6. Franchise orders: head office
A franchise’s order arrives with its invoice already drafted. Check it, accept it (which issues the invoice), wait for payment if they prepay, then dispatch it.
Where it is
Settings for this
- Settings → Network — General tab: Accepting Inbound Orders
- Settings → Orders — Who’s on duty for franchise orders
Who this is for: head-office staff who look after franchise orders.
Where it starts
At the franchise (lesson 7). When they press Send to HQ, BuildTrack creates head office's sales order and a draft invoice for it. You get a bell: "New inbound PO from…".
Step by step
- Find it. The Orders desk, Franchise channel, shows New · Accept order.
- Check it. Press Open PO-… (or Enter) to open the order page. On the Lines tab, the Free here column shows what you have.
- Wrong part or price? Press Edit Parts & Pricing; ⚡ Auto-match to HQ catalogue fixes most of them. Your changes flow to the sales order and the invoice.
- Not taking it? Press Reject Order and give the reason; the franchise sees it.
- Accept it. Press Accept on the desk, or Accept Order on the order page. In the box, tick Email the invoice to… if you want it emailed, then Accept Order.
- Payment. A franchise on payment terms is ready to send straight away. A prepay franchise shows Waiting for payment, the customer's move, and Dispatch stays switched off until it's paid. They can pay by card from their order; for a bank transfer, open the invoice and press Record Payment. Once it's paid in full, it moves to Ready by itself and the franchise is told.
- Dispatch it. On the order page press Dispatch. Choose the warehouse for each line and the quantity under Dispatch Now. Add Carrier and Tracking number, and freight if you charge it. Press Confirm Dispatch. (Or press Pick it on the desk to pick it on the Dispatch board first.)
- Can't send it all? Send what you have; the button becomes Dispatch More. Set Rest expected on the order page so the franchise sees when the rest is coming. If the rest isn't coming at all, press Close Short: it raises a credit note for what you won't send.
What happens by itself
On Accept:
- The invoice is issued, dated today, and the franchise's terms start.
- Free stock is held for the order.
- The franchise gets a bell: "Order accepted".
- The invoice goes to their Xero as a draft bill at their next sync.
On dispatch:
- Stock leaves.
- Their purchase order shows what was sent, with the tracking.
- They're told it's on the way.
Talking to the franchise
The order page's Timeline & messages tab has Messages with {franchise}. Anything they write shows a Franchise wrote flag on the desk until you reply.
What you'll see on the Orders desk
| When | Stage | Next step | Whose move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just arrived | New | Accept order | Us |
| Accepted, prepay, not paid | Accepted | Waiting for payment | Customer (the franchise) |
| Something short | Sourcing | Order the short lines | Us |
| Ready to send | Ready | Pick & pack | Us |
| Part sent | Out | Send the rest | Us |
| Sent, not received yet | Out | With the franchise to receive | Customer (the franchise) |
Returns
When a franchise sends goods back, the desk shows "franchise return to receive" across the top. On the order's Returns from the franchise panel, press Receive and credit: choose whether the goods go back into stock and add any restocking fee. Or press Decline, which puts the goods back in their stock with nothing credited.
Accepting automatically
Settings → Network, General tab, Accepting Inbound Orders › Accept orders automatically accepts an order the moment it's sent, but only when the franchise has terms and isn't on hold, every line is your product, and you have the stock. Anything else still waits for a person.
Where it ends
The franchise receives it: the order drops off the desk.
Lesson 6 of 10 in Orders, start to finish. Previous: 5. Dealer portal orders. Next: 7. Franchise orders: ordering from head office.