What happens automatically in Invoicing
Use this table when deciding whether a saved document has completed the business process.
| Your action | Automatic result | Still needs a person |
|---|---|---|
| Create from sales order | Copies eligible order references, lines, values and FX into a Standard Draft; generates invoice number | Review the copied document |
| Leave Due date blank | Uses Invoice date + 30 calendar days | Check agreement; enter an explicit date before saving if different |
| Save draft invoice | Requests draft journal preparation through Accounting | Check accounts/setup and finalise by posting |
| Post invoice | Marks Posted, records posting, runs accounting/receivable integration | Record/allocate actual customer receipts and arrange communication |
| Cancel draft invoice | Marks Cancelled, retaining history | Verify related journal and source order; create replacement only if needed |
| Allocate customer payment | Updates invoice settlement and current due/status | Reconcile actual cash and correct invoice identity |
| Read an existing Posted credit | Reveals an adjustment that may already have settled part of the invoice | Do not subtract/apply it again manually |
| Reload | Fetches current invoice/credit data | Reassess whether the intended action remains valid |
| Run Sales by customer | Aggregates effective invoice/credit documents by dates and scope | Interpret sales separately from cash and current debt |
Copied amounts stay copied
There is no automatic repricing at invoice creation/posting and no automatic synchronization of an existing invoice with later sales-order changes. Compare the source and document rather than assuming they update together.
Balances and status
Payment allocation and effective credit application reduce Amount due and increase Paid / credited. Partial settlement moves the invoice to Partially paid; complete settlement moves it to Paid. Receipt creation alone is not necessarily allocation.
Cancelled Drafts retain their original commercial amounts and may retain a numeric due balance. Status matters when deciding whether that number belongs in a collections queue.
No automatic dispatch or customer delivery
Posting does not send an email or PDF, capture a card payment, move stock or dispatch the order. Sales has its own dispatch action and paid-invoice conditions. Payment has separate receipt/post/allocation steps.
The current Invoicing pages do not offer recurring invoice schedules, instalment invoices per dispatch, standalone invoice lines, debit-note creation, ordinary invoice reversal, credit-note write operations or refund execution.
What a timeout does not tell you
A lost response does not prove the invoice was not created or posted. Creation can show The invoice may have been created and block immediate retry. Search by source order; for a known invoice, Reload and inspect status.
Do not open another tab or switch between the generic and order-specific posting buttons merely to force the action through. Identify the existing outcome before continuing.