E-commerce management software in Morocco: orders, stock, invoices and cash on delivery

E-commerce in Morocco: the money arrives long after the parcel

In Morocco, a large share of online orders is paid on delivery. The courier collects cash from the customer, then the delivery company pays the total over a few days later by bank transfer, after deducting its fees. The transfer you receive matches no order in particular, and the spreadsheets tracking parcels never talk to the ones tracking the bank.

• Courier remittances net of fees, hard to tie back to orders
• Parcels refused at the door or returned, which distort stock
• The same item sold online and in store without a shared stock
• ICE invoices requested after the fact by business customers
• True margin unknown once delivery fees and returns are deducted

From online order to invoice: the flow in SOGESTIO

Orders placed in your Shopify or WooCommerce shop are imported into SOGESTIO automatically as sales orders. The customer is matched by email address, or created if new, and each line is linked to the item with the same reference (SKU), so use the same references in the shop and in SOGESTIO.

Because online prices include VAT, SOGESTIO converts them to prices excl. VAT using the item's VAT rate, and the delivery charge paid by the customer becomes a line on the order. The order then follows the same flow as your other sales: a delivery note, which reduces stock, then the invoice and the payment.

One stock for the website, the shop and the warehouse

The same item must not be sold twice, once at the counter and once online. In SOGESTIO, each item has a stock level per warehouse (shop, storeroom, parcel-packing area), and every delivery, whether it comes from the website or a direct sale, reduces the same counter. Minimum-stock alerts flag what to reorder, and weighted average cost (CMUP) valuation gives a fair cost even when purchase prices move.

Your storefront is still run in Shopify or WooCommerce. SOGESTIO holds the reference stock, which another tool can read through the documented REST API and its read-only API keys.

Cash on delivery: reconciling the courier's transfer with your orders

SOGESTIO is not connected to any delivery company. Reconciliation relies on two documents you already have: your bank statement, imported in MT940 or CSV format, and the delivery company's remittance statement, which lists the orders collected, their amounts and the fees deducted.

How to book a net remittance (through an account dedicated to the delivery company, for instance) is decided once with your accountant. After that, the routine is the same for every transfer.

• Import the bank statement: the transfer appears among the lines to reconcile
• Tick off the orders listed on the courier's remittance statement
• Record payment of the matching invoices
• Record the fees deducted, based on the delivery company's invoice
• Check that collections minus fees equal the transfer, then reconcile the statement line

Worked example: a 17,250 DH transfer for 40 orders

An online shop in Casablanca receives a transfer from its delivery company. The attached statement lists 40 orders delivered and collected for a total of 18,400 DH, an average basket of 460 DH, and 1,150 DH of fees deducted. The transfer therefore comes to 18,400 − 1,150 = 17,250 DH, the amount shown on the imported bank statement.

In SOGESTIO, the 40 invoices are settled for 18,400 DH and the 1,150 DH of fees are recorded as a delivery expense. Be careful with the VAT on those fees: do not split the 1,150 DH yourself, use the amounts excl. VAT and VAT shown on the delivery company's invoice, and have your accountant confirm whether that VAT is deductible.

If the statement listed only 39 orders, the fortieth would stay unpaid and show up immediately among unpaid invoices. Spread over the 40 parcels, the fees average 28.75 DH per order, a figure to keep in mind when you work out your true margin.

Refused parcels and returns: keeping stock and VAT right

A parcel refused at the door is not a sale. If it has not been invoiced yet, you cancel the delivery note and the goods go back into stock. If it has been invoiced, you never delete the invoice: you issue a credit note linked to the original invoice, which puts the items back into stock, unless you indicate that damaged goods will not be resold.

The credit note corrects revenue and output VAT and keeps a record of the transaction for your accountant. A partial return works the same way, with a credit note on the affected lines only.

ICE invoices, product margins and what SOGESTIO does not do

When a business customer orders online, add their ICE number to the customer record: the invoice picks it up automatically, along with your company name, ICE, IF and RC, VAT per rate and a QR code. Reports show revenue by month, average basket and top products with their gross margin; deduct delivery fees and returns to judge how profitable an item really is.

SOGESTIO does not replace your Shopify or WooCommerce shop or its online checkout, and it is not point-of-sale software: it is the management tool behind the website. The Starter plan (199 DH/month excl. VAT) covers orders, stock, invoices, expenses and petty cash; the Pro plan (449 DH/month excl. VAT) adds banking with statement import and reconciliation, supplier purchasing and accounting.