One Invoice, Two Kinds of Line
Ten boxes of cable and a day to install them. One customer, one invoice, and two lines that need opposite treatment: one has to be on a shelf, the other must never be looked for there.
The mixed invoice is the ordinary case. A supplier of solar kits sells the panels and the installation. An IT shop sells the switch and the configuration. A furniture showroom sells the wardrobe and the assembly. Each of those invoices carries something that has to be counted and something that cannot be.
What used to happen is that the second line was typed by hand, because the catalogue only held things with stock. That worked, after a fashion. The price drifted by salesperson, and the installation revenue disappeared into the general sales line.
Three kinds of line, labelled as such
The line editor on quotes, orders and invoices now tells you what each line is as you build it:
- Item: a stock item from the catalogue. It is checked against what is on the shelf, reserved when the order is confirmed, and issued from a warehouse when the invoice goes out.
- Service: a service item from the catalogue. Its price comes from the catalogue, and nothing about it is stock-checked, reserved or issued.
- Custom line: free text with a price you type. Still available for the genuinely one-off charge that does not deserve a catalogue entry.
The label is not decoration. It tells the person building the invoice which rules will apply to the line before they save it, which is when they can still change it.
What happens to each line, step by step
One mixed invoice, line by line
| Step | Stock item | Service | Custom line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priced from the catalogue | Yes | Yes | No |
| Checked against the shelf on save | Yes | No | No |
| Reserved when the order is confirmed | Yes | No | No |
| Issued from a warehouse | Yes | No | No |
| Cost of goods on sale | Yes | No | No |
| Reported by item in sales reports | Yes | Yes | No |
Built and maintained Configurable by you, not maintained by us Not built
A custom line is still useful. It is just invisible to anything that reports by item.
The stock check now looks only at stock
An invoice with a stock line that exceeds what is on the shelf is refused on save, and that refusal is right: it stops you invoicing goods you cannot deliver. Before services existed as items, a catalogue line with no stock would have tripped the same check. Now the check looks only at stock lines, in the browser, on the server and through the API alike.
So an invoice for ten boxes of cable and a day of installation is refused if you have eight boxes, and saved if you have ten, whatever the installation line says. The refusal names the cable, because the cable is the problem.
Confirming an order reserves only what can be reserved
When a sales order is confirmed, stock lines are reserved so the same units cannot be promised to two customers. A service line is not reserved and is never put on backorder, because there is nothing to hold. That matters more than it sounds: a reservation system that tries to hold a service either reserves zero and backorders the full quantity, or refuses the order, and in the first case the backorder never clears.
The refusal names the cable, because the cable is the problem.
Issuing and posting
When the invoice goes out, the warehouse issues the cable and nothing else. The invoice then posts once, revenue for both lines and cost of goods for the cable alone, for the reasons set out in the invoice that waited for a delivery. Reservations themselves are covered in reorder point and safety stock and pricing in five things a price has to be.
What AWRA OpsHub does today
- Item, Service and Custom line labels in the line editor on quotes, orders and invoices.
- A stock check that reads stock lines only, in the browser, on save and through the API.
- Reservations for stock lines only, so a confirmed order never backorders a service.
- Warehouse issue for stock lines only, with one posting for the whole invoice.
More we can add to your workspace
- Per-service income accounts on a mixed invoice, so the installation line lands in its own income account in the same single posting.
- Bundles of a product and its service, added to an invoice as one pick and priced together.
- A delivery date per service line, for scheduling installation separately from the goods.
Where we point you to a specialist
- The stock check on stock lines stays a hard refusal. We would not make it a warning to let a mixed invoice through, because the goods on it still have to exist.
Bundles, per-line service dates and the mixed-invoice account split can each be scoped for your workspace.
For businesses that always sell the two together
If the product and its service always travel together, the invoice can know that.
Product and service bundles
One pick adds the panels and the installation at a bundle price, and each line still follows its own rules.
Scheduled service lines
A date and an assignee on the installation line, so the job can be planned from the invoice.
How it works: you describe the requirement, we return a written scope, timeline and cost, and once agreed it is built into your workspace and maintained with the product.
Talk to us about sales documentsThree things to try on your first mixed invoice
Add a service and more stock than you hold of an item.
What should happen
Refused, naming the item.
Why it matters
The check is looking at the right line.
Confirm the order and open reservations.
What should happen
Only the stock line is held.
Why it matters
A held service is a backorder that never clears.
Issue the invoice and open the stock movement.
What should happen
Only the goods left the warehouse.
Why it matters
A service issued from stock is a fake product.
In one line
Put the goods and the service on one invoice, as your customer expects, and each line follows its own rules: stock is checked, reserved and issued; the service is priced, sold and posted, and never looked for on a shelf.
Build a mixed invoice in your own workspace
Start from the sample service every workspace has. The feature page shows the line editor.
See how service items workFrequently asked questions
Can one invoice carry both goods and services?
Yes. Each line is labelled Item, Service or Custom line, and each follows its own rules. Stock lines are checked, reserved and issued; service lines are not.
Will an invoice be refused because a service has no stock?
No. The stock check reads stock lines only. An invoice is refused only when a stock line exceeds what is on the shelf.
Is a service reserved when a sales order is confirmed?
No. Only stock lines are reserved, so a service is never put on backorder.
Can I still type a one-off line?
Yes. A custom line with a typed price is still available for charges that do not need a catalogue entry.
