Introduction

In Odoo 19 Invoicing Policies Managing the invoicing process effectively is crucial for ensuring smooth sales operations and maintaining accurate financial records. Different businesses follow different billing strategies based on their products, services, and delivery processes. While some organizations prefer to invoice customers immediately after a sales order is confirmed, others choose to generate invoices only after the ordered items have been delivered.

To support these varying business requirements, Odoo 19 provides flexible invoicing policies within the Sales module. These policies determine when a customer invoice can be created and which quantities should be considered for billing. By selecting the appropriate invoicing method, businesses can align their sales workflow with operational and financial objectives.

Odoo offers two invoicing policy options:

• Invoice Based on Ordered Quantities – Customers can be invoiced as soon as the sales order is confirmed, regardless of delivery status.
• Invoice Based on Delivered Quantities – Invoices are generated only after the products have been delivered to the customer.

To configure the default invoicing policy

1. Open the Sales module.
2. Navigate to Configuration → Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Invoicing section.
4. Select the desired invoicing policy:

• Invoice What Is Ordered
• Invoice What Is Delivered

5. Click Save to apply the changes.

Setting Invoicing Policies for Individual Products

After users save the invoicing policy, Odoo automatically applies the selected option to all newly created products. This helps maintain a consistent invoicing process across the sales workflow and reduces manual configuration for future products.

However, products created before this configuration change retain their existing invoicing settings. To apply the new policy, users must update the invoicing method individually for each product record.

To modify the invoicing policy for an existing product:

1. Open the Sales module.
2. Navigate to Products → Products.
3. Select the product you want to update.
4. Under the General Information tab, locate the Invoicing Policy field.
5. Choose either Ordered Quantities or Delivered Quantities based on your business requirement.
6. Save the changes.

This flexibility allows businesses to use different invoicing methods for different products. For example, businesses can invoice services upon order confirmation, while they can invoice physical products only after delivery.

Invoice Based on Ordered Quantities

The Invoice Based on Ordered Quantities policy allows businesses to create customer invoices immediately after confirming a sales order. In this method, invoicing is based on the ordered quantity rather than the delivered quantity.

To understand this workflow, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Sales → Orders → Quotations and create a new quotation.
2. Select the customer and add a product configured with the Ordered Quantities invoicing policy.
3. Enter the required order details and click Save.
4. Click the Confirm button to convert the quotation into a sales order.

5. Once the sales order is confirmed, click the Create Invoice button.

6. Choose the preferred invoice option:

• Regular Invoice
• Down Payment (Percentage)
• Down Payment (Fixed Amount)

7. Click Create Draft Invoice to generate the invoice.

• Regular Invoice – Creates an invoice for the full amount of the sales order based on the selected invoicing policy. This option works well when businesses bill customers for the entire order at once.
• Down Payment (Percentage) – Allows businesses to collect an advance payment based on a specified percentage of the total sales order value. For example, if a customer selects a 30% down payment for a ₹10,000 order, Odoo generates an invoice for ₹3,000.
• Down Payment (Fixed Amount) – Enables businesses to request a fixed advance amount regardless of the total order value. For instance, a company can invoice a fixed amount of ₹5,000 as an initial payment before processing the remaining balance.

8. Review the draft invoice and verify all details.

9. Click Confirm to post the customer invoice.

10. After confirming the bill, use the Pay button to register payment or Send & Print to share the invoice with the customer.

Invoice Based on Delivered Quantities

The Invoice Based on Delivered Quantities policy ensures that customers are invoiced only for the products that have been delivered. This method helps businesses manage partial deliveries and bill customers after they complete the fulfillment process.

To understand this workflow, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Sales → Orders → Quotations and create a new quotation.
2. Select a customer and add a product configured with the Delivered Quantities invoicing policy.
3. Enter the required order information and click Save.
4. Click Confirm to convert the quotation into a sales order.

5. At this stage, the Create Invoice button will not generate an invoice because no products have been delivered yet.

If you attempt to create an invoice before validating the delivery order, Odoo will prevent the action and display a warning message. Since the product is configured with the Delivered Quantities invoicing policy, the system requires the delivery to be completed before an invoice can be generated.

1. Click the Delivery smart button to open the delivery order.
2. Validate the delivery after confirming the quantities delivered to the customer.

After validating the delivery, return to the sales order. Odoo automatically updates the delivered quantity on the sales order.

1. Click the Create Invoice button.
2. Select Regular Invoice and click Create Draft Invoice.

1. Review the draft invoice and confirm it to generate the final customer invoice.
2. Once the invoice is posted, payment can be registered using the Pay button, or the invoice can be shared with the customer using Send & Print.

Conclusion

Invoicing policies in Odoo 19 provide businesses with the flexibility to manage their billing process according to operational requirements. Whether businesses generate invoices based on ordered quantities or delivered quantities, Odoo keeps sales, inventory, and accounting activities seamlessly connected.

The Invoice Based on Ordered Quantities policy is ideal for businesses that prefer to bill customers immediately after order confirmation, while the Invoice Based on Delivered Quantities policy helps ensure that customers are charged only for products that have actually been delivered. By selecting the appropriate invoicing method, organizations can improve billing accuracy, reduce manual effort, and streamline their overall sales workflow.

With the right invoicing policy in place, businesses can enhance cash flow management, minimize invoicing discrepancies, and create a more efficient order-to-invoice process within Odoo 19.