Support
Quotes, Purchase Orders, and Invoices
Large enterprise customers often have a procurement process that requires you to provide them with a quote, purchase order, and invoice. This is a brief overview of the process.
Typically, there are 3 documents that are used to sell products to enterprise customers:
- Quotes
- Purchase Orders
- Invoices
Quotes
Quotes originate from the seller and provide enterprise customers with a basis to create a purchase order.
The quote is generally approved or changes are requested by the customer. Once they have approved the quote, they will create a purchase order based on the quote.
A quote is not a legal document and is not used to collect payment from the customer.
Quotes can be created in Stripe and you can download a PDF of the quote to send to the customer.
Registration as a Vendor
In order to sell products to enterprise customers, you will need to register as a vendor with the customer. This is generally done by filling out a form and providing information about your company such as:
- Company Name
- Address
- Tax ID
- DUNS Number
- W9
Not all enterprise customers will require you to register as a vendor. Some will just require a quote and a purchase order.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders are created by the customer and are based on the quote. The purchase order is a legal document that is used to create an invoice.
Generally they will provide a PO number that is used to track the purchase order. It is important to include the PO number on the invoice.
Invoices
Invoices are created by the seller and are based on the purchase order. The invoice is a legal document that is used to collect payment from the customer.
NET Terms
NET terms are the number of days that the customer has to pay the invoice. For example, NET 30 means that the customer has 30 days to pay the invoice.
Payment Methods
Payment methods are the ways that the customer can pay the invoice.
- Credit Card
- ACH
We strongly prefer to use Stripe for credit card payments and ACH payments via their invoicing system.