GlossaryKind of term: Cost and economicsOrder
What is an order?
An order arises when the customer accepts your offer, usually with a purchase order against your quote; from then on the price is agreed and the work starts.
An order is the contract that arises when the customer accepts your offer. Usually that happens with a purchase order referring to your quote, stating quantity, price, delivery date and drawing revision. From then on the request becomes work: ordering material, programming, setting up, machining, outsourcing, inspecting and delivering. A direct order skips the quote, for example a repeat order a regular customer places at the last agreed price.
What do you check when the order comes in?
Check the purchase order against the latest quote version: quantity, price per piece, revision, delivery date, delivery terms and conditions. A different quantity falls into another quantity break; a new revision may need another route or an extra setup. Under Dutch law an acceptance that departs from the offer counts as a new offer; if it departs only on minor points, the contract forms on those terms unless you object without delay. Other legal systems have their own rules. An order confirmation records what you accept. Many shops freeze the estimate at the order as the baseline for post-calculation; that is a working convention, not a legal step.
What is an order often confused with?
An order is not a quote: the quote is your offer, the order its acceptance. Nor is it a works order: the works order or production order is the internal document the shop works to. And an order confirmation is your written confirmation of the order, not the order itself.
Frequently asked questions
What do I check when the purchase order arrives?
Quantity, price per piece, drawing revision, delivery date, delivery terms and conditions, against the latest quote version. If anything differs, settle it before booking the order; a different revision usually needs a new estimate.
Is a direct order also an order?
Yes. When a customer orders without a prior quote, for example a repeat order at the last price, that is an offer from the customer that you accept. Check that revision, material and route still match the last time.
Whose terms apply when quote and purchase order each refer to their own?
Under Dutch law, in principle those referred to first, unless the other party expressly rejects them. English law and, for cross-border sales of goods, the CISG follow other rules. Have the wording checked by a lawyer when a lot depends on it.