---
title: Order Entry — Field Reference
description: "**Audience:** bookkeeper, admin · **Last updated:** 2026-06-07 · [Edit on GitHub](https://github.com/phreesoft/bizuno/edit/main/docs/04-modules-in-depth/01-phreebooks/06-order-manager/01-order-entry-fields.md) # Order Entry — Field Reference Every field on the sale/purchase entry form, organized by the panel it lives in. The form is the same for all eight trading…"
url: "https://www.bizuno.com/docs/order-entry-fields/"
updated: "2026-06-18"
category: Order Manager
---

# Order Entry — Field Reference

**Audience:** bookkeeper, admin · **Last updated:** 2026-06-07 · [Edit on GitHub](https://github.com/phreesoft/bizuno/edit/main/docs/04-modules-in-depth/01-phreebooks/06-order-manager/01-order-entry-fields.md)

# Order Entry — Field Reference

Every field on the sale/purchase entry form, organized by the panel it lives in.
 The form is the same for all eight trading journals; where a field's label,
 visibility, or behavior changes by journal, that's called out inline.

Fields are stored on the `journal_main` table (header) and `journal_item` table
 (line items). The bill-to block uses the `_b` suffix, the ship-to block uses
 `_s`.

> **Reading the journal-dependent labels.** Several fields are *relabeled* per
>  journal rather than being different fields. The clearest example is the date
>  field (`terminal_date`) — same column, four different labels. Watch for the
>  "label varies" notes.

---

## Header / identity panel

### Reference number (`invoice_num`)

The document number. Its **label changes per journal** (`invoice_num_{jID}`):
 "Quote #", "PO #", "Invoice #", and so on.

- **Leave it blank to auto-assign.** Bizuno fills the next number in sequence for
   that journal when you save. The on-screen tip says exactly this.
- On a **Purchase (`jID=6`)** you may save *without* a reference number **only if**
   the **Waiting** box is checked (goods received, vendor invoice not arrived yet).
   Otherwise a reference is required.

### Vendor/Customer document number (`purch_order_id`)

The *other party's* number for this transaction — your customer's PO number on a
 sale, or (on the buying side) a cross-reference. Free text. Hidden on journals
 that don't trade with a contact (General Journal, assemblies, adjustments,
 transfers, and the payment journals).

### Store (`store_id`)

The store/location this transaction belongs to in a multi-store install. Defaults
 to the user's home store. On a single-store install it's effectively fixed at 0.
 On line-item screens that read stock, changing the store re-points the SKU lookup
 at that store's inventory.

### Post date (`post_date`)

The transaction date. Drives the fiscal **period** the entry posts into (for the
 journals that post). For quotes and orders, which don't post to the GL, it's the
 document date.

### The journal date field (`terminal_date`) — label varies

One physical field, repurposed by journal:

| Journal | Label shown | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Quotes (`jID` 3, 9) | Expiration Date | When the quote lapses |
| Orders (`jID` 4, 10) | Expected Ship | Planned ship/receipt date |
| Sales invoice (`jID=12`) | Ship Date | When goods shipped |
| All others (e.g. bill `jID=6`) | Due Date | When payment is due |

### Terms (`terms` / `terms_text` / `terms_edit`)

Payment terms for the transaction.

- **`terms_text`** is the human-readable display ("Net 30", "Due on receipt") and
   is read-only.
- The **gear / settings icon** (`terms_edit`) opens the terms editor dialog so you
   can override terms for *this* contact without leaving the form.
- The underlying `terms` value defaults from the contact record.

### Sales/Purchase rep (`rep_id`)

The responsible rep. The dropdown is populated from the **purchasing** role list
 for vendor journals (`jID` 3, 4, 6, 7) and the **sales** role list otherwise.
 Also used by the manager's per-rep filter and by user-restriction rules (a
 restricted user only sees their own rep's rows).

### Currency (`currency` / `currency_rate`)

Shown only when the install has **more than one currency** enabled. Selecting a
 currency recalculates the totals panel; the exchange `currency_rate` is displayed
 read-only (it comes from the currency table for the post date).

---

## Contact block — Bill-to (`_b`) and Ship-to (`_s`)

The contact lookup at the top of each block searches the Contacts table. Picking
 a contact fills the name and address fields and pulls that contact's **default GL
 account** and **default tax authority** into the form (used as the line-item
 defaults below).

Per block, the address fields are: primary name, contact name, address 1/2, city,
 state, postal code, country, telephone, email (`primary_name_b`, `address1_b`, …
 and the `_s` equivalents).

