Odoo's Sales module handles the full cycle from quotation through to sales order, delivery, and invoicing. Getting the configuration right means your team sends professional quotes quickly and orders flow through your business without manual re-entry.
Configure sales settings
- Go to Sales → Configuration → Settings.
- Enable Quotation Templates if you want reusable quote formats for common scenarios.
- Enable Discounts to allow salespeople to apply percentage discounts on quote lines.
- Enable Margins if you want to see profit margins on each quote line (requires product cost prices).
- Enable Online Signature and/or Online Payment to let customers accept quotes digitally.
- Set a default quotation validity period (e.g., 30 days).
- Configure lock confirmed sales orders to prevent edits after confirmation.
Create quotation templates
- Go to Sales → Configuration → Quotation Templates.
- Click New and give the template a name (e.g., "Standard Product Quote", "Service Engagement", "Annual Retainer").
- Add default order lines — products and services that are typically included.
- Add optional products — items the customer can add to their order when they view the quote online.
- Set a default validity period and payment terms.
- Write a header note (introduction text) and footer note (terms and conditions) that appear on the PDF.
- When creating a new quote, select the template and all defaults populate automatically.
Set up pricing
- Product prices — Set the default sale price on each product. This is the starting point for all quotes.
- Pricelists — Enable pricelists in Sales settings for customer-specific or volume-based pricing. Create pricelists with rules like "10% discount for orders over $5,000" or "VIP customers get $50/unit instead of $60/unit."
- Quantity discounts — Configure price breaks at specific quantities (e.g., 1–9 units at $100, 10–49 at $90, 50+ at $80).
- Currency — Set your default currency to AUD. If you sell internationally, enable multi-currency and configure exchange rate sources.
Configure payment terms
- Go to Accounting → Configuration → Payment Terms.
- Common Australian payment terms: "Due on Receipt", "Net 30 Days", "50% Upfront / 50% on Delivery".
- For split payments, add multiple lines. Example: 50% due immediately, 50% due 30 days after invoice date.
- Assign default payment terms per customer. New quotes for that customer automatically use their agreed terms.
Set GST correctly on your products before creating quotes. Odoo calculates GST based on the fiscal position and tax rules on each product. For Australian B2C sales, prices should be GST-inclusive. For B2B, either approach works but be consistent.
Sending quotes to customers
- Click Send by Email on the quotation. Odoo generates a PDF and attaches it to an email.
- Customise the email template under Settings → Technical → Email Templates to match your brand.
- The email includes a link to the online quote — the customer views the quote in their browser, can add optional products, and accept with an e-signature.
- You can track when the customer opens the quote (email tracking) and views it online.
From quote to sales order
- When the customer accepts the quote (online or verbally), click Confirm to convert it to a sales order.
- Confirming the order automatically triggers: delivery order creation (for physical products), project creation (for services configured to create projects), manufacturing order (for make-to-order products), and purchase order (if dropshipping).
- The sales order becomes the reference point for delivery, invoicing, and payment tracking.
Invoicing from sales orders
- Invoice on order confirmation — Generate the invoice immediately when the order is confirmed. Best for prepaid orders.
- Invoice on delivery — Generate the invoice after goods are shipped. Best for standard B2B where you bill after delivery.
- Invoice on milestones — For services projects, invoice when milestones are completed.
- Invoice on timesheets — For time & materials services, invoice based on logged hours.
- Configure the default invoicing policy per product under the product's Sales tab.
Useful customisations
- Quote PDF layout — Customise the PDF layout with your logo, colours, and layout preferences under Settings → Companies → Document Layout.
- Approval workflow — Require manager approval for quotes above a certain value. Enable under Sales settings.
- Terms and conditions — Add default T&Cs to all quotes, or use template-specific terms.
- Product configurator — For products with many variants, enable the product configurator so salespeople can select options step-by-step when adding to a quote.
A properly configured sales workflow in Odoo means quotes go out faster, orders flow through without manual intervention, and nothing falls through the cracks. If you need help setting this up, reach out.