Receiving & Goods-In

Turn a delivery into trusted stock — receive against the PO, handle partials, and match what arrived to what was ordered and billed.

4 lessons 35 min 5-question assessment 70% to pass

What you’ll learn

Explain how goods-in turns a delivery into available stock

Receive against a purchase order, including partial receipts

Apply the three-way match (PO, receipt, invoice) in practice

Handle discrepancies before they become stock or finance errors

Lesson 1 of 4 Reading 8 min

From delivery to stock

Receiving (goods-in) is the moment a delivery becomes real, available stock. In AWRA you receive against the purchase order that ordered the goods, so the system already knows what was expected. Confirming receipt increases on-hand and records who received what, and when.

Receiving against the PO — rather than adding stock freely — is what links buying, holding, and paying into one story. The receipt is the bridge between "we ordered it" and "we have it."

The pitfall to avoid is the “quick add” — keying goods straight onto on-hand because the PO is not handy. That stock now has no link to an order or an invoice, so the three-way match later has nothing to check against and procurement cannot tell whether the supplier still owes anything. Rule of thumb: if there is no PO to receive against, raise one first, then receive.

Key takeaways

Goods-in turns a delivery into available on-hand stock.
You receive against the originating purchase order.
The receipt links ordering, holding, and paying together.
Never add received stock freely without a PO — raise the order first so the receipt stays linked and matchable.

Lesson 2 of 4 Practice 9 min

Partial and over receipts

Deliveries are not always complete. AWRA supports partial receipts: you receive what actually arrived, and the PO shows the balance still outstanding. When the rest arrives, you receive against the same PO again until it is fulfilled.

Receiving only what physically arrived keeps on-hand truthful. Marking a PO fully received when a box is missing would put phantom stock into the system; partial receiving prevents that and keeps the outstanding quantity visible to procurement.

Worked example: a PO for 100 units arrives as 90, with the supplier promising the last 10 next week. You receive 90 now — on-hand rises by 90 and the PO shows 10 outstanding. When the balance lands, you receive against the same PO again. Resist the temptation to receive the full 100 to “close it off”; the 10 phantom units would show as sellable and then mysteriously vanish at the next stock count.

Key takeaways

Receive what actually arrived; the PO tracks the balance.
Multiple receipts can fulfil one PO over time.
Partial receiving prevents phantom stock and keeps balances visible.
Don’t over-receive to “close” a PO — phantom units show as sellable and surface as a loss at the next count.

Lesson 3 of 4 Reading 9 min

The three-way match

The three-way match compares three documents before a supplier is paid: the purchase order (what we agreed to buy), the goods receipt (what we actually got), and the supplier invoice (what we are being billed for). When all three agree, payment is safe.

This is a core control against overpaying. If the invoice bills for 100 units but the receipt shows 90 arrived, the mismatch is caught before money leaves — not discovered months later.

In practice the match also catches price drift, not just quantities: the PO agreed KES 200/unit but the invoice quietly bills KES 220. AWRA flags the variance so accounts can hold payment and query it, rather than paying the higher figure because the totals “looked about right.” The discipline is simple — no clean three-way match, no payment released.

Key takeaways

Three-way match = purchase order vs goods receipt vs supplier invoice.
Payment is safe when all three agree.
It catches billing and quantity mismatches before paying.
The match also catches price drift between the agreed PO rate and the invoiced rate — hold payment until it clears.

Lesson 4 of 4 Reading 9 min

Handling discrepancies

When what arrived does not match what was ordered — short, over, damaged, or the wrong item — the discrepancy is recorded at receiving rather than absorbed. Damaged or rejected goods are kept out of available stock, and procurement is left with a clear record to raise with the supplier.

Catching problems at the door is far cheaper than catching them later. A discrepancy noted at goods-in protects both the inventory record and the eventual invoice match.

A receiving-bay checklist keeps this honest: count before signing the delivery note, open at least one carton to confirm contents match the label, set anything damaged or wrong aside rather than shelving it, and log the discrepancy with a photo while the driver is still there. The hardest leak to recover is the one you waved through at the gate and only noticed three weeks later.

Key takeaways

Record shortages, overages, damage, and wrong items at receiving.
Keep damaged or rejected goods out of available stock.
Early discrepancy capture protects both stock and the invoice match.
Count and spot-open cartons before signing the delivery note — a discrepancy caught at the gate is recoverable, one found weeks later rarely is.

| AWRA OpsHub

Receiving & Goods-In

What you’ll learn

Course content

From delivery to stock

Partial and over receipts

The three-way match

Handling discrepancies

Finished the material?

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Asset Tracking Essentials

Vendor Portal Foundations

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