DistributorsDesk

User Guide — for all roles

1 Introduction

DistributorsDesk is a distribution management system designed for businesses that buy goods from suppliers, store them, and sell them to retail customers via a field salesforce. It tracks the full cycle from stock purchasing through to payment collection, with role-based access so each team member only sees what they need.

The system runs locally in your browser and connects to the DistributorsDesk server on your network. No internet connection is required.

What the system manages

Stock — products, suppliers, inventory levels, movements, and adjustments
Sales cycle — orders, deliveries, invoices, payments, and sales returns
Purchasing — purchase orders from suppliers and purchase returns
Customers & credit — shop accounts, credit limits, and full ledgers
Salesmen — field agent accounts and performance tracking
Reports — sales summaries, outstanding invoices, stock valuation, and more

2 Roles & Access

Every user account has one of four roles. Your role determines which pages you can open and what actions you can take. You cannot change your own role — only an Admin can do that.

Admin

Full access to every page and action
Manage users, roles, and passwords
Create and delete master data (suppliers, products, customers)
Delete payments and adjust stock
Change system settings

Office

Create and edit master data (suppliers, products, customers)
Full access to orders, deliveries, invoices, payments
Record purchases and purchase returns
Create sales returns
View all reports
Cannot manage users or settings

Salesman

Create orders for customers (own orders only)
Record payments against outstanding invoices
View own orders, deliveries, and invoices
Cannot see other salesmen's data
Cannot access stock, purchasing, or master data

Warehouse

Receive stock from suppliers (create purchases)
Create and update deliveries
View and adjust stock levels
View all orders and deliveries
Cannot access invoices, payments, or customer financials

Salesman accounts are created through the Salesmen page, not the Users page. This is because a salesman has two linked records: a login account and a salesman profile. Both are created together in one step.

3 Logging In

Open the system in your browser. You will be redirected to the login page automatically if you are not already signed in.

Enter your username and password and press Enter or click Sign In.
If it is your first login (or an admin has reset your password), you will be prompted to set a new password before continuing. Choose something you will remember and keep it private.
After login you will land on the Dashboard, which shows a summary of activity relevant to your role.

Do not share your login with anyone. Each action in the system is recorded under your username. If you believe your password has been compromised, ask an Admin to reset it immediately.

To log out, click your name in the top-right corner and select Logout, or use the logout button in the sidebar.

4 System Flows

DistributorsDesk is built around a set of standard business flows. Understanding these flows will help you know which page to use at each stage of a transaction.

Flow A — Ordered Sale (most common)

A customer places an order with a salesman. The warehouse dispatches the goods. The office invoices the customer. The salesman or office collects payment.

Create an Order

The salesman visits the customer and records what they want to buy. Go to Orders and click New Order. Select the customer, add each product line with quantity and price, and save. The order status starts as pending. Admin and Office users also see a Create Invoice now option in the summary panel — tick this if you want to generate the invoice at the same time as the order, without waiting for a delivery.

Salesman Office

Create a Delivery

The warehouse picks and dispatches the goods. Go to Deliveries and click New Delivery. Choose From Order, select the pending order — the items and quantities will fill in automatically. Adjust quantities if only partial stock is available, then save. Stock is deducted immediately when you save. Mark the delivery as Delivered once the goods physically leave the warehouse.

Warehouse Office

Create an Invoice

There are two ways to create the invoice. Option 1 (from delivery): Once a delivery is marked delivered, open the delivery in Deliveries and click Create Invoice — but only if no invoice already exists for the order. Set the invoice date and payment type, then save. Option 2 (from order): If you ticked Create Invoice now when placing the order, the invoice is already created. No further action needed here. The invoice is visible to the salesman for payment collection.

Office

Record Payment

When the customer pays, record it in Payments. Click Record New Payment, select the customer, choose the invoice, enter the amount and method, and save. The invoice status will update automatically to partial or paid.

