Order entry is where errors start
A mistyped quantity or a wrong ship-to address entered at the start of the order shows up later as a short shipment, a credit note or an unhappy customer. Customer service teams spend hours a day keying orders and fixing the ones that went in wrong.
Sales order automation takes the keying out and puts checks in. Each order is compared with the customer's price list, minimum order quantities, stock positions and delivery calendar before it reaches your ERP. Orders that pass go straight in; orders that do not are flagged with the specific problem.
From inbox to sales order
Receive
POs are collected from the orders inbox, portals or EDI as they arrive.
Read
Customer, ship-to, dates, terms and every line are extracted.
Map
Customer part numbers are translated to your SKUs using a cross-reference table.
Check
Prices, quantities, stock and lead times are validated against the ERP.
Create
Sales orders are drafted or created, and the customer gets a confirmation.
Exceptions we handle explicitly
Price mismatch
PO price differs from the contract or list price beyond your tolerance.
Unknown item
Customer part number not in the cross-reference; suggested matches offered.
Insufficient stock
Requested quantity or date cannot be met; alternatives proposed.
New ship-to
Delivery address not on file; routed to set up before the order proceeds.
Duplicate PO
Same PO number already received; held for confirmation.
Changed order
Revised PO detected and compared line by line with the original.
An example order entry finding
Customer part numbers are the most common reason orders need a person.
- What we found
- Large customers order with their own item codes. Staff translate them from memory or a spreadsheet.
- Fix
- A maintained cross-reference table in the ERP, suggestions for unknown codes, and learning from every correction.
- Effect
- Unknown items drop steadily as the table fills; new codes are confirmed once and then handled automatically.
Signs order entry is ready to automate
Purchase order automation pays back fastest when several of these are true.
- Order volume is steady and highDozens to hundreds of orders a day or week, not a handful.
- Most orders arrive by emailAs PDFs, spreadsheets or in the email body.
- Errors are costlyWrong items, prices or ship-to addresses lead to credits and returns.
- Customer service is stretchedOrder entry crowds out time for customers.
Common questions
Our customers all use different PO formats. Is that a problem?
No. Modern extraction handles varied layouts without templates. Larger customers with consistent formats often reach very high straight-through rates quickly; occasional senders are handled the same way, with more of them going to review at first.
Can we keep EDI for our big accounts?
Yes. EDI and automated PDF/email intake can feed the same validation and order-creation logic, so every order goes through the same checks.
Which ERPs do you create orders in?
NetSuite, Business Central, SAP Business One, Acumatica, Epicor, Sage and others with an API or import. See integration services.
What happens with orders that fail validation?
They go to a review queue, in Outlook, Teams or your ERP, with the specific problem shown, such as a price outside tolerance or an unknown ship-to, so staff can fix it in seconds.
Send us a week of purchase orders
Share a sample of real POs, with prices removed if you prefer. We will show you how many could have gone straight into your ERP.