DBD: Order Entry 1 - Standard Sales Order Header

This process allows you to enter standard customer sales orders directly into DB Distributor (DBd). Following this workflow ensures that critical order metadata—like order defaults, customer PO numbers, requested delivery dates, and salesperson commission rules—are captured correctly before you start entering individual line items.

⚙️ Tailoring Your View: Standard Grid vs. Summary Entry Mode Your lines screen appearance is controlled by your user settings in Application Security by Operator Parameters.

Standard Layout (Default): If the line grid toggle is left blank, you will see the multi-tab item configuration view.
Summary Entry Layout: Checking this box to an "X" activates a condensed, single-screen summary view designed for fast, high-volume data entry.

The articles in this series display the Standard Grid view, but the fields, data entry sequence, and backend logic remain completely identical if you are utilizing Summary Entry Mode.

Order Entry Defaults

When you first open the Order Entry screen, you will be greeted by the Order Entry Defaults panel.

Navigation: DB Distributor > Order Processing > Order Processing > Order Entry

The entries you select here will automatically apply to every subsequent order you enter during this session, saving you tons of repetitive typing. If a specific order needs different rules, don't worry—you can easily override these settings on individual orders later.

Key Fields to Set:

CSR Code: Enter your unique customer service representative identifier.

Order Type: Select the option that will handle the majority of the orders you are entering today. Use these quick rules to pick the right one:
- Sales Order: Use this if any part of the order involves manufacturing product directly for the customer, bringing goods into the warehouse as customer-owned inventory, or a mixed order.
- Release: Select this only for items being pulled directly out of your warehouse that are already strictly Customer Owned.
- Billable Release: Select this for warehouse pull items that can be either Customer Owned or Distributor Owned.
- Bill As Shipped: Choose this if you are creating orders for product to be manufactured and shipped to one of your warehouses to be released and billed on a "Bill as Shipped" basis later.
Shipping Fields (FOB, How to Ship, Ship VIA): These are validated fields. Use the dropdown boxes to pick your most common default options.

Click Proceed when you're ready to move forward.

Order Entry

Once you clear the defaults screen, click Add New Order on the main panel to have the system automatically generate and assign the next sequential order number.

Sales Order Header

Customer Info Tab

Type in your customer's unique code. Once entered, their information will default straight from the customer master file, along with any custom pop-up messages containing notes or instructions specific to that account.

⏱️ Time-Saver: Copying a Previous Order After entering your customer number, you can save a massive amount of time by clicking the Repeat Order button instead of starting from scratch!

Know the order number? Key it right in.
Need to find it? Click the Query (magnifying glass) button to browse.

Once you select an order, all line items and shipping details will show up in the preview box. If it's a match, click Use this Order to pull everything into your new ticket. If you change your mind, just click Exit or hit Enter to keep moving forward with a fresh, blank order.

📘 Looking for advanced repeat rules or template setups? Check out our standalone DBD: Saving Time with Repeat Orders guide.

Customer P/O: Enter your customer’s purchase order number here. Depending on how this specific customer account is set up, this field might be strictly mandatory, and the system may require the PO number to be completely unique to prevent duplicate entries.
Order Date: This defaults automatically from your initial session settings.
Date Requested: Enter the target date the customer needs the product delivered. You can click the query icon to pop open a handy visual calendar.
Order Type: This will show the default choice you picked on your very first screen. You can still change it here if an exception pops up.
Freight Markup: This field is populated from the Customer Defaults for the customer you are entering this order for. This can be based on the order type. This field is only available in order entry when an Order Processing System parameter is set to allow entry at the order level.
Click Next.

⚡ Summary Entry Mode Shortcut

If your operator profile is configured for Summary Entry Mode (with an "X" in your operator parameters), DBd automatically fast-tracks your header setup right here on this first screen:

The system pulls the Order Type selection and Freight Markup Table fields forward onto this initial panel.
Verify those two settings and ensure your customer code is set.
The Shortcut: Instead of clicking Next to cycle through the second and third tabs, you can click Finish right now! The system will bypass the extra screens and drop you straight into your active order entry lines.

💡 Note: If you ever do need to adjust advanced header details on those hidden tabs, you can still manually click Next to step through them like normal before hitting Finish.

Order Info tab

Repeat Order: If you want this order to be easily searchable for future copy-pasting, select "Yes" from the dropdown and type a unique, recognizable description in the comment field so your team can spot it instantly during a query.
Deposit Check: If the customer is making an upfront deposit, type those financial details right into this section. This data will automatically print clearly on their final customer invoice.
Summary Bill? This will default to the customer master setting, but you can override this at the order level by checking/unchecking this box if this order should/should not be part of a Summary Bill.

Once your Order Info fields are set, click Next.

Salesperson Info Tab

DBd allows up to five separate salespeople to share the gross profit credit and final commission on a single order, which is perfect for cross-territory or collaborative accounts.

The active sales rep codes and their percentage splits pull through automatically from the customer master file. These percentages dictate exactly how the final commission pool is sliced up (for example, Warren getting 80% and Keith getting 20%).

Depending on your individual security settings in your operator profile, you may be able to manually override these splits on the fly. Once verified, simply click Finish to lock in your header data and open up line item entry!

Now that your header metadata is locked in, you are ready to build out your order lines, configure shipping, or handle releases. Follow the sequence below: