Supplier Receiving Process: Accepted Goods, Exceptions and Open Quantities
Check deliveries against approved purchase orders, record accepted and rejected quantities, and keep partial receipts, stock and invoice review connected.
Jainul Vaghasia/Published /Updated /6 min read
For operators
Use this playbook to tighten the buying loop.
LineNow helps teams move from manual ordering and supplier follow-up to a connected workflow for POs, receiving, inventory, and accounting handoff.
Supplier receiving records what physically arrived, what was accepted, and what still needs resolution. Start with the current buyer-approved purchase order, compare it with the supplier’s confirmation and delivery documents, count the goods in compatible units, and record each difference before the order moves into accounting review.
A supplier’s changed confirmation is evidence of a proposed change. It does not automatically mean the buyer approved a new price, substitute or quantity. Keep that distinction visible to the receiving team.
The latest approved items, packs, quantities and delivery expectation
Supplier changes still awaiting a buyer decision
Quantities already received, rejected or cancelled
The receiving checklist and a contact for resolving exceptions
The receiving checklist template provides a practical starting point. The list should use the same purchase-unit mapping as the PO, with enough detail to distinguish cases, individual units and weight-based products.
Keep the original order and the change history available. Replacing the original document with the latest supplier message loses the evidence needed to understand how the agreement changed.
Read before ordering
A dense operator briefing for teams that need sharper buying, cleaner supplier follow-up, and fewer expensive surprises.
A worked example: eight cases ordered, six delivered
An illustrative café order contains eight cases of oat milk, with 12 cartons per case. That means 96 cartons expected. The supplier confirms a partial delivery of six cases, and the buyer agrees to leave two cases open.
Record
Cases
Cartons
Total approved purchase
8
96
First delivery accepted
6
72
Remaining on the order
2
24
Record a receipt for 72 accepted cartons, using the configured case mapping. Do not receive all 96 because that was the original order, and do not enter six as the carton quantity. Both mistakes create a stock balance that disagrees with the shelf.
The next buyer needs to see the physical stock and the 24 cartons still incoming. Counting the shelf does not cancel the remaining supplier order.
Check quantity, identity and condition
Count what arrived against the relevant line. Check the item identity and pack size as well as the number of boxes. A substituted case may contain a different number of units, and a supplier’s “same quantity” can mean cases rather than kilograms or eaches.
Follow your operation’s receiving and product-safety procedures for condition, required temperature checks, date codes and any hold or quarantine process. Software can retain the evidence; it does not decide whether an unfamiliar substitute or questionable delivery is safe to use.
Record delivery identifiers, the time, the receiver and supporting documents. Photographs or notes help resolve a difference, but they do not establish a universal claim deadline or replace the supplier’s agreed process.
Record the exception, not just a received status
What happened
Receiving action
Follow-up
Expected partial delivery
Record the accepted quantity
Leave the agreed balance outstanding
Unexpected shortage
Record the actual accepted quantity
Ask whether the remainder will ship, be credited or be cancelled
Unapproved substitute
Keep its identity separate; follow the operation’s hold/acceptance process
Obtain the buyer’s decision and correct mapping before using it
Damaged goods
Distinguish accepted, rejected and held quantities
Record the requested replacement, credit or other resolution
Extra quantity
Record the actual delivery and acceptance decision
Confirm whether the extra units are authorized and chargeable
Changed price
Preserve the delivered quantity and flag the commercial difference
Have the authorized buyer or accounting owner review it
For example, if two cartons in a six-case delivery are damaged and rejected, distinguish 72 delivered, 70 accepted and two rejected. Determine whether those two will be replaced in addition to the other 24 still due. Do not assume the software’s “remaining” field expresses that decision without checking its rules.
Update the appropriate inventory once
Agree where the physical receipt is entered and which application writes the inventory adjustment. If both a purchasing app and a POS transfer record the same receipt independently, stock can be overstated.
A receiving event should update the accepted stock for the correct location through the configured mappings. Inspect the timing and any integration exceptions. Goods at a third-party warehouse are not necessarily available to sell immediately: the warehouse may have its own checks, status and synchronization schedule.
Keep the invoice decision separate from physical acceptance
Accounting should be able to review the approved PO, supplier correspondence, receipt history and invoice together. Receiving six of eight cases does not by itself establish what an invoice must contain: deposits, freight, agreed billing schedules and credits may need separate review.
Flag unexplained differences and assign an owner. A credit request is not an issued credit; a replacement promise is not a completed receipt. Preserve their status until resolved.
This is upstream reconciliation: the buyer and receiver capture and resolve differences early, while AP retains its policy, coding and payment controls. For supported accounting setup, see the QuickBooks Online handoff.
Check the shelf after the order cycle
A physical stock count answers what is present now. It can differ from expected stock because of usage, transfers, waste or an earlier recording mistake. Use the count checklist template and review differences before applying an adjustment.
Dropship supplier fulfillment is a separate event: a dispatch notification can support tracking a customer order, but it is not proof that goods were received at your warehouse or delivered to the customer.
Bring an order, partial delivery and discrepancy to a LineNow receiving walkthrough. The useful test is whether the next shift can explain accepted stock, outstanding supplier quantities and unresolved exceptions from the same record.
