# How to Create a Sales Order and Turn It Into an Invoice in QuickBooks Desktop > Create a sales order in QuickBooks Desktop Premier or Enterprise, then turn all of it, or just the lines you shipped, into an invoice. - URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/convert-sales-order-to-invoice/ - Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Sales orders & pricing - Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, Premier, Accountant - Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated August 2026, and Intuit's QuickBooks Enterprise 24.0 In-Depth Guide - Updated: 2026-10-18 **Short answer:** In QuickBooks Desktop, enter the order at Customers > Create Sales Orders, then open it and select Create Invoice when the goods ship. Turn sales orders on first with Enable Sales Order in Edit > Preferences > Sales & Customers > Company Preferences. Choose Create invoice for all of the sales order(s), or Create invoice for selected items and enter what shipped in the To Invoice column. Anything not invoiced stays open on the sales order. Sales orders are in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise, not Pro. ## Before you start - Intuit says sales orders are only in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise. QuickBooks Desktop Pro doesn't have them. - Set up the items you sell first. When you pick an item on an order, QuickBooks fills in its description and price from the item record. - If a customer has a price level, QuickBooks applies it to their sales orders on its own. - To give a discount on an order, create a Discount item in Lists > Item List first. Leave Amount or % blank if the discount changes from order to order. - For stocked items, turn on Warn if not enough inventory to sell at Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences. Enterprise also offers Don't allow negative inventory quantities. Price levels are covered in how to [set up price levels and customer-specific pricing](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/price-levels-customer-pricing/). ## Step 1: Turn on sales orders 1. Go to Edit > Preferences. 2. Select Sales & Customers, then open the Company Preferences tab. 3. Select Enable Sales Order, then select OK. ## Step 2: Create the sales order 1. Go to Customers > Create Sales Orders, or select Sales Orders on the Home screen. 2. Choose the customer or job in Customer:Job. Select Add New to set up a customer who isn't in QuickBooks yet. 3. Fill in the header details your team uses, such as the date and the ship-to address. 4. Add a line for each item and enter the quantity ordered. The description and rate fill in from the item, and you can change them on the order. 5. Select Save & Close. If you quoted first, start from the estimate instead. Open the estimate and select Create Sales Order. To take the estimate off your active list, check Also mark this estimate as inactive. Review the sales order that opens, then save it. ## Step 3: Invoice the whole order 1. Open the sales order you want to bill. 2. On the Main tab, select Create Invoice. 3. Choose Create invoice for all of the sales order(s). 4. Review the invoice that opens, then select Save & Close. ## Step 4: Invoice part of an order Use this when only some lines, or only part of a quantity, shipped. QuickBooks keeps the rest open on the sales order. 1. Open the sales order and select Create Invoice. 2. Choose Create invoice for selected items. 3. In the To Invoice column, enter the quantity you shipped on each line. Enter 0 for any line that isn't going out yet. 4. Confirm the quantities, review the invoice, then select Save & Close. The sales order keeps count of what earlier invoices filled. Intuit's Enterprise guide says its Backordered column shows what is still open on each line. Split shipments across days or warehouses are covered in [how to handle backorders and partial shipments](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/backorders-partial-shipments/). ## Step 5: Bill several sales orders on one invoice 1. Go to Customers > Create Invoices. 2. Choose the customer or job in Customer:Job. QuickBooks shows the sales orders you can invoice for them. 3. Select each sales order you want on this invoice. 4. In the To Invoice column, enter the quantity to bill on each line, or 0 to leave a line for later. 5. Select Save & Close. ## Things that trip people up - Changing an item's price doesn't change orders already entered. Intuit says price changes only apply to new transactions, so check open sales orders after a price update. - Price levels don't fill in on invoices created from estimates. Check the rates if you invoice straight from a quote. - With Warn if not enough inventory to sell turned on, QuickBooks warns you when an invoice would sell more than you have. - In QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 24.0 release R9 and later, you can create a purchase order from a sales order and keep each line linked to it. That helps when you buy to order. ## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you - Every order has to be keyed in. Orders that arrive by email, PDF or phone wait in an inbox until someone enters them. - Someone has to check what actually shipped and enter the right quantities on each invoice. - Partly invoiced sales orders stay open, and someone has to keep track of them. - Once invoices go out, each customer payment has to be matched to the invoices it pays. ## How Logistify helps Logistify doesn't create invoices for you. The [Sales Order Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/sales-order/) enters customer orders that arrive by email, PDF, WhatsApp, SMS, voicemail or paper into QuickBooks Desktop as sales orders. A person reviews the exceptions. When payments come in, the [Accounts Receivable Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/accounts-receivable/) matches the payments in your bank file to the open invoices they pay. It records them in QuickBooks Desktop as Receive Payments and leaves unclear, short and overpayments for your team. For the payment side, see how to [receive payments and apply them to invoices](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/receive-payments-apply-to-invoices/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can QuickBooks Desktop Pro create sales orders? No. Intuit says sales orders are only in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise. ### Can I invoice only part of a sales order? Yes. Select Create Invoice, choose Create invoice for selected items, and enter the shipped quantity in To Invoice; the rest stays open on the sales order. ### Can several sales orders go on one invoice? Yes. Start a new invoice from Customers > Create Invoices, choose the customer, then select each sales order you want to include. ### Do I need an estimate before a sales order? No. You can create a sales order from scratch, or open an estimate and select Create Sales Order if you quoted first. ## Sources - [Intuit: Create a sales order in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/sales-orders/create-sales-order/L6mKnrj8m_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Create an invoice in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/invoicing/create-invoice-quickbooks-desktop/L0J64E3xu_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Set up custom rates or prices for employees, vendors, or customers](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/pay-wages/set-custom-rates-prices-employees-vendors/L9WazHZ9l_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Add, edit, and delete items in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/add-edit-delete-items/L1XvP7YQo_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Track the products you manufacture](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/set-inventory-lists/track-products-manufacture/L5pGuMiFO_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Link Sales Orders to Purchase Orders in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/inventory-management/link-sales-orders-purchase-orders-quickbooks/L6PRmEPSL_US_en_US) - [Intuit: QuickBooks Enterprise 24.0 In-Depth Guide (PDF)](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/oidam/intuit/sbseg/en_us/quickbooks-desktop/web/content/QuickBooks_Enterprise_24.0_In-Depth_Guide.pdf)