A supplier sends 24 of the 40 units you ordered. The other 16 are due next week. The first delivery needs a complete record, even though the order is still open.
The useful distinction is between the buying document and the event at the receiving desk. The purchase order describes what you asked for. A receipt describes what arrived, what you accepted and where it went. Keeping those two records connected makes later deliveries and invoices easier to reconcile.
Before the boxes arrive
Check the supplier, PO reference and destination location. If you run several stores, make the destination explicit before staff start scanning. A delivery arriving at the wrong store is an exception to resolve, not a reason to quietly change the order’s record.
Give staff a way to identify each line. A product name alone may not distinguish size or color. Keep the variant, SKU and barcode available, and have a fallback when a label is missing or a scanner cannot read it.
At the receiving desk
- Record a delivery reference. Use the packing slip or another reference that lets someone connect the receipt with the physical delivery.
- Count the accepted units. Record the goods that can enter sellable stock. Do not use the ordered quantity just because it is already on screen.
- Separate rejected units. Note damage or an incorrect item and the reason. Keep that decision visible for the supplier conversation.
- Keep the balance open. In the example, 24 accepted units leave 16 outstanding. Closing the PO would hide that unfinished delivery.
- Check the result. A pending stock operation is not the same as a completed one. If processing is uncertain, reconcile it before entering another receipt.
After receiving
Compare the supplier invoice with both the order and the receipt. An invoice can cover the whole order before every unit arrives, or it can cover one delivery at a time. “Ordered,” “received” and “invoiced” are different quantities; a mismatch deserves a review, not an automatic assumption that one record is wrong.
If the supplier confirms the remaining units will never arrive, close the short balance deliberately. Record the decision and keep the accepted quantities intact. If staff made a receiving mistake, use a visible correction or reversal so the original event and the fix can both be understood.
Understand your tool’s boundaries
Shopify’s native purchase-order workflow distinguishes accepted and rejected quantities and supports partial receiving. Its documentation also explains that purchase-order receiving does not automatically change the product’s cost-per-item field. Stock movement and cost review therefore need their own checks.
Merchavelo Inventory is being prepared around that connected workflow: a PO, its separate deliveries, several invoices and a reviewable cost history. It is not publicly available yet. The goal is a record your next shift can follow without reconstructing the day from notes.