Take an order at the order desk

A shop, supermarket or hotel phones or sends a WhatsApp order. At the order desk you take it for their account, at their prices, with the route and day it goes out on. Kila checks their credit as you take it, and the order then waits to be picked.

Steps

1. Work from the depot the goods leave from

   At the top of the screen, the depot list shows where you are working. The order is picked from that depot and its stock shows as free there. Open it and choose the warehouse under Working in, such as Syokimau warehouse (warehouse).

2. Find the customer

   In Find the customer, type their name, account number or phone (F2 takes you there). Each match shows their credit limit and what they owe. Choose the customer.

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3. Check the account

   The panel beside the order shows Credit left, the limit, what they owe, anything overdue and their terms, then their price list (Prices) and Route with its next day. Kila prices every line from that price list.

4. Type each product and its quantity

   In the line box, type the product’s code, barcode or name and the quantity, then press Enter. CK-OIL1 2/6 is two cartons and six bottles of cooking oil; BEV-SODA-24 5 is five crates of soda. A crate’s barcode adds a crate.

5. Check how each line is sold

   Sold as shows a pack size, such as Carton of 12, or a single unit; change it if the customer meant the other. Under each product Kila shows how many units the line makes, how many are free in the depot, and any trade scheme it qualifies for, such as 5% off. Must-sell lines not on this order lists the lines your principals want in every shop: tap one to add it.

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6. Check the delivery

   Deliver is chosen, with the customer’s Route, its next Delivery day and the Deliver to address filled in. Change the day if they asked for another, or choose Customer collects when they fetch it.

7. Add the customer's order number

   Type their LPO number in Customer’s order number. LPO valid until and Delivery slot then appear: fill them in when a supermarket gives you an LPO with an end date, or a slot booked on its supplier portal.

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8. Tap Take order (F9)

   Kila prices the order again, with any trade scheme, and checks the credit. It says SO-… taken with the amount, the route and the day, such as “KES 16,368 on Athi River and Kitengela for Tue 3 Nov.” The order waits under To pick in Orders by stage, and the account panel lists it under Last orders.

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Good to know

The total under the lines says About: it is the desk’s own sum. The order’s price is what Kila works out when you take it, with the customer’s quantity prices and trade schemes. At Mombasa Road the five crates of soda had 5% off, so the order came to KES 16,368 against about KES 16,721.

What if

The customer is not found

Kila shows:

No customer matches

Add them under Customers first, with their price list and credit limit.

Check the spelling, or search by their account number or phone. A new shop needs its customer record first, with its price list and credit limit, before the desk can take its orders.

A product is not found

Kila shows:

No match

Type more of the name, or check the code.

Type more of the name and choose from the list, or type the code. The last number you type is read as the quantity: soda 500 is 500 of the first soda in the list, not the 500ml soda. To add the 500ml crates, type their code, BEV-SODA-24, or choose them from the list.

The LPO runs out before the delivery day

Kila shows:

The order was not taken

The LPO expires on 2026-11-02, before the delivery day 2026-11-03. Deliver by then, or ask Kitengela Minimart for a new LPO.

Choose a delivery day on or before the LPO’s end date, or ask the customer for a new LPO.

The order is more than the credit left

Before you take it, Kila warns: Over the credit left: held for approval, with how much more it is than what the customer has left. You can still take it: it waits under Held for credit until someone approves it. See Approve an order over the credit limit.

Related

• Repeat a customer’s last order: the same lines again in one tap.
• Approve an order over the credit limit: when the order is held for credit.
• Order desk clerk: your day at the desk.

Next: when the order is due to go, it is picked in the warehouse: Pick and pack an order.