Salesman Office

Flow B — Direct Delivery (no prior order)

Sometimes goods are delivered without a prior order, such as a walk-in sale or a standing delivery to a regular customer. The delivery is created directly without needing to create an order first.

Create a Direct Delivery

Go to Deliveries → New Delivery. Switch the toggle to Direct (no order). Select the customer, add products manually, and save. Stock is deducted immediately. Admin and Office users see a Create Invoice now checkbox in the summary panel — tick this to generate the invoice at the same time as saving the delivery. If you do not tick it, you can create the invoice later from the delivery detail once it is marked as delivered.

Warehouse Office

Create Invoice & Record Payment

Proceed exactly as steps 3 and 4 of Flow A above.

Office

Flow C — Receiving Stock from a Supplier

When goods arrive from a supplier, they must be recorded in the system so that stock levels are updated.

Record a Purchase

Go to Purchases and click New Purchase. Select the supplier, enter the date and optionally the supplier's invoice number, then add each product line with quantity received and cost price. Save — stock for every item is increased automatically. No separate stock entry is needed.

Warehouse Office

Always record purchases before creating deliveries for those products. If you try to deliver more than the available stock the system will reject the delivery with an insufficient stock error.

Flow D — Payment Collection by Salesman

Salesmen collect payments from customers during field visits. The dashboard shows each salesman their own outstanding invoices so they know who to collect from.

Check the Dashboard

The salesman dashboard shows overdue invoices for their customers. This is the daily collection list.

Salesman

Record Payment

Go to Payments. Use the Record New Payment panel on the right. Search for the customer, select the invoice, enter the amount collected and the method (cash, cheque, bank transfer), and save. The system automatically links the payment to your salesman account — you cannot record payments against other salesmen.

Salesman

Flow E — Sales Return

If a customer returns goods — damaged, wrong items, or excess — record a sales return. The return restores stock and reduces the customer's outstanding balance.

Record the Return

Go to Sales Returns. Select the customer and optionally link to the original invoice (this auto-fills the items). Enter the quantity being returned, the reason, and save. Stock is restored immediately.

Office

A sales return reduces the customer's balance but does not automatically reverse or cancel the invoice. If the return results in the customer being in credit, record an outgoing payment or offset against the next invoice manually.

Flow F — Purchase Return

If goods received from a supplier need to be sent back — defective, wrong quantities, or over-supply — record a purchase return. Stock is deducted.

Record the Return

Go to Purchase Returns. Select the supplier, optionally link to the original purchase (this auto-fills the items at the original quantities and cost prices — adjust down to what you are actually returning), enter a reason, and save. Stock is reduced immediately.

Office

Purchase returns deduct stock. If returning the full quantity of a product would take stock negative, the system will warn you before saving. Confirm only if you are certain the count is correct.

5 Guide by Role

Salesman

As a salesman you work in the field, taking orders from customers and collecting payments. You only see data related to your own customers and orders — other salesmen's work is not visible to you.

Your daily workflow

Open the Dashboard — review your outstanding invoices and any pending orders that have not yet been delivered.
Visit customers and create Orders for what they want to buy. Select your customer, add the product lines and agreed prices, and save.
When customers pay you, go to Payments and record each payment with the method and amount. The invoice balance will update immediately.
Use the Orders page to check the delivery status of any order a customer is asking about. An order moves from pending to partial to completed as deliveries are made.
Check Invoices to see the payment status of any specific invoice if a customer disputes an amount.

You cannot cancel an order yourself — ask the office to cancel it if a customer changes their mind before any goods have been dispatched.

Warehouse

As a warehouse user you are responsible for receiving stock and dispatching it to customers. You do not deal with invoices or payments — that is the office's job.

