On a sales order in Business Central, several fields are calculated automatically and cannot be edited directly. This includes the line amount, line discounts, quantity shipped, quantity invoiced, and all the totals at the bottom of the document.
The line amount is calculated from the quantity multiplied by the unit price. If you lower the unit price below the standard, the line discount fills out automatically in both percentage and amount.
The only fields you can edit in the totals section are the invoice discounts, where you can enter either an amount or a percentage. If the customer has an invoice discount set up and your Sales & Receivables Setup is configured to calculate invoice discounts automatically, even these fields become non-editable.
Calculated fields on the sales order line
The sales order line contains a few fields that are calculated for you rather than typed in manually.
The line amount is automatically calculated based on the quantity and the unit price. You do not enter this value yourself. When you change one of the underlying numbers, the line amount updates accordingly.
If you change the unit price to a smaller number than the standard, the line discount is automatically filled out. This happens in both the percentage field and the amount field, so you can see the discount expressed either way.
Two more fields, Quantity Shipped and Quantity Invoiced, show whether documents have already been posted from the sales order. They display the quantity that has either been shipped or invoiced, giving you a quick picture of how far the order has progressed.
How the totals under the sales lines are calculated
Below the sales lines you find the totals for the order. These are calculated automatically and include:
- Subtotal Excluding VAT
- The Total
- The VAT Total
- The Total Including VAT
You do not edit any of these directly. They reflect the values from the lines and the VAT setup.
Editing invoice discounts in the totals
The only fields in the totals that you can change are the invoice discounts. You can either add an amount or a percentage, and the totals adjust to match.
There is one exception. If the customer has an invoice discount set up, and your Sales & Receivables Setup is configured so that invoice discounts are calculated automatically, then the invoice discount fields are not editable. In that situation Business Central handles the discount for you based on the rules you have defined.
Q&A
How is the line amount on a sales order calculated?
The line amount is calculated automatically based on the quantity multiplied by the unit price. You cannot edit it directly.
When does the line discount fill out automatically?
When you change the unit price to a smaller number than the standard, the line discount is filled out automatically in both percentage and amount.
What do Quantity Shipped and Quantity Invoiced show?
They show whether documents have already been posted from the sales order, displaying the quantity that has been shipped or invoiced.
Which fields in the totals can I edit?
Only the invoice discounts. You can add either an amount or a percentage. The subtotal excluding VAT, the total, the VAT total, and the total including VAT are all calculated automatically.
Why can’t I edit the invoice discount fields?
If the customer has an invoice discount set up and your Sales & Receivables Setup is configured to calculate invoice discounts automatically, the invoice discount fields are not editable.