- **Bill-to (`_b`)** is the party you invoice / pay. On the trading journals
   (3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13) a bill-to contact is **required** — saving without
   one is rejected.
- **Ship-to (`_s`)** is where goods go. The "copy from billing" control fills it
   from the bill-to; editing the shipping address afterward detaches it
   (`address_id_s` clears) so saving creates a *new* shipping address rather than
   overwriting the contact's stored one.

---

## Line-item grid

The editable grid of what's being bought or sold. One row per SKU/charge.

| Column | Field | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SKU | `sku` | Combogrid lookup against inventory for the selected store. Selecting a SKU auto-fills description and the item GL account. |
| Description | `description` | Defaults from the item's short description; freely editable. |
| GL account | `gl_acct_id` | Defaults to the contact's GL account, then the item's. The dropdown excludes inactive accounts. |
| Quantity | `qty` | The order/sell quantity. The lookup surfaces stock context — on hand (`qty_stock`), on SO (`qty_so`), on PO (`qty_po`), this store vs. all stores (`qty_store` / `qty_all`). |
| Price | `price` | Unit price; sale price defaults from the item, purchase from last cost. |
| Tax | `tax` | The line's tax authority; defaults from the contact's tax id. |
| Total | (calculated) | Qty × price, less line discount, recomputed live. |

Adding a row, editing inline, and saving the grid are handled by the embedded
 edit-datagrid; the grid is serialized into the hidden `item_array` field on
 submit.

---

## Totals panel

The totals area is **assembled from stackable "totals" plugins**, and *which*
 plugins appear is configured per journal (Settings → the journal's totals list).
 That's why the panel differs between, say, a sales order and a bank payment. The
 common methods:

| Method | Shows as | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `subtotal` | Subtotal | Sum of line items |
| `discount` / `disc_item` | Discount | Whole-order or per-item discount |
| `shipping` | Freight | Shipping/handling charge |
| `tax_item` / `tax_order` | Sales Tax | Tax computed per line or on the order |
| `tax_other` | Other Tax | Secondary tax authority |
| `fee_order` | Fee | Flat order fee/surcharge |
| `total` | Total | Grand total (`total_amount`) |
| `total_pmt` | Payments / Applied | Payments already applied (on invoices/bills) |
| `balance` | Balance Due | Total minus payments |

Each plugin contributes both the on-screen number and the matching General Ledger
 distribution when the entry posts. The totals recompute live as you edit lines
 (`totalUpdate()`), and the saved total is validated against the recomputed total
 on post — a mismatch is trapped rather than silently saved.

---

## Flags, recurrence, and footer

### Waiting (`waiting`)

Marks an order as confirmed-but-not-yet-invoiced (sales side) or
 received-but-not-yet-billed (purchase side). On a Purchase you can save without a
 reference number *if* Waiting is checked. See the manager's
 [waiting view](/docs/readme/#the-waiting-view) and the
 [action column toggles](/docs/action-column/).

### Closed (`closed`)

The terminal state for the record: a quote/order that's been fully converted, or
 an invoice/bill that's fully paid. Set by the system as downstream documents are
 created; you generally don't toggle it by hand. A **closed order cannot be
 Saved-As or Moved-To** (the menu blocks it).

### Recurring (`recur` toolbar button + `recur_id` / `recur_frequency`)

The **Recur** toolbar button opens the recurrence dialog. On save, Bizuno can
 post the entry multiple times on a schedule — Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, or
 Quarterly — advancing the post date, due date, and reference number for each copy.
 All copies share one `recur_id` so they can be managed (or rolled forward) as a
 set. A record that is part of a recurring series **cannot be Saved-As / Moved-To**
 (it's a linked record).

### Notes

A free-text notes panel. On a saved record the inline **save** icon
 (`notes_save`) writes just the note without re-posting the whole entry.

### Attachments

The attachment area stores files against the record (quotes, signed POs, vendor
 invoices). Attachments follow the record when an order is filled into its
 invoice. A paperclip icon appears in the grid action column when a row has files.

---

## Hidden / system fields

These exist on the form but aren't user-facing; listed so the reference is
 complete:

- `override_user` / `override_pass` — credentials captured when an action needs to
   override a locked period or a security gate.
- `item_array` — the serialized line-item grid, posted with the form.
- `xAction` / `xChild` — the action selectors the Save menu sets to tell the
   server what post-save step to run (see [The Save menu](/docs/save-menu/)).
- `journal_msg` — the status banner Bizuno renders at the top of the form when it
   has something to tell you about the record.

---

## Related

- [The Save menu](/docs/save-menu/)
- [The action column](/docs/action-column/)
- [Journals (the journal_id reference)](/docs/journals/)