Before receipt, connect the purchase order to the boxes
Choose a receiving area where unverified deliveries cannot be mistaken for stock ready to pick. Gather the purchase order, supplier delivery note and any agreed changes. Give the receipt a date, an owner and a reference that someone else can find later. If no order exists, identify who authorized the delivery before creating a convenient record after the fact.
The useful checklist has six questions: Is this our delivery? Is this the right product and variant? Is the quantity correct? Is the counting unit correct? Is the condition acceptable? Where will the accepted stock go? A barcode can help with identity, but it does not answer whether a carton is damaged or contains the expected pack size.
Count in the unit the record expects
Imagine a fictional workshop expecting six cartons, each containing eight rolls. The driver delivers six cartons, but one holds only five rolls. The delivery contains 45 rolls, not 48. Recording “6” against a product tracked as individual rolls creates a different error from receiving all 48 automatically.
Write both the physical observation and its conversion: five full cartons × eight, plus five loose rolls. Check the product label rather than relying on carton appearance. If you cannot count sealed contents without breaking required packaging, record the agreed inspection method and its limitation. Do not describe an unperformed item-by-item check as completed.
Separate accepted, held and missing quantities
Use three practical outcomes: accepted for put-away, held for a decision, or missing from this delivery. Name the person who can release held items, and label the physical holding area. An unexplained mismatch should not disappear inside a general receipt note.
For an ordinary delivery, capture the SKU, received quantity, unit, condition, destination and receiver. Add lot or serial details only where your product and chosen system require them. For a discrepancy, add a short factual description and the supporting delivery reference. Avoid making the warehouse team guess whether a note about damage means the units were included in usable stock.
Verify the receipt handoff, not just the screen
InFlow distinguishes the products ordered in a purchase order from the receiving record; its documentation also describes separate receiving completion. That distinction supports a simple rule: an order being created or paid is not evidence that its goods are on the shelf.
After saving, check one product's recorded quantity and receiving location against the accepted receipt. Put away the goods, retain the discrepancy record and tell the purchasing owner what remains outstanding. A small team can use a numbered paper sheet or controlled spreadsheet for this handoff; software becomes more useful when several receivers or locations need the same current record. Start by testing the checklist on one real delivery, then revise any field the next person cannot interpret.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- inFlow: create and complete purchase orders — Merchant documentation · inflowinventory.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-24