Goods Received Note (GRN)
Go to: Inventory → Goods Received Note (GRN)
A GRN records the physical receipt of purchased goods. It is the hinge between Purchase and Inventory: it closes the loop on a Purchase Order, brings stock into a warehouse, and creates the basis for the supplier’s invoice.
Prerequisite — a GRN starts from a Purchase Order
A GRN cannot be typed from scratch. Every item row must come from a Purchase Order, pulled in with Get Items. If you try to save a GRN with a free-typed row, ERPX rejects it:
“Parent Document Required — Use Get Items to create GRN from Purchase Order.”
This is deliberate. It guarantees three-way matching, so nothing is received that was not ordered and nothing is paid that was not received:
The full chain
| Step | Document | Module | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchase Request | Purchase | Optional — can be auto-created by reorder rules |
| 2 | Supplier Quotation | Purchase | Optional |
| 3 | Purchase Order | Purchase | Required, and must be approved |
| 4 | Goods Received Note | Inventory | Required to move stock |
| 5 | Landed Cost Voucher | Inventory | Optional — adds freight/duty into cost |
| 6 | Purchase Invoice | Purchase | Required to book the payable — raised from the GRN |
For stock items the purchase invoice is raised from the Goods Received Note, not from the purchase order. Invoicing straight off a purchase order is restricted to service items, which have no GRN because they never enter stock. So the goods path is always Purchase Order → GRN → Purchase Invoice.
The Inventory overview shows a PO badge on the GRN tile with the number of purchase orders ready for receipt. Clicking it opens a new GRN with the purchase-order picker already open.
Header fields
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Number | Auto-generated document number |
| Supplier | Filled from the Purchase Order |
| GRN Date | Date the goods physically arrived |
| Currency / Exchange Rate | Currency of the purchase |
| Default Warehouse | Where the received goods land |
| Payment Term / Price Term | Commercial terms carried from the order |
| Status | Draft → Pending → To Bill → Completed |
Transport and addresses
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Transporter, Transport Receipt No, LR Number, Vehicle Number, Driver | Inbound logistics details for the goods-inward record |
| Deliver To / Bill To | Addresses printed on the GRN |
| Contact Person, Supplier Info | Who to contact about this receipt |
| Terms and Conditions | Free text or a saved template |
Accounts
| Field | Posting |
|---|---|
| Stock Asset Account | Debited with the value received |
| Stock Liability Account | Credited — the amount owed pending the invoice |
Item rows
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Item | Pulled from the Purchase Order |
| UOM / Conversion Factor | Purchase unit and factor to stock UOM |
| Quantity | Accepted quantity received — this is what enters stock |
| Rejected Quantity | Quantity failing inspection. Recorded for reference and supplier claims; it reduces the accepted quantity and does not enter stock |
| Unit Price | Purchase rate. This feeds the weighted average |
| Warehouse | Destination for the received quantity; defaults from the header |
| Tax Rate, Discount | Carried from the order, adjustable |
| Batch Number | Required for batch-tracked items; creates the batch if new |
| Serial Numbers | Required for serial-tracked items, one per unit |
| Original Ordered Qty | What the PO said, for comparison |
Creating a GRN
Open a new GRN
Navigate to Inventory → Goods Received Note (GRN) and click New.
Get Items from a Purchase Order
Click Get Items, filter by supplier, choose the purchase order(s), and select the rows to receive. This is the step that makes the GRN valid.
Set the receipt date and warehouse
Set the GRN date to the day goods physically arrived, and set the Default Warehouse the goods are being received into.
Enter received quantities
Adjust each row’s quantity to what actually arrived. Partial receipts are normal — the balance stays open on the purchase order.
Enter batches and serials
Batch-tracked rows need a batch number. Serial-tracked rows need one serial per received unit.
Check the totals
Verify the document totals against the supplier’s paperwork before approving.
Save, then approve
Save keeps it in Draft — no stock has moved. Approve posts the receipt.
What approval does
GRN statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared. No stock effect |
| Pending | Awaiting approval |
| To Bill | Received, waiting for the supplier’s invoice |
| Completed | Fully invoiced |
| Return | A return GRN — goods going back to the supplier |
| Return Issued | The original GRN has had a return raised against it |
| Cancelled | Reversed; kept for audit |
Partial receipts
Receiving less than the ordered quantity is normal. Approving the GRN updates the received quantity on each purchase order line, and the order stays open so you can raise further GRNs for the balance.
On a partial receipt the purchase order status stays To Receive and Bill — there is no separate “Partially Received” status. The order status is derived from the totals across all its lines:
| Received complete? | Billed complete? | Purchase order status |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Completed |
| No | Yes | To Receive |
| Yes | No | To Bill |
| No | No | To Receive and Bill |
“Complete” allows for the configured receipt tolerance percentage, so a slight over- or under-receipt within tolerance still counts as complete. To see what is actually outstanding, use the received quantities on the order lines rather than the status.
The Pending GRN report lists goods received but not yet fully invoiced.
Rejections and quality inspection
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Some units are damaged | Enter a Rejected Quantity on the row |
| The item requires inspection before purchase | The item master’s Inspection Required Before Purchase flag drives a Quality Inspection; the GRN cannot complete until it passes |
| Inspection results should drive rejections | Apply the inspection outcome to the GRN, which updates the rejected quantities |
| The whole consignment is wrong | Raise a Return GRN against the original |
Rejected quantity does not enter stock. Only the accepted Quantity on each row is received into the Default Warehouse. Recording a rejection reduces the accepted quantity and keeps a record of what failed for supplier claims and reporting — it does not create stock anywhere. If rejected goods have physically arrived and you need them on your books, receive them and then move or write them off with a Stock Entry.
Returning goods to a supplier
Create a Return GRN against the original. It reverses the stock at the original valuation rates and marks the source GRN as Return Issued. Rows are resolved from the original GRN, so the return can never exceed what was received.
After the GRN
| Next step | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Purchase Invoice | Book the payable; the invoice references the GRN for three-way matching |
| Landed Cost Voucher | Add freight, customs and insurance into the item’s cost |
| Delivery Schedule | Approving the GRN marks the supplier’s scheduled instalment on time or delayed |
| Packing List | Record how received goods are packed (Receive-type packing list) |
| Shipment | Link the receipt to inbound shipment documents |
Apply the Landed Cost Voucher before the purchase invoice where you can. The voucher raises the GRN’s incoming rate and re-runs the weighted average, so applying it later means your cost of sales for anything already shipped was understated.
Reports
| Report | Answers |
|---|---|
| GRN by Item | What was received, grouped by item |
| GRN by Supplier | What was received, grouped by supplier |
| Pending GRN | Received but not yet fully invoiced |
| Transaction Chain | PO → GRN → Invoice → payment, end to end |
Tips
- Receive on the day goods arrive, not the day paperwork is filed. The GRN date drives the valuation sequence.
- Check the Conversion Factor when receiving in cartons or bales — a wrong factor corrupts the item’s cost rate.
- Never bypass rejections by receiving a lower quantity. Recording the rejection is what supports a supplier claim.
- Enter the supplier’s batch/lot number as the batch number. It makes claims and recalls straightforward.
- Assign GRNs to the receiving store keeper so they show up on the To Do tile.