A goods received note, or GRN, is the record of what actually arrived from a supplier, written against the purchase order when the delivery comes in: what was ordered, what came, what was turned away and why, and what's still owed. It's the middle document of the three a small business should check before paying a supplier: the purchase order says what you asked for, the GRN says what you got, and the invoice says what you're being charged. Below is what goes on one, a filled-in example for a granola maker's delivery with a crushed case and a price that crept, how the three-way check works, and a free template that does the arithmetic.
The short version
- One GRN for each delivery, written when it arrives, against the purchase order.
- For each line: ordered, received, rejected, accepted, and still owed.
- Write the lot and best-by date of every ingredient as it comes in.
- Note the condition: a crushed case is rejected on the GRN, not discovered next month.
- Before paying, match the invoice to the GRN and the PO: quantities and prices.
- Tell the supplier about rejects, shorts and price differences the same day.
- TaroStack receives against the purchase order, records lots and dates, and keeps what's still owed. More below.
What goes on a goods received note
| Part | What it holds |
|---|---|
| The delivery | GRN number, date, supplier, purchase order number, the supplier's delivery note number, carrier, who received it |
| Each line | SKU, item, unit, ordered, received, rejected, accepted, still owed |
| Traceability | The supplier's lot number and the best-by date on each ingredient |
| Prices | The price on the PO, and on the invoice when it comes |
| Notes | Condition: crushed, warm, wet, short-dated, wrong item |
| Sign-off | Who checked it, and when the supplier was told about problems |
A GRN isn't the receiving log. A receiving log is a running list of every delivery, often with a temperature check, and it's what a food safety plan asks for; how to keep one is in food receiving log template. The GRN is one delivery, line by line, against the order, so the invoice can be checked. A delivery that's checked for quality as well as quantity is covered in incoming inspection checklist.
A filled-in example: a granola maker's delivery
Pine Barrens Pantry, a made-up granola, jam and hot sauce maker in Hammonton, New Jersey, I use in these examples, receives purchase order PO-0231 from its foodservice supplier:
| Item | Ordered | Received | Rejected | Accepted | Still owed | Lot | PO price | Invoice price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolled oats, 50 lb bag | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | OT-2609-17 | $38.50 | $38.50 |
| Maple syrup, 1 gal jug | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | MS-26-0311 | $54.00 | $56.00 |
| Pecan pieces, 30 lb case | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | PC-82214 | $186.00 | $186.00 |
| Jars, 12 oz, case of 12 | 40 | 40 | 1 | 39 | 1 | $9.60 | $9.60 | |
| Lids, 70 mm, case of 500 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $42.00 | $42.00 |
Three things the GRN caught. One jug of maple was back-ordered, so the supplier still owes it. One case of jars arrived crushed, with seven broken, so it was refused and is owed too. And the invoice charges $56 a jug for maple against $54 on the purchase order, a $2 price creep that nobody agreed to. The accepted goods are worth $918.40 at the PO's prices; the invoice shouldn't ask for more than that until the owed items arrive. What the purchase order should have said in the first place is in what should a purchase order include.
The three-way match
Before an invoice is paid, three documents are laid side by side:
| Question | Purchase order | Goods received note | Invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many? | 4 jugs ordered | 3 jugs accepted | Bills for 3 or 4? |
| At what price? | $54.00 | $56.00 | |
| In what condition? | 1 case of jars refused | Bills for 40 or 39? |
If the three agree, pay. If they don't, the GRN is the evidence: the supplier is told the same day, and the invoice is paid for what was accepted, at the agreed price, once they confirm. Over a year, the same check is what shows which supplier is short or late most often; how to score them is in supplier scorecard, and how long deliveries really take is in lead time calculation formula.
Get the template
Download the goods received note template. Three sheets: a blank GRN that prints on one landscape page, where Accepted, Still owed and the accepted value fill in from what was received and rejected, and the match counts the lines where the invoice price differs from the PO; the granola maker's delivery above, filled in; and a GRN log of every delivery, with what's owed and whether the invoice matched. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A GRN in a spreadsheet is typed from the PO and from the cases on the floor, and the stock doesn't move until someone types it again into the inventory. With a few deliveries a week, the GRNs, the shelves and the lots in the batch records drift apart, and a back-ordered jug of maple gets forgotten until the day it's needed.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack receives against the purchase order, records lots and dates, and keeps what's still owed.
Receiving against the order. A delivery is received against its purchase order, line by line, and what wasn't delivered stays open on the order, so the back-ordered maple is still on the list next week. Deliveries can be received without a PO too.
Lots and dates as it comes in. Each line is received with the supplier's lot and best-by date, and scanning a supplier's GS1-128 case label fills them in. From then on, the batches that use the oats record that lot on their own.
Prices and suppliers. What each delivery cost goes into the stock's cost, and the price creep report shows each supplier's prices over time, so maple that keeps climbing is a line on a report, not a surprise. TaroStack doesn't match invoices for you; it keeps what arrived, against the order, for you to match.
| The job | Spreadsheet GRN | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What's still owed | A column someone checks | Open lines on the purchase order |
| Lots and best-by dates | Typed from the case | Recorded at receiving, or scanned |
| Stock after the delivery | Typed in again | Received into stock |
| A price that crept | Spotted, if someone looks | Price creep by supplier |
Purchase orders, receiving, lots and price creep are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.