A sales administrator handles everything that happens after a sale is agreed and before it is delivered and invoiced: capturing the order, confirming stock and pricing, coordinating delivery, and resolving whatever goes wrong in between. The role keeps the sales team selling by taking the administration off them.
This guide sets out sales administrator duties and responsibilities, the daily routine, and how the role differs by sector. It sits in the Admin Office duties and responsibilities cluster, part of the wider job duties guide.
What Does a Sales Administrator Do?
A sales administrator owns the order from capture to invoice. They check that what was sold can actually be supplied at the price quoted, put it into the system correctly, arrange delivery, and keep the customer and the sales representative informed if anything changes.
The role is where sales meets operations, and it absorbs the friction between them. A good sales administrator prevents problems that would otherwise reach the customer: the out-of-stock line, the wrong price, the delivery that was never booked.
Key Sales Administrator Duties and Responsibilities
- Capturing sales orders accurately onto the system from quotes or purchase orders.
- Verifying pricing, discounts and terms against the approved price list.
- Confirming stock availability and advising on lead times or substitutions.
- Preparing quotations and pro forma invoices for the sales team.
- Coordinating with the warehouse and logistics on picking and delivery.
- Tracking orders through to delivery and proactively updating customers.
- Managing back orders and following up outstanding supply.
- Processing returns, credit notes and claims within policy.
- Maintaining customer master data and the CRM or sales system.
- Supporting credit control by flagging accounts on hold before dispatch.
- Compiling sales reports, pipeline summaries and commission schedules.
- Handling customer queries that do not need the sales representative.
Daily Tasks of a Sales Administrator
- Start of day: process overnight orders, check accounts on hold and review yesterday’s exceptions.
- Morning: capture orders, confirm stock and pricing, release what is ready for picking.
- Midday: liaise with the warehouse on dispatch, update customers on delivery timing.
- Afternoon: chase back orders, process credits and returns, prepare quotations.
- End of day: confirm the day’s orders are captured and dispatched, and report exceptions.
Sales Administrator Skills and Competencies
- Accuracy: a mis-captured order costs a delivery, a credit note and a customer’s patience.
- System competence: confident use of the ERP, CRM or order system in place.
- Coordination: keeping sales, warehouse, logistics and finance aligned on one order.
- Prioritisation: knowing which order has to go today and which can wait.
- Customer communication: telling a customer about a delay before they discover it.
- Composure: absorbing pressure from sales representatives and customers at once.
Sales Administrator Duties by Workplace or Industry
Wholesale and Distribution
High order volumes with duties around stock allocation, back orders, delivery scheduling and managing trade account pricing and rebates.
Manufacturing
Orders link to production planning, so duties include confirming lead times against the production schedule, tracking works orders and managing customer expectations on made-to-order items.
Technical and Capital Equipment
Duties add specification checking, quotations with technical detail, deposit and payment terms, and coordinating installation or commissioning after delivery.
Services and Subscription Businesses
Focus shifts from stock to contracts: capturing agreements, managing renewals and cancellations, and ensuring billing matches what was actually sold.
Sales Administrator Duties for a CV
Give order volume, the system you used and your accuracy or turnaround record. Use the duties for a CV guide for the method.
- Processed an average of 120 sales orders a week on SAP, with an order accuracy rate above 99%.
- Coordinated delivery scheduling with the warehouse, achieving 97% on-time dispatch.
- Managed back orders across 300 active customer accounts and kept customers updated proactively.
- Prepared quotations and monthly sales reports for a team of six representatives.
Related Job Roles and Responsibilities
These guides cover the roles and next steps most closely related to this one.
- Administrator duties and responsibilities
- Office Administrator duties and responsibilities
- Sales Representative duties and responsibilities
- Debtors Clerk duties and responsibilities
- Stock Controller duties and responsibilities
- Job description duties and responsibilities
Frequently Asked Questions About Sales Administrator Duties
What are the duties of a sales administrator?
Capturing sales orders accurately, verifying pricing and terms, confirming stock and lead times, preparing quotations, coordinating delivery with the warehouse, tracking orders and updating customers, managing back orders, processing returns and credits, maintaining customer data and compiling sales reports.
Is a sales administrator a sales role?
It supports sales rather than carrying a sales target. The role is administrative and coordinating, though it often involves direct customer contact and occasionally taking repeat orders.
What is the difference between a sales administrator and an internal sales consultant?
An internal sales consultant actively sells from the office and usually carries a target. A sales administrator processes and coordinates what has already been sold. Some roles combine both, and the job description should say which measure applies.
What qualifications does a sales administrator need?
Matric with strong computer literacy is the usual minimum, and experience on an ERP or order management system is often the deciding factor. A certificate in business administration or supply chain is an advantage.
What goes wrong most often in sales administration?
Three things: an order captured against the wrong price or customer, stock promised that was already allocated to someone else, and a delivery that was never actually booked. Each is preventable by checking before confirming, and each costs far more to unwind than it would have taken to verify.
Does a sales administrator deal with customers directly?
Usually yes, though not to sell. Customers contact the administrator about order status, delivery timing, invoices and returns, which makes clear written communication as important as accuracy on the system.
Duties vary by employer, sector and system. Check the job description for the specific scope, particularly around pricing authority and credit note approval.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026