and Total: are shown at the top right. Clearing the check box next to VAT: makes the whole offer VAT exempt after a confirmation.
Buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save (F9) | Saves the offer (see Save and print). |
| Clear | Its menu has Delete current row and Delete all rows. |
| Close | Closes the window. With unsaved rows the program asks “Exit without saving the offer?”. |
| Add Discount (Ctrl+Shift+D) | Spreads a percent or value discount for the whole offer over the rows. Shown under the same conditions as the discount columns. |
| Add VAT / Subtract VAT | Recalculates all entered prices, as in a Sale. After a click the button switches, so you can undo it. |
| Import | Loads the item rows from a file, as in Proforma Invoice. Shown only when data importers are available. |
| Actions | For a new offer it has Save and Transform (see Transform the offer). |
| View | Addon properties… chooses the additional properties of the document and Context panels… the panels shown with it. Shown only to users with the Change Addon Properties or Change Context Panels permission, which operators do not have by default. |
| Note, Addon properties | Tabs next to the header for a note and additional document properties. The note is printed on the offer. |
Save and print
- Press F9 or click Save. The program asks “Do you want to save the operation?”.
- Click OK to save, or Save draft to keep an unfinished offer as a draft.
- If printing is available, the program asks “Do you want to print an offer?”. Yes opens the print preview, where you print the offer or export it, for example to PDF. Don’t ask me again remembers the answer. Print documents: in Tools → Settings… → Printing controls the question.
The window is then cleared for the next offer. The printed offer has your company and its bank details, the customer, the rows with code, item, measure, quantity, price and amount, the totals, the total in words and the note. To print it again later, use Reprint Offer.
A draft gets a number only when you save it and is listed in Reports → Drafts…. Select it there and use Actions → Edit to continue: the window then shows “Edit offer draft”.
Transform the offer
A transformation creates the next document from the rows of the offer. The offer itself does not change, unless you choose to annul it.
| Turn the offer into | When | Stock and money |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Order | The customer orders, but the goods are delivered later. | No change. |
| Proforma Invoice | The customer pays in advance. | No change. |
| Sale | You deliver the goods now. | The stock decreases and the payment is recorded when you save the sale. |
- New offer: click Actions → Save and Transform and confirm “Do you want to save and transform the operation?”. The offer is saved without the save question, then the destination window opens.
- Saved offers: use Operations → Transform Document… (Ctrl+T), or select one or more offers in the Offer – Select Document window and click Actions → Transform Selected Documents. Several offers become one document.
In Transformation – Select Destination Document choose the document type and click OK. For a saved offer you can also select Annul the source document, Use the date from the source document and Use prices from the source document. Without the last option the rows get the current prices of the items. The new document opens with the rows filled in: check it and save it there. Transforming requires the Transform Unprocessed Operations permission, which operators do not have by default. See Transform Document.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| “This is a free version of the Offer operation! To save your operation please purchase a license.” | Activate a license for IncoPOS. The free version cannot save offers. |
| “Opening the Offer screen is not allowed!” | Ask an administrator to allow Offer for your user in Edit → Administration → Permissions…. |
| “There are no valid rows in the offer document!” | Add at least one item with a quantity. |
| “You don’t have permission to transform unprocessed operations!” | Ask an administrator to allow Transform Unprocessed Operations for your user. |
FAQ
Does an offer reserve the items?
No. An offer does not change or reserve the stock, and other documents can sell the same items.
What is the difference between an offer and a proforma invoice?
Both are documents for the customer that do not change the stock. A proforma invoice is used to ask for an advance payment, and its print also shows the tax numbers of both sides. An offer only proposes the items and the prices.
Related pages
- Edit Offer (Edit → Documents → Management → Offer…)
- Reprint Offer (Edit → Reprint Documents → Management → Offer…)
- Sales Order
- Transform Document
- Management reports (Reports → Management → Offers…)