Delivery Challans

For: People using the software to create and manage delivery challans

Purpose: Understand what the Delivery Challan module does and how it helps your business

What This Module Does

A delivery challan is a document that records the dispatch of goods to a customer. It lists the items, quantities, and (optionally) rates being sent. You can create a delivery challan from scratch or from one or more sales orders. Once a challan is Sent, you can create an Invoice from it to bill the customer for the dispatched items. The system links challans to sales orders so you can see which orders have been fully or partly delivered, and it can deduct stock from your warehouse when you create or update a challan (and reverse that deduction when you cancel or delete it).

The Delivery Challan module lets you:

• Create and edit delivery challans (when the status allows).
• Create challans from sales orders (select order(s) and items/quantities to dispatch).
• Attach documents.
• See which sales orders a challan is linked to and which invoices were created from it.
• Change challan status (e.g. Draft → Sent → Cancelled).
• Create Invoices from Sent challans.
• Use lists of Sent challans (and their items) when creating an invoice for a customer.

Main Features (What You Can Do)

1. Create a New Delivery Challan

When you create a delivery challan you typically enter:

• Customer: who the goods are being sent to.
• Branch, division, and warehouse: where the challan is raised and from where stock is dispatched.
• Shipping address: the customer's main shipping address or one of their additional addresses. The system checks that this address belongs to the selected customer.
• Items: products (and optionally services), quantities, rates, and amounts. You can add discounts (percentage or amount) per item.
• Challan date, reference, challan type (if used), and total amount.
• Attachments: you can upload files. These are stored securely and shown with the challan.

Creating from sales orders

• You can create a delivery challan from one or more sales orders. You select the sales order(s) and choose which items and quantities to include in this dispatch. The system links the challan to those orders and records the link in each order's "Converted to" list. The system also checks that the quantities you are dispatching do not exceed what is still pending on the orders (not yet delivered or invoiced). After saving, the system may update the sales order status (e.g. to Partially Recorded or Completed) based on how much has been delivered and invoiced.

Stock check and stock deduction

• If your company has stock check enabled for delivery challans, the system checks that enough stock is available in the selected warehouse for the items. You cannot save the challan if stock is insufficient (unless the rule is changed).
• If your company has stock deduction enabled, the system deducts the dispatched quantity from the warehouse stock when you save the challan. Batch or lot details (if used) may be stored with each item. This keeps your inventory in sync with what you have actually sent out.

Credit limit

• If the customer has a credit limit and delivery challans are included in that limit, the system checks that creating this challan does not exceed the limit. The limit can be overall for the customer or per branch. If the limit would be exceeded, you get a clear message with the total limit, current usage, and remaining amount. You cannot save the challan until the total is within limit (or the limit is increased).

Payment terms / overdue invoices

• If your company restricts creating delivery challans when the customer has overdue invoices, the system checks for any overdue invoice for that customer. If one exists, you cannot create the challan until the overdue invoice is paid or the restriction is changed.

What the system does when you save

• It generates a unique challan number (e.g. DC-001).
• It records who created the challan and when.
• It stores your company's authorised signature and primary bank details (for display on the challan, if configured).
• It adds a note in the challan's comment history (e.g. "Delivery Challan created for amount ₹X" or "Delivery Challan created from Sales Order SO-001").
• If the challan is linked to sales orders, it updates each order's "Converted to" list and may update the order's delivery/fulfilment status.

2. View and Search Delivery Challans

You can list delivery challans with:

• Date range: from date and to date (challan date).
• Branch and division: filter by one or more branches or divisions.
• Status: e.g. Draft, Sent, Delivered, Cancelled.
• Search: by challan number, reference, customer name (display name or company name), or challan type. The list shows only challans that match your filters and search.
• Active: the list shows only active challans (inactive ones are excluded).

The list is paginated. For each challan you can see customer, branch, division, warehouse, who added it, who last updated it, and converted to (invoices created from this challan).

3. Open a Delivery Challan (Full Details)

When you open one delivery challan, the system shows:

• Header: challan number, customer, branch, division, warehouse, challan date, status, total.
• Customer: name, code, phone, company name, and address details.
• Sales orders: the sales order(s) this challan is linked to (order number, date, status, total). This helps you see which order(s) this dispatch fulfils.
• Items: each line with item name, quantity, rate, amount, discount (if any), and batch/lot details (if stock deduction is used).
• Shipping address: the address the goods are sent to.
• Bank details: primary bank information (if set for your company).
• Converted to: the Invoices created from this challan (invoice number, date, total, status, balance). This helps you see what has already been billed against this dispatch.
• Comment history: who did what and when (e.g. "Delivery Challan created", "Status changed from Draft to Sent").
• Attachments: list of attached files.

4. Edit a Delivery Challan

You can edit a delivery challan only when its status is Draft. Once the challan is Sent, Delivered, or Cancelled, the system does not allow editing (so the record stays as it was when you sent or closed it).