Your daily workflow

Open the Dashboard — it shows pending deliveries that need to be picked and dispatched, and any items at low stock.
When goods arrive from a supplier, go to Purchases → New Purchase. Enter the supplier, date, and all items with the quantities received and cost prices. Save — stock increases automatically.
To dispatch goods, go to Deliveries → New Delivery. For orders, choose From Order and select the pending order. The items and quantities auto-fill. Reduce any quantities that are short-shipped. Save — stock is deducted immediately.
Once the physical goods leave the building, open the delivery in the list and click Mark as Delivered. This is what triggers the office to create the invoice.
Check Stock regularly for low-stock items. If a physical count does not match the system, use Adjustments to correct it with a reason note.

The system validates stock at the time you save a delivery. If any item is insufficient, the entire delivery will be rejected. Check the Stock page and ensure the purchase has been recorded before attempting the delivery.

Office

As an office user you coordinate the full transaction cycle, manage master data, and handle financial records. You interact with almost every page in the system.

Your daily tasks

Invoicing — You can create an invoice in two ways: (1) when placing a new order, tick Create Invoice now in the Order Summary panel and the invoice is created immediately; (2) once a delivery is marked delivered and no invoice exists yet, open it in the Deliveries list and click Create Invoice. Set the payment type and invoice date either way.
Payments — Record customer payments as they come in, whether cash from a salesman, cheque, or bank transfer. Each payment is linked to a specific invoice.
Outstanding follow-up — Use the Reports → Outstanding report to see all unpaid and partial invoices sorted by age. Follow up with customers who are overdue.
Customer ledgers — Open a customer record in the Customers page and click the ledger icon to see their full transaction history, balance, and credit usage.
Master data — Add new customers, suppliers, and products as needed. Keep product prices and reorder levels up to date.
Sales returns — Record any goods returned by customers via the Sales Returns page.

Admin

As an admin you have full access to everything the Office role can do, plus:

User management — Create, edit, and deactivate user accounts via the Users page. Reset passwords for any user.
Salesman accounts — Create salesman accounts via the Salesmen page (this creates both the login account and the salesman profile together).
Delete records — Only admins can delete suppliers, products, customers, and payments. Use this carefully; most deletions cannot be undone and some will fail if the record is referenced elsewhere.
Stock adjustments — Adjust stock levels for any product with an audit note.
Settings — Configure company name, contact details, currency symbol, and credit terms.

Deleting a product will fail if it has any associated stock movements. Deactivate it instead by editing the product and unchecking Active. Inactive products are hidden from order and delivery forms but their history is preserved.

6 All Pages

Orders

The Orders page lists all sales orders. Use the filters at the top to narrow by date range, customer, salesman, or status. Click any row or the eye icon to view the full order, including each line item and how much has already been delivered.

New Order	Creates a new order. Select customer, date, and product lines. For salesman accounts, orders are automatically linked to your own salesman record. Admin and Office users also see a Create Invoice now checkbox in the Order Summary panel — ticking this creates the invoice immediately when the order is saved, without waiting for a delivery.
View detail	Shows all items with original quantity and delivered quantity so far. A delivery button appears for pending/partial orders (office/warehouse).
Cancel Order	Only available for pending orders with no deliveries yet. Admin and Office only.

Order statuses: pending → partial (some items delivered) → completed (all items delivered). cancelled if cancelled before any deliveries.

Deliveries

Deliveries record the physical dispatch of goods to a customer. A delivery always deducts stock, and once invoiced it cannot be cancelled.

New Delivery	Choose From Order to link to a pending order (quantities pre-fill) or Direct to create a standalone delivery. Enter `?orderId=N` in the URL to pre-select a specific order.
Create Invoice now	Available for direct deliveries only (Admin and Office). A Create Invoice now checkbox appears in the summary panel when in direct mode. Tick it and choose the payment type to generate the invoice at the same time as saving the delivery. For order-based deliveries, use the order's own invoice option or create the invoice after marking as delivered.
Mark Delivered	Updates status to `delivered`. Once marked delivered, the office can create an invoice from the delivery detail if one does not already exist.
Cancel	Only available before invoicing. Cancelling does not restore stock automatically — use a stock adjustment if needed.
Create Invoice	Available for delivered, not-yet-invoiced deliveries. Office and Admin only. Not shown if an invoice already exists for this delivery or its linked order.

