Quick answers to the questions that come up most

Q What's the difference between an eCommerce order and a Sales Order?

Nothing, structurally — they're the same record. An order placed through the storefront cart is tagged with a channel badge (🌐 eCom) so you can tell where it came from, but it sits in the exact same Sales Orders list, moves through the same status pipeline, and dispatches and invoices the same way as an order created manually. There's no separate "convert eCommerce order to Sales Order" step — it already is one the moment it's placed.

Q Why do I have to enter a Delivery Address and Delivery Date to check out?

Both are required fields specifically for the eCommerce cart, since it assumes the order is going somewhere rather than being handed over at a till the way a POS sale is. If either is missing, Place Order won't complete.

Q The customer is over their credit limit — can they still place an order?

Yes — the order still gets created, but it's flagged for credit approval before it can progress any further. It won't silently ship past a limit Accounting has set; someone with the right permission needs to clear the hold first.

Q A product isn't showing up in the storefront — where did it go?

Check the product's Show on eCommerce checkbox in Products. Only products with it checked appear in the storefront grid — unchecking it pulls a product out immediately without touching its stock, price, or any order that already includes it.

Q Does placing an order remove the stock straight away?

No. Stock is reserved the moment an order is placed — it counts against what's available to sell — but it isn't physically deducted from on-hand stock until the order is actually dispatched.

Q What does "Allocated" mean on the Inventory screen?

It's the quantity already reserved by open orders that haven't dispatched yet. On Hand minus Allocated equals Available — the number that actually matters when deciding if you can take another order.

Q Can two customers end up buying the same last unit?

NiyuSuite checks Available stock (On Hand minus Allocated) at the moment an order is placed, which rules out the common case of an order being taken against stock that's already fully allocated elsewhere. As with most real-time systems, two orders submitted at the exact same instant are still a timing edge case — if it ever happens, it shows up as a short-pick at dispatch (Condition: Short), not a silent oversell that goes unnoticed.

Q What exactly is a "split invoice"?

When an order can only be partly filled — say 4 of 6 units in stock — dispatching those 4 moves the order to Partially Dispatched and creates an invoice for just what shipped. Dispatching the remaining 2 later creates a second invoice against the same order. That's a split invoice: one Sales Order, more than one invoice, each tied to its own dispatch.

Q Why is the Invoice button greyed out / locked?

Invoicing is locked until an order reaches Partially Dispatched or beyond — nothing can be invoiced before it's actually shipped, which stops a bill going out for goods the customer hasn't received yet.

Q When does the invoice actually post to the General Ledger / Accounts Receivable?

Automatically, the moment dispatch happens — there's no separate "post to ledger" step for staff to remember. Reaching Partially Dispatched, Dispatched, or Delivered triggers the invoice and its GL journal in the same action.

Q How do I record a customer's payment against an order?

Record Payment on the order row — it only appears once an invoice actually has an outstanding balance, and posts straight to the same Accounts Receivable ledger used everywhere else in Accounting.

Q The price needs correcting, but the order already dispatched — what do I do?

Use Adjust Price on that order — it raises a proper credit or debit note against the posted invoice rather than editing a document that's already gone out to the customer.

Q Where do I log a customer return?

Returns & RTV — a separate screen, not another status on the original order. It links back to whichever sale it came from (POS, eCommerce, or a dispatched Sales Order invoice) while keeping the original transaction record intact.

Q What do the little channel badges on the Sales Orders list mean?

🌐 eCom — placed through the storefront cart. 🛒 Portal — placed by the customer through the self-service Customer Portal. 🧾 Sales Order — entered manually by staff. 🖥 POS — a till sale (these finalise immediately and show in Sales History rather than sitting here as an open order).

Q What is the Customer Portal?

A self-service login for customers — email plus a 4-digit PIN, no separate account management needed — that lets them place their own orders directly, tagged with the 🛒 Portal badge so it's clear the customer entered it themselves rather than staff.