Order to cash is the process that turns a customer's order into cash recorded in the books. It runs from the order, through billing and collection, to applying the payment and reconciling the deposit. In a business that sells from a CRM, the order is usually a won deal, the bill is an invoice or checkout, the payment goes through a processor such as Stripe, and the deposit is matched in QuickBooks or Xero. With several locations or entities, each step also has to land in the right entity: its own payment account, its own bank and its own books.
What is order to cash?
It is the name finance teams give to the full path of a sale, from the order to cash in the books. It is often shortened to O2C. Quote to cash is the sales-side version, which starts one step earlier with the quote.
What are the steps in order to cash?
- Order. The customer commits. In a CRM this is the deal moving to closed won.
- Bill. An invoice, a deposit invoice or a checkout link asks for the money, with the terms agreed.
- Collect. The customer pays by card or bank transfer, in full or on a schedule. Reminders go out before due dates.
- Apply. Each payment is matched to the invoice it pays, so the customer's balance is right.
- Deposit and reconcile. The processor pays out to the bank, and the deposit is matched in the books.
- Report. Accounts receivable, days sales outstanding and cash collected show how well the process works.
Where does each step live?
In a business that sells from HubSpot or Pipedrive, the steps are spread across tools:
| Step | Usually lives in |
|---|---|
| Order | The CRM deal |
| Bill | The CRM's quotes, an invoicing tool or the accounting system |
| Collect | The payment processor |
| Apply | The accounting system |
| Deposit and reconcile | The processor's payout reports and the accounting system |
| Report | The accounting system, sometimes the CRM |
Every hand-off between tools is a place where a payment can be missed or recorded twice.
Why is the deposit step harder than it looks?
Because payouts don't match payments one to one. Stripe's payout reconciliation report exists to match each payout with the batch of payments, refunds, disputes and fees it settles. The bank shows one deposit. The books show many payments. In QuickBooks Online, payments are often held in undeposited funds and combined into one bank deposit, with the processor's fee entered as a negative amount so the deposit matches the bank. The post on reconciling Stripe payouts per location walks through it.
What changes with several locations or entities?
Each step has to stay inside the right entity. A group with Denver LLC, Phoenix LLC and Portland LLC has three sets of books, and Stripe associates each account with the tax ID and legal entity of one business, so each entity needs its own Stripe account. That means:
- Phoenix's orders are billed under Phoenix.
- Phoenix's payments are collected into Phoenix's Stripe account and paid out to Phoenix's bank.
- Phoenix's deposits are reconciled in Phoenix's books.
A payment that lands in the wrong entity becomes an intercompany transaction that both sets of books must record and settle.
How do you measure order to cash?
- Days sales outstanding. How long, on average, sales take to turn into cash.
- Aging. How much of accounts receivable is past due, and by how long.
- Unapplied cash. Payments received but not matched to an invoice.
- Reconciliation lag. How many days after month end each entity's deposits are fully matched. See month-end close.
- Stripe: Payout reconciliation report
- QuickBooks: Deposit payments into the Undeposited Funds account
- QuickBooks: Enter a bank service fee while using a third-party merchant service
- Stripe: Multiple separate accounts
- HubSpot: Default deal properties
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 21, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.