When you edit a Draft challan:

• You can change customer, branch, warehouse, shipping address, items, quantities, rates, discounts, total, and attachments.
• The same validations as on create apply: shipping address must belong to the customer; credit limit (if applicable) must not be exceeded; overdue invoice check (if applicable) must pass; stock check (if enabled) must pass for the updated items.
• If your company has stock deduction enabled, the system reverses the previous deduction for the old items and then deducts again for the updated items (and batches). So your warehouse stock stays correct after the edit.
• If the challan is linked to sales orders, the system may update the order's delivery status (e.g. Delivered, Partially Delivered, Not Delivered) based on all challans linked to that order.
• New attachments are added to existing ones.
• The system records who updated the challan and adds a line in the comment history (e.g. "Delivery Challan updated" or "Amount changed from ₹X to ₹Y").

5. Change Delivery Challan Status

You can change the status of a delivery challan according to the allowed flow. The usual flow is:

• Draft → Sent means the challan is confirmed as dispatched and can be used to create an Invoice. Only Sent challans can be converted to an invoice.
• Sent and Delivered are typically used to reflect that the goods have been sent or received. The system may use Delivered in some flows; the exact meaning depends on your company's process.
• The system only allows the transitions above. For example, you cannot move from Sent back to Draft.

Cancelling a delivery challan

• You can cancel a challan only if no Invoice has been created from it. If an invoice exists from this challan, the system will not allow cancellation and will show the related invoice number(s).
• If your company has stock deduction enabled, cancelling the challan reverses the stock deduction. The quantities are added back to the warehouse so your inventory is correct.
• If the challan is linked to sales orders, the system updates each order's status (e.g. back to Open or Partially Recorded) based on how much is still delivered or invoiced from other challans/invoices. The system also adds a note in the sales order's comment history (e.g. "Delivery Challan No DC-001 cancelled successfully").

When you change the status, the system records who made the change and adds a line in the comment history (e.g. "Delivery Challan status changed from Draft to Sent").

6. Convert a Delivery Challan to Invoice

Only a Sent delivery challan can be used to create an Invoice. When you create an invoice, you can select one or more Sent challans (for that customer) and include their items in the invoice. The system links the invoice to the challan(s) so you can see which dispatch(es) have been billed.

• Lists to help you: When creating an invoice from delivery challans, you can get a list of Sent challans for the customer that are linked to completed (or relevant) sales orders and not yet fully invoiced. You can also get the items from selected challans (with quantities, rates, discounts, batches) so you can choose what to put on the invoice. This keeps the flow from "dispatch" to "bill" clear and consistent.

7. Delete a Delivery Challan

You can delete a delivery challan only if no Invoice has been created from it. If an invoice exists from this challan, the system will not allow deletion and will show the related invoice number(s). This keeps your records consistent: you cannot remove a challan that is already linked to an invoice.

• If your company has stock deduction enabled, deleting the challan reverses the stock deduction. The quantities are added back to the warehouse.
• If the challan is linked to sales orders, the system removes this challan from each order's "Converted to" list and updates the order's status (e.g. Open or Partially Recorded) based on remaining deliveries and invoices. The system also adds a note in each order's comment history (e.g. "Delivery Challan No DC-001 deleted successfully").

8. Lists for Creating Invoices

• When you create an Invoice from delivery challans (e.g. "bill what was dispatched"):
• Challans for customer: You can get a list of Sent delivery challans for a customer that are linked to sales orders in Completed (or relevant) status and not yet fully invoiced. This helps you quickly pick which challan(s) to bill.
• Items from selected challans: For selected challan(s), you can get all items (with item details, quantity, rate, discount, tax, amount, batch/lot if used, and reference to the challan). You use this list to choose which lines to put on the invoice so the invoice matches what was actually sent.

Summary Table (At a Glance)

Important Business Rules

1. Editing: Only a delivery challan in Draft status can be edited. Once it is Sent, Delivered, or Cancelled, it cannot be edited.
2. Conversion to invoice: Only a Sent delivery challan can be used to create an Invoice.
3. Creating from sales orders: You select one or more sales orders and items/quantities to dispatch. Quantities must not exceed what is still pending on the order(s). The challan is linked to the order(s) and the order's "Converted to" list and status are updated.
4. Cancellation: You cannot cancel a delivery challan if an Invoice has been created from it. The system shows which invoice(s) block cancellation. Stock deduction is reversed on cancel; sales order status is updated.
5. Deletion: You cannot delete a delivery challan if an Invoice has been created from it. The system shows which invoice(s) block deletion. Stock deduction is reversed on delete; sales order "Converted to" and status are updated.
6. Credit limit: If the customer has a credit limit and delivery challans are included, the challan total (create or edit) must stay within the remaining limit. The limit can be overall or per branch.
7. Overdue invoices: If your company restricts delivery challans for customers with overdue invoices, you cannot create a challan for such a customer until the overdue amount is cleared or the rule is changed.
8. Shipping address: The shipping address on the challan must be one of the selected customer's addresses (main or additional).
9. Stock check: If your company has stock check enabled for delivery challans, the system checks that the selected warehouse has enough stock for the items on create and on edit.
10. Stock deduction: If your company has stock deduction enabled, creating or updating a challan deducts stock from the warehouse; cancelling or deleting the challan reverses that deduction so inventory stays correct.