Invoices

An invoice can be created in two ways: directly when placing an order (Admin/Office only), or from a delivery once it is marked as delivered. Either way, each order or delivery produces at most one invoice. The invoice tracks how much has been paid and the remaining balance.

View detail	Shows the invoice line items, a balance strip (total / paid / balance due), payment history, and an inline Record Payment form.
Record Payment	Enter amount, method, and optional reference. Multiple partial payments are supported.
Delete Payment	Admin only. Removes a payment from the invoice and adjusts the balance.
Overdue banner	A count of overdue invoices is shown at the top of the list. Click to filter.

Payment statuses: unpaid → partial → paid. If total payments exceed the invoice amount the status becomes overpaid.

Payments

The Payments page shows the full payment history across all customers and invoices. Use it to verify a specific payment or to record a new one.

Record New Payment	Expandable panel on the right. Select customer → outstanding invoices load → select invoice → balance pre-fills. Enter amount, method, reference, and save.
Delete Payment	Admin only. Opens a confirmation dialog before deleting.

Sales Returns

Records goods returned by a customer. Stock is restored immediately on save.

New Sales Return	Select customer. Optionally link to an invoice — this pre-fills the product lines from that invoice. You can also add product lines manually. Enter reason and save.
View detail	Shows returned items and confirms stock was restored.

Purchases & Purchase Returns

Purchases record stock received from suppliers. Purchase returns record stock sent back.

New Purchase	Select supplier, date, optional supplier invoice reference, and add product lines with quantity and cost price. Stock increases on save.
Create Return	From the purchase detail modal, click Create Return to open Purchase Returns pre-filled with that purchase's items. Adjust quantities down to what you are returning.
New Purchase Return	Can also be created standalone: select supplier, optionally link a purchase, add items, and save. Stock decreases on save.

Stock, Movements & Adjustments

Stock	Current stock level per product. Shows reorder level and a level bar. Click any row to see the movement history for that product. Click the sliders icon to open a quick adjustment form.
Stock Movements	Full audit log of every stock change. Filter by product, movement type, or date. Each row shows the type (purchase, delivery, adjustment, etc.) and whether stock went in or out.
Adjustments	Manual corrections. Select a product — its current stock is shown — then enter a positive or negative quantity. A live preview shows the new balance. Enter a reason. Admin and Warehouse only.

Stock movements are automatic for purchases, deliveries, sales returns, and purchase returns. Use Adjustments only for physical count corrections or write-offs — always enter a clear reason so the audit log is useful.

Master Data: Customers, Suppliers, Products, Salesmen, Users

All master data pages share the same pattern: a searchable, filterable list with a slide-in edit drawer that opens when you click a row or the edit button.

Customers	Shop accounts. Each has a Ledger view showing all invoices, payments, and returns with the calculated balance. Inactive customers are hidden from order/delivery forms.
Suppliers	Vendor accounts. From the edit drawer, quick-links navigate to that supplier's products, purchases, and stock. Inactive suppliers are hidden from purchase forms.
Products	Product catalogue with cost, sale price, and a live margin preview in the edit drawer. Inactive products are hidden from entry forms. Deletion only succeeds if the product has no stock movements.
Salesmen	Admin only. Creating a salesman automatically creates a linked login account (Salesman role) with a temporary password — the salesman is prompted to change it on first login.
Users	Admin only. Role filter at top. You cannot delete or change the role of your own account. Password reset is in the edit drawer — expand the Set new password section.

Reports

Six reports are available, accessed via the tab bar at the top of the Reports page. Set any filters and click Run.

