Follow a purchase from request to receipt

A purchase has several stages: the business identifies a need, agrees what to buy, checks delivery and handles the supplier’s bill. Those stages use different records; an order is not a receipt or a payment.

Know which record answers your question

• Purchase request: What is needed, how much and why?
• Supplier quotation: What is offered, at what price and on what terms?
• Purchase order: What purchase has been prepared or released?
• Receipt and inspection: What arrived, and what was accepted or rejected?
• Supplier bill and payment: What is owed, and what has been settled?

For a simple purchase, describe the unit clearly. Six individual items is not the same as six packs, and one order line can contain several units.

Trace an existing purchase

Before you start: Use an existing purchase you can view in the correct workroom.

1. Open the purchase request in Procure. Read the reference, need, quantities, units and dates. Distinguish the date your business needs the items from a supplier’s proposed delivery date.

2. Find the related purchase order. Compare its source reference, supplier and line details with the request. Similar titles alone do not establish that two records belong to the same purchase.

3. Open Receiving → Receipts and find the receipt for that order. Compare the source order, item and accepted quantity. The initial Expected view is not the same as the receipt register.

4. Check what remains to be done. A partially accepted delivery may still need a replacement, repair or credit. The supplier’s bill and payment belong to the financial follow-through, not to the receipt alone.

What you should have

You can explain where the purchase stands and which record supports that answer. Before calling it complete, check the agreed quantity and condition as well as the remaining financial work.

Remember: Receiving a replacement does not automatically increase the quantity you agreed to buy. Match the request, order, receipt and invoice rather than paying from an isolated document.