# From opening to closing

Follow one distributor through a whole round, from the stock she takes at the branch and the sale to a shop with a return to the cash she collects and hands in at closing.

**Distributors** runs sales from vans. A branch keeps the stock; a distributor takes part of it on the road, sells to shops, takes back what they return and comes back with cash and leftovers. This walk-through follows one round of the demo distributor Lina Al-Khayali, from the goods she takes to the cash she hands in.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **Distributor Manager** access right on **Distributors** (in the **Distributors** section of your user). The **Distributor** access right shows only **Distribution** and **Expenses**, for the distributor's own records.
- The branch must hold stock, and the distributor must have no opening still waiting for its closing. In the demo, Cedar Branch holds stock and Lina has no opening yet. [Add products and stock a branch](add-products-and-stock-a-branch) shows how stock enters a branch.

## Step 1: open the round {#opening}

1. Open **Distributors/Opening** and click **New**.
2. Choose the **Distributor**. The **Branch**, the **Source** (the branch's Main warehouse) and the **Destination** (the distributor's Sale warehouse) fill in from her.
3. In the **Quantities** tab, click **Add a line** for each product she takes: Spring Water 330 ml, 30, then Orange Juice 1 L, 10. **In Stock** shows how much of the product the Source holds.

![The opening of the distributor with the quantities she takes; In Stock is what the branch holds.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10024-06e44c59/distributors-opening-to-closing-opening_lines-en.png)

4. Click the cloud icon **Save manually**, then open the **Actions** menu and choose **Confirm**. The quantities are checked against the Source and moved to her Sale warehouse in one internal transfer, done at once; the **Transfers** counter opens it. The opening is **Confirmed** and stays open until its closing.

![The opening is confirmed and the goods are now in the distributor's Sale warehouse.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10028-580536be/distributors-opening-to-closing-opening_confirmed-en.png)

## Step 2: sell to a shop {#distribution}

1. Open **Distributors/Distribution** and click **New**.
2. Choose the **Customer**, Sunrise Grocery, and the **Distributor**. Leave the **Payment Type** on **Direct**: the shop pays on delivery.
3. In the **Sales** tab, add Spring Water 330 ml with a **Qty** of 12. The **Price** and the **Taxes** come from the customer's own distribution price when he has one, here 0.45, otherwise from the product.

![The sale to the shop; the price comes from the customer's own distribution price.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10032-47780082/distributors-opening-to-closing-distribution_sales-en.png)

4. In the **Returns** tab, add what the shop hands back: Orange Juice 1 L, 1.

![The goods the shop hands back, recorded on the same document.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10036-fc30586b/distributors-opening-to-closing-distribution_returns-en.png)

5. Click **Save manually**, then choose **Confirm** in the **Actions** menu. Saving links the distribution to her open opening. Confirming takes the goods out of her Sale warehouse, puts the returned bottle in her own Returns warehouse, and creates a draft invoice and a draft credit note.

![The confirmed distribution with its invoice, credit note, delivery and return.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10040-d1c6fb23/distributors-opening-to-closing-distribution_confirmed-en.png)

The counters **Invoices**, **Credit Notes**, **Deliveries** and **Returns** open each document. On a phone, they sit behind the lightning button of the form.

## Step 3: collect the cash {#payment}

1. Choose **Register Payment** in the **Actions** menu. The **Amount** proposed is the sale minus the return, taxes included, and the **Cash Journal** is the distributor's own.
2. Click **Create Payment**. The credit note and the invoice are posted and matched against each other, and the payment is recorded in her cash journal.

![The cash taken from the shop, net of the returns, into the distributor's cash journal.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10042-fc5619e6/distributors-opening-to-closing-payment_dialog-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog opens full screen with the same fields and buttons.

The **Payment Status** turns **Paid** and the **Remaining Amount** falls to zero.

![The distribution is paid and nothing remains due.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10044-0a34b654/distributors-opening-to-closing-distribution_paid-en.png)

## Step 4: close the round {#closing}

1. Open **Distributors/Closing**, click **New** and choose the **Distributor**. Her open **Opening** fills in by itself. The **Close** action of a confirmed opening creates the same closing.

![The closing of the distributor; her open opening fills in by itself.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10048-fafbb5e2/distributors-opening-to-closing-closing_new-en.png)

2. Click **Save manually**, then choose **Compute** in the **Actions** menu. The **Stock Summary** tab lists, per product, what was opened, distributed and should remain; **Customer Returns** lists what the shops handed back. **Total Sales** and **Total Paid** give the money side, and **Cash Shortage** what she still has to hand in. A **Direct** distribution nobody paid would be paid here, from her cash journal.

![What was opened, distributed and is left, with the totals of sales and cash to hand in.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10052-12e5618c/distributors-opening-to-closing-closing_computed-en.png)

3. Choose **Receive** in the **Actions** menu. Step 1 asks for the quantities she hands back, the leftovers under **Products** and the shops' returns under **Returns**; **Set All Expected** fills every line with the quantity expected.

![Step 1 of the reception, with every quantity received as expected.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10056-fa02b1f6/distributors-opening-to-closing-receive_quantities-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog opens full screen with the same fields and buttons.

4. Click **Next**. Step 2 appears only when something is missing. Step 3 asks for the **Amount Received**, the cash she hands in.

![Step 3, the cash the distributor hands in.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10058-8139293b/distributors-opening-to-closing-receive_amount-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog opens full screen with the same fields and buttons.

5. Click **Confirm**. The leftovers and the returns move to the branch's Returns warehouse, the cash moves from her cash journal to the branch's, and the closing turns **Fully Received**. Its opening becomes **Closed**, and Lina can start a new round.

![The closing is fully received and the opening is closed.](https://jaah.app/web/image/10060-4a3d715a/distributors-opening-to-closing-closing_done-en.png)

## What you have done {#what-you-have-done}

One whole round: the stock left the branch with an opening, a shop bought and returned goods on one distribution with its invoice and credit note, the cash went into the distributor's cash journal, and the closing brought the goods and the cash back to the branch. The user guide takes each part further: [Set up a branch and a distributor](set-up-a-branch-and-a-distributor), [Record a sale and collect payment](record-a-sale-and-collect-payment) and [Submit and approve an expense](submit-and-approve-an-expense). [How stock and cash move](how-stock-and-cash-move) explains the whole chain.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/distributors/from-opening-to-closing
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- Version: Distributors 19.0.1.1.0
- Verified: 2026-10-23