Purchase orders, goods receipts and supplier bills

What it is

Three papers, in order:

1. Purchase order (PO) — what you want to buy, from which supplier, at what rate. Numbered PO/2026-27/0001 and never reused. Not a tax document; it posts nothing to the books.
2. Goods receipt (GRN) — what arrived. Every good unit of a catalogue item is added to stock at the order rate and written in the stock ledger. Damaged units are recorded but not added to stock. Numbered GRN/….
3. Supplier bill — the supplier's tax invoice, recorded in Purchases as before. Made from a GRN, it does not move stock again; it only posts money and input tax credit.

The 3-way check on the order and receipt pages lays the three side by side: ordered vs received vs billed quantity, and the order rate vs the billed rate. Differences are highlighted.

Steps

1. Accounting → Purchase orders → New purchase order. Pick the supplier (a party of kind supplier — add its email there if you want to send the order). For each line pick a catalogue item (so the receipt can add it to stock) or type free text for things you do not stock. Quantity, rate, GST %, expected delivery date. Save draft.
2. On the order: Email to supplier sends the printed order to the email on the supplier's party record, and only there; Mark as sent if you handed it over another way. Print / PDF for paper. A draft can be edited; a sent order cannot — cancel it and raise another.
3. When goods arrive: Receive goods. Per line type what came in good condition (prefilled with what is outstanding), what came damaged, what was short. Record goods receipt. Stock goes up by the good units; the order becomes *Partly received* or *Received*. Receive again when the rest arrives.
4. On the receipt: Convert to purchase bill opens the bill form prefilled with the received lines at the order rate. Type the supplier's bill number and date, change rates to what the bill says, attach the file, Record bill. If a rate differs from the order rate, the stock valuation of those units is corrected to the billed cost (a "cost corrected" line in the product's movements, quantity unchanged).
5. Print labels on the receipt page prints barcode labels for what just arrived.
6. Statement of account (Parties → Statement, or from the Payables ageing report): opening balance, bills, payments and closing balance for a date range, as a printable page or Excel — send it to the supplier to agree balances.

Damaged, short, over-supplied

• Damaged units stay outstanding on the order (the supplier replaces or credits them). When nothing more will come, Close the order.
• Short is for the delivery note saying more than the box held; it is recorded on the receipt as a note.
• A supplier who sends more than ordered gets a new purchase order; over-receipt is refused.

From reorder suggestions

Reorder suggestions → tick the lines → pick the supplier → Create draft purchase order. The draft opens with the quantities filled; type the rates and send.

Staff keys

"Record purchases" covers purchase orders and bills. "Receive stock (goods receipts)" is a separate key under Stock, for the person at the door. Party statements come with "See accounting reports".