A sales order form template, a supply order form and a service order form are the same document with different lines on it: a sales order lists goods at quantity and price, a supply order lists the stock a business is ordering in, and a service order lists the work at a rate with the parts beneath it. All three total the same way, lines to a subtotal, sales tax at the business's own rate on the goods, delivery as its own line and a total the customer signs. This page walks the three forms by their lines, works an example, and points at the free order form on this site that does the arithmetic on the page from the counter's own quantities, prices and rate. It publishes no tax rate.
The sales order: goods at quantity and price
A sales order records what a customer has agreed to buy before it ships or is collected: each line a quantity at a unit price, worked to a line total. Two units at $45, one at $120 and three at $15 are $255 of goods across six units on the worked example. The form works the lines and the subtotal so the sales order and the later invoice start from the same figures, and a change to a quantity changes the subtotal with it.
The supply order: the same lines, the business as the buyer
An office supplies order form template or a supply order form is the business ordering its own stock in, and its lines are the same arithmetic pointed the other way: quantity, unit price, line total, subtotal. The tax and delivery lines are the supplier's, and the form shows them as figures so the person approving the order sees the total before it goes. Working it on the same form the counter uses means one arithmetic for orders in and orders out.
The service order: the work at a rate, the parts beneath it
A service order form lists the labor at hours times a rate on one line and the parts on the lines below, and sales tax usually applies to the parts and not the labor, though that is the state's rule and the business's accountant's answer, not the form's. The form applies the rate you enter to the goods lines you mark, adds the call-out or delivery as its own figure and totals the order so the customer signs a number that agrees with the lines.
One form, three uses, every order kept
The free order form on this site works all three from the lines the counter types, with no account, and prints the customer's copy. OrderPadLedger Pro keeps every sales, supply and service order against the customer or the supplier, brands the paperwork and exports the history. No rate, rule or price on it is anything but the business's own.
Questions people ask about sales order form template
What is the difference between a sales order and an invoice?
The sales order records what was agreed to be supplied and at what price before it ships; the invoice asks for payment afterwards. The order form on this site works the sales order's lines and total; invoicing is another venture's product.
Can the same template serve as a supply order form?
Yes: a supply order is the business buying stock in, and its lines total the same way. Enter the supplier's prices and delivery and the form works the subtotal, tax and total.
Is tax charged on the labour line of a service order?
That depends on your state's rule and is your accountant's answer; the form applies the rate you enter to the lines you mark as taxable goods and publishes no rule.