Sales Summary	Daily totals of invoiced sales and collected payments for a date range. Shows uncollected amount per day.
Salesman Performance	Orders, invoices, total sales, and collection rate per active salesman for a date range.
Outstanding Invoices	All unpaid and partial invoices, sorted by age. Filter by customer. Age badges colour from green (fresh) to red (very overdue).
Stock Valuation	Snapshot of current stock at cost and retail prices per product. Shows potential gross margin. Auto-runs when the tab opens.
Top Products	Top 20 products by quantity sold (via deliveries) in a date range, with a volume bar and revenue figure.
Customer Ledger	Full transaction history for one customer — invoices, payments, sales returns, and current balance. Select a customer to run.

Use your browser's print function (or the Print button) to print or save any report as a PDF.

7 Status Reference

Order status

pending partial completed cancelled

Pending — order saved, no deliveries yet.
Partial — at least one delivery has been made but not all items are fully delivered.
Completed — all ordered quantities have been delivered. Set automatically by the system.
Cancelled — manually cancelled before any deliveries. Cannot cancel once a delivery exists.

Delivery status

pending delivered cancelled

Pending — created but not yet physically dispatched.
Delivered — goods have left the warehouse. The office can now create an invoice.
Cancelled — cancelled. Note: stock is not automatically restored.

Invoice / payment status

unpaid partial paid overpaid

Unpaid — no payments recorded yet.
Partial — some amount paid, balance remains.
Paid — fully paid.
Overpaid — total payments exceed the invoice amount. This can happen with rounding or advance payments.

8 Tips & Shortcuts

Deep links between pages

Many pages link directly to related records on other pages:

In Orders detail, the Create Delivery button opens New Delivery pre-filled with that order.
In Purchases detail, the Create Return button opens Purchase Returns pre-filled with that purchase's items.
In Stock, the movements button on each row opens Stock Movements filtered to that product.
In Suppliers drawer, the quick-links navigate to products, purchases, and stock filtered to that supplier.
In Products drawer, the quick-links navigate to that product's stock level and movement log.
In Reports → Outstanding, invoice numbers link directly to the Invoices page.

Searching and filtering

Most list pages have a text search that filters on the most useful fields (name, SKU, phone, etc.). Search is debounced — results update as you type, no need to press Enter.
Use the Show inactive checkbox on master data pages to see deactivated records.
Date filters on list pages expect YYYY-MM-DD format, but the date picker handles this for you.

Invoice creation shortcuts

There are two points in the workflow where Admin and Office users can create an invoice without going to the Deliveries page:

At order creation — tick Create Invoice now in the New Order summary panel. Useful for cash sales or pre-invoiced orders where the goods go out the same day.
At direct delivery creation — tick Create Invoice now in the New Delivery summary panel (only available in direct mode, not when linking from an order). Useful for walk-in sales where the delivery and invoice happen simultaneously.

The system will block duplicate invoices — if an invoice already exists for an order, the Create Invoice button will not appear on any linked delivery.

Partial deliveries

You can deliver part of an order and create an invoice for just that delivery. The order status will move to partial. You can then create another delivery for the remaining items later. Each delivery can generate its own invoice, as long as no invoice was already created at the order level.

Multiple payments per invoice

Invoices can be paid in instalments. Each payment is recorded separately and the invoice status updates cumulatively. If a customer pays half now and half next week, record two separate payments. The invoice will show as partial after the first and paid after the second.

Credit limits

Customer credit limits are stored on the customer record and are visible in the customer ledger and the customer ledger report. The system records the limit but does not automatically block orders when the limit is exceeded — this is a reference field for the office to monitor. Check the Outstanding Invoices report regularly to manage credit exposure.

First-time setup checklist

If you are setting up DistributorsDesk for the first time, do these steps in order:

Go to Settings and enter your company name, phone, address, and currency details.
Go to Suppliers and add your suppliers.
Go to Products and add your product catalogue, linking each product to a supplier with cost and sale prices.
Go to Customers and add your customer accounts.
Go to Salesmen and create salesman accounts for your field team.
Go to Purchases and record your opening stock as a purchase from each supplier. This populates your initial stock levels.
Create any other user accounts (office, warehouse) via the Users page.