Question: I have been using the order numbers that QuickBooks auto-assigns for sales orders (SO), purchase orders (PO) and invoices numbers. Is there a better way?
Answer: Yes. When I was a distributor, I quickly learned how often I had to access different orders during the course of a day. And thus, being able to quickly find these orders saved a lot of time.
I adopted a consistent numbering system. I made sure the SO number on customer sales orders and the PO number on supplier purchase orders matched the number I assigned for the order.
I see that some distributors let the invoice number auto-generate to have a count of the orders invoiced. I can see some value in this, but, to me, a consistent numbering system provided more value. Whenever I needed to find a file I could go to the “Find” button at the top of each form, enter the order number, and have access to both the customer and supplier side details quickly and easily.
QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise can be modified to better serve ad specialty distributors. Harriet Gatter is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a former accounting professor and a former ad specialty distributor. She advises ad specialty distributors to use QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise, often in conjunction with other industry-specific software, to manage the complexities of the ad specialty business, with the results being time saved, errors eliminated and an overall accurate accounting of your business. Contact her at [email protected]
